NBA Power Rankings midseason reset: Milwaukee Bucks who we thought they’d be

Last week: Won at Detroit 87-76, won at Minnesota 115-108

This week: Thursday at Chicago, Saturday vs. Brooklyn

The Charlotte Hornets have been just about what was expected. The preseason No. 28 team in the NBA Power Rankings has only slightly exceeded expectations, helped in part by the gigantic collapse of the Warriors and the disappointing work by Atlanta.

The Hornets will have a tough road over their final 28 games, with a remaining schedule strength of .516, 10th-most difficult in the NBA according to Tankathon.

Home (16): Feb. 22 Brooklyn, Feb. 26 New York, March 1 Milwaukee, March 3 San Antonio, March 5 Denver, March 7 Houston, March 13 Cleveland, March 19 Philadelphia, March 21 Lakers, March 24 Portland, March 28 Clippers, March 30 Miami, April 5 Atlanta, April 8 Toronto, April 11 Washington, April 13 Miami
Away (12): Feb. 20 at Chicago, Feb. 25 at Indiana, Feb. 28 at Toronto, March 9 at Atlanta, March 11 at Miami, March 15 at Orlando, March 17 at New York, March 26 at Oklahoma City, April 1 at Orlando, April 3 at Atlanta, April 7 at New Orleans, April 15 at Philadelphia

Charlotte is 5½ games behind the eighth-place Magic in the Eastern Conference, but while they have 16 of their remaining 28 games at home, the Hornets are one of the worst home teams in the NBA this season at just 8-17. It will be a tough climb.

Game of the first half: Second-year guard Devonte’ Graham has been one of the NBA’s breakout performers this season and helped key the Hornets to a 113-108 road win at Brooklyn on Dec. 11 with a career-high 40 points on 12-of-21 shooting, hitting 7-of-12 from deep and 9-of-11 at the line. He also had five rebounds and five assists in his 37-minute stint.

Last week: Lost at Atlanta 140-135 (2OT), lost to Washington 114-96

This week: Friday vs. Indiana

The New York Knicks are 13-20 since replacing coach David Fizdale with interim coach Mike Miller back in early December and that has helped them exceed their preseason placement of No. 29 in the NBA Power Rankings.

The Knicks have 27 games remaining against opponents with a combined winning percentage of .493, just the 19th-hardest remaining schedule according to Tankathon.

Home (14): Feb. 21 Indiana, Feb. 29 Chicago, March 2 Houston, March 4 Utah, March 6 Oklahoma City, March 8 Detroit, March 17 Charlotte, March 21 Golden State, March 23 Clippers, March 25 Toronto, April 3 Minnesota, April 5 Miami, April 8 Orlando, April 14 Detroit
Away (13): Feb. 24 at Houston, Feb. 26 at Charlotte, Feb. 27 at Philadelphia, March 10 at Washington, March 11 at Atlanta, March 13 at Miami, March 18 at Boston, March 27 at New Orleans, March 28 at Chicago, April 1 at Memphis, April 10 at Oklahoma City, April 12 at Toronto, April 15 at Minnesota

The Knicks are 13th in the East at the All-Star break, seven games behind eighth-place Orlando with 27 to play. A playoff run seems unlikely, but the team is playing significantly better under Miller than it did to open the season under Fizdale (4-18). They are on pace to win 28 games, based on how they have done since the coaching change.

Game of the first half: Marcus Morris had an eventful offseason, backing out of an agreement with the Spurs to sign with New York, which the Knicks shipping him to the Clippers — a team he victimized for a career-high 38 points on Jan. 5 — in a trade-deadline deal on Feb. 6.

But it was in a 124-122 overtime win at Golden State on Dec. 11 in which Morris had the game of the season thus far by a Knick, scoring 36 points to go with 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals in 36 minutes. Mook was 10-for-18 overall, 5-for-9 from deep and 11-for-12 at the foul line.