Charlotte Hornets Defense a problem?

The Charlotte Hornets entered the 2025-2026 NBA season with high expectations, following the hiring of longtime Assistant on multiple teams Charles Lee, the #3 overall pick, and the return of stars Lamelo Ball, Miles Bridges, and Brandon Miller. The Hornets also went out and traded for veteran guard Collin Sexton to add defensive leadership and veteran presence to the locker room, which is full of young players looking to break out. Charlotte has hopes higher than being in this fringe play in limbo; they seem to be stuck in Multiple lottery picks on the squad, a long-time tenured coach, stars resigning, a high-flying offense, and yet defensive struggles seem to still linger and follow this squad.

Since the arrival of Young guard Lamelo Ball in 2020, the Hornets have had no offensive shortcomings; the defense has been a thorn in the young team's side. The 117 defensive rating has Charlotte ranked 20th in the league. That is not the only bad stat the Hornets can attest to, 15.8 second chance points allowed a game ranked 17th, 8.0 steals a game 21st, and only 3.8 blocks a game is 19th ranked, no good stats when it comes to the eye test. On top of all that, the young team averages 16 turnovers a game and allows opponents 19.3 points a game off turnovers, 17th worst in the league.  Here come the bad ones, though, opponents shoot 47.8% from the field against the Hornets, which has them 18th in the league. On top of that, they can only hold opponents to 39.2% from 3, which is 27th, or third to last in the entire NBA.

SO what, though, Jason, you just keep throwing stats at me, give me the point! Well, the gist is that even with high-powered names like Collin Sexton coming to help, with the hiring of veteran coach Charles Lee, the defense continues to be a glaring issue for the team. Being so early in the season, a lot of these numbers are exaggerated. I get that, but the performance against Miami did nothing but heighten my worries more. The heat went 52/96 (54.2%) from the field  and 44.4 % (20/45) from 3, with 4 players having 3 three pointers made. I have high hopes for this team this year, with what I believe is one of the best rosters of this decade. I honestly like the acquisitions of Lee and Sexton, and I think that, like with all good long-term plans, we just need time. Players are not going to change overnight, so my main point is that patience will be crucial as we move through the long season ahead.