Could the Charlotte Hornets Be the Dark Horse Set to Shake Up the Eastern Conference?

When you look at the Hornets’ defensive four factors, it makes a lot of sense why Diabate is so integral to their success. On the season, they’re second in defensive rebounding percentage and third in opponent free throws per field goal attempts. We’ve already established Diabate’s excellence on the glass, and when a team has a strong rim protector like him anchoring its defense (86th percentile block rate), it greatly suppresses the opposing team’s free throw numbers (the defense doesn’t need to foul as much when offensive players enter the paint). 

How Real Are the Charlotte Hornets?

This Charlotte team has the offensive personnel to be top 10 in the NBA. What doesn’t feel sustainable is the top-five defense of the last 21 games.

We say that because the Hornets have surrendered the league’s lowest opponent 3-point percentage (32.6%) in this stretch. As we’ve noted numerous times here, defenses have very little to do with how well the other team shoots from behind the arc.

It’s worth noting the Hornets had the highest opponent 3-point percentage (38.6%) in their first 34 games, but while they may not be a top-five defense, they also aren’t the bottom-five unit they looked like to start the season. 

All this points to the Hornets being a strong offense and an average/slightly below-average defense. Historically, those teams are pretty good, but far from true title contenders.

But given how young they are and how bad things have been for them since … well, forever … the future looks bright in Charlotte for the first time in a while.

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The post A Buzz Across the NBA: Are the Charlotte Hornets an Actual Threat in the East? appeared first on Opta Analyst.

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