One of the more exciting and explosive scoring teams to watch this NBA season is the Charlotte Hornets, who are led by two young talents in LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges.
Both Ball and Bridges have been spectacular to begin the 2021-22 season and along with the contributions of Gordon Hayward, Terry Rozier and others, the Hornets currently rank 6th in offensive rating and first in the league in scoring.
The Charlotte Hornets have not been to the playoffs since the 2015-16 season, but they are making a very strong case to make the playoffs outright this season and not have to earn their spot via the play-in tournament.
Charlotte is currently 13-10 on the season and while their offense is one of the best in the league, they are amongst the bottom of the league in terms of their defense.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: This Hornets-Pacers Trade Is Focused On Myles Turner To Charlotte
The Hornets rank just 28th in the league in defensive rating and if Charlotte is going to be a real playoff threat, they are going to have to tighten their defense up.
They play with one of the fastest paces in the league and have not slowed down their attack on offense, but teams tend to do the same against them since they really cannot defend the paint.
On the year, the Charlotte Hornets are giving up 49.1 points in the paint per game to their opponents, which is the third-worst mark in the NBA.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: This Hornets-Pacers Trade Is Focused On Myles Turner To Charlotte
Mason Plumlee was a key offseason addition in their frontcourt, but he is not known to be a rim-protector and neither is third-year forward P.J. Washington. Adding another big man prior to the trade deadline could very well be something we see the Hornets look to do.
Do they have the capability to bring in another high-level talent to their team this year though? Let’s take a look at three players Charlotte could target, as proposed by Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley, and evaluate whether or not the Hornets should “pass or pursue” said trade targets.
