Boston Celtics fans never had to feel this, but the sting of losing the NBA Play-in leaves fans has the potential for those unfortunate franchises to feel empty inside and to freak out about the future.
That said, the two NBA Play-in teams that lost in the Eastern Conference admittedly have bright futures ahead of them. It’s okay if said fanbases are still freaking out, though. Going through an 82-game journey only to see your team allow a chance at the postseason to slip through the cracks is a unique pain to exactly eight teams between two conferences the past two seasons.
The Cleveland Cavaliers and Charlotte Hornets still have young stars that will keep each team afloat in the coming years despite that pain. What they also have, at this point, are extra pieces that cost too much and don’t fit into the team’s vision going forward.
Being in the middle is the worst place to be in the NBA. If you don’t have a team capable of contending, you might as well have a team incapable of being competitive on most nights. The NBA’s in-between is an ugly place where no true momentum ever gets built and life just seems like one long run on a hamster wheel.
Cleveland is a young team more likely to keep their pieces together, given this is their first time even sniffing the postseason since LeBron James left. Losing home-field advantage, and ultimately a postseason spot altogether, is not the ideal way for things to end, but it could be worse.
Worse as in Charlotte, who bowed out right before the postseason for a second straight year. Things definitely need to change in the Queen City with all the high-priced salaries sitting on their books.
If either (or both) teams look to make changes, the Cs should try to buy low on these 2 players: