LAST 3 GAMES

- @ Miami Heat: L, 75-93

- vs. Philadelphia 76ers: L, 114-118

- vs. Minnesota Timberwolves: W, 113-106

Charlotte only has 11 more games left in the regular season and are currently sitting at 10th place in the Eastern Conference, 2.5 games behind the 8th place Miami Heat. With only 4 more games at home for the Hornets, it will be extremely difficult for them to make the playoffs at this point. Charlotte is simply bad on the road and I just do not have much confidence in this team to turn their play around in the next three weeks. Many people thought this Charlotte team was a playoff lock, but I had my doubts early in the season. Kemba Walker simply cannot be the only volume scoring option for them to be successful. Their game against the Heat last Sunday was basically a must-win situation and they played horribly. They were never technically out of the game against the Sixers, but they could not hang with them and it was pretty obvious. They beat the Timberwolves, but they didn’t look particularly impressive. If they make the playoffs, which is a big if at the moment, they just don’t have the team to make any noise. It really is a shame, because it seems like Charlotte is in this situation every year. Good enough to be a bad lottery pick, but bad enough to miss the playoffs has been the Hornets destiny for the past few years and I think I can speak for Hornets fans and say this is getting really old. The upcoming slate of games is one of the toughest tests that the Hornets will face all year.

NEXT 4 GAMES

- vs. Boston Celtics (43-29): Saturday, March 23rd at 6pm

- @ Toronto Raptors (51-22): Sunday, March 24th at 6pm

- vs. San Antonio Spurs (42-31): Tuesday, March 26th at 7pm

- @ Los Angeles Lakers (31-41): Friday, March 29th at 10:30pm

Tonight, the Hornets are squaring off with the Boston Celtics in the Spectrum Center. The Celtics haven’t locked in a playoff spot yet, but they can with a win against Charlotte. Boston will be without the services of Aron Baynes, Gordon Hayward, and Al Horford as they are all injured. The Hornets should capitalize on the fact that two of their big men aren’t going to be on the court. The Celtics can be a team that can make a little noise in the Eastern Conference. If the same seeding stays, which it looks pretty secure at the moment, they will be taking on the Pacers in the first round of the playoffs. I think that is a series they can easily win and if they have a healthy squad, they realistically could run the table. This is a game the Hornets could reasonably win tonight and this will be the fourth meeting between the two teams this season. The Celtics are leading the season series 2-1, so hopefully the Hornets can even it out at home. This is also the last giveaway night of the season, so make sure to get your tickets for this game.

Credit: https://www.nba.com/hornets/giveawayschedule

Tomorrow night, the Hornets will cross the border to face the 2nd place Raptors. This will likely be the toughest contest of the week for Charlotte as the Raptors are in a heated battle with the Bucks for home court advantage in Eastern Conference playoff games. The two teams have met only once this year and the Raptors won that one at home back in October. After this meeting on Sunday night, they will face each other one more time in a couple weeks. Every game for Charlotte is a must-win situation from here on out, and they should be locked into playoff mode if they want to make it.

Next the Hornets are taking on the San Antonio Spurs at home and I think this is one that they can and should win. The Spurs are currently in 8th place in the West and it looks like it is pretty safe to say that they will be in the playoffs. San Antonio has an 8-2 record in their last 10 games, but something that stands out to me is their poor play on the road. For the Hornets to win, they obviously need to take advantage of this. The Spurs are 13-23 away from home on the season. They are an efficient team, but they are not unbeatable. Back in January, the Hornets won in their matchup on the road, so hopefully they can sweep the season series on Tuesday night.

The last game of the slate takes the Hornets to Los Angeles to face LeBron James and his LA Lakers. The Lakers have played some horrible basketball as of late, going 1-9 in their last 10. The Lakers aren’t going to make the Playoffs this year and it will be the first time since 2005 that a team led by LeBron will miss the Postseason. Although LeBron will likely play, this is a very winnable game for Charlotte. The Lakers are in tank mode and should not be a big threat, even though they are at home. The Hornets will be doing a lot of back and forth travelling in the next week, but if they remain focused, they should have a good week.

Yacs

Charlotte Hornets Report: Week of March 23rd - 29th