December Record Prediction: Hornets face a brutal schedule before the new year

The going is going to get even rougher in the final month of the year

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Christmas might be right around the corner, but there will be no gifts for the Charlotte Hornets in the upcoming weeks. They could certainly use them, currently sitting on a 6-15 record.

Today's NBA is so full of high-quality players that even the worst teams can pull off upsets against supposed contenders pretty regularly. Considering the Hornets are one of the worst teams, that's the silver lining for what will be an incredibly challenging month of games.

Let's take it week by week to see what might possible:

Week 1:

Sam Sharpe-Imagn Images

@ Knicks (13-7, Dec 3rd)
@ Raptors (15-7, Dec 5th)
vs Nuggets (14-6, Dec 7th)

Right off the bat, the Hornets will face a a pair teams with serious playoff aspirations and win-loss records to back them up. The Knicks are especially strong at home, where they have a 10-1 record, so that's an almost sure-fire loss.

The same goes for the away game against the Raptors, who have a home record of 8-2 and will be looking to enact revenge on the Hornets after they managed to miraculously beat them a few days ago.

LaMelo and Company will return to Spectrum Center for their matchup with the Nuggets, but Denver has such a major talent advantage that it shouldn't matter much. Anything but a 0-3 start to December would be a major surprise.

Week 2

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vs Bulls (9-11 record, Dec 12th)
@ Cavaliers (13-9, Dec 14th)

There's a win to be had here, if you're a bit optimistic. Beating the Bulls would be the obvious one, but they are so inconsistent that you can never be sure which version of them you'll face.

If it's the one that started the year 5-0, the Hornets would be heavy underdogs. But if it's the version that has gone 4-11 since, it's a much more favorable matchup all of a sudden.

Cleveland isn't as big a juggernaut as some predicted it to be, suffering from lineup inconsistencies and injuries. So even though the Cavaliers are a quality team and have at least four players who could torch the Hornets, I wouldn't write this one off completely.

Week 3

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vs Hawks (13-9 record, Dec 18th)
@ Pistons (17-4, Dec 20th)

Unless either the Hawks or Pistons have any major injuries occur in the run-up to these games, it's pretty unlikely these contests will be very close. Even more so, because Trae Young could be back for Atlanta by then.

Week 4

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@ Cavaliers (13-9, Dec 22nd)
vs Wizards (3-17, Dec 23rd)
@ Magic (13-8, Dec 26nd)

Assuming the Cavaliers have managed to get healthier towards the end of December and their best lineups will actually take the court, beating them on their home court isn't in the cards.

What has to be in the cards, though, is beating the Wizard at Spectrum Center. This is simply a non-negotiable win. It would be in any month, because the Wizards are incredibly bad, but it's especially in this December, where wins will be an absolute rarity anyway.

Another great example of that will follow shortly after, when the Hornets visit the Magic, against whom they've been notoriously bad in recent years. There is zero reason to believe that will change now, so chalk this one up as another loss.

Week 5

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vs Bucks (9-13 record, Dec 29th)
@ Warriors (11-11, Dec 31st)

This is arguably the most interesting stretch of the month, because it's so unclear which rosters the Hornets will face. There is a very real possibility that Giannis Antetokounmpo isn't with the Bucks anymore by then.

There is also a very real chance that the Bucks take another big swing to once again bring a co-star to Milwaukee, convince Antetokounmpo to stay, and end up pouncing on the Hornets.

There's not as much of a trade dilemma for the Warriors, but they are really old and injury-prone. It's in the cards that Steph Curry or Jimmy Butler miss the game on New Year's Eve, making Golden State far less dangerous an opponent.

Best Case: 6-6

After a rough first week of the month, the Hornets are reignited defensively by the return of Josh Green and beat a tumbling Bulls squad as well as an injury-hampered Cavaliers team. They go on to extend their winning streak to three, besting the Hawks, who don't have Trae Young back just yet.

There are some bumps in the road as three out of the next four are lost to Detroit, Cleveland, and Orlando, but the Hornets still take care of the Wizards easily. To close the month, a Bucks team that lost Giannis to a trade and a Warriors team that lost Curry to an injury provide two more victories to even out the december record.

Worst Case: 0-12

A season that was already on its last legs completely falls apart as LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller are shut down due to major injury concerns. Kon Knueppel tries his best and strengthens his Rookie of the Year case, but to no avail.

Realistic Scenario: 2-10

Typical mid-season Hornets: Half the roster is injured, there is no lineup consistency whatsoever, but on occasion, the available players pull out a win. This month, it'd probably be against the Wizards and the Bucks, possibly the Hawks or Bulls.

It'd be great to see this Hornets group start an unexpected winning streak or at least find some consistency in their play, but nothing indicates that that is going to happen, after years of the opposite being the case.

At the very least, you've got to hope that the effort level stays high and nobody gets seriously injured.

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