**What:** Charlotte Hornets (1-1) (0-1 home) vs Miami Heat (0-2) (0-0 away)
**When:** 6:00pm Eastern
**Where:** Spectrum Center; Charlotte, NC
**How to watch:** Local TV (TV 64 in Charlotte), DAZN, NBA League Pass
**Outfitting:** Hornets–Icon (teal), Heat–Association (white)
**Game Lines:** Hornets +3.5, Hornets money line +120, O/U 229.5
This feels like an early season must-win game for both teams. Not because there’s any sort of standings implication, but rather to placate fan bases that are uneasy about the start of their seasons. Hornets fans booed the team in the home opener while they were in the process of getting beat down by 47 points.
But somehow it might be worse for the Heat. They pushed all their chips into the middle of the table by trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo. It always seemed like an awkward fit pairing him with Bam Adebayo as the team’s one-two punch, and the first two games haven’t made that look any better. Giannis has had a usage rate almost twice as high as any other player on the Heat. Adebayo has the sixth highest usage rate of the nine rotation players. It’s mostly been the Miami Bucks, where the entire team revolves around Giannis. Either he shoots it, or someone chucks it from deep. Adebayo hasn’t found a place to fit within that.
This isn’t just about individual output though. The Heat are 0-2 with an average margin of defeat of 21 points. Both games were noncompetitive by the fourth quarter. They were dominated on the glass by the Timberwolves and then no one but Giannis showed up on offense against the Pistons. The defense, which should be one of the best in the league with Giannis and Bam on the back end and Davion Mitchell at the point of attack, has the second worst defensive rating in the league through two games.
So as bad as last night looked for the Hornets, it might be a gettable game for them. Moussa Diabate has done a good job on Giannis in the past, and Naz Reid has the size to help out. If they keep Giannis from going crazy, they can steal a win from this Heat team that’s still trying to find their form.
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