NBA Game 5: Hornets vs Heat Preview

The good news is that the Hornets have questions that should be answerable. The bad news is that until they answer them, we will likely keep seeing close losses like this. The Hornets never really had a defensive answer for Anthony Davis, who went for 24 points and 13 rebounds on the night. The Hornets also clearly missed Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who could have contested Tyreke Evans from having the kind of game he had. Evans went sixteen points, ten rebounds, and five assists.

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The Hornets got twenty points from Al Jefferson and twenty-one from Gary Neal, but both Kemba Walker and Lance Stephenson struggled with their shooting. Stephenson also accumulated five turnovers. Marvin Williams and Gerald Henderson combined for 15 points at about thirty minutes of play each.

The answers here are: One, get Kidd-Gilchrist back. Two, Play enough ball together to develop some chemistry. That will sort out Stephenson’s issues and allow the Hornets to play like they were built.

It doesn’t get any easier tonight, as the Miami Heat come to the Hive for the first time this season. Chris Bosh is averaging 26 and 11 on the young season, so the Hornets will again be tested to defend the four spot. It’s Hornets vs Heat, round 1.

Time: 6:00 PM
TV: SportSouth

Opponent: Miami Heat (3-1)

Nov 4, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat forward Chris Bosh (1) drives to the basket past Houston Rockets forward Kostas Papanikolaou (16) during the second half at American Airlines Arena. The Rockets won 108-91. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The Five:

G Norris Cole
G Dwayne Wade
F Luol Deng
F Josh McRoberts
C Chris Bosh

With LeBron gone, the Heat offense now cycles through Bosh and his game. The Heat are capable of spreading the floor since there is no real center in the first five. The Hornets should be able to attack this alignment with Jefferson, because there is no post presence here.

The Bench:

The Miami bench has some nagging injuries with forward Udonis Haslem, Danny Granger, and center Chris Andersen all suffering from one thing or another. The real sparkplug of the bench is rookie Shabazz Napier, the only true point guard that the Heat have. That allows Miami to change the pace if necessary.

Thoughts:

This is the kind of game you need Kidd-Gilchrist for. He could have taken Deng out of the picture to allow the defense to adjust to Bosh. Now either Henderson or Stephenson will be on Deng, which will allow Deng to have a size advantage over either potential matchup. Hopefully his arm injury might keep him out of action. Kidd-Gilchrist also would have allowed Stephenson to cover Wade, but now Wade will be covered by Henderson or someone else part of the time. Wade may only need part of the time to make a big impact.