Last season, the Charlotte Hornets finished with a 19-63 record, their worst since 2012. In all likelihood, they will look to improve upon it, although they have a lot of work to do to achieve that goal. For instance, the Hornets must overcome their first-quarter woes if they want to put themselves in a better position to claim victory against their opponent.
Early in the 2024-25 campaign, getting to a slow start became an immediate problem for Charlotte. Unfortunately, it was unable to find a solution to address it as the regular season progressed. It ended up trailing after the opening period in 59 games, and whenever that happened, the squad lost 50 times.
In contrast, the Hornets' record was 10-13 whenever they held a lead following the first 12 minutes. And as Sam Perley of NBA.com noted, they won seven of the 12 instances in which their advantage was at least seven points.
Evidently, Charlotte needs to start as strongly as possible if it wants to boost its chances of registering more wins. It was easier said than done last season after having to deal with players coming in and out of the lineup. Not to mention, there was simply a lack of reliable offensive creators who could take over whenever LaMelo Ball or Brandon Miller were not on the floor.
Things could be different this time around, as it appears the potential rotation players outside of Grant Williams and Josh Green will begin the regular season in ideal physical form.
Ball and Miller have looked great during media day and so far in training camp. The coaching staff has yet to tell us who between Collin Sexton and Kon Knueppel will start at the wing, although either of the two should be able to provide the Hornets the additional scoring punch they need to be a formidable first-quarter team. Off the bench, Tre Mann is expected to pick up where he left off last year, and his confident statement regarding his health should delight Hornets fans.
Hornets must start and end games strongly this season
Aside from trying to be more competitive to begin contests, Charlotte will also have to finish them with conviction. What good is trying to build a lead in the opening frame only to lose 36 minutes of game time later?
However, playing well in the closing period might be less difficult for the Hornets than in the first because of Ball. At his peak in the 2024-25 campaign, he proved to be one of the most productive stars in the league. He was even on pace to make history by averaging the most points in the fourth quarter, but injuries and a regression in performance stopped him in his tracks. Even so, the 2022 All-Star still led the league in average scoring in the fourth stanza.
So, if the Hornets can address their tendency to strike out in the first and help Ball pull off his specialty, they will be able to surpass their previous win total. The coaching staff has to use this training camp to preach to the players the importance of kicking off contests with guns blazing.