13. Charlotte Hornets
Even though I’m not exactly sure what to expect from the Charlotte Hornets heading into the start of the season, there are some certainties that we can expect. For one, the Hornets should be healthier this season. And that means that they should, in turn, be better. The big question is how much better this team will be. That may be difficult to answer. However, if LaMelo Ball can continue to be the dynamic young player that he’s been, and if Brandon Miller can be a good player right away (which is far from a guarantee), the Hornets have enough talent to give some opposing East teams issues.
The return of Miles Bridges should be an interesting situation to keep an eye on. How good he looks or how much of a role he’ll end up playing with the Hornets remains to be seen, but if he does pick up where he left off, the Hornets could have an interesting core to start the year.
The Hornets still have very much to prove but this is a team that has more established talent than most believe, and it all starts with Ball who has now become one of the most polarizing players in the league.