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The Charlotte Hornets have clinched a playoff berth for the 10th time in franchise history, and the third time since Charlotte regained an NBA team in 2004.
It'll be the Hornets 10th NBA playoff berth in team history, joining 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2010 and 2014
— Richard Walker (@JRWalk22) April 3, 2016
After last night's win over the Philadelphia 76ers, the Charlotte Hornets only needed one more win to clinch a playoff spot or for the Chicago Bulls to lose one more game. The Bulls ended up losing to the Detroit Pistons giving the Hornets their spot without even playing a game.
With Chicago’s loss, the @Hornets clinch a spot in the 2016 #NBAPlayoffs! pic.twitter.com/P0qYOLEAcP
— NBA (@NBA) April 3, 2016
Now, with their ticket to the playoffs clinched, Charlotte can focus on their other goal of home court advantage in the first round. This iteration of the team has yet to win a playoff game since their return, and any help they can get towards that would be much appreciated. However, they might not even need the help with Charlotte playing some of their best basketball ever and dominating teams down the stretch.
The Hornets currently sit third in the East all by themselves . This is necessary since, at the moment, Charlotte does not have tiebreaker over the Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, or Atlanta Hawks. With less than 10 games to go it's very possible that Charlotte is able to jump up to that three seed and not only gain home court, but end up on the "easier" side of the bracket. Either way the conference finals feel like a real possibility right now.
All of that said, Hornets fans are likely just happy to be back in the playoffs after last year's disappointing season. The franchise has experienced a lot more downs than ups since the original team left for New Orleans, but two playoff appearances in three years is a great sign of how they've come. Maybe now the current iteration of this team can establish some success and separate themselves from the ghosts of their past.