Next man up mentality fuel competitive Hornets

CHARLOTTE HORNETS

Charlotte Hornets forward Brandon Miller goes up for a dunk against Milwaukee’s Kyle Kuzma in the Bucks’ 123-113 win Dec. 29 at Spectrum Center. Miller scored 31 points lead Charlotte.

The Charlotte Hornets can’t win for losing when it comes to injuries.

Kon Knueppel went down with a leg injury after rolling his ankle against Orlando on Dec. 26 just when the Hornets started finding a solid rhythm. To domino, in the first quarter against Milwaukee on Monday, forward Miles Bridges went down with an ankle injury, forcing to him miss most of a 123-113 loss. 

“All we got real fast was just we’ll evaluate him tomorrow at practice,” coach Charles Lee said. “It’s his right ankle.”

Said Lee: “There were no excuses from the group because of who wasn’t able to play. Everyone made the most of their opportunity. … The game was within reach. We did a lot of really good things to put ourselves in position to win that game. We just have to be a little bit sharper, a little bit tighter communication and be on the same page.”

Brandon Miller and LaMelo Ball scored 31 and 26 points respectively. Charlotte also got a big lift from guard Collin Sexton with 16 points and a team best plus-12 when he was on the floor. Sexton emphasized the team aspect despite being short-handed.

“I would say [we] just have a next man up mentality,” Sexton said. “Going out there and competing for our brothers. We came into the locker room at halftime and Miles wasn’t able to go back out, we knew someone had to step up. I feel like Tidjan [Salaün] answered the call. He was one of those guys that was all over the boards and doing the little things that don’t always show up on the stat sheet. But he had that next man up mentality, and he went out there and was very helpful.”

Salaün finished with a team-high 11 rebounds and drew the assignment of guarding Giannis Antetokounmpo with Bridges out. 

Sexton added the team is staying together and not getting distraught by injuries. The Hornets are still without Ryan Kalkbrenner and Mason Plumlee due to injuries sustained earlier in December. Sexton missed extended time already due to injury. 

“I would say staying together is the most important thing,” he said. “We have to stay together through ups and through the downs, through the wins and through the losses. We have to continue to stay together and continue to lead with one another, so that when one person falls, we're right there to pick our brother up. And I think it's a team. If we're going to throw a punch, you want to throw a punch together, and that's how it is.”

Lee said he was happy with Ball’s leadership and how he has improved throughout the season dealing with injuries personally and the team as a whole.

“I think that Melo has done a great job of adjusting to whatever the circumstances need of him,” Lee said. “He’s brought real leadership to our group in terms of how he approaches every day, but also his competitiveness on both ends of the floor. And I think that no matter who's been out there, he’s definitely improved defensively and then offensively. A lot of our ball movement is because of him. I think that it really becomes contagious when you see one of your best players willing to get a piece of the paint.”

The Hornets finished the calendar year on Dec. 31 against the Golden State Warriors. The status of Knueppel and Bridges remain under evaluation. 

“I think Kon, he is attacking his rehab plan like I would expect Kon to attack his rehab plan,” Lee said. “I think that every day he sees a little bit of improvement. I think that the goal from our coaching staff and from our performance staff is just to take the approach like we would with anybody that’s hurt – just a daily evaluation of where he is and where his symptoms are. I would say today, I think that he made good progress, and we'll kind of see how he shows up tomorrow.”

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