NBA analyst gives Hornets dreadful midseason grade

Zach Harper isn't happy with how things have gone in Charlotte.

Jan 17, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu (11), guard Coby White (0) defend Charlotte Hornets guard Seth Curry (30) during the second half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

NBA analyst Zach Harper at The Athletic has graded all NBA teams at the midway point of the regular season. The Charlotte Hornets haven't quite hit the halfway point officially, but they're close. They're 11-28 at this point and have suffered a brutal stretch of injuries.

Despite rolling into this rough halfway point for the NBA season on a three-game win streak and having won four out of their last five, the Hornets earned a D for their performance in the first half. Harper gave them a C+ after the first quarter, so things got worse in his eyes after that.

There hasn't been much of any time this year in which the Hornets have excelled, save for this last five-game stretch. However, the opposition hasn't been elite. The Phoenix Suns are a middle-of-the-pack team, and the Utah Jazz and Chicago Bulls are not good. Utah is one of the worst teams in the NBA. The Dallas Mavericks are good, but they were missing Luka Doncic and several other rotational players.

If you roughly split the current number of games the Hornets have played in half, they've gone 5-15 in their last 20 games. They were 6-13 in their first 19 games, so they were slightly better in the first quarter. Still, it doesn't seem like enough to drop from a C+ to a D.

What the Hornets ultimately need to look for in the second half of games is what players are worth keeping around. Whether it's an addition like Josh Okogie or an existing player like Moussa Diabate, the Hornets have to find out who's going to be part of the 2025-26 team that will hopefully get better grades.

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