The uneasy limbo of the NBA play-in tournament is very similar to the NCAA’s “First Four” concept for its college basketball tournaments.
You’re in, but you’re not really in.
You’ve opened the first door to the postseason, but there’s still a screen door with a troublesome latch that you must unlock before you actually get inside the house. And before a lot of people even start paying attention to the real tournament, you could be eliminated.
That’s where the Charlotte Hornets find themselves now — stuck in play-in purgatory, despite a 43-39 season that ended Sunday with a 124-108 win over Washington and constituted their first winning campaign since 2016.