Hornets Extra: Heat vs. Hornets

Miami Heat(18-23; 3-6 in Southeast Division play) vs. Charlotte Hornets(17-25; 3-4 in Southeast Division play)

Time Warner Cable Arena

Wednesday, 7:00 p.m.

Television: SportSouth

Radio: WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan)

Last 2 meetings: Miami 94, Charlotte 93(November 23rd at Miami); Charlotte 96, Miami 89(November 5th at Charlotte)

Series history(since original Hornets first season in 1988-89): MIA leads series 54-35 all-time

Tonight at "The Hive", the Charlotte Hornets look to continue their impressive string of playing solid basketball over the last 2 weeks as they welcome in the Miami Heat to town. The last time the Hornets were in action came on Monday afternoon, resulting in a 105-80 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves at home, while Miami is coming off a loss at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder last night in Miami.

Scouting the Heat

The 2014-15 season for the Miami Heat is somewhat a story of their ups and downs, as they adjust to life without LeBron James.  But they still have Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh leading the way for the Heat, who are coming off a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder last night at AmericanAirlines Arena, dropping them to 18-23 on the year.  Tonight in Charlotte, the Heat looks to bounce back from that loss as they take on a Charlotte Hornets team that has been playing some good basketball lately over the last few games.

Scouting the Hornets

The talk around the NBA over these few days has to be the impressive play that the Charlotte Hornets have been doing lately, they have won 7 of their last 8 games, with one coming back on Monday afternoon, as Charlotte defeated Minnesota 105-80 at "The Hive".  Interestingly enough, the Hornets are just a 1/2 game back of a playoff spot behind Brooklyn, and with the possibility of Kemba Walker returning to the lineup tonight, the Hornets are hoping that their great play can lead them to a win over Miami tonight, as Charlotte will finish up its season-long 4-game homestand.

"Classic Night" to take place tonight

Tonight's game has been designated as a "Classic Night", as the Charlotte Hornets will have several special in-game elements to honor the days of the original Charlotte Hornets(1988-2002), and fans are encouraged to wear their classic Hornets gear to the game as part of the "Classic Night" festivities during "Wednesday Night Basketball" as well.

Next 4 games for the Hornets(Home games in Purple, Road games in Teal)

Friday: Charlotte @ Cleveland Cavaliers(7:30 p.m.)
Saturday: New York Knicks vs. Charlotte(7:00 p.m.)
Next Wednesday: Charlotte @ San Antonio Spurs(8:30 p.m.)
Next Saturday: Charlotte @ Denver Nuggets(9:00 p.m.)

NOTES: All SportSouth telecasts begin with "Hornets Live" 30 minutes before tip-off; All Hornets games can be heard locally on flagship station WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan) and throughout the Carolinas on the Hornets Radio Network.

Hornets Extra: Hornets @ Heat

Charlotte Hornets(4-9; 2-1 in Southeast Division play) vs. Miami Heat(7-6; 2-2 in Southeast Division play)

AmericanAirlines Arena, Miami

Sunday, 6:00 p.m.

Television: SportSouth

Radio: WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan)

Last meeting: Charlotte 96, Miami 89(November 5th at Charlotte)

Series history(since original Hornets first season in 1988-89): MIA leads series 53-34

The Charlotte Hornets are facing yet another back-to-back set, which begins on Sunday night in Miami as they square off against Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat.  The last time these two teams met was a few weeks ago back in Charlotte, when the Hornets ended their long 0-for-LeBron drought with a 96-89 win on November 5th at "The Hive" behind Al Jefferson's 28 point/10 rebound performance.  The Hornets are currently on a 4-game losing skid, while Miami is coming off a 99-92 win over in-state rival Orlando on Saturday.

Scouting the Hornets

The Charlotte Hornets have been struggling to get back on track over the last couple of games, and their latest one came on Friday, as the Hornets saw their 23-point lead disappear in their 105-100 loss at the hands of the Orlando Magic back at Time Warner Cable Arena.  Now, the Hornets are facing another back-to-back set, which begins on Sunday night in Miami against the Heat, who they defeated back on November 5th at "The Hive" with a 96-89 win, before returning home for three home games in 5 days starting on Monday against the Los Angeles Clippers at Time Warner Cable Arena.  Charlotte hopes to end their long 4-game skid and to get back in the win column against a talented Miami team on Sunday in South Beach.

