There was something in the air heading into a Friday night matchup between the Charlotte Hornets and Orlando Magic.
That something was different for both teams. For Charlotte, they were on the verge of their first postseason appearance since the 2015-16 season. A decade without playoff basketball, the longest drought in the entire sport.
The Hornets have put together a magical season and have been 31-13 since January 10th. Their starting five has been historically dominant this season, and they had the league’s number one (Kon Knueppel) and number two (LaMelo Ball) players in total three-pointers made.
After a thrilling win at the Spectrum Center on Tuesday night, the Hornets were set to face off with the loser of the seven versus eight game between the Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic.
Orlando was nothing short of disappointed, not only losing to Philadelphia, but questions began to swirl around their franchise player in Paolo Banchero, rumors were circulating that their head coach, Jamahl Mosley, was on the way out, and the vibes could not have been lower for a team that showed so much promise over the previous few seasons.
The vibes were down for the home team, and at an all-time high for the visitor in a winner-takes-all matchup for a right to play the one-seeded Detroit Pistons. What could possibly go wrong?
From the opening tip, the Magic brought an energy that the Hornets were unable to match. They were bullying their way in the paint, forcing Hornets turnovers, and completely shifting the narrative around both squads in a single half.
The Hornets stared down a 35 point hole in the first-half, their star player in LaMelo Ball had just two points, they shot 13-41 as a team (6-21 3PT), recorded 11 turnovers, and shot ten less free throws than their opponent.
Despite showing life and putting together a competitive start to the third quarter, Charlotte dug itself too deep a hole to climb out of. Orlando was getting whatever they wanted on the offensive side, taking care of business on the defensive side, and it never allowed the Hornets to cut the lead to under 20 in the entire second half.
At the end, a Magic team, which 48 hours prior looked dead in the water, lived up to their name, and would be headed to Detroit for the postseason. Meanwhile, the Hornets were starting to look at ride times for Space Mountain, just a twenty-minute drive away, as they would miss the postseason for the tenth straight season.
It was a season to remember for the entire organization and city, one that shows things are just getting underway. From a dominant end to the season, the growth of Charles Lee and his roster, and the outpouring of fans each game, Hornets basketball is back in full swing.
“Things definitely shifted,” forward Miles Bridges said in his exit interviews on Saturday. “Not only the fans believing in us, but we’re believing in ourselves. It was a different tone and belief for us.”
“The last two years,” wing Josh Green said, “the culture has grown tremendously. This is a great place to be and a great place to play.”
Charlotte has the players backing them. It’s been like this since the preseason, with players who were told that making the roster was a long shot even speaking highly of the organization. Prior to the season, wing Pat Connaughton was told by President of Basketball Operations Jeff Peterson that it would be unlikely he would make the roster.
Pat knew this, but still spoke highly of the organization on media day.
“It starts with your daily habits. At the end of the day, if we can look at each other and say, ‘Hey, we have each other’s backs’, we’re embracing the adversity on a day-by-day, week-by-week, month-by-month basis, and we are competing consistently, we’re gonna be a team that goes out there that the city of Charlotte can be proud to represent, and we’ll be representing them no matter where we are across the year within the league.”
Connaughton ended up making the roster and was a fantastic leader all year for this new, young Hornets squad. While he is sitting on a two-year deal, the team does have a club option on him, although it seems unlikely that the team will let him walk.
The ninety-degree weather in Orlando eventually grew cold for Charlotte, but the heat that was generated over the past several months is not going away yet. The trip across the stars on Space Mountain may be disappointing today, but the flight back to the Queen City carries more hope than this franchise and fanbase have seen in a generation.
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