One Miami Heat player loves this Charlotte Hornets match-up, plus more keys

All eyes on a short term goal for the Miami Heat: starting the season 3-1 before heading on their first real road trip of the season. The Charlotte Hornets come to town on Tuesday night in Miami, as the Heat try to build off this high pace, no play-call offense.

It's expected the Heat will continue to lean into this bigger starting lineup, not just for Kel'el Ware's sake, but to keep this highly effective bench core together.

Let's get right into three keys to this match-up:

1. A commonly one-sided battle: Heat defense vs LaMelo Ball.

Oct 25, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) controls the ball against the Philadelphia 76ers during the fourth quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The Charlotte Hornets offense has been a tough group to slow down for the first three games of the season. They're averaging the most points a night in the entire NBA, while shooting 41% from three overall. LaMelo Ball has also had a hot start to the season, averaging 28 points a game on 48% shooting, but there's always a different story when he faces an Erik Spoelstra coached defense. No doubt he's struggled to find a level of efficiency when facing Miami over the years, but the team's current shooting levels may make it harder for the Heat to totally apply the pressure with doubles. This match-up will be key to who ends up victorious in this one, but I'd expect the Heat to heavily force the others to beat them. This is a match-up where the Heat will switch 1 through 4 most of the night, so expect a lot of Bam Adebayo guarding Ball.

2. One Heat starter seems to like this Hornets match-up.

Oct 26, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat forward Andrew Wiggins (22) reacts as he dribbles the ball against New York Knicks during the first quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

There have been plenty of loud performances for the Heat's main guys to start the season, such as Bam Adebayo's 18 point first quarter in Memphis or Norman Powell's 29 point scoring output against the Knicks. But Andrew Wiggins has been pretty much sliding under the radar as somebody doing the other things beyond scoring. But rewinding back to last season with the Heat, Wiggins put together his best performance in a Heat uniform against the Hornets with a 42 point night at home on 16 of 21 shooting and 6 threes. It's not expected that he will be matching those big numbers, but it is clear that he likes this match-up as a whole. He will continue to play mainly on the wings off the catch and on the break, but keep an eye on him having one of his better offensive games of the season.

3. May the best three point shooter win: a drive and kick battle.

Oct 26, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat guard Norman Powell (24) looks on against the New York Knicks during the first quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Erik Spoelstra has always made it clear he wants his team to hit the benchmark of 40 three pointers attempted per game, but this year it's being generated differently. The Heat were a top 10 team in dribble hand-offs last year and top 15 in pick and roll ball-handler reps, while both of those have dropped to dead last in the NBA to start the year. As Adebayo noted again after the win against the Knicks, "I don't think we ran one play." They've pretty much leaned totally into a drive and kick game, which starts with more isolation stuff which has jumped from below average to sixth in the association. Two feet in the paint, collapse the defense, kick-out. That's been the formula, and it's one the Charlotte Hornets live by as well. Whoever can do it more effectively across 48 minutes tonight will have a good shot at leaving the Kaseya Center with a win.