Swarm and Sting
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Charlotte Hornets Are Down but Not Out

By Jerry Stephens

Apr 4, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Nicolas Batum (5) reacts to being called for a foul against the Washington Wizards in the third quarter at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 118-111. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 4, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Nicolas Batum (5) reacts to being called for a foul against the Washington Wizards in the third quarter at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 118-111. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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After the Charlotte Hornets recent loss to the Wizards, their playoff hopes are fading but they still have a chance to get in with only a few games left.

With only four games left in the 2016-17 regular season, the Charlotte Hornets playoff chances are down only 9%. (FiveThirtyEight.com) That’s down from the 20.6% odds that they had before suffering a setback to the Washington Wizards in their last outing. The team may be down but they are far from out.

Even though the Hornets are currently the 10th seed, they are still only two games back of the Indiana Pacers and the Chicago Bulls for the eighth/seventh spot as they both have the same record. They would still have to leapfrog the Miami Heat who are a game and a half ahead of Charlotte. Although with one of their final four games coming against the Heat, Steve Clifford’s side has a chance to gain some serious ground on Miami.

The Eastern Conference playoff race will go down to the wire. It could possibly go down to the results of games on the final day of the season. Looking at the standings, four teams are battling it out for the final two postseason spots in the East and even though Charlotte has the lowest odds of them all, they are the one team trending upwards.

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The Hornets have a 7-3 record in their last 10 games which is a better record than any of the other three contenders. (Bulls 6-4, Pacers 3-7, Heat 5-5) As you can see, Indiana’s free falling while Chicago and Miami are barely treading .500. While Charlotte has momentum on their side, time is not.

With only four games left in the season, the Hornets likely need to win out to have any chance at making the playoffs. And even then, they will need the teams in front of them to help out by losing a few games of their own.

The other problem the Hornets have is their schedule. Each of their remaining opponents is either in the playoffs already or in the race for a final spot. Charlotte will close out the season by taking on the Heat, the currently #1 seeded Boston Celtics (0-3 against this year), the Milwaukee Bucks and the Atlanta Hawks. That is not an easy finish to the season but this was always going to be an uphill battle for the team from the Queen City.

Next: 2019 All-Star Game in Charlotte?

Even though their chances of bleak, there is still a glimmer of hope for the Charlotte Hornets. It is late in the year but still too early to count this team out. Their postseason lives remain alive but it is far from their control. All they can do is win out and hope that everything falls into place around them.

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