Charlotte Hornets Gameday: vs. Miami Heat
5:30 p.m., Time Warner Cable Arena
TV: TNT Radio: WFNZ-AM 610.
Projected Starters
Hornets | Heat | |||||
Pos, Player | PPG | RPG | Pos, Player | PPG | RPG | |
G K. Walker | 20.9 | 3.7 | G G. Dragic | 14.1 | 3.8 | |
G-F C. Lee | 8.9 | 3.1 | G D. Wade | 19.0 | 4.1 | |
TBD | F J. Johnson | 13.4 | 2.8 | |||
F M. Williams | 11.7 | 6.4 | F L. Deng | 12.3 | 6 | |
C C. Zeller | 8.7 | 6.2 | C H. Whiteside | 14.2 | 8.6 | |
Matchup to Watch
Kemba Walker versus Goran Dragic: With Nic Batum out with a foot strain, Walker will likely have to carry the Hornets to win a game in this playoff series.
Observations
▪ The Heat is 11-0 all-time in playoff series in which they led 2-0.
▪ The Bobcats-Hornets have yet to win a playoff game since the NBA returned to Charlotte in 2004 (0-10).
Tap-ins
▪ Surprisingly the biggest mismatch in this series so far has been Luol Deng versus Marvin Williams, primarily because Williams has shot so poorly.
▪ The Hornets have done a decent job of drawing fouls against Heat center (and Gastonia native) Hassan Whiteside. It just hasn’t figured in the end result.
Did you know?
The Heat did a great job of reinventing itself when Chris Bosh was sidelined by ongoing blood-clot issues. Miami is playing without Bosh’s 19.1 points and 75 rebounds.
Rick Bonnell
This story was originally published April 22, 2016 at 6:52 PM with the headline "Charlotte Hornets Gameday: vs. Miami Heat."