P.J. Washington won’t play vs. Jazz; will LaMelo Ball remain a Hornets starter?
Charlotte Hornets forward P.J. Washington (sprained foot) won’t play against the Utah Jazz on Friday.
However, guard Terry Rozier is probable, after missing the past two games with a sprained right ankle.
Washington, the Hornets’ starting power forward, sat out Wednesday’s home loss to the Philadelphia 76ers after spraining his right foot in Monday’s road victory over the Miami Heat. In Washington’s absence, the Hornets started Miles Bridges, and scrambled to fill minutes behind Bridges with smaller players, such as Caleb and Cody Martin.
Hornets coach James Borrego said after practice Thursday he’d prefer to leave forward Jalen McDaniels in the G-League bubble, rather than return him to the Hornets roster. That, despite the Hornets facing a dense schedule of three home games in four nights (Jazz, followed by Washington Wizards on Sunday and Houston Rockets on Monday).
Washington plays both power forward and center and averages 29 minutes per game. Borrego had difficulty matching up with the Sixers’ size throughout Wednesday’s loss.
As Borrego put it: “We can’t grow these guys any bigger” than they currently are.
Does LaMelo Ball keep starting?
Borrego said he didn’t yet know whether he would return Rozier to the starting lineup if he’s available versus the Jazz.
“I don’t have an answer for you right now,” Borrego said. “I’m going to get clarity on Terry. I don’t want to speculate right now.”
Rookie LaMelo Ball, the third overall pick, made his first two NBA starts in Rozier’s absence. In those games, Ball averaged 18 points, five assists, six rebounds and 4.5 turnovers.
Borrego said overall Ball played well in the two starts, but noted some of those six turnovers against the Sixers were problematic.
“I thought (Ball) was better last night. I thought he impacted that game” positively, Borrego said of Ball. “The area of growth for him are the six turnovers — trying to make too many plays at the wrong time. That cost us a few times.
“But in general, he’s trying to play the right way. Playing with great pace. Overall, a pretty solid game, but we’ve got to clean up a few things, especially against top-tier teams like Philly. We can’t turn it over 19 times.”
Rozier sprained his right ankle late in the first half of Saturday’s home victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. Prior to sitting out the Miami game, Rozier had started all 20 Hornets games this season. He is the Hornets’ second-leading scorer, at 18.6 points per game, behind Gordon Hayward’s 22.9.
This story was originally published February 4, 2021 at 2:16 PM.
