Charles Lee expects Spectrum Center to be loud, and he has reason to think so. The Hornets are back in postseason hoops at home for the first time in a decade, and Charlotte will host the Heat in the SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament.
The Hornets finished 44-38 and surged over the finish line, going 28-11 since Jan. 22 after a nine-game winning streak helped turn the season. The Hive drew 25 sellouts, including 15 straight to close the year, a run that has set up what Lee believes will be the strongest crowd of the season.
“I expect it to be lit,” Lee said, adding that his wife had gone to a Panthers playoff game recently and came back telling him it was insane. For a team that has spent a decade waiting for this stage at home, the noise inside Spectrum Center matters as much as the matchup itself.
Lee said the city is ready for “a winning team and a playoff atmosphere,” and he wants the fans to keep that edge from the opening tip to the final possession. “We need everyone to come, be engaged, and stay with it, no matter what happens,” he said. “Our team will stay with it, and we need consistent support from the fans.”
That demand is rooted in more than emotion. Lee said success has confirmed the Hornets are moving in the right direction, but he is careful not to let results distract from the work underneath them. “Our process is in a really good place,” he said, pointing to the kind of reps that come only in play-in games and, potentially, the playoffs themselves.
The coach said those minutes carry a different kind of value because they force a team to feel “the environment, pressure, intensity, and importance of every possession.” In the regular season, especially on back-to-backs, he said teams can sometimes just roll into games. Now, there is more preparation, more film and more game management as the pace of the night slows down.
That is the test waiting for Charlotte against Miami, and it is also the opportunity. The Hornets have already shown they can finish strong; now they get to find out how that translates when the arena is full, the crowd is restless and every possession matters.
