Heading into Game 3, the series was considered all but over, but the Hornets have won two straight, despite missing Nicolas Batum.
Game 3 recap – With Nicolas Batum out, head coach Steve Clifford opted to go big, starting Al Jefferson and Frank Kaminsky. Jefferson would finish 10 points and eight rebounds, and managed to get Miami’s Hassan Whiteside into foul trouble. Kaminsky would rebound from a terrible start defensively, finishing with 15 points and six rebounds.
With a 49-44 lead at halftime, the Hornets jumped out on the Heat in the 3rd, outscoring them 26-14. After two average showings in Games 1 and 2, Jeremy Lin led the Hornets with 18 points — knocking down 2-3 from the 3-point line.
Game 4 recap – After a slow start in the 1st quarter, Charlotte outscored Miami 29-13 in the 2nd quarter, and led by as much as 18 in the 2nd half. Miami would rally in the 3rd, cutting Charlotte’s lead to just one, but the Hornets would hold their lead for the rest of the game.
Kemba Walker scored 34 points, a career and Hornets playoff high. He scored 11 straight points in the 4th quarter. Jeremy Lin had another strong game as well, finishing with 21 points on 6-10 shooting. He, along with Walker, were highly effective at attacking and finishing at the rim.
Down two with 31 second remaining, Miami managed to force Walker to take a bad shot from well outside the 3-point line, but Courtney Lee came up with his second of two key offensive rebounds late in the 4th — forcing Miami to foul.
The good – The decision to start Kaminsky and Jefferson has paid off, even if it looked destined for failure at first. Matched up against Luol Deng, Kaminsky struggled to defend the perimeter in the early goings, with Deng hitting his first four 3-point shots. However, Kaminsky was tasked with defending the paint over guarding the perimeter. Much like Jefferson was allowed to score at will in Game 2, the Hornets let Deng shoot from the outside, deciding that they would rather pack the paint and prevent easy buckets at the rim over defending Deng from the perimeter. The decision paid off, with the Hornets outscoring the Heat 56-28 in the paint, and Deng going 1-6 from the field after making his first four shots.
Lin and Walker have been a dynamic scoring backcourt as well. Instead of relying on outside shooting, both have attacked the rim aggressively, and have been able to score over Miami’s big men.
Finally, the overall defensive intensity looks much better than in Games 1 and 2. Charlotte is forcing turnovers, and Miami is no longer making almost every shot they attempt.
The bad – The Hornets continue to struggle from the 3-point line going 5-18 in Game 3, and 4-16 in Game 4. As stated before, the 3-point line has been the focal point of Charlotte’s offense. With their inability to score from the outside through four games, they’ve had to change their offensively identity, instead focusing on scoring at the rim through drives, or by posting Jefferson. It’s worked in Games 3 and 4, but you get the sense that they will need the 3-point shots to start falling in order to win the series.
Looking ahead – The Hornets will get a Game 6 at home, and going into that game up 3-2 would put them in a great position to win the series. That means winning Game 5 at a home, a prospect that at the moment seems uncertain given how poorly they played in the first two road games. That said, Charlotte appears to have figured out how to neutralize Miami’s prolific offense by defending the paint. If that continues, and if they can continue getting Whiteside into foul trouble, they could steal Game 5 and set themselves up for what would be a historic Game 6 at home.
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