The Charlotte Hornets have many issues.
The Charlotte Hornets have started the season 9-19. They are 21st in the NBA in points per game, 24th in points per game allowed, 21st in offensive rating, 23rd in defensive rating and 23rd in net rating.
As you can see, the Hornets have many issues, but NBA analyst Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report believes Charlotte's "soft defense" is a huge area of concern.
"The NBA schedule is a grind, but opponents generally get a break when they face the Charlotte Hornets," Hughes wrote. "It's not just that Charlotte's defense is permissive in allowing one of the highest opponent effective field-goal percentages in the league, but it's also that the Hornets don't make other teams feel them. That's coachspeak for "these guys are soft."
"The Hornets never foul, which is sometimes a good quality in a defense but here feels indicative of their lack of force. Couple that with a general inability to force turnovers, and you get a sense of just how little defensive pressure Charlotte applies.
"Rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner looks like a viable rim-protector at times, but his teammates' point-of-attack ineptitude leaves him hung out to dry far too often. The Hornets don't play with enough physicality on the perimeter, and they lack heft inside."
It's been a long, long time since the Hornets were competent. They haven't made the playoffs since 2016 and the last time they had a winning record was in 2021-22.
The good news for the Hornets is that they have a terrific young piece to build around in rookie Kon Knueppel. The Duke product is averaging 19.4 points per game on the season while shooting 47.3% from the field, 40.9% from beyond the arc and 91.5% from the free-throw line.
Many people around the NBA believe Charlotte should trade LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges and build the franchise around Knueppel and Brandon Miller. Let's see if Hornets executive Jeff Peterson does it.