Scouting the Heat

The Miami Heat got back in the win column thanks to a 99-92 win over their in-state rivals, the Orlando Magic on Saturday night in Orlando, as they too are entering a back-to-back set with a visit from the struggling Charlotte Hornets on Sunday night.  Chris Bosh stole the show for the Heat on Saturday, as he finished with 32 points to lead Miami, while Dwyane Wade sat out the game with a left hamstring strain that could keep him out of the lineup for Sunday's game.  Miami is seeking some revenge after what the Hornets did to them in Charlotte, and they look for another strong outing from Bosh on Sunday.

Next 4 games for the Hornets(Home games in Purple, Road games in Teal)

Monday: L.A. Clippers vs. Charlotte(7:00 p.m.)

Wednesday: Portland Trail Blazers vs. Charlotte(7:00 p.m.)

Friday: Golden State Warriors vs. Charlotte(7:00 p.m.)

Next Saturday: Charlotte @ Atlanta Hawks*(7:30 p.m.)

*-Southeast Division game

NOTES: All SportSouth telecasts begin with "Hornets Live" 30 minutes before tip-off; All Hornets games can be heard locally on flagship station WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan) and throughout the Carolinas on the Hornets Radio Network.

Hornets Extra: Hornets 96, Heat 89

89

96

If you want to beat the Miami Heat at their own game, you have to do just one thing: Beat the Heat minus LeBron James.  In it's previous 16 meetings, the then-Charlotte Bobcats were 0-for-16 during his stint with Miami, but fast forward to last night's match-up against the Heat before an announced crowd of 15,874 at Time Warner Cable Arena, as it was "Big Al" Jefferson that turned out to be the star of the show for the Charlotte Hornets as his 28 points and 10 rebounds helped Charlotte snap its 16-game regular season losing streak against Miami thanks to a 96-86 win, improving the Hornets to 2-3, while Miami drops to 3-2.

"It's good to get the monkey off our back." said Hornets guard Kemba Walker, who seen it happen in his previous 16 tries in a Charlotte uniform, and was very fortunate for the Hornets to defeat Miami.

Jefferson had a stiff battle in the paint last night, as Miami would send out Shawne Williams and Justin Hamilton to slow him down, but "Big Al" would out-power them time after time to get the upper hand for the Hornets. "I feel like Birdman(Chris Andersen) is a guy who gives me a challenge because he's a little taller, but all the guys out there today I felt like I had an advantage." quoted Jefferson.

Charlotte would finish the game shooting 42.7% from the field, as they also got some double-figure scoring from Kemba Walker and his 18 point performance while Cody Zeller saw some good minutes off the bench for the Hornets with 13 points, and despite only scoring 8 points, Lance Stephenson would be the leading rebounder for the Hornets with 13 on the night to contribute to the Hornets effort in the rebound department with a 49-36 margin.

Miami would get a good showing from Dwyane Wade as he led the Heat with 25 points, and despite the loss, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra was encouraged with how Wade put in the effort last night. "I've been very encouraged by his commitment."  Chris Bosh was the other Heat player that reached double figures with 23 points to go with 13 rebounds.

Next up on the agenda for the Charlotte Hornets will be another Southeast Division matchup against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night at "The Hive", before the Hornets hit the road for their first West Coast trip of the year starting on Sunday night in Los Angeles against the Lakers.

Hornets Extra: Heat vs. Hornets

Miami Heat(3-1; 1-0 in Southeast Division play) vs. Charlotte Hornets(1-3)

Time Warner Cable Arena

Wednesday, 7:00 p.m.

