Charlotte Hornets: Race to Eighth More Exciting Than First Place
By Josh Wilson
The Eastern Conference currently has an intense race to eighth place happening, and it looks like it may come down to the wire. The eighth seed is one of the most important seeds in basketball, as it’s the last seed allowed into the playoffs.
Right now, there are six teams in the race for eighth place in the East. Two of those teams will likely make the playoffs with one of them coming in at the seventh seed, which the Miami Heat currently hold.
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On any given day, it seems like the standings in the East fluctuate a ton, at least as far as the seventh and eighth seed go. One day, it looks like Indiana, Brooklyn, and Detroit are completely out of the picture, and the next they’re holding that final spots, or on the bubble of making it in.
The Charlotte Hornets fluctuate as well, and have been on track to make the playoffs, but with their recent losses, they’ve now got the ninth seed to tag onto their name.
The race is certainly exciting, but is it more exciting than some of the Hawks and Raptors games? I would say so.
For the Hawks, not much is at stake. They hold a large nine-game lead on the Raptors for first place, and most are certain the Hawks will win the East. There’s not much for them to play for, besides holding their current lead. Little is currently at stake for teams like the Hawks until the playoffs arrive.
On the other end of the East, five teams are within three games of the Miami Heat who currently hold the seventh seed in the East. Not only is the race much closer, but the sense of urgency adds an extra factor into how exciting their games are.
For instance, one of the Hornets’ most exciting games this week comes against the Brooklyn Nets, because both are in the running for that final playoff spot. Whoever wins that game could potentially have a huge advantage over the other team as the end of the season gets closer.
Right now, Charlotte is sitting at ninth place in the Eastern conference. They have a chance to take charge, especially with new scoring master Mo Williams. Williams has consistently scored around twenty points in every game that he’s been a Hornet and is proving to be one of the best moves that the Hornets went for this year.
Other players will be huge factors too, especially Bismack Biyombo, who will be making a return from injury very soon.
If they can take advantage of other teams’ poor defense in order to score more, and continue to play shut down defense themselves, there’s no doubt they’ll be able to make it into the playoffs. The question then becomes: eighth place, or seventh place?
Of course, being seeded up higher is always better, but in this case, it would be particularly important for the Hornets. The Hornets match up much better against the Toronto Raptors (who they’d be playing if they were in seventh and the playoffs ended today), than the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks are a dangerous team right now, and show that they’re close to unbeatable.
The Hornets were able to beat both the Hawks and the Raptors earlier this season.
Although Charlotte may not be in the biggest market and their games may not be nationally televised, their games, as well as the six other teams battling to make it it into the playoffs, all show excitement due to what’s at stake, and the sense of urgency that their games carry.
You don’t always have to be a top five team to play captivating basketball.
Next: Hornets' Work Week Leads up to Raptors
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