The Charlotte Hornets are taking their talents to South Beach in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
The Charlotte Hornets did it, they made the playoffs as the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. They did it by beating the Orlando Magic on the final day of the season withoutNicolas Batum. Then Boston beat Miami while Atlanta lost to Washington so that everyone got the four way dead heat that they all wanted.
The four way tie worked out for the Hornets pretty well too. The Hornets may have been the lowest team on the totem pole, but they did get the best matchup they could have hoped for. They will be playing the three seed Miami Heat, who they split the season series with. They lost their season series with Atlanta and Boston.
If you look over the horizon of South Beach, you will see the Hornets road to the Eastern Conference Finals goes through the second seed Toronto Raptors and not the first seed Cleveland Cavaliers. Of course the Hornets could get luckier and face the Indiana Pacers in a home series next round, but it should be a road series against the Raptors.
Also, you won’t have very long to wait for the Playoffs since the Hornets and Heat play game 1 on Sunday, April 17.
Playing the Heat means playing a team that was once a big rival of the Hornets. In the days of the old Hornets, thePat RileyHeat would often become the new address for Hornets that the team decided it could not afford.Alonzo Mourning,Anthony Mason, andEddie Jonesare among those that played for that other expansion team.
The Heat also beat the Hornets to an NBA Title, becoming the first and only member of the class of 1988 to do so. The Hornets have never seen the Finals while the Orlando Magic have had a couple unsuccessful trips.
The Heat are the old royalty of the East. Their splendor and status took a hit whenLeBron Jamesreturned to Cleveland to run the Cavaliers. They do hold the most recent championships from the conference and they still have the star power ofDwyane WadeandChris Bosh.
Still Bosh is not yet cleared to play and Wade is not quite the Flash of old on the court. The Heat make their living on a more balanced roster these days with point guardGoran Dragicand centerHassan Whitesidebeing key members of the Heat’s new wave.
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Heat Projected Starting Five:
C Hassan Whiteside
SG Dwyane Wade
PG Goran Dragic
Key Reserves: C Amare Stoudemire, FJustise Winslow, GJason Richardson
Current Injury Question Marks: F Chris Bosh, FUdonis Haslem
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That is the lineup that the Hornets will be facing. There will be a smattering of former Bobcat and Duke Blue DevilJosh McRobertsand the dunks ofGerald Green, but this what the foe looks like. So how to you beat them? That will be a topic for tomorrow.
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