CHARLOTTE — The Charlotte Hornets and the Miami Heat will hit the court in the NBA Playoffs Play-In Tournament on Tuesday night.
The winner will advance in the tournament to play for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Charlotte is 11-5 against the Southeast Division, and Miami is 10-7 against division opponents.
The Hornets held a pep rally earlier on Tuesday to get fans ready for something they haven’t experienced in a decade— postseason basketball.
The game is a win-or-go-home opportunity to keep the season alive.
The Hornets have scratched and clawed their way back from a slow start to be in the Play-In Tournament.
In the last three weeks, they’ve played the top three teams in the East a total of five times, and those were games they needed to win to keep pace with the rest of the play-in field.
When the dust settled, the Hornets finished as the No. 9 seed and must win their next two games, with the latter on the road, to advance to the postseason for the first time since the 2015-2016 season.
The team is battle-tested, and head coach Charles Lee said the Hornets are ready.
“I love that we got to play some playoff-caliber games and some playoff-caliber environments, and I think it helps our young team,” said coach Lee. “Also, some of them being so young, they know what it’s like to play in that NCAA Tournament, and you’ve got that win-or-go-home mindset.”
Making the playoffs would mean everything for Hornets forward Miles Bridges, the longest-tenured player on the roster.
“It’s No. 1 on my list to make it to the playoffs and play for something,” Bridges told Channel 9. “I probably have the most games as a player to not make the playoffs. I definitely want to get off that list. And I feel like everybody on this team deserves to be in the playoffs. We worked so hard, and we sacrificed. I feel like we deserve to be there.”
BOTTOM LINE: The Hornets host the Heat in the NBA Playoffs Play-In Tournament. The winner moves on in the tournament to play for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.
The Hornets are 26-26 in Eastern Conference games. Charlotte ranks fifth in the league with 12.8 offensive rebounds per game led by Moussa Diabate averaging 3.7 offensive boards.
The Heat are 10-7 against opponents in the Southeast Division. Miami is 21-31 against opponents over .500.
The Hornets are shooting 46.0% from the field this season, 0.5 percentage points lower than the 46.5% the Heat allow to opponents. The Heat average 13.7 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.9 more makes per game than the Hornets give up.
TOP PERFORMERS: Kon Knueppel is averaging 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists for the Hornets. LaMelo Ball is averaging 22.5 points over the last 10 games.
Bam Adebayo is averaging 20.1 points, 10 rebounds and 3.2 assists for the Heat. Andrew Wiggins is averaging 2.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Hornets: 6-4, averaging 113.4 points, 44.8 rebounds, 24.9 assists, 6.3 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 45.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 107.1 points per game.
Heat: 5-5, averaging 125.8 points, 43.3 rebounds, 31.0 assists, 6.1 steals and 4.0 blocks per game while shooting 50.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 126.2 points.
INJURIES: Hornets: PJ Hall: day to day (ankle).
Heat: Nikola Jovic: day to day (ankle), Pelle Larsson: day to day (leg), Simone Fontecchio: day to day (ankle), Dru Smith: day to day (foot).
Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
VIDEO: Burke County outfitter makes over 20,000 shirts for Hornets play-in game
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