16. Charlotte Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets have had a great season considering everything that has transpired over the last few weeks for this team. LaMelo Ball is having a rookie of the year type season and should win the award. He’s given this team a face of the franchise and a cornerstone for the future.
Charlotte needs to continue to build around Ball and give him the support that he needs as a team continues to evolve in the Eastern Conference.
15. Golden State Warriors
I’m not sure there’s any team in the Western Conference that is looking forward to seeing the Golden State Warriors in a potential seven-game series in the first round of the playoffs. Even though this Warriors team is a shell of their championship version of themselves, as long as Stephen Curry is on the roster this team is dangerous.
It remains to be seen how far Curry can carry this Warriors team, but we’re about to find out and I’m almost most excited about this experiment compared to anything else in the playoffs.