Charlotte Hornets Playoff Rooting Guide (4/6-4/12)
Another week, another slate full of hate watching
The last time we spoke, the Hornets had dropped two straight at home and sat in the 10th seed in the Eastern Conference. The best-case scenario looked like the eighth seed, as everyone around them seemed to be blowing out some tanking team every time they took the court. Fast forward to now, the Hornets are coming off a 4-0 week and now sit just a half-game out from the 6th seed in the Eastern Conference.
While the 5th seed is all but wrapped up by Atlanta, skipping out on the play-in altogether is still in play. However, barring rest, the remaining three games for Charlotte are against the current top-3 seeds in the Eastern Conference.
While the team should obviously shoot for as high as they can climb, winning 1-2 of these final three games is essentially a must, as falling into a three-way tie with the Florida team would boot Charlotte back into the 9/10 play-in game as the 9 seed. This would mean that the best-case scenario would be having to win two games to grab the 8th seed… yikes.
The Official Hornets Fan Rooting Schedule
Monday (4/6):
New York Knicks over the Atlanta Hawks - 7:00 PM ET
You could flip this and say the Hawks, so the Knicks are stuck at 3 and rest against the Bugs on the 12th, but that is unpredictable, so I am not going to bank on lineup decisions.
Detroit Pistons over the Orlando Magic - 7:00 PM ET
San Antonio Spurs over the Philadelphia 76ers - 8:00 PM ET
Tuesday (4/7):
Charlotte Hornets @ Boston Celtics - 8:00 PM ET
Miami Heat vs Toronto Raptors - 7:30 PM ET
Major dilemma. While I lean Miami due to the 6th seed being in reach and the Raptors standing in the way, the Heat being pushed further down is only good for the Hornets due to the tiebreakers. These two teams meet again on the 9th. I say it is more of a “push” for this one, and we will re-evaluate our rooting interests for the matchup on the 9th.
Wednesday (4/8):
Cleveland Cavaliers over the Atlanta Hawks - 7:00 PM ET
Minnesota Timberwolves over the Orlando Magic - 7:00 PM ET
Thursday (4/9):
Miami Heat vs Toronto Raptors - 7:30 PM ET
See April 7th write-up.
Houston Rockets over the Philadelphia 76ers - 8:00 PM ET
Friday (4/10):
Charlotte Hornets vs Detroit Pistons - 7:00 PM ET
Washington Wizards over the Miami Heat (Revenge for Bam’s 83 plz) - 7:00 PM ET
Cleveland Cavaliers over the Atlanta Hawks - 7:00 PM ET
New York Knicks over the Toronto Raptors - 7:30 PM ET
Indiana Pacers over the Philadelphia 76ers (AHHHHHHHH) - 7:30 PM ET
Chicago Bulls over the Orlando Magic (Young Bull legacy game?) - 8:00 PM ET
Saturday (4/11):
No NBA Games this night
Sunday (4/12):
Charlotte Hornets vs New York Knicks - 6:00 PM ET
Boston Celtics over the Orlando Magic - 6:00 PM ET
Atlanta Hawks vs Miami Heat - 6:00 PM ET
We’ll probably end up cheering for Atlanta by the time this game comes around, but who knows.
Milwaukee Bucks over the Philadelphia 76ers (Let Giannis Play!) - 6:00 PM ET
Brooklyn Nets over the Toronto Raptors (Who are we kidding) - 6:00 PM ET
Tiebreaker Central
Charlotte Hornets:
Tied 2-2 vs TOR
Won 3-1 vs ATL
Lost 2-1 vs PHI
Won 3-1 vs ORL
Lost 1-3 vs MIA
Miami Heat:
Losing 0-2 vs TOR (4/7, 4/9)
Winning 2-1 vs ATL (4/12)
Won 2-1 vs PHI
Lost 4-0 vs ORL
Won 3-1 vs CLT
Orlando Magic:
Lost 2-1 vs TOR
Lost 0-4 vs ATL
Lost 2-1 vs PHI
Won 4-0 vs MIA
Lost 3-1 vs CLT
Philadelphia 76ers:
Tied 2-2 vs TOR
Lost 4-0 vs ATL
Won 2-1 vs ORL
Lost 2-1 vs MIA
Won 2-1 vs CLT
Atlanta Hawks:
Lost 4-0 vs TOR
Won 4-0 vs PHI
Won 4-0 vs ORL
Losing 2-1 vs MIA (4/12)
Lost 3-1 vs CLT
Toronto Raptors:
Won 4-0 vs ATL
Tied 2-2 vs PHI
Won 2-1 vs ORL
Winning 2-0 vs MIA (4/7, 4/9)
Tied 2-2 vs CLT