Charlotte Hornets vs. Miami Heat Predictions, Picks and Preview – 2016 NBA Playoffs – Eastern Conference First Round Game Five – April 27, 2016

The Charlotte Hornets don’t have time for your Crying Jordan memes. The Hornets take aim stringing together their third win in the row this coming Wednesday, when they make a trip to South Beach. Will the Hornets sting Miami again? Or will the Heat tame Charlotte?. Read on for more about this matchup. You can also check out our preview of Rockets vs. Warriors Game 5.

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Charlotte Hornets vs. Miami Heat Game 5 Preview

Where: AmericanAirlines Arena

When: Wednesday, April 27, 2016 8:00 PM ET

Line: Charlotte Hornets (+5.5) vs. Miami Heat (-5.5); total: 193.0 – view all NBA lines

TV Broadcast: TNT

Betting on the Charlotte Hornets

After back-to-back wins to even the series, the Hornets are now staring at an opportunity to gain the series lead for the first time. They will have to do it, however, in Miami, where they are only 1-9 SU and 4-5-1 ATS in their last 10 games there.

Nevertheless, the Hornets have definitely made their presence felt after falling in a 0-2 series hole. Led by Kemba Walker’s 34 points, the Hornets beat Miami at home, 89-85, on Monday. Walker had an unspectacular 17-point output on an inefficient 4-for-19 shooting from the field in Game 3 so his performance on Monday could be treated as a sign of good things to come from the spitfire guard.

Walker aside, it’s Charlotte’s defense that has really turned things around for the Hornets. After allowing Miami to average 119.0 points in the first two games of the series, the Hornets played tighter defense and held the Heat to only 82.5 points on a salty 36.8 percent shooting from the field in the succeeding two contests.

Jeremy Lin has been lethal off the bench in this series. Lin is playing a bigger role now that Nicolas Batum is sidelined. Batum missed the last two games with a strained foot and his availability for this Wednesday’s contest appears grim. Lin is averaging 14.8 PPG in this series.

Betting on the Miami Heat

Charlotte may have found a way to beat the Heat in the last two meetings, but the Hornets are yet to discover a solution to their South Beach woes. Dating back to 2013, the Heat are 9-1 SU in the last 10 games they hosted Charlotte.

The Heat hope that the trend continues this Wednesday. Moreover, they are looking to regain their shooting touch when they take the floor of AmericanAirlines Arena again. As mentioned earlier, Charlotte’s defense has really put a spell on Miami’s scorers. That was obvious in Game 4 in which Miami shot 37.9 percent from the floor. The Heat’s problem on offense is mostly in the paint. They remain to shoot well from the perimeter, even going 14-for-21 from deep in Game 4.

Playing at home should help Hassan Whiteside recover the form he had in the Heat’s first two wins of the series. Whiteside only had eight points on Monday, a far cry from the 21 points he scored in the series opener. One consistent aspect of Whiteside, however, is his interior defense. He swatted away three and four shots in Game 4 and 3, respectively.

The Heat could also help their cause if they could play a more honest defense. Miami was assessed with 26 personal fouls that Charlotte translated into 30 free throw attempts in game 4. Conversely, Miami only had 21 attempts from the charity stripe.

Writer’s Prediction

Miami (-5.5) wins, 103-98.

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