Summary
The Charlotte Hornets started off the season with a well-fought, entertaining game in Miami.
The first quarter ended 25-22, in favor of the Heat. JT Thor scored seven consecutive and unanswered points for the Hornets to start off the 2nd quarter. The Heat then went on a 20-0 run against the Hornets' bench unit. Just when the game was starting to get out of hand, Charlotte turned things around. To close out the 2nd quarter, the Hornets went on a 12-0 run of their own, capped off by a buzzer-beating dunk by Mark Williams. Miraculously, they only trailed by 1 at halftime.
The drama continued into the second half. With 3:41 left on the clock in the fourth quarter, the Hornets were leading 104-95. Neither team had their primary players on the floor when Cole Swider for the Heat showcased an impressive display of shooting, sinking three triples within the last three minutes and adding a couple from the line. His 17-point fourth quarter highlighted Miami's knack for unearthing high-performing undrafted players
Best of The Night: Starters Dominance
Every starter finished in double figures except for Mark Williams who just missed the mark with 9 points. The offense flowed extremely well with the starters on the court. Hornets fans can take excitement in seeing the electric passes of LaMelo Ball and the crafty scoring of Gordon Hayward yet again. Notably, there was a sequence at the start of the third quarter where LaMelo threw a nearly full-court pass to PJ Washington, leading to an and-one dunk. The following play, LaMelo threw a lob from mid-court to Gordon Hayward who finished with a layup at the rim. Every starter had a positive plus-minus in this game. This is preseason and despite the negative final result- the starters gave Hornets fans something to be excited about.
Worst of the Night: Bench Woes
The Hornets struggled massively on the offensive end without the starters in the game. The bench unit allowed a 20-0 run from the Heat in the second quarter, and the offense only started clicking again when the starters came back on the court. Both backup point guards (Frank Ntilikina and Edmond Sumner) had poor shooting games, combining for 1/9 from the field. They also had only one assist combined and together had three turnovers. There are a lot of guards on this preseason roster, and it will be critical for Steve Clifford to find a backup point guard that can effectively run the offense. The major bright spot from the bench unit was JT Thor, who had 12 points and went 3/5 from three.
Rookie Watch:
Brandon Miller and Nick Smith Jr. got significant run tonight, with 22 and 20 minutes respectively. Both players seemed a little hesitant at the start of the game but both showed flashes of why they were drafted in the first round. Brandon had 9 points on 3/9 shooting to go along with three rebounds and three assists. Meanwhile, Nick Smith Jr. had 11 points on 4/10 shooting with five rebounds. Amari Bailey played only the final four minutes of the game and recorded no stats.
Injury Update
Miles Bridges was ineligible to play in this game due to his suspension to start the season. The Hornets were also without James Bouknight, Leaky Black, Cody Martin, Theo Maledon, and Bryce McGowens due to various ailments.
The Heat did not play Jimmy Butler tonight, though he is not listed with an injury.
Up Next: The Hornets are set to face the Wizards in Washington on Thursday, Oct 12th, at 7 p.m.
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