The Miami Heat (51-28) are returning from an impressive three-game road trip that included three wins over quality East playoff teams. Now, they are inching closer to locking in the #1 seed in the East.
The Charlotte Hornets (40-38) have locked in a spot in the play-in tournament but are still battling to have the right seeding there. The Hornets are tied with the Nets, but hold the tie-breaker and sit in the 9th spot. They are 1 game back of the 8th seed. So they have a lot to play for as they wrap up their season and hope to give themselves a better chance of making the playoffs.