The Charlotte Hornets could give this team trouble in the NBA playoffs.
The Charlotte Hornets have suddenly hit a bit of a slide, having lost three of their five games after having gone 16-3 over a month-and-a-half stretch.
However, the Hornets are still right in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff picture and are one of the more dangerous teams toward the bottom of the bracket.
Case in point, Charlotte thumped the Boston Celtics by a score of 118-89 on March 4, just before Jayson Tatum's return.
It was a brilliant performance on both ends of the floor for the Hornets, who still have two meetings left with the Celtics this season.
But could Charlotte potentially face Boston in the first round of the playoffs?
If the matchup occurs, Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley thinks it could mean bad news for the C's, as he has named the Hornets a nightmare matchup for the Celtics in the opening round.
"The Buzz City ballers might legitimately have enough firepower to go shot-for-shot with Boston. In fact, on the season, the Hornets have made more threes (16.1 per outing) and splashed them at a higher clip (37.9 percent) than the Celtics (15.5 and 36.4, respectively)," Buckley wrote.
Charlotte Hornets forward Kon Knueppel. Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images.Buckley added that the Hornets would essentially be playing with house money given the complete lack of expectations placed upon their season.
"And while Charlotte fans might worry about the huge disadvantage in big-stage experience, the Hornets' rise has been so sudden and unexpected that this club could wind up playing loose and free, because external expectations remain nonexistent," Buckley added.
To be fair, no one really expected Boston to contend this season, either, but it's the Celtics, so expectations come with the territory. Plus, Boston has actually been one of the best teams in basketball this year even without Tatum most of the campaign.
Of course, Charlotte's lack of playoff experience would likely doom it over the course of a seven-game series, especially against a team with a championship pedigree like the Celtics. But there is very little question that Boston — and any contending team — does not want to draw an early matchup with the Hornets.
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