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Miami Heat: How to exploit the Charlotte Hornets’ glaring weakness

By Duncan Smith

CHARLOTTE, NC - MARCH 6: Dwyane Wade #3 of the Miami Heat looks to shoot layup against the Charlotte Hornets on March 6, 2019 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Brock Williams-Smith/NBAE via Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC - MARCH 6: Dwyane Wade #3 of the Miami Heat looks to shoot layup against the Charlotte Hornets on March 6, 2019 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Brock Williams-Smith/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The 32-36 Miami Heat wrap up their five-game home stand on Sunday afternoon with a crucial must-win matchup against the 31-37 Charlotte Hornets.

You know we’ve reached the most critical stretch of the regular season when not only are all games must-wins, but varying degrees of must-win. For the Miami Heat, they don’t get much more must-win than this matchup with the Charlotte Hornets.

The Heat currently hold the eighth and final seed in the Eastern Conference, but both the Charlotte Hornets and Orlando Magic are just one game back. To make things worse, the Heat trail in both head-to-head and divisional records against both the Hornets and the Magic, and they have the toughest record of all three teams.

If the Heat lose Sunday’s game, they will fall to ninth and trail a Hornets squad by a game with just 13 games to go, no tie-breakers and a grueling schedule.

The Miami Heat will wrap up a five-game homestand with what will prove to be a rubber match as they’ve gone 2-2 thus far with blowout wins against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons and blowout losses to the Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks.

The Hornets enter the game swooning terribly, winning just three of their last 10 games and five of their last 16. Kemba Walker is the straw that stirs the drink for the Hornets, and over this 16-game span he’s scoring at a high clip at 27.1 points per game (higher than his full season scoring average of 25.2 points per game), but he’s hitting just 42.4 percent from the floor.

Most damning for the Hornets over this 16-game stretch, when Walker is on the floor they keep pace with their opponents on the scoreboard, outscoring their opposition by a thin margin of 0.7 points per 100 possessions. When Walker is off the floor, the Hornets have been outscored by a breathtaking 28.1 points per 100 possessions.

It’ll be imperative for the Miami Heat to at least battle the Hornets to a draw when Walker is on the floor, and then take advantage of every minute he’s off the floor. Exploiting Walker’s absence will be vital for home squad to come away with a crucial win.

The Hornets will enter play mostly healthy with only Cody Zeller on the injury report, doubtful with a knee injury. For the Heat, Justise Winslow and Dwyane Wade are both questionable with a thigh injury and an elbow injury respectively.

Charlotte Hornets projected starting lineup

Miami Heat projected starting lineup

dark. Next. Three keys to the Miami Heat's playoff hopes

As the saying goes, South Beach is undefeated. This game tips off at 1 PM Eastern on Sunday and we shall see if that mantra holds true.

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