For all the dazzle the Charlotte Hornets can give you this season – and there is a lot of it – they still haven't done two things that they must to become an elite NBA team.
First: beat somebody really good.
Second: play consistent defense.
[THURSDAY: Hornets fall as Marco Belinelli's buzzer-beater ruled too late at Detroit]
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At 20-17 entering Saturday's road game at San Antonio, the Hornets have done a number of things right to hold down the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference if the playoffs began today.