There was an undeniable level of excitement regarding the Charlotte Hornets as they entered the 2014-15 NBA season and deservedly so. After their second postseason appearance in franchise history, they added the talented Lance Stephenson to bolster their roster. On top of that, the old Hornets moniker returned to Charlotte for this season.

However, that excitement has quickly dissipated after the first month of the season. The Hornets, who many thought could compete for home-court advantage in the first round of the NBA Playoffs in the Eastern Conference, have struggled mightily to start this year. They sit at a miserable 4-14 after the first month of the year, having lost nine straight games to end November.

One of the reasons the addition of Stephenson seemed so natural and promising on paper was the success of the Hornets’ defense last season. Charlotte had one of the best defensive units in the league last season and adding a perimeter defender of Stephenson’s caliber seemed only likely to make their defense even more potent.

That’s been far from the case over the first month of the season, though, as the Hornets have the sixth-worst defense in the league at this point in the season. This team doesn’t have near the chemistry that last year’s squad did on that end of the floor and the results certainly reflect that.

On top of that, their offense has hardly gotten underway. Stephenson was also supposed to add another dimension to Charlotte’s offense as a creator with the ball, but he’s struggled mightily on that end of the floor. Sure, Al Jefferson has continued to be a force, but things get bleak beyond that for the Hornets regarding their offense.

It’s not hard to imagine things turning around for Charlotte. The talent, leadership, and coaching is all there for this team to succeed, they just have to start clicking as a unit for that to happen. It hasn’t happened in any capacity to star the year, though, and it’s hard to not be wildly disappointed in their start.

Final Grade: F