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CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – APRIL 02: Kon Knueppel #7 of the Charlotte Hornets walks off the court after defeating the Phoenix Suns during their game at Spectrum Center on April 02, 2026 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Charlotte Hornets are about to see their first postseason action in a decade, as the LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, and Kon Knueppel-led squad had a strong second half of the 2025-26 NBA regular season and are now set to play the Miami Heat in the Play-In Tournament.
But while the Heat have the playoff experience, being in the Play-In more than any other team in the league, the Hornets have the youth and momentum on their side.
The game is expected to be a close one, but in the hours before tipoff, Charlotte could have a slight advantage based on the injury report between the two sides.
Hornets Get Good News For Play-In Vs Heat Based On Injury Report
GettyTyler Herro #14 of the Miami Heat goes to the basket while guarded by Brandon Miller #24 of the Charlotte Hornets in the second half during their game at Spectrum Center on March 06, 2026 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Before the game, the Hornets announced their injury report for the Play-In game.
Actually, they didn’t.
That’s because Charlotte has no players dealing with injuries, and they’ll have a full, healthy roster for the contest against Miami.
While teams around the league, such as the Golden State Warriors, for example, are dealing with major injuries across the roster, the Hornets are entering the postseason with their entire lineup fully healthy.
Charlotte faced injuries to Miller, Ball, and a few others throughout the year, but in the final few weeks of the regular season, they remained overall pretty healthy.
Again, playoff experience could be the deciding factor against the Heat, but still, Miami has a few injuries they are facing, and availability could be a key component to decide who will win the first Play-In game of 2026.
The Heat currently has Nikola Jovic and Dru Smith listed as out. Andrew Wiggins, Tyler Herro, Simone Fontecchio, Pelle Larsson, and Kel’el Ware were all listed on the injury report in the lead-up to the game, but have all since been upgraded to available.
Still, health tends to be a huge factor when it comes to playoff success, and right now, the Hornets are winning in that department.
Charlotte Hornets This Season
Charlotte finished the year 44-38 and is ninth in the East. While they had an incredible run from January through March, they stumbled a bit in the final few games of the regular season, but still, they were one of the biggest surprises in the NBA this year.
“This group has earned the respect or notoriety of the league,” head coach Charles Lee said, per The Athletic. “I think that the last couple years haven’t gotten the way that I think we wanted or that we would have hoped, and this year, the progress that we made as individual players, but also as a collective group and organization, is definitely just raising people’s attention level to the Hornets.”
While the Hornets rejuvenation has been due to many factors, its fair to say that the addition and evolution of a few key players helped them finish with their best record in then years.
For one, Ball took a step up. The statsheet might not show that, but after a player who had many questions about his ceiling, the controversial guard finally found a playmaking and scoring role that he works well in.
Additionally, Knueppel, a top favorite for Rookie of the Year, has been a superb addition. He led the NBA in three-pointers as a rookie, becoming the first player to do so. He has been extremely efficient in his first year, and has the archetype of a player like Klay Thompson, someone who can impact winning on any team in nearly any role.
Along with those two, Miller has increased his scoring ability, while players like Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate have slid into their roles in the front court.
Charlotte remains undersized and young, but a healthy roster that has proven to be able to beat anybody on any given night.
The Hornets vs Heat Play-In Tournament game tips off at 7 pm EST on Amazon Prime Video.
Eli Gregorski is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy Sports. He has years of sports writing experience covering the NBA, NFL, college football and basketball, international soccer, and Formula One. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he was the assistant sports editor for the award-winning CU Independent student publication. More about Eli Gregorski
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