3. That Orlando Magic
If you lose to the Nets, you’re on this list. The Magic have all sorts of reasons to be here, but a Nets loss is the one that one stands out to me this week. Sure the Nets are 5-3 in their last eight games, but three of those wins came against teams taking part in the tank rank, and the other two came against the Hawks who are suddenly awful.
That’s something to mention. The Hawks might be here next week. The Hawks have lost eight of their last ten. They lost Paul Millsap, then got Paul Millsap back, then still lost. None of their last games are against pushovers. Things have the chance to go really, really wrong for them, which is fine because Atlanta sports fans really enjoy when bad things happen to their team. They love it!
The Pacers have a shot to be here too. They’re the Hawks but with less of a buffer. Both of these teams were creeping closer and closer to playoff lock status. Instead they decided to do the other thing and might miss them entirely. That has to be on purpose, right? It’s probably on purpose. You don’t sign Lance Stephenson if you’re trying to win.
But the Magic live here for now. They’re at the bottom of the lake, but they haven’t dug into the clay like the two teams below them. In any other year they’d be special with how bad they are, but no. This year they’re boring bad, and it’s a little too late to change that now.