The Hornets' Surge Wasn't Fool's Gold and It's Not Time to Panic

The Charlotte Hornets, after an unfathomable surge, have seemingly come crashing back down to earth. They've lost two straight games with their starting five playing, something that hasn't happened all year.

The Miami Heat ousted the Hornets at home in a playoff-like matchup between two possible Play-In opponents. Then, after that emotionally draining loss at home, the Hornets had to get on the road all the way to Phoenix, where they couldn't quite keep up with the Suns.

Therein lies why it's not really time to panic. The Hornets, no matter how good they may actually be, can't beat everyone. They can't have great games like the Boston Celtics, who win every single night. It's basketball.

The Heat is not a bad team. The Hornets probably should've beaten them, especially coming off a beatdown in Boston, but Miami's not bad. And after that crushing blow to their division title hopes and their surge for the sixth seed, going on the road to face a very solid Phoenix team was not an ideal situation, either.

Even if the Hornets had been blown out in both games, it wouldn't be time to panic. That's a tiny sample size. I'm sure there's a concern among some Hornets fans that this run was all fool's gold. That the old Hornets are lurking, waiting to come back.

I have that feeling lingering in the back of my mind sometimes, but the numbers don't lie. Prior to the Heat loss, they were the best team in basketball by net rating since January 1. That's a huge sample size.

Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) dribbles against Phoenix Suns guard Collin Gillespie | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

They're still 21-11 since that date, so they're still among the best teams in the sport during the calendar year of 2026. All the underlying metrics suggest that they're actually good and weren't just on a Linsanity run.

And even if they do fade a little down the stretch and lose in the Play-In, would that be so bad? We can convince ourselves that they can win a playoff series, but can we convince ourselves that they're title-bound? That requires a whole lot of imagination.

So, since we know they're not winning it all and we've seen more than enough that this core is among the best in the NBA, adding a lottery pick to this roster would actually be pretty great. And knowing how the NBA works, the Hornets might finally get some lottery luck if they actually win games.

The future is bright no matter what, but the Hornets are still good now. There's no need to hit the panic button just yet.

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