Are Charlotte Hornets a top 4 team in the Eastern Conference?

Dec 21, 2013; Charlotte, NC, USA; The Charlotte Bobcats unveil their new branding logo as the Charlotte Hornets for the 2014 season at halftime during the game against the Utah Jazz at Time Warner Cable Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 21, 2013; Charlotte, NC, USA; The Charlotte Bobcats unveil their new branding logo as the Charlotte Hornets for the 2014 season at halftime during the game against the Utah Jazz at Time Warner Cable Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Charlotte Hornets are back, after being the Bobcats for so long, and their trip to the postseason last year has them thirsting for a return to glory.

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Michael Jordan and company got aggressive in the offseason in their additions and they put together a team of young players and veterans that might make waves in a weak Eastern Conference that allowed the Bobcats into the postseason last year — a lesser talented team, no less.

According to NBA scribe Chuck Myron, the Hornets had a good offseason but so did the Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Washington Wizards and other teams in the East who will be hard to leapfrog this season.

"Well, you’ve got the Cavs and Bulls who are logically the top two. But I think the next two are the Raptors and Wizards, both of whom finished in front of Charlotte last year. Neither of them made the sort of upgrades that the Hornets did (the Wizards added Pierce, Humphries, Blair, etc., but that’s mitigated by the loss of Ariza), but it’s tough to say that the addition of Lance Stephenson would be enough for the Hornets to leapfrog either of those teams, both of whom have cores of young players who are improving year by year."

The Hornets added some great pieces, that’s for sure but they are still in a conference that has Derrick Rose, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and other superstars of the game. Lance Stephenson is great but it’s looking like the HOrnets will have to settle for a  lower seed again this upcoming season.

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