Coming off one of their worst home performances in quite some time, the Charlotte Hornets will get right back at it tonight with a chance to respond as they welcome the Miami Heat to Spectrum Center and close out their first back-to-back of the 2026-27 season.
Here's a look at the starting fives for both teams.
Charlotte Hornets' opening five
G Dennis Schröder - Schröder has been the same steady hand at point guard that he's shown himself to be throughout his NBA career, now in his 14th season. He's provided Charlotte with someone who can get north-south with the basketball, generate paint touches, make savvy decisions, and get to the free-throw line. The Hornets will need all of that if they're going to beat Miami.
G Brandon Miller - It's been an objectively rough offensive start to Miller's season, shooting below 26% from the field and 16% from three. He hasn't had as many clean looks set up for him as he was accustomed to last season, with Charlotte relying more on him to create shots for himself and others. Miller is a proven high-level NBA movement shooter, and I expect him to find his rhythm by seeing a few long-range shots go in early and going from there.
F Sion James - Speaking of poor shooting splits, James has posted identical shooting lines in Charlotte's first two games, going 1-of-7 from the field and 1-of-6 from three in both outings. James is a limited offensive player but has been awesome defensively, and he just needs to be serviceable enough as a jump shooter to keep his offensive struggles from outweighing his defensive impact.
F Naz Reid - One of the lone bright spots from Charlotte's performance against Atlanta last night was what Reid showed offensively. His difficult shot-making, quality processing as a passer, and ability to punish mismatches have all been impressive through two games from Charlotte's biggest offseason addition.
C Moussa Diabaté - The 24-year-old will have a huge task in this one, likely guarding both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo as Miami staggers their minutes throughout the game. Look for Diabaté to be active on the boards as always and get Charlotte's energy going early after yesterday's blowout loss.
Miami Heat's opening five
G Davion Mitchell - The former top-10 draft pick has turned himself into a really nice starting point guard for Miami, serving as an efficient playmaker and driver who plays with great pace while also being a pest defensively when guarding the basketball.
G Klay Thompson - Thompson is coming off a 2-of-11 performance against Detroit, with all 11 shots coming from three, which is largely the extent of his offensive game at this stage of his career. He runs off screens and looks to fire from beyond the arc, so the Hornets will have to stay on his hip, as the 36-year-old remains a threat there.
F Andrew Wiggins - The former No. 1 overall pick still seems to be settling into Miami's new Antetokounmpo-centric offense and has struggled shooting the ball to open the season. He remains a plus wing defender, though, and will likely spend much of the night guarding Brandon Miller, using his physicality to make things difficult for Charlotte's best player.
F Giannis Antetokounmpo - Antetokounmpo has shown why he's among the NBA's very best players to begin the campaign, with the Athens, Greece, native averaging 35.5 points, nine rebounds, and two stocks per game. He's been dominant despite Miami's 0-2 start and will be a massive problem for Charlotte's frontcourt, as he has been for much of the past decade.
C Bam Adebayo - The three-time All-Star Adebayo hasn't been nearly as productive offensively as his star frontcourt mate to start the season, but he remains one of the best individual defenders in the league. His switchability and defensive range make him a difficult matchup, and it'll be interesting to see how Charlotte looks to attack the paint with Adebayo and Antetokounmpo roaming the backline all night.
Tipoff between the Hornets and Heat is set for 6 p.m. ET.
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