The Charlotte Hornets have won six in a row and are looking to get within just a game of the Miami Heat in the standings. They can get that done with a win tonight over their division rival in Uptown.
Moments ago, both teams submitted their starting lineups, so let's take a look at the first group on the floor.
The Hornets' starting five
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**G LaMelo Ball -** Melo had a pretty impactful night against the Celtics on Wednesday, posting 18 points on 7/17 shooting to go with seven rebounds and four assists.
**G Kon Knueppel -** As expected, Knueppel's two-game slump did not extend to a third night, connecting on four triples vs. the C's, finishing with 20 points in 31 minutes of action.
**G/F Brandon Miller -** With his 8/13 night, Miller made north of 60% of his shot attempts for the second straight game. He's cut back on his three-point attempts in those two games, and it's led to a highly efficient product.
**F Miles Bridges -** The veteran forward has had a brutal start to the month of March offensively, seeing just six of his 23 shots find the bottom of the net and 3/12 attempts from three. Heck, he's even struggled at the free-throw line, going just 4/7. Expect a nice bounce-back performance from him tonight.
**C Moussa Diabaté -** Moose has flirted with some serious foul trouble the last two games, but fortunately for him and the Hornets, they were able to build a pretty comfortable lead to where it didn't really matter. Against Boston, he fell one point and one rebound shy of a double-double.
The Heat's starting five
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**G Davion Mitchell -** Mitchell isn't going to burn opposing teams with his shotmaking, but he is, without question, one of the best perimeter defenders in the entire NBA. He'll have a tough assignment tonight.
**G Tyler Herro -** Herro has totaled 47 points in his last two games, and that's without much success from downtown (3/11). If the three-ball starts falling again, he could be a tough cover for the Hornets.
**G Pelle Larsson -** Larsson has been a pleasant surprise for the Heat, averaging a little over ten points per game. On Thursday versus Brooklyn, he went for 16 points on 6/13 shooting, much of which came from inside the arc.
**F Myron Gardner -** Instead of going with Jaime Jacquez Jr., Erik Spoelstra will leave him in his bench role and start Gardner. He's averaged 3.9 points per game this season.
**C Bam Adebayo -** Bam has recorded four straight 20-point games, two of which he was able to post a double-double. He'll present a challenge for the Hornets centers.