Heat VS Hornets (Game 1)

Heat lead series 1-0

I'd like to start out by saying that this is going to be a very tough series for the Charlotte Hornets. First off, Charlotte went 30-11 at home, which is really good. However, they also went 18-23 on the road. The problem is that the Hornets don't have home court advantage so they have to win a road game, which is difficult for them since they aren't that great of a road team.

Now, a big reason why the Hornets lost this game, is because of the Heat's roster. Their weakest starting player is Luol Deng who can hit shots at a prolific rate just as Joe Johnson can too. Luol Deng had 31 points. The other thing that really destroyed them was the pick and roll with Dragic and Whiteside. Whiteside had 21 points and Dragic had 10 assists, those 2 things combined are horrible for a defense to see. They need to defend pick and roll and EVERYONE needs to be guarding their guy. You can't hide players this series.

A big thing that really is going to determine a lot is how Marvin Williams plays for the Hornets. In the Hornets wins, Williams usually shoots better. He is going to have to make a bigger impact as he shot 1-7 from the field and 0-2 from 3. They need him to play better.

Also, when a team had over 50 points in the paint, that doesn't help you win. The Heat had 56 points in the paint. The Hornets need to cut off drives and really stop players from getting to the paint. They just need better defense. They must be more sound and active defensively.

That is about all I have to say for this game. They Hornets can force this to a game 7 easily since they are so great at home, but it is going to take work, nothing is ever set in stone, so let's see it.