The Charlotte Hornets surpassed about everyone’s expectations this season, finishing 48-34 and 6th in the Eastern Conference. Despite losing Michael Kidd-Gilchrist for most of the season (who was arguably their most important player heading into the season), the Hornets finished one of the better two-way teams in the NBA, finishing with the 9th best offensive and defense rating in the league.
Returning to the playoffs after missing last season, the Hornets will take on the 3rd seeded Miami Heat, who also finished 48-34 but earned the three seed through a four-way tiebreaker. This will be Charlotte’s second time facing Miami in the playoffs in the last three seasons — in 2013-14, the then Charlotte Bobcats were swept in four games by the Heat.
While that was just three seasons ago, both teams are considerably different. Lebron James is gone, and Chris Bosh is out. Wade remains, and now relies on Hassan Whiteside’s ability to defend the rim and rebound.
Charlotte, on the other hand, no longer runs the offense through Al Jefferson. Kemba Walker’s improvement as a long-range shooter, combined with Nicolas Batum’s playmaking, has made Charlotte a more dynamic team offensively.
Despite their identical records, the Hornets face a tough task against Miami. Without home court advantage, Charlotte will have to steal at least one of the first two games in order to gain any advantage for the rest of the series. Along with that, here are some other keys for Charlotte:
Play to their strengths: Charlotte’s identity is 3-point shooting, with a four-out, one-in style of play. They move the ball well, and when their shots are falling, can easily rack up 30 points or more in a quarter. They also focus on limiting turnovers, and transition points. Sticking to their principles will be important.
Stay healthy: It’s remarkable how successful Charlotte was without MKG, for in the past his absence greatly reduced their chances of winning. That said, they can’t afford another injury to a key player. Batum is recovering from a sprained ankle, and while team officials aren’t calling it serious, they can’t afford losing him should he re-injure it. Additionally, an injury to Walker, or even Jefferson, would be costly as well.
Ride Jefferson, the X-factor: While Jefferson isn’t the All-NBA player from the 2013-14 season, he can still be a prolific scorer in the post. Coming off the bench, Jefferson plays less minutes, but now exploits match-ups against opposing bigs off the bench who in most cases cannot defend him one-on-one. In the past couple of weeks, he seems to finally be fully healed after recovering from knee surgery earlier this season — moving down the court better and looking quicker with his post moves. If this continues in the playoffs, he could add another dynamic to a bench unit that has been great at times this season.
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