2016 NBA Playoffs: The Deciding Factor In Each First Round Series
No. 3 Miami Heat vs. No. 6 Charlotte Hornets
Experience vs. New Wave
Despite being separated by three playoff rungs, the Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets finished the 2015-16 campaign with the same record at 48-34. That being said, these two teams could not be any more different in the way they win games.
To be fair, both have overcome their fair share of adversity in the form of injuries. The Heat have been without Chris Bosh and Tyler Johnson for months now, while Charlotte has dealt with nagging ailments to Nicolas Batum and Al Jefferson, not to mention Michael Kidd-Gilchrist only being able to suit up for seven games this season.
However, one team’s strength lies in its old school defensive principles and veteran experience, while the other is riding the new wave of pace-and-space, three-point shooting and positional versatility.
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For the Heat, they can rest easy in the vast pool of playoff experience that Dwyane Wade, Joe Johnson and Luol Deng bring to table, not to mention the veteran poise of players like Goran Dragic, Amar’e Stoudemire and even Bosh in a mentor role. The Hornets, on the other hand, have a grand total of 127 playoff games among the starting five — with 34 belonging to Nicolas Batum, 43 to Courtney Lee and 42 to Marvin Williams.
Experience and defense and Miami’s greatest assets, boasting a 100.5 defensive rating that ranked seventh in the league during the regular season. Their offense has tried to catch up, they have the league’s leading shot-blocker and guys like Wade and Johnson are capable of taking over high intensity games in a heartbeat.
That being said, Miami isn’t really with the current pace-and-space trend that places a heavy reliance on being able to knock down the three-ball. The Heat only attempt 18 three-pointers per game, the third lowest mark in the NBA, and they only convert 33.6 percent of those attempts — 27th in the league.
The Hornets, on the other hand, posted the league’s ninth best offensive rating at 105.1, due in no small part to Steve Clifford’s system that prizes positional versatility and stretch bigs who can step out and knock down shots from the perimeter. Charlotte is taking 29.4 threes per game (fourth most in the NBA) and converting 36.2 percent of them (seventh).
The Heat are better on offense than people know and the same could be said about Charlotte’s defense, even without MKG. But in this series, it will really come down to the playoff experience of guys like Wade, Johnson and Deng against a more three-point savvy unit of inexperienced players. The season series was split 2-2 and both teams are very good at home, so this one is anyone’s guess.
Prediction: Miami Heat in 7 games
Next: Clippers vs. Blazers