T.M. Selection: Heat/Hornets OVER.

I am on the over in the Miami Heat vs Charlotte Hornets game on Saturday. The Heat haven't looked too good in their games lately but they have been still putting up a lot of points in those games. They have still been putting up 100+ points in 9 of their previous 10 games and a lot of those games they played without Kyle Lowry and a few without Jimmy Butler too. Butler has been back for 2 games now and Lowry just returned in their most recent game. Lowry did not have much of an impact in that game but his team still put up 112 points without him contributing and I think now that he is playing another game back in the rotation, he should play a lot better here. I am expecting a much larger contribution from him on offense in this game since he only scored 2 points in his return and I think Butler will also play even better when Lowry is getting more involved. The Heat have not looked great on defense though, 4 of their previous 5 games they have given up 100+ points in and I don't think they will be able to hold down the Charlotte offense in this game. The Hornets are pretty much back at full strength for this game and they have been getting very hot in their games lately. They have lost 3 games in a row but before this losing skid they were on fire and putting up a ton of points in their games, including 1 game where they even scored 158 points but gave up 126. They have still put up 100+ points in 5 of their previous 6 games including that 3 game skid and they have also given up 100+ points in all of those games. I think the Hornets are due for a bounce back and I expect them to play hard here on their home court. They may not get the win in the end but I think they will put up a lot of points on their home floor here and I think that the Heat will have to focus on offense to get ahead in this game. I like the over in this game.

T.M. Prediction: 128-124 Heat.