The NBA regular season is now practically over. The Charlotte Hornets, once 4-14, have clawed their way into the 9/10 play-in game.
Yet, it still feels a bit underwhelming, right? This team has been BUZZING since late December, an unreal tear. They finished their final 43 games with a record of 30-13.
If the Hornets played 82 games at that level, they’d have won 57 games. I think we take for granted how absurd of a run that is, especially from a team expected to be in the better-half of the draft lottery.
And yet, we’re still underwhelmed.
Maybe not in the sense that Charlotte has made the play-in bracket, but more-so that they weren’t able to claw above the 9/10 game prior to the end of the regular season. It’s their third time in that specific game, and they were blown out in the prior two instances.
There’s a feeling of circumstances working against Charlotte, as well. The last time Charlotte was in the play-in bracket, they were the 10 seed with 43 wins. In a normal season, that win total would usually be good enough for the 7 or 8 seed.
But every time Charlotte has a winning record, it seems as though the middle class of the Eastern Conference becomes a gauntlet.
There’s kind of a funny tragedy in that.
Still, this is one of the best Hornets teams I’ve had the pleasure of watching - regardless of how the play-in shakes out.
But through all the doom-and-gloom, through the missed opportunities late in the season, through the fleeting playoff odds of the ill-fated 9/10 play-in matchup, I can’t help but think:
Wow. It’s mid-April and the Hornets still control their own destiny.
Don’t get me wrong, the odds aren’t great. Charlotte would have tripled their odds of making the postseason had they gotten to the 7/8 play-in game. But I still can’t help but feel that the Hornets are the best team that will be playing in the bracket - in spite of prior losses to the Heat, who hold such a unique place in Charlotte Hornets lore.
In some ways, I think having an uphill battle could prove to be a good thing. If Charlotte is truly worthy of a playoff spot, it won’t matter who they have to play to get there.
I think the recent games against the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons have put a damper on expectations for Charlotte, but if anything, I think it could make climbing the two-game play-in mountain that much sweeter.
That’s not to say I prefer things this way. If given the chance to trade records with the Orlando Magic or Philadelphia 76ers, I’d do so in a heartbeat.
But my point here is this: The Charlotte Hornets have an opportunity to make an already-memorable season that much greater. The story is still being written.
I think this team is still on the precipice of arriving. The latter half of this season is proof of that. But that final arrival has not taken place yet.
But it could next week.
For a team that has not made the playoffs in the near-decade that I’ve been covering the team, I’m choosing to remain optimistic.