A strong start means nothing if you can’t close: The Hornets’ biggest flaw

When the game starts, the Charlotte Hornets look like a playoff team.

When the fourth quarter rolls around, they look like they have been competing for Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa, or Cam Boozer.

Across the first 14 games of the season, the Hornets have scored less than 30 points in the first quarter just twice. They are averaging 32.7 points in the first quarter, the fourth most in the entire league. Only Denver, Miami, and Houston are ahead of them in this aspect.

Despite their high first quarter scoring, they are 18th in the second quarter (28.7), 21st in the third quarter (28.0), and 24th in the fourth quarter (27.1).

The Hornets have played the same in nearly every game. While they keep the game close through the first two quarters, a bad third quarter puts the game out of reach, and it adds another L to the loss column.

"As we continue to build out the rest of the season and how we attack each quarter, some of that comes down to your continued habits," Head Coach Charles Lee said after Saturday night's loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. "And the consistency that you have to be able to make sure that you are in shape physically and mentally at the end of the game to execute at the highest level come fourth quarter."

"It's hard to win in this league, everything kind of slows down in the fourth quarter, physicality ramps up, and we just got to be a little bit better, and I think we have done a ton of things in all fourth quarters to give us a chance to win."

Lee's comments on the team's conditioning and execution raises questions as to whether or not the struggles past the fourth quarter are a talent issue or a team that is still growing and learning how to close games.

According to the NBA's tracked "Clutch" stats, the Hornets are 0-4, with a 77.6 Offensive Rating. With that, they are shooting 33.3% from the field, the 5th worst in the league, and 22.7% from three, the 10th worst in the league.

While the fanbase questions head coach during this time, the age of the roster is the clear source of their struggles after the first quarter.

The Hornets have the seventh youngest team in basketball, with their closing lineups typically consisting of only two players over 25 in Collin Sexton (26) and Miles Bridges (27).

Not only that, but the team really has no experience either. Of their entire roster, only four players have actually received postseason minutes. Of those four, two are hurt, and the other two are aging veterans whose contributions are valued more in the locker room than on the court.

In the 2023-24 NBA season, the Oklahoma City Thunder won 57 games and claimed the #1 seed in the Western Conference. They then went on to lose in the second round to the eventual Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks. That Thunder roster contained only three players who had received meaningful playoff minutes before, one of them not even being apart of the rotation come playoff time (Gordon Hayward).

A little over a year and a half later, the Thunder are the reigning NBA champions, and are 14-1 to start the season. Experience is key in today's NBA, and the Hornets young roster just does not have that experience yet.

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