The 34-34 Hornets will host the 38-30 Heat tonight at 7 PM EST. The Heat have listed Bam Adebayo as Questionable, but have listed Andrew Wiggins as out.
The Hornets are 3.5-point favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook with the total for this game set at 233.5 points.
Hornets vs. Heat prediction, preview
Miami comes in with a steadier resume on the season but has been on a roll. Their seven win streak was recently snapped by Orlando, a game in which the Heat welcomed back Tyler Herro and Norman Powell but still couldn’t erase an early deficit. Over the last 10, Miami’s played well. In this span they put up 120.2 OFFRTG and 112.7 DEFRTG with 28 APG. They’ve been playing fast all season. They keep the ball moving, attack mismatches until the defense shows help, and punish rotations with good looks. On defense, they’re shrinking the floor and forcing opponents into late decisions. Once again, the Heat under Erik Spoelstra will likely be a playoff team once again, as they currently sit in the seventh seed while going 7-3 in their last 10 games.
Charlotte’s been the real surprise here, and their resurgence in this second half of the season has been remarkable. The last 10 games have been excellent, with 120.4 OFFRTG and 109.4 DEFRTG. The Hornets’ game plan is modern, with massive three point volume (47.4 3PA in their last 10). They have tons of good shooters in LaMelo Ball, Kon Knueppel, Brandon Miller, Coby White, and Josh Green. They’re taking a ton of threes and also cashing a ton of threes at 39.5% in this last 10 span. The Hornets recently lost 115-102 at the hands of San Antonio, but they’d been 8-3 since late February entering that game, and there’s no shame in dropping a game to the Victor Wembanyama-led Spurs, whose defensive identity is rock solid and effective.
Hornets vs. Heat pick, best bet
Best Bet: MIA Heat Moneyline (+150)
The Heat will possibly be without Adebayo tonight, who is one of their best rebounders. Without Adebayo’s presence to fight off Charlotte’s insane pressure on the glass, it’ll be tough for Miami to come out ahead on the possession battle, even when they’re playing as fast as they are. Despite this, the Heat are 3-0 against the Hornets this season, and they played recently on March 6th. In that game, the Hornets fell by 8 points. Tyler Herro lit them up for 33 points on 55% shooting, while the Hornets’ rookie sensation Kon Knueppel couldn’t keep them afloat with his 27 points with six triples on 64.3% shooting.
