Dream, Realistic, Nightmare Scenarios for Final 27 Charlotte Hornets Games

The Charlotte Hornets started out cold and injured, but they have since really heated up. A nine-game win streak and winning 10 of 11 will do that. Now, they're in the Play-In Tournament range and could sneak a top-six seed.

The rest of the season can really go one of three ways: a dream route, a nightmare route, and the realistic third option.

Dream scenario for Hornets

Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges (0) dunks past Atlanta Hawks forward Corey Kispert | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Hornets have only lost twice with the starting lineup of LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel, Miles Bridges, and Moussa Diabaté. That rate is pretty unsustainable, but what if they mostly kept up the pace?

They won't have that lineup for three games, so the Hornets could have that five-man unit for the final 24 contests. A dream scenario would be going something like 17-7 in those games, which is a step down from the pace but still really good.

That would put them, even if they lose all three without Diabaté and Bridges, at 43-39, which would be a really good record. That might be enough to sneak into the playoffs as the sixth seed, but they will at least get two cracks in the Play-In Tournament in all likelihood.

Nightmare scenario

At this point, it's hard to see things going awry. This core looks legitimate, and they've even shown the ability to handle when outer players are missing. The only thing that could derail them now is an injury, which, unfortunately, would not be the most shocking thing.

LaMelo Ball could sprain his ankle again and miss 10 games. Brandon Miller's shoulder could act up, and he could miss 10 games. If that happens, it's very possible that the Hornets free-fall and miss the Play-In entirely.

Realistic scenario

The reality is somewhere in the middle. The Hornets aren't going to continue beating almost every team they play, but they will beat a good portion of them. They should hover a little over .500 for the remaining 27 games, which puts them in contention to finish around .500.

Winning 40 games is definitely possible, and it would put them near a .500 record for the first time in about a decade. That would also probably keep them firmly in the Play-In range, which is crucial. This team needs to have some sort of postseason experience.

Maybe they won't win and make it to the playoffs, but getting that experience as a unit since only Bridges and Ball have even played (and been blown out) in those games would be vital for their growth as a team.

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