Tonight at 7:00 p.m. ET at American Airlines Arena, the No. 7 seed in the East, the Charlotte Bobcats, will go for a split in the first two games of their Round 1 playoff matchup with the No. 2 Miami Heat. Watch the game on TNT or live stream it here free by clicking this link. Bobcats fans can listen to the action on WFNZ 610 AM, while Heat fans can find the radio broadcast on 790 The Ticket.
The Bobcats' beacon of hope to pull off a monumental opening round upset of the two-time defending champions was center Al Jefferson. He labored through Game 1, however, and could be hobbled for the rest of the postseason with a flare up of his plantar fascia.
Despite arriving to the arena in a walking boot, Jefferson claims he plans on playing in tonight's game.
"It's really going to be depending on his level of pain right before the game because in order to give him as much time as possible to heal, they're going to keep the walking boot on there," Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said. "My understanding is that we really won't know until they take it off and he tries to put more weight and pressure on his foot."
Jefferson is the Bobcats' centerpiece offensively, and without him they may get steamrolled by a Heat team whose sole vulnerability is post dominance. LeBron James was political when asked about how Jefferson's woes may help the Heat.
"If Jefferson is laboring a little bit ... my approach, and our team's approach, shouldn't change," James said.
Their offensive approach may not change, Jefferson's a known sieve on the defensive side of things, but Charlotte's scoring load will shift to the shoulders of point guard Kemba Walker. He averaged 17.7 points and over six assists per game this year, but if he starts to get going expect Heat coach Erik Spoelstra to turn to LeBron to bottle him up.
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