In their first home game in close to two weeks, the Charlotte Hornets lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who largely dominated the game outside of a fourth quarter comeback effort from Charlotte. The Hornets shot just 17% from three on Wednesday night and somehow came back from 26 points down to cut the deficit to six, before they lost by seven.

The Hornets have now alternated wins and losses for six games in a row, not finding any real rhythm or consistency to win more than one in a row. The Hornets haven’t had consecutive wins since their January 5 win against the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder.

It’s night and day when it comes to the production on each side of the ball for Charlotte. Outside of Wednesday’s loss against Cleveland, the offense has been humming. Heading into their home game against Cleveland, the Hornets had a total point differential of 0, despite holding a 16-27 record on the season.

The Hornets Have An Elite Offense (When Healthy)

The most exciting aspect of the season is Charlotte's offense when they are healthy. The starting lineup of Miles Bridges, LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel, and Moussa Diabate has a second-best net rating in the NBA at 25.2, just behind Oklahoma City’s fully-healthy starting five.

Charlotte's offensive rating over its last 10 games is 199.5, which ranks fourth in the NBA, behind only the Minnesota Timberwolves, Boston Celtics, and Golden State Warriors.

The question that many Hornets fans and analysts have been pondering is, why aren’t the Hornets capitalizing on their high-powered offense as effectively as they possibly could? Looking at the team’s defensive performance, it's clear Charlotte isn’t the strongest on that end of the court; they currently rank 16th in opponent scoring average, suggesting significant room for improvement.

Considering their overall makeup, an average defense combined with a potent, dynamic offense—the Hornets should theoretically be winning more games than they actually do. However, they struggle to translate their offensive strengths into consistent victories.

It's Their Late Game Woes That Affect The Final Score

The primary issue preventing their success is their apparent inability to close out games convincingly, often losing momentum or making costly mistakes when it matters most, which ultimately keeps them from reaching their full potential this season. Charlotte is 4-12 in clutch games, as they rank 21st in the NBA in fourth-quarter turnovers and 24th in fourth-quarter field goal percentage.

There’s no other way to describe Charlotte’s inability to close games than their lack of experience in high-leverage moments, as the rosters are led by a core of high-ceiling raw talent with no postseason experience. Since Miller has been in the league, the Hornets' season has basically ended in early to mid-March because of how far they are in the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.

The turnaround isn’t going to happen overnight, but with an offense that is clearly dangerous and only has potential to get better, the Hornets do have something real brewing, and sooner than later, the Charlotte faithful will have something to cheer for.