We now know when Hornets play-in game is, but there is a TV wrinkle to NBA’s plan
If you’re planning to sit down for the Charlotte Hornets’ first post-season game in five years with Eric Collins and Dell Curry, well...
Guess again.
Friday night the NBA announced specifics for next week’s play-in tournament. We now know the Hornets will play Tuesday, regardless of which seeding they have in the Eastern Conference play-in. We also know there will be no local-origination telecast of Charlotte’s game.
The NBA announcement said play-in games are exclusively on national outlets ESPN or TNT, with none of the local regional sports networks participating.
So the Bally Sports Southeast team of Collins, Curry and pre- and post-game host Ashley ShahAhmadi won’t call next week’s game, or games if the Hornets play two in the four-night play-in format.
It does mean that cord-cutters, who haven’t been able to get the Hornets’ television outlet, will be able to watch TNT’s telecast Tuesday.
As expected, both Eastern Conference games will be Tuesday night, with the Western Conference games on Wednesday. Keeping both games in the same conference on the same night avoids a rest disadvantage in the following games. East play-in games are all on TNT, while West games are on ESPN.
If the Hornets stay eighth in the East, they will play at the seventh-seeded Boston Celtics on Tuesday at a time yet to be determined. If the Hornets finish ninth or 10th in the East, they would play either the Indiana Pacers or Washington Wizards on Tuesday. An opponent, and whether the Hornets would host a 9-10 game at Spectrum Center, is still to be determined, as well.
The loser of the East’s 7-8 game will host the winner of the 9-10 game Thursday, with the winner becoming the 8th seed in the playoffs.
West games are Wednesday and Friday.
If the Hornets advance to the playoffs, Bally Sports Southeast would be able to televise first-round games.
This story was originally published May 14, 2021 at 8:30 PM with the headline "We now know when Hornets play-in game is, but there is a TV wrinkle to NBA’s plan."
