NBA Playoffs
Eastern Conference – Round 1
Tip-off: Wednesday, 7:05 p.m. ET
Line: Miami -5.0, Total: 201.5

Dwyane Wade and the Heat will be looking to take a 2-0 series lead when the team hosts the Hornets in Game 2 on Wednesday.

Many people expected the Hornets to show up in Game 1, but that was far from the case. Miami dominated right from the opening tip, winning 123-91 as a 4.5-point home favorite. The Heat could not miss on Sunday, as they shot an impressive 57.6% from the floor. They also turned the ball over just six times in the victory. Miami has now continued to dominate this Charlotte team at American Airlines Arena. The Heat are 8-1 SU and 5-4 ATS when facing the Hornets at home over the past three seasons and all nine of those contests have gone OVER the total. One trend to keep an eye on for Hornets bettors is that the team is 18-8 ATS when revenging a road loss this season. The Heat, however, are 14-4 ATS in a home game where the total is greater than or equal to 200 on the year. PG Kemba Walker (Knee) is a bit banged up coming into this game, but he will be on the court in Game 2. As for guys that won’t be available, SF Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Shoulder) is out for the season for Charlotte and PF Chris Bosh (Blood Clot) and SG Tyler Johnson (Shoulder) are both out for the year for Miami.

The Hornets got destroyed in Game 1 in Miami and this team is going to need to move the ball a lot better on Wednesday. PG Kemba Walker (20.9 PPG, 5.2 APG, 4.4 RPG, 1.6 SPG in regular season) and SF Nicolas Batum (14.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 5.8 APG in regular season) combined to dish out just two assists in the opening game of this series. These are two guys that combined to average 11.3 APG during the regular season and they’ll need to do a better job of finding their teammates the rest of the way. Walker is also going to need to be more aggressive as a scorer in Game 2. He was just not as involved in the offense as he usually is. He took only 13 shots, which is down from the 16.4 shots per game he averaged during the regular season. The Hornets are going to have a lot of trouble winning if he doesn’t step it up on Wednesday. Charlotte is also going to need a lot more out of PF Marvin Williams (11.7 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 1.0 BPG in regular season) and C Al Jefferson (12.0 PPG, 6.4 RPG in regular season) moving forward. Williams was horrible in Game 1, finishing the contest with just two points. He was relied on to stretch the floor all season and needs to knock down some shots on Wednesday. Jefferson, meanwhile, had a lot of trouble with Hassan Whiteside in Game 1. The Hornets need him to hold his own on Wednesday or it’ll be very tough to steal a road game.

The Heat put on an impressive Game 1 display and the guy that changed the game was PF Luol Deng (12.3 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.0 SPG in regular season). Deng was unconscious on Sunday, finishing the game with 31 points and seven rebounds in 33 minutes of action. His shooting numbers were off the charts as well, as Deng went 11-for-13 from the field and 4-for-6 from the outside. He was excellent on the defensive end, switching onto whomever he needed to and he has just really changed this team’s season with his play at the power forward spot. C Hassan Whiteside (14.2 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 3.7 BPG in regular season) was also a game changer for the Heat in Game 1. He was far too big and athletic for any of the Hornets’ inside players and he ended up finishing with 21 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and two steals in 26 minutes of action. Whiteside knows how to finish around the rim and he also is an anchor defensively for Miami. If he can avoid foul trouble then his fingerprints will be all over the results of this series when it’s all over. In the backcourt, SG Dwyane Wade (19.0 PPG, 4.6 APG, 4.1 RPG, 1.1 SPG in regular season) will need to continue to take the ball to the basket. Without Kidd-Gilchrist, the Hornets do not have anybody that can really guard him. He had 16 points on 8-for-16 shooting from the floor and should be able to score more moving forward. PG Goran Dragic (14.1 PPG, 5.8 APG, 1.0 SPG in regular season) will, however, need to be better in Game 2. He had just nine points on 2-for-8 shooting from the field in Game 1 and he can’t expect his team to win when he plays like that. Kemba Walker is going to be better in the remainder of this series and that means that Dragic must raise his game as well.