The Charlotte Hornets travel to South Beach to face the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena on Wednesday.

The Hornets (22-42) suffered a very frustrating loss on Monday, getting beaten in double-overtime by the Atlanta Hawks. A win there would have given the Hornets four wins in their last seven games in total, getting victories over the Rockets and Raptors in that span. That tells us that this team has seen some drastic improvement recently and it's actually been a pretty successful season overall. Many experts had this team pegged as the worst team in the NBA at the beginning of the season and many didn't even expect them to reach this 22-win mark. That can be contributed to the development of players like DeVonte Graham, Terry Rozier and P.J. Washington, making this an intriguing team for upcoming seasons.

The Heat (41-23) own one of the best home records in the NBA, winning 27 of their 31 home games this year. That's obviously one of the best marks in the NBA and it makes this a scary team come the postseason. That form has been on full display recently, with Miami winning five of their last six games coming into this matchup. The good news is that they've done that with Jimmy Butler dealing with numerous injures, suffering a toe injury in the team's most recent win. That followed up an ankle issue the week prior but there's some thought that he could be ready to return here. He and Bam Adebayo have formed one of the best duos in the NBA and it's amazing just how good of a player Adebayo has developed into this season. That pairs nicely with youngsters like Duncan Robinson and Kendrick Nunn, and it's clear that Pat Riley is doing magic with this team once again.

This marks the second meeting between these teams, with Miami winning the first matchup, 117-100, on November 25. That gives the Heat three-straight wins in total.