Time to nut up and finish this season out strong

[RelaxImaPro]

So I came across this graph over on the NBA section of reddit...

 

 

Just for convenience sake I labeled the separation of East and West, and highlighted where we were at in the East standings.  As you can see, we're doing pretty damn good in relation to the rest of our conference... and 3 teams that are ahead of us have been on a bit of a free-fall.

 

We did ourselves no favor at all by starting out as terrible as we did at the beginning of the season, but we slowly clawed our way back... I know the last loss was discouraging, but if we can keep it up, we're in a really good position to make the playoffs despite the cutthroat race to the finish for the 7th and 8th seed.  If this pace holds up, who knows where the Bucks, Wizards, and Raptors end up in the standings?

 

Here's the overall rankings

 

 

Even including the stacked Western Conference, we've been the 10th best team in the league over this stretch.  Who knows what we look like when Kemba gets back?  Barring an unfortunate matchup against Cleveland in the 1st round, we could realistically make it to the 2nd round this year... which would be a huge step forward for this franchise.

[cbarrier90]

I don't want to be that guy, but at this point I think our best shot is only the 8th seed, which I wouldn't be opposed to since we avoid LeBron, but we aren't making it to the second round until we start finishing in the top four.

[CarolinaPanthers8789]

I'm a big fan of advanced statistics so I figured I'd share this.

Milwaukee' projected final record is 43-39, so if the Hornets wanted the 6th seed they would need to finial out the season on a 15-5 run. If they want to have a positive record, they would need to finish on a 14-6 run.

However, what we don't want to do is get stuck in no mans land and end up with the 7th seed and have to face a streaking Cavs team who is all but locked in to that #2 spot.

Here goes nothing...

[cbarrier90]

I'm a big fan of advanced statistics so I figured I'd share this.

Milwaukee' projected final record is 43-39, so if the Hornets wanted the 6th seed they would need to finial out the season on a 15-5 run. If they want to have a positive record, they would need to finish on a 14-6 run.

However, what we don't want to do is get stuck in no mans land and end up with the 7th seed and have to face a streaking Cavs team who is all but locked in to that #2 spot.

Here goes nothing...

The problem is nobody has mentioned Indiana who has been red hot and might have Paul George coming back.

We have been playing well enough to get in relative to the free falling Pistons and Nets but with the quality of our opponents and not to mention the sheer number of games we have to cram into a short amount of time I don't think a 15-5 tear is realistic.

[CarolinaPanthers8789]

The problem is nobody has mentioned Indiana who has been red hot and might have Paul George coming back.

We have been playing well enough to get in relative to the free falling Pistons and Nets but with the quality of our opponents and not to mention the sheer number of games we have to cram into a short amount of time I don't think a 15-5 tear is realistic.

Keep in mind that Indiana would have to essentially go on the same tear (i.e. 15-5) to get the sixth seed.

Personally, I think we're locked into the 8th seed unless we struggle down the stretch and Miami completely knocks us out.

[cbarrier90]

Personally, I think we're locked into the 8th seed unless we struggle down the stretch and Miami completely knocks us out.

Judging by his recent antics Whiteside might literally do that.

[CarolinaPanthers8789]

Judging by his recent antics Whiteside might literally do that.

That dudes a goon. I'm also unsure how a guy from the Charlotte area completely went unnoticed by our scouting department.

[cbarrier90]

That dudes a goon. I'm also unsure how a guy from the Charlotte area completely went unnoticed by our scouting department.

#HigginsMagic

Also he wasn't very good in college despite his hype when he went to Marshall.

[Kakarot]

Best to stay in the 8th seed, and take your chances with ATL.  Cleveland would beat the Hornets in 5, and the Hornets aren't getting higher than 7th. 

[CarolinaPanthers8789]

Best to stay in the 8th seed, and take your chances with ATL. Cleveland would beat the Hornets in 5, and the Hornets aren't getting higher than 7th.

Cleveland might beat us in 4.

They've woodshedded us in both matchups this year.

[RelaxImaPro]

Cleveland might beat us in 4.

They've woodshedded us in both matchups this year.

 

Yeah I'm about ready to say, all things equal, when they're "on" they're the best team in the league.  But I guess that could usually be said for any LeBron team.

 

Jesus Christ they absolutely slaughtered the Mavs last night.  Scary thing was it just looked completely routine for them.  LeBron was playing a glorified 6th man role with the way he kept coming off the bench in short bursts... but he was so effective in those short bursts it absolutely destroyed Dallas.

[Kakarot]

Yea, they should avoid Cleveland at all costs. Need to try to stay in the 8th spot. Probably will still lose in a series to Atlanta, but our chances are better against them.

[bLACKpANTHER]

i just hope we make the playoffs.. after last night, my confidence fell 10x

 

waiting on the news concerning Big Al...........

[†William Moore†]

I don't know how the Hawks are in a freefall