Hornets Gameday: at Miami Heat
7:30 p.m., AmericanAirlines Arena
TV: SportSouth. Radio: WBT-AM 1110, WBT-FM 99.3.
Projected Starters
Hornets | Heat | |||||
Pos, Player | Ppg | Rpg | Pos, Player | Ppg | Rpg | |
F, M. Kidd-Gilchrist | 8.9 | 7.7 | F, R. McGruder | 6.5 | 3.3 | |
F, M. Williams | 11.2 | 5.7 | F, L. Babbitt | 4.8 | 2.1 | |
C, C. Zeller | 10.7 | 6.6 |
| C, H. Whiteside | 16.6 | 14.1 |
G, N. Batum | 15.3 | 6.8 | G, D. Waiters | 15.7 | 3.4 | |
G, K. Walker | 23.0 | 5.5 apg | G, G. Dragic | 20.2 | 6.0 apg | |
Matchup to Watch
Cody Zeller vs. Hassan Whiteside: Zeller will need to keep Whiteside away from the basket to neutralize his shot-blocking skills (the Gastonia native averages 2.0 per game, fourth in the league).
Observations
▪ Center/forward Frank Kaminsky (shoulder), center Miles Plumlee (calf) and guard Ramon Sessions are still out for the Hornets. Heat forward and former Duke star Justise Winslow (shoulder) has been out since early January.
▪ The Hornets can clinch the season series with the Heat with a victory and gain a potential tiebreaker over Miami. Charlotte is 2-0 against Miami, with the teams playing again April 5 at Spectrum Center. The Heat are ninth in the Eastern Conference, 1.5 games ahead of the Hornets.
Tap-ins
▪ Walker’s 23.0 career scoring average is second highest in franchise history behind Glen Rice’s 26.8.
▪ The Heat made 49.2 percent (34 of 69) of its 3-pointers in winning consecutive games recently against the beat the NBA champs Cleveland Cavaliers.
Did you know?
The Hornets held Indiana to two-of-three from the free-throw line Monday, an NBA season low in both free throws made and attempted in a game.
David Scott
This story was originally published March 8, 2017 at 10:49 AM with the headline "Hornets Gameday: at Miami Heat."