The Charlotte Hornets have absolutely surged to end the first half of the NBA season. They have won 10 of their last 11 and 13 of their last 17. They got off to a slow start, but they’re now just three games under .500 and in the Play-In range.
If the season were to end today, they’d host the 9-10 matchup between themselves and the Atlanta Hawks. The season doesn’t end today, though. It ends in a couple of months. Where will the Hornets be then? ESPN BPI might have some insights.
What ESPN BPI reveals about a potential Hornets postseason
Charlotte Hornets head coach Charles Lee huddles his team during an official review | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images
The Charlotte Hornets have forced their way into the postseason conversation with a scorching hot streak. They’ve risen to ninth, which is roughly, unfortunately, where they’re expected to stay the rest of the season.
BPI’s seed projection has them 8.8, which rounds to the nine seed. The Miami Heat are the eight-best seed ranking per BPI in the Eastern Conference, and their projection is 7.3, so there’s a bit of a gap between the two.
BPI loves their chances of making the Play-In, though. The Hornets have an 85.3% chance of making it, which is third-best in the NBA and the best in the Eastern Conference. They’re a virtual lock, according to BPI.
Their chances of making the top six are 5.8%, which essentially gives them no shot at all to avoid the Play-In. What about making it out of the Play-In Tournament and into the playoffs? BPI gives them a 37.5% chance.
This is likely due to a few factors. The Hornets’ current level of play is unsustainable. They’re not going to win 90% of the rest of their games. They are not, admittedly, that good of a basketball team.
Additionally, they got off to a rough start. Had they been healthy from the jump, this team likely would be firmly in the top six in the East or at least a few games above .500. Brandon Miller’s absence has hurt the most, but when he plays, they’re 23-15.
That’s roughly a 60% win rate, which would have them 33-22. That’d be fifth in the East. So, because of their slow start and the unsustainable nature of this hot streak, there’s not a lot of reason to believe they’ll just keep skyrocketing up the standings.
BPI also projects them to finish 40-42, which makes sense. They’ve surged to being right around .500 now, and while they’re sure to taper off, they have done enough to make sure they continue to hover around that win percentage.
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