10 NBA small sample size overreactions to lose your mind over

4. The Charlotte Hornets will make the playoffs

The Charlotte Hornets are about as dysfunctional of a franchise as they come, but that doesn’t mean they can’t play. Two seasons ago, they went 43-39 and made the play-in, but injuries and serious legal problems saw them fall to 27-55 the next season. 

All it took was one bad season for people to forget that LaMelo Ball and the Hornets were a bright young team on the rise. The emergence of Mark Williams as a legitimate defensive anchor and roll-man last season will fix the biggest hole for a team that won 43 games only two seasons ago. 

If their first game is any indication, the Hornets are going to be far better than people expected. The Atlanta Hawks are no pushovers. They have an excellent head coach in Quin Snyder and are led on the court by Trae Young, one of the most devastating guards in the league. After a 116-110 victory, the Hornets have already beaten a team with legitimate playoff aspirations and have the ninth-best net rating in the league because of it. 

The Hornets probably won’t dodge the play-in, but they have everything they need to win a bunch of regular season games: a high-octane lead guard in LaMelo Ball, an underrated defensive-minded coach in Steve Clifford, and a cohort of solid veterans flanking their young nucleus.