When we last left our heroes they were just sorta, kinda, maybe starting to put the pieces together. They’d won 8 of 11, they were working their way through the soft underbelly of the Eastern Conference, and they had settled into a style of play that suited them. No one around these parts was dreaming of a title run or anything, but I don’t think it’s wild conjecture to say that a return to the playoffs felt very real. 11 days later and, well...it feels like that earth has shifted under our feet again.
Let’s start with Wednesday night, a glorified scrimmage between one team actively in pursuit of losses and another team that’s fresh off a week of staring at the ceiling of a Charlotte hotel room and missing half its roster.