LaMelo Ball’s career night not enough to lift shorthanded Hornets past Atlanta Hawks
One in, one out.
While Brandon Miller’s stint on the injury list is just beginning, leaving the Charlotte Hornets rising star guard sidelined for at least a week, Josh Green’s time on it is over.
After missing the Hornets’ win in Houston to start off the 2024-25 campaign nursing a sore left Achilles, Green made his regular-season debut in Charlotte’s 125-120 loss to the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena on Friday night.
Green’s appearance was a boost for the team, which was still missing two starters with Mark Williams and Miller out. But Green’s presence, nor LaMelo Ball draining a career high nine 3-pointers, was enough to spur the shorthanded Hornets (1-1) in the finale of their two-game road trip.
Still, Green’s return was a welcomed sight for everybody.
“I’ve been getting so antsy man, so antsy, and I’m ready to do it again,” said Green, who posted five points and three rebounds in 17 minutes. “It’s a great group of guys. They are competitive and I think we have a team that can really go far.”
Even if things are starting off on a rough note with the injuries.
“It’s just a big part of us learning, just learning how to win,” Green said. “Not every game, everybody is going to be there. So, I think it’s good we are able to learn that at the early stage of the year. We’ve got to take advantage of every situation we have. So, yeah, it’s good for us.”
As for why Green was a reserve in his first game and Seth Curry started instead, just like he did in the second half of Wednesday’s win for an injured Miller, the Hornets wanted to work him in slowly.
“I thought Josh did a great job coming in, hasn’t got to play in a little bit in terms of game minutes,” coach Charles Lee said. “He’s been involved in a lot of our practice stuff, but we all know the game brings a different level of intensity. But I think you got to see what type of competitor he is. He’s a great connector overall defensively and offensively.
“He helps connect so many things. He’s still shaking off some of the rust and he’s going to be a great addition for us.”
Green’s teammates will co-sign that.
“Josh, he’s a monster on defense and he’s good on offense, shooting the corner trey, getting to the rim,” Miles Bridges said. “But it’s great having him out there with us.
Ball said: “Yeah, Josh Green, he played his heart out. You could tell he played as hard as he could. You’ve got to love people like that, so it’s a blessing to have J.G.”
Being forced to mix and match lineups this early in the season surely wasn’t something Lee anticipated having on his plate just two games into his career at the end of the bench. Several combinations had to be used in a trial and error basis.
At one point, Lee ran a lineup of Ball, Vasa Micić, Cody Martin, Grant Williams and Nick Richards out against the Hawks. He’s not about to complain, though.
“I think it’s fun,” Lee said, “I think that that’s the joy of the game, is that every night presents a new situation for you to figure out. And we are going to call on different guys to try to exploit some things that maybe the other team’s defense is showing us or we think we see something offensively.
“So, I think the guys did a great job of playing with a lot of different lineups and trying to find something to give us some juice and get us going. So, I thought that actually worked out pretty well for us to keep us in the game.”
And at least they finally have one key body back in Green, who Lee will utilize in a variety of ways. Particularly with Miller sidelined. He’s going to be more of a facilitator, something he didn’t do much during his days with the Dallas Mavericks because that responsibility was all on Luka Dončić’s shoulders.
Just having Green, whose first bucket came on a nifty reverse layup late in the third quarter, as an option pleases Lee.
“You let that guy get to his right hand, it’s a wrap,” Lee said. “He is a downhill driver. I love the kickaheads to him on the break. He is just another dynamic piece for us offensively, and so I think that he showed a little bit in the preseason his ability to play a little bit of the pick-and-roll and play in transition. I’m excited for him to maybe get a couple of more reps.”
So is Green.
“Man, it was a lot of fun,” Green said. “Just a lot of fun. Free and I’m super excited to play.”
Here are some more thoughts from the Hornets on their current situation:
On LaMelo Ball’s performance:
“He did a great job of inserting himself at the right point of the game,” Lee said. “I thought early in the game he got other people some really good looks. I thought he himself got some good looks, so it’s not all about scoring for all these guys. I think we are just a little more focused in how can we just come out with the appropriate edge to start a game and not dig ourselves into that type of hole.”
On their first back-to-back of the season and facing Miami on Saturday:
“It’s our home opener, so we’ve got to win for our crowd,” Bridges said. ”There’s no excuse for us to have no energy because we are going to be at home. Back-to-back or not, it’s our first one of the year, so everybody should have energy.
“I’m excited. We get to play against Terry (Rozier) our brother, but at the end of the day there’s no friends in between them lines. So we’ve got to go out there and play.”
Green said: “We’ve got to take advantage of being home. We can’t lose two in a row. I think it’s important that we come out and hit first and be ready to go.”
Lee said: “Just got to fill up our cup and get ready to face a good Heat team. I think we are going to learn from (Friday), take the positive sand the momentum that I think we had in some of the competitive bursts that we had and see if we can sustain them for a little bit longer. Hopefully, Charlotte is ready to rock Spectrum Center and give us the extra boost we need.”
No Miller time for a while
It’s Miller’s turn to take a ride on the injury carousel.
The Hornets’ second-year swingman has been ruled out for at least the next week with a strained left glute, the team announced. That means Miller will miss, at minimum, the next three games beginning with Friday night’s matchup with Atlanta at State Farm Arena.
Miller injured himself early in the Hornets’ season-opening win in Houston and joins a walking wounded list that includes Williams, who’s working his way back from a strained tendon in his left foot, and Josh Green, who’s nursing a sore left Achilles and is questionable for their outing against the Hawks.
Miller seemed to be in good spirits at the team’s morning shootaround.
“First and foremost, I hope his return-to-play plan goes smoothly and he attacks it with the right mindset and the proper focus everyday that he needs,” coach Charles Lee said. “I think that in his absence some guys will get to step up and have increased roles offensively. Especially from a ball-handling standpoint because he does do so much with the ball in his hands for us.
“So, I’m looking forward to seeing how Cody (Martin) kind of steps into some of those minutes or a Josh Green or a Miles (Bridges) has to do a little bit more. I think we can have the individuals who can carry that load.”
Depth is certainly being tested at the season’s outset.
“We are just taking it one game at a time and adjusting,” Bridges said. “So, it’s unfortunate and we don’t want injuries, but if it does happen I feel like we have people that can come off the bench that can do what they need to do.”
That’s how Lee sees things, too. He’s embracing the challenge. He’s not even two games into his tenure and he’s being forced to shuffle things already, altering rotations he might’ve been growing comfortable with throughout the preseason.
“I love it,” he said. “I’m a problem solver at the end of the day. I enjoy that and I think that’s just what life is about in general. You have a plan and things are going to happen and you’ve got to be ready to adjust.
“So, I’m excited for other people to get opportunities as people also get injured because I just know that all the guys on this team, they work so hard. And they are going to be ready for their opportunities. So I think that between the staff doing a phenomenal job of keeping them prepared and engaged, and then the work that the players put in, I feel confident about whoever has got to go out there and play.”
This story was originally published October 25, 2024 at 1:37 PM.
