The Hornets have been another early season letdown, losing five games in a row and finishing as one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference with a 3-8 record. Before heading to Miami, Charlotte will look to finish its three-game home series with a win over the Portland Trail Blazers, one of the best teams in the NBA so far this season.

In fact, after five home games, they have only one win, an overtime victory over the Golden State Warriors. Meanwhile, they begin a three-game road trip against Miami, with two games against the Heat and one against the Orlando Magic.

Thanks in large part to injuries to LaMelo Ball, Cody Martin, Gordon Hayward, and, for a few games, Terry Rozier, the Hornets barely shoot for 44.2% from the field,the fourth-lowest figure in the league, and their 109.1 points per game are the ninth-lowest.

The Heat’s start to the season has been a real disaster, considering that last season, they were eliminated in the Eastern Conference Finals by the Boston Celtics.

Most painful of all, their last three losses have happened by six points or fewer, including Monday night’s loss when a Josh Hart three-pointer, which went in with the game clock expired, handed them their fourth loss at home.

Moreover, it didn’t help that seven of Miami’s eight players scored double digits, nor did Max Strus’ triple with 6.2 seconds left, which tied the score at 107.

A key factor in this underperformance has been the defensive problems of a team that was one of the best in the circuit last year. Last season, Miami allowed the third-lowest average points to its opponents with 105.6, a figure that this year rises to 109.2. Likewise, this year they are fourth in percentage of three-point shots allowed with 38.1%, while last season they were the team that conceded the least with only 33.9%.