The Charlotte Hornets are slowly looking more and more worthy of being a playoff team. They went 2-1 last week, with the lone loss coming on the road to the Eastern Conference’s current number one seed. Even in defeat, the Hornets mostly looked the part of a playoff team. The led the Bucks for the majority of the game before wilting in the fourth quarter. It’s frustrating to see the team continue to struggle in important fourth quarters, but at least they proved they can play with the Bucks for extended minutes.

Beyond that loss, the Hornets won a game they should have won in the manner in which they should have won it. They visited the collapsing Memphis Grizzlies and led by double digits for almost the entire second half. The Grizzlies are bad, but any road win against the West is a welcome sight for the Hornets.

The highs

Nicolas Batum showed some of the aggressiveness that Hornets fans have been begging for. He scored 37 total points and made eight 3-pointers against the Bucks and Grizzlies. The Hornets need him to keep up this run of play.

The Hornets bench started to come alive. Every reserve except for Malik Monk had a plus/minus of at least +13 against the Grizzlies. Monk himself had nine points and two assists in 18 minutes in that game. Tony Parker scored 17 points in that same game. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist continued his strong play against the Bucks and scored 16 points off the pine.

The lows

The consistency still isn’t all the way there on either end of the floor. The Hornets held their opposition under 25 points in four of eight quarters, but allowed over 30 in the other four. As has been the case all season, the offense came a little easier, but it fell apart when it was needed most. The Hornets connected on just five of 27 fourth quarter field goal attempts against the Bucks, including a goose egg from beyond the arc on 11 attempts. Kemba Walker was only one for seven, and too often his shooting slumps prove to be a death knell for the offense.

The whole

The Hornets have a jam packed week this week. Three of the four games are very winnable. It’s time for them to make a move in the standings.