The Miami Heat, who have played a road-heavy schedule so far, return home to face the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night in an NBA Cup matchup.
Miami is 2-0 at home but just 2-4 on the road, having just concluded a 1-3 trek out west.
However, the Heat finished the trip ranked fourth in the NBA in scoring (122.4 points per game) and eighth in both field-goal percentage (49.5%) and 3-point percentage (38.8%). The Heat also rank fourth in assists (29.5 per game).
Center Bam Adebayo leads Miami in rebounds (8.1 per game), and he ranks second on the club in scoring (19.9 ppg). However, he left Miami’s loss at Denver on Wednesday after just eight minutes due to an injury to his left big toe.
Adebayo, a three-time All-Star and Miami’s team captain, will miss the Friday game.
“It’s definitely tough,” Heat wing Norman Powell said of Adebayo’s injury.
The Heat remain without 2025 All-Star Tyler Herro, who has yet to play this season due to an ankle injury.
Powell, who is new to the Heat this season, leads Miami in scoring (23.2 ppg) and 3-point percentage (51.7%). Davion Mitchell tops the squad in assists (7.9 per game).
Kel’el Ware, a 7-footer who was Miami’s first-round pick in 2024, likely will start in Adebayo’s place. He is averaging 10.1 points and 7.4 rebounds while shooting 41.7% on 3-point attempts and 64.5% from inside the arc.
Charlotte, which is just 1-3 on the road this season, has lost four of its past five games overall. That stretch includes a 144-117 defeat at Miami on Oct. 28.
In that game, the Heat got 28 points from Jaime Jaquez Jr., 26 from Adebayo and 21 from Andrew Wiggins. Powell sat out due to a groin injury.
Charlotte was led by LaMelo Ball, who had 20 points, eight rebounds and nine assists. Rookie Kon Knueppel added 19 points, but Brandon Miller was sidelined due to a shoulder injury.
Miller, who missed 55 games last season because of a wrist injury, is expected to be re-evaluated within two weeks.
Perhaps even more daunting for the Hornets is the status of Ball, who missed the past two games due to an right ankle injury. He was listed as questionable for Sunday.
In addition, Josh Green, who started 67 games for Charlotte last season, has yet to play in this campaign following shoulder surgery, and Grant Williams is still recovering from knee surgery.
Given those injuries, the Hornets are starting three rookies: first-rounder Knueppel and second-rounders Sion James and Ryan Kalkbrenner. Another rookie, first-rounder Liam McNeeley, is contributing off the bench.
Knueppel, a 6-foot-6 forward from Duke and the fourth pick in the draft, is averaging 14.6 points and 5.8 rebounds.
James, a 6-foot-5 guard also out of Duke and the 33rd pick, is producing 8.8 points per contest.
Kalkbrenner, a 7-foot-1 center from Creighton and the 34th pick, is averaging 9.1 points and 7.1 rebounds.
Those players give hope to a franchise that won just 19 games last season and endured its ninth straight year without a playoff berth, the longest active drought in the NBA.
Led by MVP Knueppel, the Hornets won the 2025 Vegas Summer League for the first time in franchise history.
But Charles Lee, who is in his second year as Hornets coach, wants his young team focusing on defense.
“On one-on-one situations, can we close the gap a bit more?” Lee said. “Get into the ball. That’s one area of physicality that we can bring.”
–Field Level Media
