Hornets playoff scenarios: Breaking down Charlotte’s playoff picture

Jacob Rude
·2 min read

The start of the new-look NBA playoffs are rapidly approaching, and every game is crucial across the league as teams are battling for playoff positioning. New in 2021 is the launch of the play-in tournament, which gives four teams from each conference the chance to occupy the final two playoff slots for the first round – and means the seventh or eighth place team in the final conference standings could be sent home early.

How does the NBA’s new playoff system work, and which teams are the Hornets projected to face? We’ve got you covered. Here’s a comprehensive look at the standings, the Hornets’ remaining schedule, and their potential playoff opponents with seven games left in the regular season.

The current standings:

  • 5 – Atlanta Hawks (37-31)

  • 6 – Boston Celtics (35-31) – 1 game back

  • 7 – Miami Heat (35-31) – 1 game back

  • 8 – Charlotte Hornets (32-34) – 4 games back

  • 9 – Indiana Pacers (31-35) – 5 games back

  • 10 – Washington Wizards (31-36) – 5.5 games back

  • 11 – Chicago Bulls (27-39) – 9 games back

Games remaining in the regular season: 6

Next game: vs Magic, Friday, May 7

Remaining schedule:

  • May 9: at New Orleans (11th in East), 7 p.m. ET

  • May 11: vs Denver (4th in West), 7 p.m. ET

  • May 13: vs Los Angeles Clippers (3rd in West), 7 p.m. ET

  • May 15: at New York (4th in East), TBD

  • May 16: at Washington (10th in East), TBD

Playoff opponents if season ended today:

After once being in contention to host a playoff series, Charlotte now is focused entirely on maintaining its spot in eighth. If it can hold off the surging Wizards and slumping Pacers, it will have two chances to win one game and make the playoffs.

In that scenario, the Hornets would travel to Miami, a team the Hornets hold the series tiebreaker on, with the winner taking the seventh seed. Should they lose, they would host the winner of the Pacers-Wizards contest in a winner-take-all matchup.