The Miami Heat (51-28 and first in the Eastern Conference) head home Tuesday to take on the Charlotte Hornets (40-38 and ninth in the Eastern Conference) at 7:30 pm Eastern Time. With only three games left on the schedule, Miami is looking to keep hold of the first place seed, while also looking to gain some momentum heading into the playoff portion of the season.
Players To Watch
- Bam Adebayo– Bam needs to continue to look to control the painted area. He needs to continue his aggressiveness on the glass, making plays on both offense and defense in that area. You also need him to play his brand of lockdown defense, helping to cause problems all over the Hornets lineup. He should look to continue his ramp-up over the last month or so as a key piece for the Miami Heat heading into the playoffs.
- Tyler Herro– Herro will look to be the leader coming off the bench for Miami, per usual. The sixth starter in all actuality, the Heat will look to Herro to continue making plays, knocking down big shots, and creating plays for his teammates when he’s on the floor. He, too, will be one of the main factors for Miami as they look to begin their playoff run.
As the Miami Heat look to close the season on a high note, they head home to get set for the first of consecutive duels with potential Eastern playoff foes.
Keys To The Game
- Maintain The Lead– Miami has had a problem for most of the regular season with getting the leads early during the game, then failing to hold them as the game progresses. Tending to allow the opponent to make comeback, Miami will need to keep a lead if they can get it, which is likely against this Hornets team.
- Control The Glass– Miami needs to control the glass on both ends when it comes to rebounding the basketball. The Heat will look to Bam for most of the work, but they will need to get into a rhythm on both ends as a team. Offensive rebounds, especially, have really hurt them in recent weeks.
- Play As A Team– Miami will need to work as a team to stretch the Hornets’ phantom defense as well. With as potent an offense as you will find around the league for Charlotte, Miami will need to work on finding the open man, creating plays for each other, and playing unselfish basketball to make sure they don’t get their doors blown off in the scoring department.
Miami Heat vs Charlotte Hornets Odds And Prediction
Odds And Information Provided Courtesy Of WynnBET
Moneyline: MIA -210 CHA +175
Spread: MIA -5.5
Total: 224.5
Prediction
Miami only has three games left in the regular season, sitting just two games ahead of the Boston Celtics. They will need to win the rest of the remaining schedule in order to secure top seeding in the Eastern Conference.
With that, the Miami Heat will win this game against the Hornets, 110-100.