First off, whether they make it past the first round or not, it doesn't matter when considering a regular season award.
Second, your reasoning behind that statement is 1: the have no experience, and 2: they have no killer instinct.
As for your first point, I think you overestimate playoff experience. To set the record straight, Peja has experience, Bonzi has experience (lets not forget the '06 series against the Spurs), oh, and Scott has two finals appearances and a couple rings, so I think he knows what he's doing.
Now, on to my next point about playoff experience being overrated: it's overrated. Remember how Dirk and the Mavs went to the finals, and then followed that up with a 67 win season? How did that experience help them when they got shut down by the Warriors? Sure, Steven Jackson and Al Harrington had experience as Pacers, but Baron Davis had a string of failures with the Hornets and he was HUGE in that series against the Mavs.
Experience doesn't always mean more that pure hunger and competitiveness. Chris Paul is one of the most competitive players in the game, and the hornets are driven. They feel like they have something to prove, and that can be just as deadly as experience. Remember a guy named Deron Williams? He carried the Jazz last season to the WCF in only his second year.
2. Now, about your point of killer instinct. How do the Hornets not have that? I've already mentioned Paul's competitiveness, and his intense personality on the court. West has become an allstar who is one of the more diverse forwards in the game, and he wants to prove himself also. TC can get really fired up, sometimes to his detriment as he gets techs, and Wright has shown he plays 100% on the floor. Chris Andersen also is back and judging by his play in the past few games, he's itching every time he gets some minutes. This team has everything to prove to themselves and the league, and have different players who have been clutch in their own moments throughout the season, so I don't see how they have no killer instinct.
