The NBA regular season is drawing to a close. The Charlotte Hornets are entering the final week with a 40-38 record – tied with the Brooklyn Nets in 9th place. Charlotte owns the tiebreaker with Brooklyn, so the Hornets are currently the 9th playoff seed. Charlotte is only a game behind the Atlanta Hawks, who are currently the 8th seed. Will the Hornets be able to catch Atlanta and move up to the 8th seed, needing to only win one play-in tournament game to advance to the playoffs? Let’s look at their remaining schedule:
* Tuesday at Miami
* Thursday home vs Orlando
* Friday at Chicago
* Sunday home against Washington
To compare the Hawks have to play at Toronto, home against Washington, at Miami, and at Houston
Realistically, for the Hornets to get to the 8th seed they would have to win three out of their last four games, and need the Hawks to go 2-2 over that stretch. If the Hawks and Hornets finish with the same record, Charlotte would currently own the tiebreaker over Atlanta. The teams split the season series 2-2, but Charlotte has a better record within the conference which would give them the edge in seeding.
Buckle up there’s still a lot to be decided with a week to go.