Jeremy Lin reigns as the ultimate wild-card in the Miami Heat vs. Charlotte Hornets winner-take-all Game 7 showdown taking place on May 1, 2016 with tip-off time

When Michael Jordan's Hornets invade South Beach for Sunday's high-stakes matchup, all eyes will be on the veteran Lin, who's up and down showing has moved the needle in this Eastern Conference opening round battle like no other.

Lin Sets the Tone for Hornets

When Lin has been good, the Hornets have been even better. And when he hasn't been quite up to standards, there have been scenes like Game 6's blown chance to close out the series on their home court with Lin being called for a pair of critical charging fouls in the fourth quarter.

In Charlotte's three wins, Lin has averaged 16 points, five assists and three rebounds, vs. nine points, two rebounds and an assist in their losses.

The Hornets will need Lin to be at his best to give themselves their best chance of walking out of Miami headed to a rare second round postseason appearance for the franchise.

All series' long, Kemba Walker (25 points, four assists, three rebounds) has been lights out for Charlotte, who will again look to him to ignite their offense, along with veteran big man Al Jefferson (18 points, nine rebounds in Game 5).

But nothing will come easy against the Heat, who after escaping with Friday night's 97-90 Game 6 season-saving road victory, feel as if they've been given a second chance at postseason life.

Dwyane Wade Zeroing in

Miami will again look to Hall of Fame bound guard Dwyane Wade to lead the charge. Wade was as focused as he's been all season long in making certain the Heat stretched their season in Game 6.

He bagged 10 of his team-high 23 points in the critical fourth quarter, including his first three-pointer in more than four months.

Still, the three-time NBA champion knows in order to be able to truly put an exclamation point on any of that, the Heat have to have Game 7.

With that in mind, from now until tipoff, Wade and fellow veteran leader Luol Deng (21 points, four rebounds in Game 5) figure to stay in the ear of young big man Hassan Whiteside, who throughout the series has nearly proven to be every bit the wild-card Lin has.

In the three Miami wins, Whiteside has averaged 17 points and 10 boards, compared to 11 points and 12 rebounds in their three losses.

In the end, it all could come down to Lin vs. Whiteside.

TV Info and Game Time

Game 7 airs at noon on Sunday on ABC.

Related