Charlotte Hornets’ wins over Dallas Mavericks show team’s culture

As a fan, there aren’t many rays of joy rooting for a team with a losing record. Particularly in the NBA, where even a win can mean an overall step back for the organization. But on Sunday afternoon, the Charlotte Hornets gave their fans something to truly be excited about—being a spoiler to the Dallas Mavericks’ playoff chances.

The Western Conference is comically congested. Only four games separate the fourth-place Phoenix Suns from the 12th-placed Utah Jazz. The Mavs sit in 11th place, after dropping back-to-back games. Both those losses came at the hands of the Hornets, a team whose playoff hopes were dashed way before the weather started to turn warm and the clock went back an hour.

Normally, at this time of the season, teams are jostling for playoff positioning or resting players for the playoff push. Some squads are putting out lineups to gain ground for the draft. Such lineup manipulation can sometimes make for uneven basketball, not on par with what is usually seen in the league.

What do Charlotte Hornets fans have to look forward to?

But the Hornets’ remaining schedule and the Western conference’s jumbled mess have meant that the Hornets’ reserves—playing because of the injuries to the roster—are getting some crucial development time against quality NBA competition. Charlotte has six games left, five of which are against playoff-contending teams. Their lone game against the Houston Rockets will serve as an essential differentiator for two teams near the bottom of the league in win total.

The Rockets came into the season knowing that they weren’t going to be very good. They played young talent and traded away or bought out veteran players that could help the quality of basketball they play. That improvement could lead to more wins and a lower chance of getting the top draft prize.

The Hornets came by their low win total honestly. They lost several games due to injury with Gordon Hayward, Terry Rozier, and LaMelo Ball all missing significant minutes. Miles Bridges, an expected centerpiece of this team and last season’s highest-scoring Hornet missed every game this season dealing with an arrest and sentencing. This team was supposed to finally get over the play-in hump. Not be one of the least successful teams in the league.

And yet, even with the high hopes of this season, long dashed, this team has kept fighting. This team had no tangible reason to have just swept the Dallas Mavericks. Theo Maledon and James Bouknight played minutes despite neither having played since late January. Late-season acquisition Svi Mykhailiuk continued his sharp shooting (he has shot 44.7% from three since he came back in the Jalen McDaniels trade 13 games ago) and was a +16 in his 33 minutes of playing time against the Mavs on Sunday.

The Hornets putting the Mavericks’ chances of making the playoffs on a diet indicates the quality of Charlotte’s culture. A culture that is a direct representation of head coach Steve Clifford. This team is still fighting and improving—particularly on defense. As some teams are happy to mire in mediocrity and have been since the start of the season, the Hornets look like a team that will improve and will be a better version of themselves come the start of next season.