Miami Heat’s Fate Rests in the Hands of NBA Playoff Newcomers

The Miami Heat might not consider a 2-2 split with the Charlotte Hornets as a missed opportunity.

Even if they did, they could point their fingers at a handful of culprits behind their current predicament: missing shots they’re capable of making and getting the short end of the referees’ whistles sitting atop that list.

But make no mistake, Miami had a shot to take control of—or even close the curtain on—this series during its four-day stay in Charlotte. With Nicolas Batum sidelined for both games and the Hornets’ three-point shooters uncharacteristically missing their mark (25.7 percent in Games 3 and 4), the Heat had their chances to make a massive move.

As the series shifts back to South Beach for Wednesday’s de facto must-win Game 5, though, Miami’s margin for error has disappeared. With Batum perhaps on the mend, Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lin riding high off their combined 55 points in Game 4 and Charlotte’s shooters liable to snap out of their funk at any moment, the stakes couldn’t be any higher.

The Heat must rediscover their mojo, and they’ll lean heavily on a trio of postseason neophytes to make that happen: Hassan Whiteside, Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson.

Those three were Miami’s regular-season energizers, each supplying a unique—and badly needed—skill set to the overall equation. Whiteside masterfully played the role of two-way anchor. Winslow accepted and aced defensive tests of all types. Richardson emerged as both a critical floor-spacer and an athletic, energetic backcourt defender.

But none of those strengths surfaced during Miami’s last two times out. The three were all on the right side of the plus/minus ledger during both the 82-game campaign and the first two contests of this series, but they’ve since found themselves in the red.

Plus/Minus Drop-offs for Heat YouthCreate column charts

Granted, there’s often quite a bit of static with that statistic. Players’ plus-minus ratings will also obviously look better when their team wins a pair of games by a combined 44 points than when it loses two by a total of 20.

But shifting to an individual focus doesn’t change the story all that much.

The Heat have struggled mightily to find proper spacing, and Richardson’s 5-of-17 showing from distance throughout the series (29.4 percent) hasn’t eased …

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