Charlotte Hornets Still Have NBA's Best Lineup, But There's Bad News

Once the Charlotte Hornets figured out their five-man starting lineup, they really took off. After January 1, the unit of LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel, Miles Bridges, and Moussa Diabaté became the most effective unit in the league by net rating.

When those five are on the floor, the Hornets did extremely well. They still do. In fact, as of the latest update, that is still the best five-man lineup in the entire NBA. The Hornets' starters are that good and have remained that good for a long time.

That's the good news. Charlotte still paces the NBA, and that bodes well for this season and the future. But there is some bad news. Not far behind is a surging Atlanta Hawks lineup, which could be highly problematic for the Hornets.

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The Hornets' starting unit is +12.9 in net rating. They're slightly above average on defense and well above average on offense. The 127.5 offensive rating would be the best mark for an NBA team in history.

The Hawks are more well-balanced, as they're above average on both ends. The lineup of Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Onyeka Okonwgu, Jalen Johnson, CJ McCollum, and Dyson Daniels is +11.7 in net rating.

Their defensive rating is good, 6.3 points better than average. The offensive rating is good, too, at 5.4 points better than average. They're solid on both ends, and they have the second-best unit in the sport.

That's really bad news for the Hornets for multiple reasons. Firstly, the Hawks, who are 11-0 in their last 11 contests, are now three games up on the Hornets. It's going to be hard to catch them with as good as they're playing.

Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) in the air makes a lay up during the second half against the Atlanta Hawks | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Plus, no matter how the standings shake out in the last few weeks of the season, the Hawks represent a potential threat in the Play-In, assuming Charlotte doesn't surge into the playoffs (or the Hawks, for that matter).

As of now, the Hawks are the eight seed and the Hornets are the 10. They wouldn't play in the first matchup if the season ended today, but if the Hornets won and the Hawks lost, it would be a winner-take-all matchup in Atlanta.

Remember the last time that was the case (more or less)? Charlotte was demolished by 29 points that year. I was at the game. Miles Bridges threw his mouthguard into the stands after being ejected and hit a fan. It was ugly, and it would be preferable if the Hawks didn't end the Hornets' season again.

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