Hornets welcome Miami Heat to Spectrum Center for home opener

Terry Rozier III comes back to Uptown for first time since being traded

Sam Sharpe-Imagn Images

Injury Report

Hornets:
OUT: DaQuan Jefferies (R Hand Fracture), Mark Williams (L Foot), Brandon Miller (L Glute Strain)

Hawks:
OUT: Kel'el Ware (illness), Kevin Love (personal reasons) Questionable: Josh Richardson (heel)

Game Preview

After a feel-good win against Houston in the season opener, the Charlotte Hornets fell to the Atlanta Hawks in a valiant losing effort down two starters. Despite last night's loss, the performances up to this point have kept up the good vibes stemming from the preseason. The same cannot be said about the Miami Heat, who, apart from one loss against the Hornets, were able to win all of their preseason games. That didn't seem to help them on Wednesday though.

Starting off their season with a road game in Orlando, Jimmy Butler and Co. fell victim to a 116-97 upset. A first half which was pretty evenly matched was followed by a second half that didn't see the Heat grab the lead even once. Two major factors played a role. For one, the Magic won the rebounding battle by a wide margin and got 25 second-chance points to show for it. On top of that, star player Jimmy Butler was held to just three points on 1-8 shooting.

Writing Miami off because of this one game would be foolish. Orlando has one of the best defensive squads in the league, and countless teams will experience the same struggles against them this year. It's also unlikely that Charlotte's defensive personnel can put on the same kind of pressure as the Magic's did, especially without Brandon Miller and Mark Williams. But the momentum heading into tonight's matchup should be on the Hornets' side.

Key Match-up: Nick Richards vs Bam Adebayo

The one category Charles Lee's team can dominate just like the Magic is rebounding. They've already proven that against the Rockets (+13 advantage) and the Hawks (+14 advantage). A key figure in getting that number above fifty for the third time this season is Nick Richards. The former second-round pick had a nice game against Atlanta but struggled mightily guarding Alperen Sengün in Houston. Bam Adebayo will bring a different skill set to the table on offense, while also being one of the best defenders in the association.

Predicted Starting Fives

	Miami Heat	Charlotte Hornets
Point Guard	Terry Rozier III	LaMelo Ball
Shooting Guard	Tyler Herro	Seth Curry
Small Forward	Jimmy Butler	Cody Martin
Power Forward	Nikola Jovic	Miles Bridges
Center	Bam Adebayo	Nick Richards

Charlotte's next game is at home against the Raptors on October 30th at 7pm EST.

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