NBA Play-In Preview: Hornets Look to End Miami Curse

If Eric Collins doesn’t believe in the announcer’s curse, why should we? There’s no point in avoiding it.

Because I’m not sure about fans, but I’m tired of thinking about it. So let’s open the book, and hope that our own (less important, I’ll admit) curse of the Bambino finds its way right out of the Queen City.

If there was going to be a team…

No, sorry, Eric. I can't go that far, at least. I really don’t know how you do it.

The Miami Heat have dominated the Charlotte Hornets and Bobcats since the franchise's new iteration began in 2004.

When the original Hornets first departed for New Orleans after the 2001-2002 season? The Hornets led the series between the Heat, since both teams’ inception in the late 80’s, 25-24.

Twenty-five. To twenty-four.

That all-time series, including the 49 contests above and postseason meetings, is now led by the Miami Heat 83-50.

Charlotte has won the exact same number of games in 21 NBA seasons that the original rendition of the team did in 14.

It’s safe to say that history isn’t on their side, of late.

If there’s anything that the 2025-2026 Hornets have been, though? They’ve been a ray of hope for the fanbase who waited those same 21 seasons for a team that truly felt capable of putting that history in the past.

Not just that, they’ve been a group that has the potential to completely break the barrier of what those same fans have come to expect is possible for the Hornets as an organization. They have a chance to continue making history and break even more barriers tonight.

My Keys to the Game for the Hornets:

- This is a bad matchup for the Hornets, in my opinion. The Hornets are really good, for the most part, outside of Detroit’s specific physicality against them, against teams who like to run a slow pace, with a ton of P&R. The Hornets are the exact opposite, wanting to shoot a lot of threes and a lot of movement screening away from the ball to help make the offense churn even more.

- Miami likes to switch just about everything on defense, is comfortable doing so, and wants to play with pace themselves offensively. On offense, the Heat don't run a lot of pure pick-and-roll and can be very versatile in how they attack you because they have the shooters and the pace, but they also have Bam Adebayo. Not the greatest matchup for Moussa, but it’ll be a great test for him.

- What do they do about Miami’s Sixth Man of the Year candidate, Jamie Jaquez Jr., off the bench? Does Kl’el Ware take advantage of an inexperienced Kalkbrenner when Moose and Adebayo are off the floor?

- The above is a part of the game within the game between the coaches, and it might be what I'm most excited to see tonight. We have all talked about the growing moments this season for the Hornets. This could potentially be a learning moment for Charles Lee, too. How he handles the inevitable curveballs that Spoelstra will throw at him will be key here. Coach Spo is liable to coach a Hall of Fame game on any given must-win game, it feels like. Unbelievable that this guy has never won Coach of the Year.

- Coby White will be massive in this game. White has scored 42 points in a Play-In win for the Bulls in the past, so he may be my biggest X-Factor for the Hornets tonight. He’s obviously proved himself as a weapon off the bench, but can he give them an elite performance? If White does that, it takes so much pressure off of 2 out of the three of LaMelo/Brandon/Kon needing to have a big performance.

- LaMelo has been super hot recently, too, and you have to imagine it’ll continue. I want to see how competitive he is at points in this game: diving for loose balls, hands in the passing lanes, getting to the rack with physicality, and taking a majority of open threes unless he’s on absolute fire and in microwave mode.

- So, if we can hope that Melo stays in form, to me it comes down to one of Kon or Brandon needing to really show back up when this team needs them. Kon, it’s the end of a rookie season, and vets are testing him each night with physicality that they have on him out of pure experience alone right now. But Brandon, he’s the one I want to see just have a huge night. He’s so capable, and the Hornets are at their very best, opening up things for Kon even more, too, when Brandon is playing on his A game on both sides of the ball.

My Final Prediction and Thoughts:

Maybe it’s me trying not to jinx it, or maybe it's the Hornets PTSD – who knows – but I have to be the one to pick against the Hornets tonight.

In all seriousness, I just don’t like the matchup whatsoever. The Hornets haven’t shown they have the gas to win some of these leverage games of late, and that’s not even really their fault. They’re so young, just like their coach, general manager, and owners. So much progress is still out in front of the Hornets as an organization.

I hope they prove me wrong and keep that ball rolling even further into the postseason.

Miami snatches Charlotte’s hearts, in typical fashion, right at the death of this game; Miami 109, Hornets 107.

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