The Hornets may be the 6th seeds up against a three seed but they’ve played nearly identically to the Heat this season.
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Charlotte has now lost nine consecutive playoff games as they were swept in 2010 by the Orlando Magic, and were also swept by the HEAT two years ago during their last appearance in the postseason. The Hornets have the lowest turnover ratio in the league and the team’s leader, Kemba Walker, averages 2.1 turnovers a game so he will be able to use the Heat’s turnovers to create points for his team.
Hornets head coach Steve Clifford acknowledged that the Hornets’ defense, particularly in the pick and roll, lacked discipline, and said that that was a major reason the team came up short in Game 1.
Deng would prove to be the HEAT’s top scorer after dropping 31 points on 11-of-13 shooting from the floor.
SPURS 106, GRIZZLIES 74: Kawhi Leonard had 20 points and the San Antonio Spurs beat Memphis in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round series, handing the Grizzlies their worst postseason loss. It was one of those games where the losers should probably just throw out the game tape. And up front, we just got manhandled.
Game 2 is Wednesday night in Miami. This is the first 2016 NBA Playoffs game on the TNT cable TV channel, and you can find out how to watch Hornets vs Heat online free live streaming on TNT Overtime to see which team takes a 1-0 series lead.
At one point early in the second quarter, Winslow took one of Goran Dragic’s 10 assists and bewildered Zeller with a Wade-esque Eurostep. Wade was second on the team in scoring during the regular season, Johnson proved to be a solid addition at the trade deadline, and Deng started 73 games (and led the team with 31 points in Game 1 against Charlotte). We’ve got a lot of guys who can score, but right now we’re so unselfish.
“We had one great game against a team that’s injured”, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich cracked. “This may be a good lesson for us”. The Miami Heat knew there could be no letdowns to start their National Basketball Association playoffs after suffering a horrific meltdown in the last game of the regular season. And the Heat took full advantage of that home-court edge.
“Our offense wasn’t the problem”, Clifford said. They made 9 of 18 3-pointers, including Deng’s 4 of 6, and poured in 41 points in the opening quarter to match another franchise mark.
“He wants to make winning plays”, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. Of course, that might not actually make a difference.To compound Charlotte’s issues, the Hornets couldn’t stop Miami all night. Mature, veteran players understand it’s not about the numbers. “We got to get ready for the next game”.”This is how we’ve been playing since the All-Star break, sharing the wealth, obviously some games more than others”, said Wade, who had seven assists.
Much of last season was hard to watch, but Heat fans stuck it out to the end.
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There is a lot to work on for the Hornets as they look to do better in the playoffs this time around. It’s easy to assume that nerves got the best of this young Hornets squad as they were routed out of AmericanAirlines Center in Miami. Typically, Clifford has been great at that, but the Hornets’ defense was a total disaster here. He had eight points on 3 for 3 shooting….
