Start With The Misses
The easiest way to picture this game is to watch what happens after the first shot does not go in. Charlotte ranks fifth in the league with 12.8 offensive rebounds per game, and Moussa Diabate leads that push with 3.7 offensive boards per game. That gives the Hornets a very plain route into the game: make the possession longer, make it messier, and keep finding another touch after the defense thought the play was over.
Miami's cleaner answer sits out on the arc. The Heat average 13.7 made 3-pointers per game this season, which is 0.9 more makes per game than the Hornets give up. So the contrast is easy to draw. Charlotte is built to keep tugging on the same possession until it frays. Miami has the clearer statistical path to skip some of that labor by cashing the cleaner outside look.
The Better Lens
This is not a grand statement about either offense. It is a possession problem you can see in real time. If Charlotte keeps creating second chances, the game starts to feel heavy and repetitive in exactly the way the Hornets would want. If Miami wins the three-point exchange cleanly enough, those extra rebounds matter less because the scoreboard gets moved in bigger chunks. That is the useful watch: not which team looks more comfortable in theory, but which preferred advantage still shows up once the game tightens.