3 Burning Questions Ahead of Hornets vs. Heat in the Play-In Tournament

It's official.

After a gritty, uglier-than-expected win against the New York Knicks, the Charlotte Hornets have locked themselves into the nine seed in the East and a date with Erik Spoelstra and the Miami Heat at the Spectrum Center on Tuesday night. Here are three questions I have ahead of the do-or-die Play-In game.

How will the Hornets fare against a fully healthy Heat side?

Charlotte hasn't seen a full-strength version of Miami since way back in October, a game in which the Hornets lost 144-117 (and even then Miami was missing Norman Powell).

Both sides have done a complete 180 since then, with the Heat falling back to the pack after opening the season going gangbusters, and the Hornets developing into one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference in this calendar year.

When the Heat came to Charlotte on March 6th and snapped the Hornets' six-game win-streak, Erik Spoelstra's squad was missing Norm Powell, Andrew Wiggins, and Simone Fontecchio. In the rematch that happened less than two weeks later, Miami was without superstar center Bam Adebayo.

Miami is limping into the Play-In in terms of recent results (4-4, 16th in net rating over the last two weeks), but a fully healthy Heat squad is not to be taken lightly no matter their current form.

What will Erik Spoelstra have in his bag of tricks?

The Heat can feel like a mid-major looking to pull an upset in the NCAA Tournament when they suit up in a win-or-go-home postseason game.

Not in terms of talent, but in terms of play style.

Miami plays a funky brand of offense, leaning heavy into pace after makes and misses, offensive sets designed to get their best ball handlers going downhill in isolation settings, and limiting turnovers by attacking off the bounce instead of off the pass.

On defense, the Heat often depoloy a junky zone look that stifled the Hornets earlier this season and has proven successful throughout Erik Spoelstra's decorated tenure in charge.

There may not be another head coach in the league you'd choose over Spoelstra for a one-game playoff scenario like the one coming later this week, and you can guarantee that he'll throw a curveball or two that the Hornets will be forced to adjust to.

Will the Hornets ride Grant Williams down the stretch of a close game?

Charlotte and Miami have squared off four times this season, but only one of those games was close in the final minutes.

In that close game, Charles Lee opted to play Grant Williams over Miles Bridges at power forward to end the game. Lee talked about Williams' physicality against Bam Adebayo as the main reason for his insertion into the lineup, and I wouldn't be shocked if he does it again this week.

However, I think it would come with Williams playing in place of Moussa Diabate, not Miles Bridges.

Charlotte hasn't rolled out lineups with Grant Williams playing center too often this season -- just 191 possessions since he returned from injury. In those possessions Charlotte has blitzed opposing teams on offense (122.5 offensive rating, 93rd percentile among all five-man lineups in the league) and struggled on defense (124.9 defensive rating, 7th percentile).

Grant Williams' threat as a shooter, smarts as a playmaker, and willingness to mix it up on both ends makes him an intriguing option as a small-ball center, especially if the Heat ride Bam as their lone big man. Erik Spoelstra will have an arsenal of off-speed pitches to throw at the Hornets in this one-game playoff, and this is one that I believe Charles Lee can answer with.

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