Yes, the NBA draft just happened a few days ago, and it's still only June. But it's also the perfect time, in the days leading up to free agency, to wonder what your favorite team needs in order to make the playoffs or compete for the championship. In the case of the Charlotte Hornets, the quest for the postseason isn't impossible; but it won't be easy, either. Charlotte comes off a horrible season where every starter was injured (literally) and big free-agent signee Lance Stephenson was an outright bust. So much that he finished with the worst 3-point shooting percentage in NBA history. That brings us to this season. How much better can the Hornets be and will it be good enough to make the playoffs? Without pulling any punches, making the postseason, even in the dreadful Eastern Conference, will be an uphill battle for Charlotte. However, it is doable, but things must go as well as they went bad last season. STAY HEALTHY Outside of getting nothing from Stephenson, this was Charlotte's biggest issue last season. If the Hornets should capture a low playoffs seed in the Eastern Conference (6-8), the likes of center Al Jefferson and small forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist must play nearly every game. The same goes for newly acquired small forward/shooting guard Nicolas Batum. In terms of putting the ball in the basket, the Hornets have struggled mightily. The numbers show it. That's why having the their best offensive player on the court -- Jefferson -- is an absolute necessity. The same goes for Kidd-Gilchrist, easily the team's best defender. But he does so much more than that. He is the heart and soul of the club. Kidd-Gilchrist is a scrapper and energizer and as he goes ... so go the Hornets. - See more at:http://www.foxsports.com/carolinas/...ornets-making-the-playoffs-next-season-062915
