Charlotte Hornets at Miami Heat Game Preview

Breaking down Sunday's matchup in Miami.

Game 79: Charlotte Hornets (40-38) at Miami Heat (51-28)

The Heat went through a mini slump losing four straight games toward the end of March, but have bounced back with a four-game winning streak, allowing them to hold on to the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference standings. Clinching the top seed in the East is in their control and with two of the final three games being at home and the other being a road game in Orlando, they're in a good position. 

However, the Heat are a bit banged up right now as Gabe Vincent, P.J. Tucker, Dewayne Dedmon, and Jimmy Butler are all operating day-to-day as they deal with injuries. 

The Hornets have really struggled against Miami this season (0-3), losing by an average of 12.3 points per game. In two of those three games, Charlotte failed to surpass the 100-point mark. Miami has one of the best defenses in the NBA and for whatever reason, the Hornets have not been able to figure it out up to this point.

Over the past three weeks, James Borrego's squad has played some of its best basketball of the season going 8-3 in the last eleven games with wins over the Hawks, Mavericks, Jazz, and Nets. Not only are the Hornets playing better, but for the first time since February they are fully healthy as Gordon Hayward made his return over the weekend in a blowout loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. Hayward had just five points in 17 minutes off the bench, marking the first time he wasn't in the starting lineup since coming to Charlotte. Borrego said he liked what he saw and didn't see any hesitation from Hayward and will rethink his starting lineup and rotation leading up to Tuesday's game. 

2021-22 Team Stats

PPG: 109.5 (MIA), 114.8 (CHA)

RPG: 43.9 (MIA), 44.6 (CHA)

APG: 25.5 (MIA), 27.8 (CHA)

FG%: 46.4% (MIA), 46.4% (CHA)

3FG%: 37.5% (MIA), 36.2% (CHA)

FT%: 81% (MIA), 73.9% (CHA)

2021-22 Team Leaders:

Minutes: Kyle Lowry - 33.9 (MIA), Miles Bridges - 35.8 (CHA)

FG%: Dewayne Dedmon - 56.6% (MIA), Mason Plumlee - 63.5% (CHA)

3FG%: P.J. Tucker 41.6% (MIA), Gordon Hayward - 39.1% (CHA)

PPG: Jimmy Butler - 21.3 (MIA), Miles Bridges - 20.3 (CHA)

RPG: Bam Adebayo - 10.2 (MIA), Mason Plumlee - 7.9 (CHA)

APG: Kyle Lowry - 7.6 (MIA), LaMelo Ball - 7.5 (CHA)

SPG: Jimmy Butler - 1.7 (MIA), LaMelo Ball- 1.6 (CHA)

Stat key: PPG - points per game | RPG - rebounds per game | APG - assists per game | SPG - steals per game

Heat Roster

PG: Kyle Lowry, Victor Oladipo, Gabe Vincent

SG: Max Strus, Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson

SF: Jimmy Butler, Caleb Martin

PF: P.J. Tucker, Markieff Morris

C: Bam Adebayo, Dewayne Dedmon, Omer Yurtseven

Head coach: Erik Spoelstra

Hornets Roster

PG: LaMelo Ball, Isaiah Thomas

SG: Terry Rozier, Cody Martin

SF: Gordon Hayward, Kelly Oubre Jr.

PF: Miles Bridges, P.J. Washington, J.T. Thor

C: Mason Plumlee, Montrezl Harrell, Nick Richards

Head coach: James Borrego

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