By Sam Perley, hornets.com
There are 78 regular season games of the 2015-16 NBA campaign in the books and the Charlotte Hornets are on the cusp of making their second playoff appearance in three years, which was solidified following a loss by the Chicago Bulls late last week. Although the franchise’s playoff success has been relatively limited over the last 15 years, the Hornets look ready to make a run following one of their most successful seasons in recent memory.
Prior to this year, Charlotte had made just two trips to the playoffs since NBA basketball returned to the city at the start of the 2004-05 NBA campaign. It’s 2010 appearance ended in a sweep at the hands of Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic while a return trip four years later also ended without a win against LeBron James and the eventual Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat.
To find the last time a “Hornets” team made the postseason for Charlotte, you’d have to go all the way back to 2002 when a 4-1 series loss to the New Jersey Nets in the Eastern Conference Semifinals unceremoniously ended the franchise’s original stay in the city before relocating to New Orleans.
The organization’s furthest trip into the playoffs would take place one year earlier, also ending in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Charlotte battled back from an 0-2 series deficit to win three-consecutive games against the Milwaukee Bucks and was on the verge of its first Eastern Conference Finals ever. Unfortunately, the Bucks would rally from a 12-point second-half deficit to win Game 6 and eventually the series in seven games.
Following a home win over Philadelphia on April 1 that put the current Hornets on the brink of the postseason, Charlotte head coach Steve Clifford spoke after the game on what this accomplishment means to the team.
“To me, the biggest goal is to make the playoffs. It’s what we talked about the first day. [You want] to make the playoffs and be playing in a manner where you can be a factor,” said Clifford. “If we have a chance to get a higher seed that’s great but the priority will be how we’re playing. That’s the thing that’s more important than anything.”
A higher seed, specifically one within the top four of the Eastern Conference, would insure the Hornets home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs and guarantee at the most four of the seven games would be played in Charlotte. The Hornets currently own the third-best home record in the East at 28-11 although would need to pass Atlanta, Boston and/or Miami in the final four games, none of which they presently own playoff tiebreakers against.
While some of the younger players on the team don’t have many playoff games under their belts, a handful of veteran Hornets do have experience going through the process. Courtney Lee (43), Marvin Williams (42), Tyler Hansbrough (42), Nicolas Batum (34) and Spencer Hawes (26) are amongst the team leaders in career playoff games on the Charlotte roster. For many Hornets players, like Hawes, simply getting there isn’t enough.
“We’ve had a lot of guys that have been there and been in situations like that before. Maybe for some of us at the beginning of the year, the goal was to make the playoffs. We knew we had a good enough team but you want to start looking at the bigger picture. [Coach Clifford] talks about trying to have an impact and not just being satisfied with getting there,” said Hawes during an interview with Hornets radio broadcaster, Steve Martin, earlier this week in Toronto.
This mindset Hawes is alluding to certainly signifies a continued change in culture within the organization, one that hopefully brings increased expectations on a yearly basis. While Charlotte’s most recent postseason appearance was just two short years ago, its seems much further back based on how much the team has changed and grown over this time period. Regardless of the ultimate outcome, the Hornets’ upcoming first-round playoff appearance certainly has the makings of being one of the most memorable in franchise history.
Key Matchup vs. Nets: Courtney Lee vs. Sean Kilpatrick
Look for the Hornets to utilize Courtney Lee as their primary defensive stopper when they welcome Sean Kilpatrick and the Brooklyn Nets to Charlotte for a Friday night matchup… Lee continues to be a steady force in the purple and teal with averages of 9.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.6 steals over his last five games for the Hornets… Charlotte’s starting shooting guard will look to keep things going against one of the NBA’s biggest surprises this season in Brooklyn’s Sean Kilpatrick… Despite going unselected in the 2014 NBA Draft, Kilpatrick seems to have finally found a home with the Nets as the former Cincinnati Bearcat has posted double-figure scoring performances in all but two of his 18 games this season for Brooklyn… With the Nets in full shutdown mode right now, Lee should see plenty of Kilpatrick when these two teams collide in Charlotte for the fourth and final time this season on Friday night.
Key Matchup vs. Wizards: Marvin Williams vs. Markieff Morris
Marvin Williams and the Hornets will kick off their final regular-season road trip of the year with a battle against Markieff Morris and the division-rival Washington Wizards on Sunday afternoon… Williams has been sensational over his last three games for Charlotte, posting averages of 16.7 points on 51.5 percent shooting, 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.7 steals in what continues to be a resurgent year for the former Tar Heel… The veteran forward will likely spend most of his time guarding Markieff Morris, who was acquired by Washington at the NBA trade deadline in February… A prototypical stretch-four, Morris is averaging 15.2 points on 44.8 percent shooting along with 7.2 rebounds over his last five games for the Wizards, who are currently clinging to their playoff lives… Williams’ ability to fluster the temperamental Morris and throw him off his game could be the key to Charlotte picking up a road win in Washington on Sunday.
Key Matchup vs. Celtics: Kemba Walker vs. Isaiah Thomas
Two of the best point guards in the Eastern Conference will square off Monday night in Boston when Kemba Walker and the Hornets take on Isaiah Thomas and the Celtics… Walker bounced back from a couple of rough outings with a huge 34-point game against the Knicks on April 6, which also included a career-high seven made three-pointers in the Charlotte victory… The Hornets leading-scorer will have his hands full trying to stop Boston’s Isaiah Thomas, who continues to prove his first career All-Star nomination this season was no fluke… The last pick of the 2011 NBA Draft has been on an impressive run lately for the Celtics, tallying 20-or-more points in all 17 games he’s played since the start of March… Although the season series is out of reach for Charlotte, Walker and the Hornets still have a chance to pass Thomas and the Celtics in the tightly-packed Eastern Conference standings when they meet at TD Garden on Monday night.