The battle for the final spots in the Eastern Conference playoff race is down to a select four teams as the final two weeks of the regular season are crucial to get those final two spots. The Boston Celtics and Charlotte Hornets represent two of those teams aiming to experience postseason success as they prepare to face off on Monday night to help the effort.
Heading into Monday's games, the Hornets sit one-half game behind the Celtics who are currently tied with the Indiana Pacers and one-half game back from the Brooklyn Nets for the No. 8 spot on the playoffs. All four teams are certainly playing with plenty of intrigue at this point in the year as the winner could not be determined until potentially the final game of the year. If history says anything, the Hornets at least have a shot at winning their season series with Boston after winning two of three against the Eastern Conference team. Getting the win would allow Charlotte to hold the tiebreaker over Boston if that is what this race comes to.
Charlotte is fresh off a win over Atlanta as the Hawks sat all of their starters, but the Hornets are currently on a 3-8 stretch and need to pick it up. Charlotte did look strong, shooting 52.5 percent overall including 46.2 percent from the 3-point line, but they also let Atlanta's reserves going 15 of 30 from beyond the arc while only winning by five. Kemba Walker added 21 points while Mo Williams have 18 off the bench.
Walker has returned from knee surgery, but is still inconsistent, shooting just 32.6 percent in his 10 games back. Gerald Henderson is proving to be a solid backup option as he shoots 51.9 percent in his last six games while adding 20 against the Hawks.
The Celtics are coming off a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers which dropped them out of the eighth seed as they go one a stretch losing five of their last seven. They is shooting just 25.9 percent from long range while their backcourt of Isaiah Thomas, Marcus Smart and Avery Bradley have combined to go just 6 of 25 in the past three games. The team has got to step it up at the point guard position if they have any hope of seeing the postseason.
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