2025 New Year's Resolutions for the struggling Charlotte Hornets

Here's what the Hornets must do in 2025.

Zach Roberts | Dec 31, 2024

Dec 30, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard DaQuan Jeffries (3) gets a rebound during the first half against the Chicago Bulls at the Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-Imagn Images / Sam Sharpe-Imagn Images

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Charlotte Hornets

It's December 31, and the Charlotte Hornets don't play tonight. Their 2024 is officially over, and it ends on the back of a crushing overtime defeat to the Chicago Bulls. It ends a month in which they won a singular game despite playing the Washington Wizards twice (they were not the Hornets' only win this month).

But tomorrow marks a new year. It will be 2025, and the curse of 2024 will hopefully be left behind. The 2024-25 season has been marked by injuries, bad play, and a bevy of close losses. Here are the New Year's resolutions the Hornets need to abide by in 2025.

1. Play better offense

The Charlotte Hornets, for a long time, have had a reputation for being all offense and no defense. That's surprisingly not the case this year, as their defense has been significantly better than their offense. That is partially due to the offense being pretty bad. They boast the third-worst offensive rating (107.2). Only the Washington Wizards and New Orleans Pelicans are worse. A team with players like LaMelo Ball, Mark Williams, and Brandon Miller should be better on that end, but they're not. That needs to change if they're going to claw back in the Eastern Conference.

2. Protect the basketball

It's one thing if a team turns the ball over a lot because of a free style of play that generates a lot of points. The Hornets don't score a lot, and they don't protect the basketball. They have the fourth-worst assist-to-turnover ratio in the NBA at 1.47. LaMelo Ball is a major culprit here, as he averages 7.4 assists but also 4.1 turnovers. The whole team is bad at protecting the ball, and they don't really make up for it by assisting well (21st-ranked assist percentage across all teams). They're also 25th in turnover percentage, and that's just not winning basketball.

3. Get healthy

Perhaps this Hornets team just isn't very good, but health has played a role in that. They've had their main starting five on the floor for two games (both losses). It's impossible for LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges, Josh Green, and Mark Williams to truly gel without playing together. Ball and Miller are currently out with various injuries, but all of them (as well as reserves like Tre Mann) other than Green have missed substantial time already. This is easier said than done, but any success the Hornets have is going to come with a healthy-ish roster.