Entering the season with one of the league's lowest over-under-win totals, this young Charlotte Hornets team has a long road ahead. After a disappointing 27-55 campaign, the line is now set at 30.5 games. The biggest news in Charlotte this summer was that NBA legend Michael Jordan sold his majority ownership stake in the team. This has caused loads of pessimism surrounding the outlook of this team, but will this season be as bad as people think?

After landing the number two overall pick in the draft and selecting Alabama's Brandon Miller, between him, LaMelo Ball, and the newly reinstated Miles Bridges, the Hornets are back to having one of the most electrifying and high-flying squads in the league. If the team chemistry remains the same as it was a couple of years ago, the Hornets could be well on their way to going from the number two pick in the draft to a potential play-in berth.

Here are the Hornets NBA Odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

NBA Odds: Charlotte Hornets Odds

Over: 30.5 wins (-122)

Under: 30.5 wins (+100)

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Why The Hornets Will Win 31 Games

Probably the most impactful reason the Hornets will be able to increase their win total by four games relative to last season is because now they finally have a healthy and complete roster. Last season was a disaster because this team was constantly riddled with injuries. All-Star point guard Lamelo Ball missed 46 games due to ankle surgery, Gordon Hayward missed 32 games with a fractured shoulder, and starting center Mark Williams missed 39 games with various hand and ankle injuries. Not to mention that they were without high-flying forward Miles Bridges as he battled a domestic violence investigation. While no team is ever free from injury throughout a season, beginning a new year with all these guys back at 100% will go a long way in racking up wins for this team.

Expanding on this roster further, the Hornets seem to have the perfect blend of youth and experience. The hefty majority of teams in similar standing as the Hornets tend to focus solely on developing their young players. However, with key veteran players like Gordon Hayward, Terry Rozier, and Cody Martin in the locker room, the Hornets show they are ready to win now.

A critical component in racking up wins is always the strength of schedule, and luckily, the Charlotte Hornets play in one of the easiest divisions in the league. In the Southeast division last season, only one team finished with a record over .500. Consistent matchups over rebuilding teams such as the Wizards will aid the Hornets in getting steady wins.

Why The Hornets Will Not Win 31 Games

Most basement-level teams from a season ago share one common attribute: they did not shoot the ball well. On at least 90 attempts for the year, the Hornets did not have a single-player shoot higher than 37.7% from three. With today's style of basketball, that is simply unacceptable. Due to this poor shooting, the Hornets finished as a bottom-four team in the league in points per game and three-pointers made per game. Moreover, they had the second-lowest team three-point field goal percentage. The inconsistent and streaky shooting was the downfall of the Hornets a season ago, and it seems they did little to improve upon it in the past several months.

Anytime a team goes under new management, there are often some rough patches that follow. Mixmatching of ideologies from players and staff hired from the old ownership against the wants of the new ownership. For example, Matt Ishbia wrapped up his first full off-season as owner, and in that time, he fired the head coach, traded away franchise centerpieces, and cleared out the majority of the roster. It is tough to say if the new ownership group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall will do the same, but at the end of the day, this roster and staff are not their own. So, as the season goes on, it will be very interesting to see if any major changes will occur.

Final Hornets Over-Under Win Total Prediction

Before the disaster of an injury-riddled season last year occurred, the Hornets saw a ten-win increase from the 2020-21 season to the 2021-22 season. Compared to that 43-win team, this new-look Hornets squad has a similar makeup, if not better, roster overall. Although the team did little to improve upon its streak shooting in terms of off-season transactions, in my mind, this win line is a bit of a steal for this team. I will take over the win total for the Hornets this season with the expectation they will see drastic improvement.

Final Hornets Over-Under Win Total Prediction: Over 31.5 wins (-122)