Hornets vs. Heat Preview: Odds, Lines, Predictions

The Charlotte Hornets have yet another tough test this evening. Going against the top-seeded Miami Heat, the Swarm will have their hands full in this road tilt. With four games remaining in the regular season, the Hornets need to win games like this if they want to compete for the eight seed in the play-in tournament.

The Heat have been all over the place in their last eight games. Losing four in a row, it looked like Miami was destined to choke away the top spot. Now they are on a four-game winning streak and looking like the team to beat once again. No matter which Heat team shows up tonight, the Swarm will have to play their brand of basketball if they want to secure the win.

Keys to the Game

Speed the game up. Miami has one of the best defenses in the NBA. Combined with the second-slowest pace in the league, the Heat like to slow the game down and force opponents to take bad shots. Miami holds opponents to the fewest shot attempts per game and forces the fourth-most turnovers per game. The Hornets will need to get out in transition and keep the stellar Miami defense running all night long.

Do not be fooled into taking threes. While Miami is giving up 38.1 three-point attempts per game, which is the fourth-worst mark in the league, the Heat are allowing opponents to shoot 33.9% from deep, which is the third-best defensive percentage. If the Heat force the Hornets to bomb away from deep, it will be a long night for LaMelo Ball and the Swarm.

Odds and Moneyline provided by BetUS

Point spread: Hornets +5.5

Money line: Heat -225 / Hornets +185

Over-under: 226.5

Final Prediction

The Hornets are understandably underdogs yet again. With a brutal schedule to close the season, Charlotte will be lucky to escape Miami with a win over their divisional rivals. In the end, Miami’s defense proves to be too much for the Hornets top-ranked offense. Miami wins it with a final score of 109-104.