2 Spots for 7 teams, including the Detroit Pistons

The teetering on mediocrity teams 

-Chicago Bulls 

-Atlanta Hawks 

-Toronto Raptors 

-Charlotte Hornets 

All of these teams had losing records last season but are midway between being competitive and tanking. 

The Bulls figure to take the biggest step back after trading DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso, but they still have Zach LaVine, Coby White and Josh Giddey, so who knows with them. 

Same with the Hawks, who have been stuck in no-man’s land forever and feel on the precipice of some big changes, so they could go either way. 

The Raptors have a new look built around Scottie Barnes but will they realistically win more than the 25 games they won last season? 

The Hornets will be relying on the health of LaMelo Ball. They do have some talent but if he gets hurt again it won’t matter. 

With the Bulls and Hawks possibly taking steps back, the Raptors and Hornets seem the most likely of this group to claim one or both of the two remaining play-in spots.