By Sam Perley, hornets.com

After almost nine days off to rest and recharge, the Hornets will be back on the court Friday night as they look to make their second postseason run in three years. From an initial glance, Charlotte’s schedule sets up favorably if the team hopes to at the very least hang onto the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

The most notable change heading into the second half of the season is the addition of shooting guard, Courtney Lee, who was acquired from the Grizzlies on Feb. 16. In exchange, Charlotte sent P.J. Hairston to Memphis along with two future second-round picks and Brian Roberts, who was also involved in the three-team deal, to the Miami Heat. So far this year, Lee is averaging 10.0 points on 45.8 percent shooting, 2.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists. The eight-year veteran out of Western Kentucky University was drafted by Orlando in 2008 and played his rookie season under Steve Clifford and Patrick Ewing when they were assistant coaches with the Magic.

For the most part, the Hornets roster is relatively healthy and hopefully benefited from a nine-day recovery period. Barring a setback, Al Jefferson will be returning to Charlotte’s lineup on Friday night after missing the last two months following knee surgery. The obvious exception to a healthy Hornets roster is Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who unfortunately tore his right labrum for the second time this season on Feb. 10 and will be sidelined for the remainder of the year.

Coming out of the All-Star Break, the Hornets own a 27-26 record, which is the first time they have been above .500 at this point of the season in six years. Since NBA basketball returned to the city beginning in 2004, the Hornets have made the playoffs two times. Charlotte was swept in the first round in 2010 by the Orlando Magic and in 2014 by the Miami Heat, both of whom went on to compete in the NBA Finals.

The Hornets have 29 games remaining on their 2015-16 schedule, 13 of which will be at home. Charlotte currently holds a 19-9 record at home this season, which is the third-best home-winning percentage in the Eastern Conference (.679) behind only the Cleveland Cavaliers (.846) and Toronto Raptors (.750). These 19 home wins already match the Hornets total from the entire 2014-15 NBA season. Charlotte is also ranked first in the Eastern Conference at home in turnovers (12.9) and free throws made (20.5) and second in three-pointers made (10.3) and blocks (6.6).

Schedule-wise, the Hornets look to be in good shape. Of the six teams currently separated by five games from fifth place to 10th place in the Eastern Conference (Miami, Indiana, Chicago, Charlotte, Detroit and Washington), the Hornets have the second-easiest remaining schedule as their opponents hold a combined .464 winning percentage. Out of the entire NBA, only the Milwaukee Bucks (.448) and Washington Wizards (.453) have a weaker strength of schedule the rest of the season than the Hornets.

Charlotte will have to play three back-to-backs sets entirely on the road in late March and early April. However, the team is done with its Western Conference road trips and will go no further than the central time zone the rest of the season.

Winning a season series in the Eastern Conference is also important, as they are the tiebreakers used to determine seeding if teams finish with identical records at the end of the year. The Hornets have already won the season series against Chicago, 3-1, and lead Indiana and Detroit, 1-0, both of which are three-game season series. Charlotte is also up 2-1 on the Wizards and trail Miami, 1-2, each with a road game remaining. In the event a season series is tied, inter-division and then inter-conference records are the next tiebreakers.

While the playoffs are by no means a lock as a wide array of variables can always come into play, the Hornets are set up quite well at the moment for a run at the postseason. Although Charlotte might not yet be in the upper echelon of the NBA’s elite teams, fans can be assured there will still be plenty of exciting basketball being played at Time Warner Cable Arena over the next couple of months.

(Statistics courtesy of Charlotte Hornets Public Relations and NBA.com)

Key Matchup vs. Bucks: Jeremy Lin vs. Khris Middleton

With Courtney Lee’s Charlotte debut likely on hold until Sunday, look for the Hornets to roll with Jeremy Lin in the starting lineup when they head to Milwaukee to take on Khris Middleton and the Bucks on Friday night… Lin continues to impress in his first season with the Hornets, posting averages of 12.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 50 games this season…Charlotte will largely count on Lin to lock down Khris Middleton, who is in the midst of a breakout year in Milwaukee… Now in his fourth season out of Texas A&M, Middleton is posting a team and career-high 17.9 points to go along with 3.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists, the latter of which is also a personal best… Shutting down Middleton will be imperative if Lin and the Hornets want to kick off the second half of the season with a win in the Bradley Center on Friday night.

Key Matchup vs. Nets: Marvin Williams vs. Thaddeus Young

The Hornets will need Marvin Williams to keep rolling along in his 11th season when they head into Brooklyn to do battle with Thaddeus Young and the Nets on Sunday evening… Williams has seen his career rejuvenated in his second season in Charlotte, posting averages of 10.5 points on 44.0 percent shooting (career-high 38.6 percent from three-point range) to go along with career highs in rebounding (6.6) and blocks (1.0)… Charlotte will need another solid performance from Williams when he goes up against the versatile Thaddeus Young of the Brooklyn Nets… Young is tallying 15.1 points on 51.3 percent shooting along with a team high and career-high 9.1 rebounds in his first full season with the Nets… In what has quickly turned into a lost season for Brooklyn, Williams and the Hornets still can’t afford to tread lightly against Young and the Nets in their Sunday evening showdown at the Barclays Center.