Hornets Gameday: vs. Miami Heat
7 p.m., Time Warner Cable Arena
TV: Fox Sports Southeast, NBA TV Radio: WFNZ-AM 610.
Projected Starters
Hornets | Heat | |||||
Pos, Player | PPG | RPG | Pos, Player | PPG | RPG | |
G K. Walker | 21.7 | 2.7 | G G. Dragic | 12.7 | 3.3 | |
G C. Lee | 9.3 | 1.7 | G D. Wade | 20.3 | 4.7 | |
F M. Williams | 4.7 | 7.7 | F J. Johnson | 8.7 | 1.3 | |
F F. Kaminsky | 6.3 | 3 | F L. Deng | 22 | 7 | |
C A. Jefferson | 16 | 6.7 | C H. Whiteside | 17 | 14 | |
Matchup to Watch
Al Jefferson vs. Hassan Whiteside: Jefferson’s ability to draw fouls on Whiteside is a key factor in this playoff matchup.
Observations
▪ Hornets forward Nic Batum hasn’t ruled himself out of Game 4, but it seems unlikely he’d play with the left foot strain he suffered in Game 2 in Miami.
▪ Hornets coach Steve Clifford went big in replacing Batum for Game 3, starting 7-foot rookie Frank Kaminsky at power forward and moving Marvin Williams to small forward.
Tap-ins
▪ The Hornets committed only four turnovers in Game 3 and one of those was intentional, with the Hornets taking a shot-clock violation rather than shoot late in a blowout.
▪ Whiteside, who grew up in Gastonia, sat out practice Sunday with a thigh bruise.
Did you know?
Heat star Dwyane Wade scored 17 points in Game 3, but he needed 20 shots from the field to get there.
Rick Bonnell
This story was originally published April 24, 2016 at 5:12 PM with the headline "Hornets Gameday: vs. Miami Heat."