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What: Miami Heat at Charlotte Hornets
Where: Spectrum Center; Charlotte, North Carolina
When: 7:00 p.m. EST
How to watch: Fox Sports Southeast
The Charlotte Hornets aren’t playing a team named the Celtics tomorrow, for what it’s worth. After falling to Boston at TD Arena just two days ago, the Hornets will play the first match in their actual arena on Tuesday night.
In Charlotte’s last game, Miles Bridges was spectacular. Even the Celtics’ commentators were impressed - and that is a feat in itself.
SOUND ON Even the opposing team's commentators are loving what they’re seeing from @MilesBridges early on #ROTY pic.twitter.com/xCGeEwEN7j
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) October 1, 2018
Notable differences between James Borrego and Steve Clifford have already been apparent. For instance, in the previous two preseason games, the Hornets have shot a total of 69 (nice) 3-pointers. In 2017 under Steve Clifford, the Hornets only shot a total of 27 per game. While this is a relatively small sample size, it is very promising to see James Borrego embrace the modern NBA through this simple change.
Another distinguishing difference Borrego has instituted is the willingness to have players switch positions for short stints. In the previous two games, Frank Kaminsky has played mostly center, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has operated at power forward, and Miles Bridges has played at pretty much every position — including center.
It will be interesting to see whether Cody Zeller and Marvin Williams play on Tuesday night. Sunday vs. the Celtics, both players were held out. Again, it is only preseason, so it’s not like this matters, but I am dying (as I’m sure most fans are as well) to know who starts at center, especially with Willy Hernangomez performing well in both the Summer League and early on this preseason.
With the young guys getting a lot of run in the preseason, it will be refreshing to see how this core performs against a mostly-veteran team in Miami. On Sunday, the Heat played their first preseason game against the San Antonio Spurs. They lost by four points if you’re curious.
Preseason is fun to watch, but it is very important to remember that the result won’t matter. Last year, a preseason game upended the season of forward Nic Batum, who sustained an elbow injury and wasn’t able to fully recover until after the season. His struggle was visible throughout the year.
Let’s basketball.