Three Hornets starters will miss Monday’s game, including one with a sprained ankle
When the Charlotte Hornets hit the FTX Arena floor for their preseason matchup with Miami on Monday, they will do it without three starters and a key reserve.
Terry Rozier sprained his left ankle in practice and has been ruled out against the Heat, a blow to a team already struggling with more than its share of early preseason absences. Rozier headlines a lengthy injury report that includes Gordon Hayward, Mason Plumlee and Kelly Oubre. Hayward and Plumlee remain out for the second straight game due to NBA’s health and safety protocols and Oubre, who was sidelined in Thursday’s 128-98 loss to Memphis with a sprained right ankle, is doubtful.
A timetable for each to return is unclear, and Rozier could potentially miss the most time of them all. It’s still up in the air if Hayward, Plumlee or Oubre plays in the Hornets’ preseason finale against Dallas on Thursday. Rozier seems unlikely to suit up, and his availability for next Wednesday’s season opener could be murky depending on the severity of the sprain.
Hayward, Plumlee and Oubre could be ready within the next few days.
“We’re hopeful for this week coming up,” coach James Borrego said Sunday. “So both guys are doing well, but we’ll try to get them back sooner than later. Kelly as well. I think we are close on Kelly. We are not quite there, but hopefully once we get back from Miami, I hope we get some good news from all those guys.”
They could use some. Although it’s not the most ideal scenario for a team with its share of new faces, Borrego didn’t seem too worried about their absence. For now, anyway. He admits there is a part of him that would prefer to have his full complement of players available so they can continue implementing their principles and working on them as a unit.
“It’s disruptive,” he said. “I’d like more time together. But we’ve been together a lot this summer. That helps. We’ve got some foundation from the summer to live off of until we get back whole. And that’s OK. We are just going to have to do this in the regular season. We’ll adjust. We’ll adapt. We’ve seen this before. We saw it throughout last season, but let’s get it out of the way now and move forward.”
Knowing how things unraveled after they were hit hard by injuries in the spring, the Hornets made a conscious effort to improve their depth through the draft and free agency. Still, the new reserves are getting their chance to acclimate themselves a bit quicker than anticipated and that is also providing the staff with more in-depth information to assess their strengths and weaknesses.
Consider it the smallest of silver linings.
“Well, we’re evaluating other guys,” Borrego said. “That’s the positive. We are getting other guys some minutes that may or may not be in the rotation, and we are going to evaluate them as we go. Beyond that, I’m not sure there is a whole lot. These guys are getting some rest. It is a grind of a season. I’d like to have them out there more than not because we’ve got a new group that has to play together. We’re just going to have to figure this out on the fly as we get into the regular season.”
At this point there is no choice. That’s the gist of their plight.
“We don’t have enough games in the preseason left to bring those guys into the mix and find some fluidity to our group,” Borrego said. “We are just going to have to learn through the regular season and that’s OK. These guys are watching, they are studying. Gordon’s a veteran. He knows how to play. Mason knows how to play, and Kelly knows how to play. So I think in the end we are going to be OK.”
This story was originally published October 10, 2021 at 3:01 PM.
