Charlotte Hornets Remain Near Bottom of NBA Power Rankings

New era, but no excitement about the Hornets coming from outside of Charlotte.

Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

The Charlotte Hornets have turned the page and are hoping for better results with a new regime, headed by Jeff Peterson in the front office and Charles Lee as the head coach.

Although they may be a few years away from being true contenders in the Eastern Conference, they have enough talent and veteran leadership to support the youthful core to make a little bit of noise this year and improve upon their 21-61 record from a year ago.

In Kurt Helin's latest NBA power rankings on NBC Sports, the Charlotte Hornets check in at No. 25. The only teams who rank behind the Hornets are the Detroit Pistons, Utah Jazz, Portland Trail Blazers, Brooklyn Nets, and Washington Wizards.

"How good the Hornets are and if they are in the mix for the postseason next April starts with LaMelo Ball returning and being healthy for more than 21 games. Add to that development from Brandon Miller and the Hornets re-signing Miles Bridges and there is the talent to be respectable. This is still a team building its roster around Ball, and a lot more moves and steps are coming, but if healthy this is a team that might make the play-in."

If the Hornets do get lucky with health for once, it's hard to see a scenario in which they don't make the play-in tournament. They have more talent than Brooklyn, Washington, Detroit, and Toronto, so as long as they're able to surpass Atlanta, Chicago, or Miami, they'll clinch their third play-in appearance. Climbing into the top six is an unfair ask of this group, given where they are at in their development and how stacked the top of the East is.

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