Bobcats at Heat
The Miami Heat typically roll through Charlotte but might have to work a little bit harder this time around when they open a first-round playoff series against the visiting Bobcats on Sunday. The second-seeded Heat are 15-0 against Charlotte since LeBron James joined the squad, including a four-game sweep this season capped by James scoring a career-high 61 points on March 3. The No. 7 seed Bobcats finished strong with a 20-9 mark after the All-Star break and have won eight of their last nine games.
Miami wasn’t so stout down the stretch, losing its last three outings and six of its final eight. Part of that was due to resting players with the expectation that the two-time defending champions will still be playing in June for the fourth straight season. Nobody is forecasting Charlotte winning the series but the Bobcats could make things a bit interesting if the supporting cast steps up to help center Al Jefferson. Charlotte’s 43 victories were the second-most in franchise history and substantially more than the combined total of 28 over the previous two campaigns.
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
ABOUT THE BOBCATS (43-39): Jefferson is the main reason why Charlotte is part of the postseason fun for the first time since 2010 as he averaged 21.8 points and 10.8 rebounds while posting 42 double-doubles. His play rose significantly after he recovered from early-season ankle woes and he scored 20 or more points in 37 of the final 45 regular-season games. Miami doesn’t have the interior players to slow him – Jefferson had season marks of 25.3 points and 15.3 rebounds against the Heat – and will try to frustrate point guard Kemba Walker (17.7 points, 6.1 assists). Guards such as Gerald Henderson, Gary Neal and Chris Douglas-Roberts will need to have some big outings to keep Charlotte competitive.
ABOUT THE HEAT (54-28): James averaged 37.8 points and shot 62.9 percent from the field in the four wins over the Bobcats as part of a standout campaign in which he averaged 27.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.4 assists. Much more important in the first-round series is seeing how close guard Dwyane Wade can come to approaching championship-level form. Wade’s knees are always an issue and he missed nine games due to a hamstring injury before playing in Miami’s final three contests. Wade (19 points) hasn’t played more than 30 minutes in a game since March 26 and missed 28 games during the regular season.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Counting a victory before James joined the team, Miami has won 16 straight against the Bobcats.
2. Charlotte was 25-6 in the regular season when scoring 100 or more points.
3. James has scored 30 or more points 61 times in the postseason and Wade has reached that mark 32 times.