With the Charlotte Hornets sitting in the 8th spot in the Eastern Conference right now, they’re currently slated to be in the play-in tournament at the end of the season to get a possible 7th seed. Let’s take a look at some potential opponents that the Hornets could face, assuming they get into the postseason.
Brooklyn Nets
Series: Nets won 2-1
The Hornets actually match up well against the Nets, including a couple of Terry Rozier highlight dunks in this series. They won the first game by two points in Charlotte, but did suffer double digit losses in Brooklyn. The difference is the Hornets win came in the third game of the season as Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were building chemistry, and they have not played the Nets with their fully-loaded lineup including James Harden and were actually beat by role players (Jeff Green in the second game, Joe Harris in the third).
Should Harden be healthy and in the lineup, the key for the Hornets is making sure that the role players do not do damage, and put it on the shoulders of the Brooklyn Big 3. Also the other key will be taking care of the ball, which was the detriment in the second game along with making shots, and perimeter defense. If these things can happen, then the Hornets have chance. However, that chance is pretty slim.