Hornets Playoff Watch

[JDR720]

Toronto will win their division, so they get an automatic top 4 seed. I think our absolute ceiling is the 6th seed, which is very unlikely IMO with Indy playing so well. No way do we catch Washington or Bulls, they have too big a lead.

[Liver_Pooty]

Pacers down 10 to Raptors in 4th

[Liver_Pooty]

We just went from the 8 seed to the 10th pick in the draft in a 3 hour period.

This is ridiculous.

[JDR720]

This season has been crazy and not in a good way, I almost cant wait until its over.

[BlackOutBuzz]

http://www.tankathon.com

I'm so conflicted.

[JDR720]

got it on my 6th try

I still dont know what I want to do but I have been leaning towards the lottery for a while.

[Liver_Pooty]

http://www.tankathon.com

I'm so conflicted.

You and me both.

[Liver_Pooty]

If we could make the playoffs and still draft Devin Booker that'd be ideal in my opinion.

[-Ian-]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/HPbasketball/status/577660892524904448[/tweet]

[W_HAMILTON]

We're still tied for 7th place in the loss column......

[BeesWax]

I am about 50/50 at this point. If we make it fine and if we don't no big deal.

[W_HAMILTON]

I'd rather make the playoffs. What difference does it make, adding a no-name rookie with the 10th pick or adding a no-name rookie with the 15th pick? Either way, they are going to be firmly planted on our bench, stuck in the logjam that includes our two first rounders this year that we never play.

[BeesWax]

I think some of that would depend on if we still had the same coach or not. Also how ready a guy is to play when we draft him would make a difference. If we got Booker or WCS I think they would play sooner rather than later.

[yosemiteben]

The Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets, Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat are all tied with 36 losses, and they all have relatively tough schedules remaining.

None of the four have more home games than road games remaining.

The Hornets play more losing teams than winning teams, but also have the most back-to-backs remaining in the league, starting with Tuesday’s visit to the Clippers after Monday’s drubbing in Utah.

The Pacers and Celtics have the most momentum of the group, but also have the toughest remaining schedules. Both Boston (3-2) and Indiana (4-2) do have winning records since the All-Star break against teams with winning records, though.

The most home games remaining should be an opportunity for Brooklyn to get back in that 7-10 mix, but the Nets are a league-worst 3-11 at home in 2015.

Don’t hand the Cleveland Cavaliers the No. 2 seed just yet. The Toronto Raptors are only a game behind in the loss column, play 12 of their final 15 games against teams under .500, and are 25-7 against that group so far.

An easier remaining schedule should give the Chicago Bulls an edge over the Washington Wizards in the race for the No. 4 seed (and home-court advantage in a first-round matchup). They’re currently tied in the loss column, with Chicago holding the tiebreaker edge (better conference record, with a 2-2 tie in head-to-head meetings).

Source

[Eoghan]

I'd rather make the playoffs. What difference does it make, adding a no-name rookie with the 10th pick or adding a no-name rookie with the 15th pick? Either way, they are going to be firmly planted on our bench, stuck in the logjam that includes our two first rounders this year that we never play.

Hope, as in we actually luck into a good player. It's practically certain that we will get embarassed in the playoffs thanks to opponent, inept coaching, and injuries. A good pick makes the team better and missing the playoffs might get Clifford fired.

[JDR720]

Not sure if it matters, but our Hollinger playoff odds are 26.7%

this is how it works

The idea is to predict what a team's odds are of making the playoffs, winning the division, making the Finals, etc., by simulating all the remaining games in the NBA season. We have a computer at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Conn., that automatically plays out the rest of the season every night -- not once, but 5,000 times. And we can see from those 5,000 trials how many times a certain outcome resulted, then assign a probability from it. For example, if the Blazers make the playoffs in 2,500 of our trials, we say their odds of making the playoffs are 2,500 divided by 5,000, or 50 percent.

This tool doesn't just play out the regular season, though -- it plays out the postseason with seedings and even runs the draft lottery. As a result, we can get an idea of the probability of all sorts of outcomes; the most prominent is the team's median record from the 5,000 trials. As a reminder, this tool is completely, 100 percent automated, so my obvious, long-standing bias against your favorite team is not a factor here.

As always, the output of a product is only as good as its input, so let's explain a little about how this is derived. The computer starts with the day's Hollinger Power Rankings. Then, in each of the 5,000 times it replays the season, it makes a random adjustment up or down to allow for the possibility that a team will play better or worse than it has done thus far. (I call this the Anti-Dennis Green Postulate; i.e., maybe they aren't who we thought they were.)

Additionally, the results regress to the mean. This is more important early in the season, and what it essentially means is that even though a team might start 10-0, it's not necessarily bound to go 82-0. The effect of this will reduce sharply after the first quarter of the season or so, but in the early going of most seasons, it's necessary to prevent us from projecting 77-win seasons and the like.

[JDR720]

I'd rather make the playoffs. What difference does it make, adding a no-name rookie with the 10th pick or adding a no-name rookie with the 15th pick? Either way, they are going to be firmly planted on our bench, stuck in the logjam that includes our two first rounders this year that we never play.

the draft is all about the future, chances are no rookie will play much next season. the 10th pick should be a better prospect than the 15th pick and at the 10th pick we could move up in the draft (or down )

currently the 10th pick (according to draftexpress) is Frank Kaminsky.......oh gawd....Frank Kaminsky.......the cho guy....so its basically Frank Kaminsky vs Not Frank Kaminsky. who knows really

[LamarMatic7]

Seems like we just have to find a way to go 2-2 on this trip. Losing at Sacramento or Minny is a no-no at this point.

[Liver_Pooty]

I'd rather make the playoffs. What difference does it make, adding a no-name rookie with the 10th pick or adding a no-name rookie with the 15th pick? Either way, they are going to be firmly planted on our bench, stuck in the logjam that includes our two first rounders this year that we never play.

the draft is all about the future, chances are no rookie will play much next season. the 10th pick should be a better prospect than the 15th pick and at the 10th pick we could move up in the draft (or down )

currently the 10th pick (according to draftexpress) is Frank Kaminsky.......oh gawd....Frank Kaminsky.......the cho guy....so its basically Frank Kaminsky vs Not Frank Kaminsky. who knows really

Meh, Kaminsky isn't really a Cho type guy at all unless he has this great athleticism that he has been unable to display in 4 years at Wisconsin.

[yosemiteben]

We pull off a miracle and win tonight and there will be four teams at 30 - 36 in the East. MIL loses tonight (they're down now to a desperate NOP team) and they'll be 34 - 33.