If you tuned into the 2025-26 NBA season late, you'd be forgiven for not realizing how bad the Charlotte Hornets were to start the season. Like this season, they lost eight of their first 12 contests. It looked like they were headed for another bad year, much like this season.

Obviously, things turned around. The Hornets finished with 44 wins and, across the second half of the season, morphed into arguably the best team in basketball. They had the best offense in the sport, if nothing else.

Can the Hornets turn it around again? Is a slow start just part of the process while they deal with injuries? Last year, LaMelo Ball missed a handful of games, as did Brandon Miller, before the Hornets really got going.

Will getting Coby White, Kon Knueppel, and Brandon Miller on the floor together work like getting healthy did last season? The 2025-26 Hornets actually didn't improve for a while. They made it to 16-27 before really clicking.

Better health and a lineup change sparked a turnaround. Moussa Diabaté's insertion into the lineup, as well as the return of Ball and Miller, transformed the Hornets. That formula could ironically be useful again.

It's going to take a while for Kon Knueppel to get back on the court, but his and Brandon Miller's return will boost this offense. And there is an argument to be made that Ryan Kalkbrenner should be inserted over Diabaté, ironically the inverse of last season.

Kalkbrenner has just been more impactful. Last year, Diabaté was one of the best on/off players in the entire NBA. This year, the Hornets are -21.5 in Diabatè's minutes compared to +10.7 last year. Kalkbrenner, meanwhile, has a ridiculous +29.3 on/off split.

That is sixth in the NBA. It's an absurd number, and it might force the Hornets' hand. So, can a lineup tweak and health turn things around? Yes. The Hornets will be better once that happens.

The problem is that they won't be as good as last year, not even close. There's no LaMelo Ball to guide them to the NBA's best offense. And it's going to take a lot longer to get healthy. By December 23, the Hornets reached their final form in 2025-26. Knueppel may not be back by then.

So, yes, the Hornets can turn it around. They probably will. The problem is that turning it around is virtually guaranteed given how bad they've been, and turning it around won't make them a playoff team.