Working some three years removed from his last postseason appearance, a star-crossed turn with the Chicago Bulls filled with sell-outs, hospital visits and darkened rooms, Luol Deng made quite the impact in his first playoff game with the Miami Heat. Shuffling back and forth between big and small forward, Deng went off for 31 points on Sunday as the Heat dominated the Charlotte Hornets in a 123-91 win.
The 31-year old veteran was the head of a fearsome attack that put Charlotte, a franchise that hasn’t won a playoff game since 2002, away early: Miami’s 41-point fourth quarter had the Heat up 19 heading into the second period. Deng hit 11-13 shots and basically saw his evening end by the third quarter, as Charlotte had no match for Miami’s athleticism and clever play on both ends.
Nicolas Batum paced the Hornets with 24 points, but the Hornets were outclassed throughout. Stretch forward Marvin Williams was gobbled up by Heat veteran Joe Johnson, rookie Frank Kaminsky (zero points, one rebound in 17 minutes, poor defense) was a non-factor, and Charlotte’s season-long offensive rebounding woes carried over to both sides of the court – the Hornets were out-rebounded by the Heat by 14.
It was clear from the outset that the Heat intended to make a scorer out of Hornets swingman Nicolas Batum, and score he did – 20 points on 6-8 shooting in the first half. Batum registered zero assists in that first half, though, as the dribble hand-off game that marked Charlotte’s offensive resurgence during the regular season was just about completely mitigated. Kemba Walker (19 points in the loss) also finished the half with nary a dime, and both registered just a single assist in the first half.
It was Charlotte’s defense, however, that did the team in.
Miami’s movement and quick-thinking was just too much for the Hornets, a team that produced the NBA’s third best record following the All-Star break. Heat point guard Goran Dragic missed six of eight shots while working with a new mouthguard as a result of a chipped tooth from Tuesday evening, but he moved his team into possessions with alacrity and finished with ten assists.
Dwyane Wade netted seven assists of his own, he and Joe Johnson used their savvy to connect for 27 total points in 26 minutes, each. Meanwhile, center Hassan Whiteside continued his Johnny on the Spot turn. Given the starting nod, he moved into open spaces expertly and hit nine of his 11 shots on his way toward 21 points. Whiteside also notched 11 rebounds, three blocks and two steals in the win.
Even veteran center Amar’e Stoudemire, working in his first playoff game with the Heat and 70th postseason game overall, added 11 points in 16 minutes off the bench. The Hornet defense, inside and out, was just no match for Miami.
Don’t think Deng didn’t notice.
Signed as a small forward replacement of sorts in 2014 when LeBron James left Miami for Cleveland, cast away from Chicago a few months prior for the pittance of luxury tax relief and two conditional second round draft picks the Bulls will never see, Deng cut with precision off the ball while Charlotte’s collective heads were turned. Deng, who shot just 34 percent from long range during the regular season, hit 4-6 threes while playing power forward in Miami’s stretched-out lineup. He added seven rebounds and did what he could to turn Nic Batum into a game-changing scorer, rather than a facilitator.
Batum’s scoring couldn’t change the game, though, adding to what will be a bountiful stack of game tape for Hornets coach Steve Clifford to break down. Batum’s one-sided play will line up alongside center Cody Zeller’s defensive issues, while Marvin Williams and Courtney Lee (who missed four of six shots) will have a lot to answer for regarding both ends of the court.
Charlotte is a formidable team and this remains a coin-flip series – the Hornets won’t have to start from 32 down when Game 2 tips off on Wednesday, as this squad still has the horses to take a game in Miami. The Heat’s exactly play to start the series, however, has to give the entire Eastern bracket room for pause.
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