The Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets open the season on Wednesday and the game from AmericanAirlines Arena starts up at 7:30 pm ET as Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Goran Dragic get into action. The game has Miami looking to start the season strong, as they feel the playoffs are within reach.
Miami comes in with Dragic having a full offseason with the Heat and that should help get the chemistry going for the offense. The starting lineup for Miami has Wade, Bosh, Luol Deng, Dragic and Hassan Whiteside and Miami feels they have one of the best starting lineups in the league. The team will be without Amar'e Stoudemire to start the season in this game and that could get rookie Justise Winslow some extended minutes.
Wade missed 20 games last season and Bosh had a blood clot issue and now both players are coming into the season healthy. The team won just 37 games last season and they feel that they will be back in the playoffs this season. Wade looked good at times last season while playing back to his old ways with LeBron James gone, but Wade is getting older and he needs to rest his knees and limit his minutes more and the addition of Gerald Green could help with that.
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Dragic comes in after averaging 16 points and five assists with Miami in 26 games and the point guard said himself that getting more time together with the team will be helpful. Last season the Heat did not have their current starting lineup play together in the season, as Bosh was out and now the team gets the chance to get on the court together. Whiteside was banged up in the preseason and he is looking to start the season strong after a breakout year last season.
The Hornets come into the game after winning 33 games last season and the team made some additions to the team. The team added Jeremy Lin as a free agent and they also added Nic Batum as well as Jeremy Lamb along with Frank Kaminsky, who is going to get the chance to play a lot as a rookie. The Heat have a tough schedule to start the season with Miami and Atlanta as well as Houston coming up on the schedule. Miami feels the team has a chance to win the division and it could start with a win on Wednesday.
