Three Things Fans Need to Know Today about the Hornets vs Heat Play-In Matchup

For the first time in a decade, there is postseason basketball being played at the Spectrum Center.

Similar to the last time there was postseason ball in Charlotte, the Miami Heat will be in town to face off with the Charlotte Hornets in a game that could end the Heat season.

This time, however, the Hornets' season is on the line as well, as the two sides face off in the nine versus ten matchup of the NBA's Play-In Tournament. While tonight will be the end of the road for one of these teams, the victor will be headed to either Orlando or Philadelphia to take on the loser of the seven versus eight game between the Orlando Magic (8) and the Philadelphia 76ers (7).

With the game coming up soon, here are three things that fans should know headed in:

Injury Report

For one of the few times this entire season, the Hornets injury report is completely clean as they gear up for their matchup with the Heat on Tuesday night. For a team who was shark-bitten by injuries last season, Charlotte has had health on their side (knock on wood) since the turn of the new year, with guard LaMelo Ball being a consistent part of the lineup since December and playing 60+ games for the second time in his career.

On the other side, the Heat currently have three players on their injury report: Pelle Larsson is probable with a right lower leg contusion, Nikola Jovic is out with a left ankle sprain, and Dru Smith is out with right foot soreness.

Season Series

The Heat won the season series between the two squads this season 3-1, winning two of the first three games by double-digits. The Hornets were able to take the last game of the season, though, a 30 point win with LaMelo pouring in 30 points and 13 assists.

The two squads never faced each other at full health, with the closest being the Heat's 128-120 victory over the Hornets in early March, where Norman Powell and Andrew Wiggins were the only notable players missing.

So, it remains to be seen how these two teams will play each other at full health. Tonight will be the ultimate test, with each team's season on the line.

Who will step up for the Hornets?

It's hard to predict who will shine in one singular game, but let's talk about Grant Williams.

In his two games against Miami this season, Grant Williams has averaged 10.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, shot 63.6% from three, and 50% from three. In his last 13 playoff games against the Heat, Grant has averaged 8.2 points, shot 44.4% from the field and 41.0% from three.

Grant has experience against Erik Spoelstra in the postseason, and is the perfect player to have a standout game to save the Hornets season. He's done it before in the postseason, where in a game seven in Boston, Grant recorded 27 points while hitting seven threes.

The Hornets are 9.7 points/per 100 possessions better than their opponent with Williams on this season versus with him off. If anyone off the bench (outside of Coby White) were to step up for Charlotte on Tuesday night, it'll be Grant.

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