The Charlotte Hornets delivered yet another statement win, last night, this one over the New York Knicks. It was the first time this season Charlotte has been able to take out the Knicks.
With the victory, Charlotte improved to 39-34, slotting into ninth place in the East, tied in record with the Orlando Magic (8th) one game behind the Philadelphia 76ers (7th).
There is a real chance here that the Hornets could skip the play-in tournament completely and slide right into the playoffs if they play these remaining nine games of the regular season right. The next one of those ironically being against those Sixers that they are a game behind.
Upcoming matchups also include road tests against Boston and New York again, plus a home game against Detroit. Early-season projections pegged Charlotte as a lottery team; instead, they’ve become the league’s biggest surprise, fueled by health, Knueppel’s instant impact, and Ball-Miller chemistry.
There is still work to be done to achieve a top-six finish for direct playoff entry , but if they pulled it off it would end the franchise’s eight-year playoff drought. Just the play-in tournament alone would be a massive win for the franchise, but this team is playing so much better basketball than a play-in team and has been for several months now.
At their current pace, the Hornets project to finish 43-39 or better.
What's insane to think about is how this was once a 4-13 team. The fact that they made up the ground that they did to now be a 39-34 team really speaks volumes to just how good they've been.
In fact, that's why that 39-34 record can be a little misleading if you don't have the full context of the Hornets season.
They are 23-6 in their last 29 games and playing like a top 5 team in the Easter Conference. Miles Bridges laid it out pretty well last night on the Fan Duel Sports Network postgame.
"We've been to the play-in two times, but it doesn't feel like this. We're five games over .500, we want to keep on going... and it actually feels like we're playing for something." Bridges said.
One thing is clear: these Hornets are no longer lottery fodder. They’re contenders for April basketball and nobody is going to want to see them in the post season.