The Charlotte Hornets didn't just decisively beat the Orlando Magic at home on Thursday; they also held the visitors to 97 points. Some may not have noticed that it was the third straight game the Hornets have allowed fewer than 100 points.
On Sunday, they overcame the high altitude to beat the Denver Nuggets 110-87. The Nuggets were missing a handful of their top scorers. Still, they had Jamal Murray, who had scored at least 33 in his previous three contests. But Charlotte's defense held him to just 16 points, 10 below his season average.
Then, on Wednesday, the Hornets put up a strong defensive effort versus the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, Cleveland's torrid start to the game proved difficult for them to come back from, resulting in a 94-87 loss.
Hornets' defense trending in the right direction
It remains to be seen whether Charlotte's defense has indeed taken a real step forward after it ranked near the bottom of the league earlier in the 2025-26 campaign. A look, though, at not just its past three outings, but also its results this January, strengthens the case for that argument.
For one, it isn't the first time the Hornets pulled together three consecutive contests in which they held their opponents to fewer than 100 points. They also achieved the feat near the beginning of the month when they limited the Chicago Bulls, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Toronto Raptors to 99, 97, and 97, respectively, during a three-game stretch.
And let's not forget the Hornets dominated the Utah Jazz 150-95, which is currently the biggest margin of victory in the NBA this season.
So, that's a total of seven times this January that their opponents couldn't breach the 100-point mark. If you ask me, as long as their main rotation pieces are healthy, they can sustain this level of defense, which should put fear into the hearts of other squads, particularly those who will be fighting for favorable seedings for the playoffs.
With Charlotte's transformed defense and currently unstoppable offense, it wouldn't be shocking if it makes a huge leap in the standings. What should help the franchise is that, at the moment, it ranks 20th in the remaining strength of schedule.
Another thing worthy of note is that, after routing the Magic, the Hornets now have a positive point differential of +0.4. In fact, they are eighth in the Eastern Conference in that stat, further reinforcing the idea that they can make a run for a top-10 seed by the end of the regular season.