What: Charlotte Hornets (8-28) (4-15 away) at Miami Heat (22-16) (11-7 home)
When: 6:00pm Eastern
Where: Kaseya Center; Miami, FL
How to watch: Bally Sports Southeast, NBA League Pass
Outfitting: Hornets–Classic (teal), Heat–City (black Heat Culture)
Game Lines: Hornets +8.5, O/U 224.5
Injuries:
Hornets: Cody Martin-questionable (groin), Frank Ntilikina-questionable (leg), Brandon Miller-doubtful (back), PJ Washington-doubtful (ankle), Gordon Hayward-out (calf), Mark Williams-out (back)
Heat: Kyle Lowry-probable (hand), Tyler Herro-questionable (shoulder), Kevin Love-questionable (knee), Jimmy Butler-doubtful (toe)
That’s a hefty injury report for both teams, both in number of players and the importance of players that aren’t available. The Heat are coming off a 99-96 win over the Magic in which they were missing all of Butler, Herro, and Lowry. They were able to slow down the pace of the game and won with their defense. They’ll probably try to win with a similar blueprint tonight.
This will be the fourth and final meeting between these two teams this season. The Heat swept the first three meetings, but every game has been competitive. The largest margin of victory thus far has been 11 points, and every game has been played within a final score range of 104 to 116.
Duncan Robinson has been the biggest thorn in the side of the Hornets in these matchups. He’s led the Heat in scoring in each of the last two meetings between these teams and has made at least four threes each time. With the Heat potentially lacking either of their main shot creators in Butler and Herro, the Hornets will need to be dialed in covering the perimeter against the Heat’s offensive sets. Robinson has improved a lot attacking the basket, but the Hornets would still prefer that over him getting open looks from three.
The Hornets will potentially get reinforcements in the form of Frank Ntilikina tonight. His defense and effort would be a welcome addition to the rotation, though he’s probably not going to do much to help the Hornets struggling offense.
At least we get to watch LaMelo Ball play.
