A 6-way tie is mathematically possible in the East, and the Hornets would win the tiebreaker and get the 5th seed
John Hollinger wrote about this today in The Athletic. The “Mid-6” (Toronto, Atlanta, Orlando, Miami, Philly, Charlotte) are all within 3 games of each other and ESPN BPI projects them finishing within 2 games.
In a 6-way tie, the tiebreaker essentially becomes a 4-way Southeast Division race, which Charlotte wins, then a 3-way with Philly and Toronto, which Charlotte wins as division champ. Miami ends up 10th despite winning the season series against Charlotte; Orlando went 5-0 against them, which tanks their multi-team tiebreaker position.
Hollinger says he’s personally rooting for maximum chaos but thinks the more likely outcome is Toronto 5th, Atlanta 6th, Charlotte 7th, Orlando 8th, Philly 9th, Miami 10th.
Shit’s crazy right now and as a Hornets fan I’m loving it.