Television: SportSouth

Radio: WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan)

Series history(since Hornets first season in 1988-89): MIA leads series 53-35

It's another back-to-back set for the Charlotte Hornets, as they look to end their 3-game losing streak tonight as they welcome in their longtime rivals since their first year in 1988-89, the Miami Heat to Time Warner Cable Arena.  The Hornets are coming off a 100-91 loss last night in New Orleans against the Pelicans, while Miami enters the game with a loss to Houston last night in Miami.

Scouting the Heat

Last season, the Miami Heat was of course the talk of the NBA, with LeBron James leading the way along with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade.  After they were knocked out by eventual champion San Antonio, decisions were looming for a Heat team that wanted to stay together, and in the end, it was LeBron that decided to return back home to Cleveland to rejoin his home team in the Cavaliers.  This season, Miami has started to adjust to life without LeBron, with D-Wade and Chris Bosh still teaching some of its new guys to play hard each night, as Miami will look to bounce back from last night's loss at home against Houston tonight as they visit Charlotte to take on the Hornets.

Scouting the Hornets

It has been a tough stretch of games lately for the Charlotte Hornets, as they enter tonight's game on a 3-game losing streak, with their latest loss coming last night at the hands of the New Orleans Pelicans 100-91.  Like yesterday, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist will be a game-time decision, as the Hornets hope to end their mini losing skid tonight at "The Hive" as they look for some revenge against the Miami Heat, who knocked out the then-Bobcats in the first round of last year's Eastern Conference playoffs.

Next 4 games for the Hornets(Home games in Purple, Road games in Teal)

Friday: Atlanta Hawks @ Charlotte*(7:00 p.m.)
Sunday: Charlotte @ L.A. Lakers(9:00 p.m.)
Tuesday: Charlotte @ Portland Trail Blazers(10:00 p.m.)
Next Friday: Charlotte @ Phoenix Suns(9:00 p.m.)
*-Southeast Division game

NOTES: All SportSouth telecasts begin with "Hornets Live" 30 minutes before tip-off; All Hornets games can be heard locally on flagship station WFNZ-AM(610 The Fan) and throughout the Carolinas on the Hornets Radio Network.

30 Teams in 30 Days: Miami Heat

We continue our 2014-15 NBA season preview series, "30 Teams in 30 Days", with a quick visit down to South Beach, where the Miami Heat has gone through a drastic makeover, but their quest to bring home another NBA title to Miami will still be their ultimate goal this season, with some changes.

Last season's record: 54-28(2nd in Eastern Conference; def. CHA 4-0 in Eastern Conference 1st round; def. def. BKN 4-1 in Eastern Conference semi-finals; def. IND 4-2 in Eastern Conference Finals; lost to SA 4-1 in NBA Finals)

Head Coach: Erik Spoelstra(8th season, 314-162 with MIA)

Key additions: Josh McRoberts, Shannon Brown

Key loss: LeBron James

Arena: AmericanAirlinesArena(19,600)

Website: HEAT.com

The Miami Heat is often known for one thing: Running up the score and ending the game early, and that was their mantra last season, finishing with a 54-28 mark, good enough for second in the Eastern Conference, and in the playoffs, they easily swept Charlotte in 4 straight games, defeating the Brooklyn Nets in the second round, and eliminating the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals, setting up the showdown with the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals, but in the end, it was San Antonio that annihilated Miami by defeating the Heat 4-1, and signaling the end of the "Big 3" as we know it, as one LeBron James decided to go back home to Cleveland to rejoin the Cavaliers.

That would leave Miami with some questions to ask themselves, how would they continue to be one of the elite teams in the Eastern Conference with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade now running the show in Miami?  The answer came with the signings of Josh McRoberts, who spent last season with Charlotte, and also adding in Shannon Brown to the fold for Erik Spoelstra's ball club, as this may somewhat be a rebuilding year for the Heat as they move forward entering the 2014-15 campaign, and some may consider this year's edition of the Heat as a team in rebuilding mode, but we'll have to watch and see what will happen to them when the season begins in a few weeks from now.

Upcoming team previews in the "30 Teams in 30 Days" series

• Thursday: New Orleans Pelicans
• Friday: Houston Rockets
• Saturday: San Antonio Spurs
• Sunday: Dallas Mavericks