The home stretch of the NBA season always carries suspense.
On one side, it exposes teams that can’t deny tanking allegations, while on the other, fans of contenders are locked in for a potential run to the NBA Finals.
The Eastern Conference is seemingly a four-team race among the top-seeded Pistons, Celtics, Knicks, and Cavaliers.
Entering Thursday, the Celtics were favored (+260, BetMGM) to win the conference, as oddsmakers have shifted their focus toward Boston with Jayson Tatum’s return imminent.
Right behind them are the new-look Cavs at +300, who added James Harden at the trade deadline to pair with Donovan Mitchell.
Cade Cunningham and the Pistons’ virtuoso turnaround have them at +375, while the Knicks have the longest odds within the top bunch at +400 to take the East.
Aside from the mainline contenders, the East Play-In portion of the standings, also known as the Miami Heat Invitational, pits seeds 7 through 10 against each other, with the winners earning seeds 7 and 8.
Apart from Erik Spoelstra’s squad, there are three emerging young teams in their division eager to secure a playoff berth.
This point of the season was typically hapless for Charlotte. The Southeast division team has not clinched a playoff berth since 2016.
It’s been a tale of unfortunate outcomes, as the Hornets lost in the Play-In as the 10-seed in both 2021 and 2022.
With just about 20 games remaining in the regular-season, things are a little bit different in Buzz City.
LaMelo Ball remains the cornerstone; his precision passing and incredible shotmaking are on par with what some guys do at LA Fitness pickup runs. Unorthodox yet flashy, Ball has all the attributes of a perennial All-Star.
The 6-foot-7 guard averages about 7.4 assists per game entering Thursday, but it’s his running mates, Brandon Miller and sharpshooting rookie Kon Knueppel, who have raised the Hornets’ once leaky ceiling.
Miller’s smooth scoring and defensive prowess have taken the third-year leap. As of Thursday, he is averaging 20.9 points per game.
Meanwhile, Knueppel’s unreal rookie campaign was stamped on Feb. 26, when he broke the NBA record for most 3-pointers by a first-year player in a single season.
After suffering a 94-87 loss to Cleveland on Jan. 21, the Hornets fell 12 games below .500 with a 16-28 record. With another disappointing season looming, head coach Charles Lee made a few rotation changes that ultimately made a difference.
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The Hornets then went on to win nine straight games, the second-longest winning streak in franchise history and the organization’s longest since April 1999.
During this stretch, they outplayed the likes of contenders (Spurs, Rockets) as well as the Heat and Magic, two teams they’ll likely see in the Play-In. That is, if they don’t secure a spot in the top six.
The Hornets entered Wednesday at 31-31, 2.5 games south of the sixth seed.
If the Hornets are Play-In bound, they have three wins against the Hawks and two over the Magic, but have yet to defeat the Heat. However, Charlotte has two more chances to do so, with a pair of home games scheduled against Miami this month.
The young core of Ball, Miller, and Knueppel is shifting the culture, and I believe this trio will lead Charlotte to its first playoff berth in a decade.
The Play: Hornets to make playoffs (-200, BetMGM)
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Mike Turay is a sports journalist and editor who closely follows the NBA, NFL, college sports and UFC. He has demonstrated expertise in both NBA and NFL player prop bets for nearly three years. Mike is also highly knowledgeable about the sportsbook offer landscape, frequently trying and reviewing the latest apps and sites.
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