One of the biggest reasons Charles Lee was hired as the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets was to help improve the efforts on the defensive end of the floor.

Former head coach Steve Clifford is widely viewed as a brilliant defensive mind, but the messaging wasn’t sticking, and to his defense, much of the lineup was unavailable during his second stint on the job.

From the small sample size we have seen in the Summer League and preseason, you can tell a major difference in the defensive success rate. Guys are more locked, connected, and playing with more effort on that end, showing a complete buy-in of Lee’s principles.

Despite the early positive signs, the Hornets are still projected to be one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA, according to CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn who projects Charlotte to finish 28th in that aspect of the game.

“Mark Williams was great at the end of his rookie season and proceeded to miss most of his sophomore campaign due to injury. Tidjane Salaun projects very well defensively, but he’s got a ways to go. Charles Lee is at least coming from great defensive teams. After that, it’s a real strain to find positives on defense. This is one of the NBA’s youngest rosters, and with years of rebuilding ahead, the defense is still going to be near the bottom of the league.”

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