The Charlotte Hornets were one of the early surprises of the season. They started the season 13-8 and looked destined to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2015-16 season. The play of LaMelo Ball and the rest of the squad was seriously impressive, but it seriously slowed down in the last few weeks. The Hornets are 4-9 since the win over the Timberwolves in late November. They need to seriously turn it around if they want to be in the postseason in the volatile and competitive Eastern Conference. To help them out, here are two ways LaMelo Ball and the Hornets can get back on track.

Ways the Hornets can get back on track

Change defensive schemes 

As of right now, according to Basketball Reference, the Hornets defense is at the absolute bottom of defensive rating in the NBA. That means that lowly teams like the Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, and the Orlando Magic are better in the metric than the franchise owned by Michael Jordan. This is a serious problem, but it gets even more serious when we dive deeper into the numbers.

Firstly, in terms of defensive metrics, the Hornets allow the most rebounds and assists to their opponents in the league. They allow the most three-pointers made and second-most three-point attempts to their rivals. They are also 29th in field goals conceded, 28th in allowed field goal percentage, 22nd in allowed three-point percentage, and dead last in points allowed. These are abysmal numbers and one would need to conduct some serious research to find a defensive metric in which the Hornets are not among the ten worst teams in the league.

Of course, the Hornets are limited by their roster. With their most-used starting lineup being Ball-Rozier-Hayward-Bridges-Plumlee, it is visible why this roster might have defensive issues. However, while guys like Plumlee, Hayward, or Rozier cannot be asked to do more, young guys like LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges absolutely need to do better. It is sometimes not the question of ability, but effort. If the effort levels were higher, their defense would still be severely limited, but it would not be among the worst in the league in absolutely every metric.

Still, they are held together by their offense, which is a positive. They are third in the league in offensive rating, score the second-most points per game in the league, and the Hornets are the second-fastest team in the league right now. The problems really begin if their offense is not clicking, so coach James Borrego will need to ask for additional effort from his squad. If they can get their defense at a respectable level, the Hornets might be in one of the top six spots in the East, leading directly to the playoffs.

Hit the effort levels to the maximum in the next few weeks 

The Hornets have a favorable schedule for the next few weeks. Although they are set to play the likes of the Bucks twice and Suns once, they have games versus the Rockets, Pistons, Magic, Indiana Pacers, Washington Wizards, New York Knicks, and the Oklahoma City Thunder, among others, in the next few weeks. Altogether, they are playing only six teams with positive records, as of today, from now until the end of January.

Out of the six, two games are against the Bucks, one is against the Suns, but the other ones seem like opportunities for the Hornets to win. They will be playing a lot of their rivals, such as the 76ers and Wizards, who they have away games against. Other than these teams, they have seemingly easy games against the likes of Pistons, Magic, Rockets, and the Thunder to name a few. If they are able to exit January with at least 10 wins out of the upcoming stretch, they would be entering the final part of the season with a 27-24 record, which would be enough to stay in contention for the top six spots in the East.

Ideally, they would be able to win 13 out of the upcoming 17, based on the current form and positions of their opponents. If that is the case, they would be 30-21, a prime position to enter the later stages of the season and secure their playoff spot. The Hornets can do it, and they have shown that tougher teams can be beaten. They did beat both the Nets and Warriors this season, squads many are pitting as a potential Finals matchup.

It is hard to correctly assess what will happen until the end of January. Obviously, with COVID-19 issues that every team is facing, it remains to be seen whether the Hornets can field their best squad every night. If everything goes perfectly, the Hornets could be planning some games in their home arena come late April. However, one slip-up and the Hornets will be back to a place they know all-to-well – the lottery.