Three things we learned about the Charlotte Hornets in their preseason loss at Miami
Even by preseason standards, missing three starters and one of the team’s top reserves isn’t easy to stomach.
Getting a solid handle on the strengths and weaknesses of the newcomers is a key component of the weeks leading into the regular season, and that’s not the case for the Charlotte Hornets right now. They’re besieged by player absences, something they dealt with again in Monday night’s 104-103 loss to Miami at FTX Arena.
“It’s disruptive for sure,” coach James Borrego said. “You know you never want to go into a preseason this way, but you just have to adjust and adapt. It’s given us some different looks with (James) Bouknight and some of our bigs. I’d like our group to build some continuity here as we head into the regular season. It’s big for us.”
Not having the services of starters Gordon Hayward (health and safety protocols) and Terry Rozier (sprained ankle) make it challenging enough. But Borrego has a bevy of new players to integrate into the system and needs solid, concrete information to help him settle on effective lineup combinations.
Mason Plumlee (health and safety protocol) and Kelly Oubre (sprained ankle) each missing their second straight game means there is little time to get the players more comfortable together in game settings. The Hornets’ preseason finale is against Dallas on Wednesday and the regular-season opener versus Indiana is a week later. Facing such a squeeze, Borrego can’t get a good gauge on who works best together.
“I’ve not got to look at as many lineups as I was hoping to just because of the injuries,” he said. “We are going to have to learn on the fly. We are going to have to try different combinations in the regular season. We just don’t have enough preseason games. We only have four preseason games. I know some teams have five, six, maybe seven. We only have four, so those combinations will have to come in practice, which isn’t your true test.
“You’ve got to see those live in-game-time reps. Those will just come in the regular season, but we have some experience together. We have been together a lot (over the summer). There are some lineups I trust that we haven’t seen yet that I think we’ll use as the regular season kicks off.”
Here are three things we learned after their third preseason game:
LAMELO BALLED
When LaMelo Ball exited and went to the locker room in the first quarter, it gave Hornets fans reason to pause. Television footage caught Ball grabbing at his back/hip area and the last thing the team needed was to add yet another big name to that mounting injury list.
Rest easy, though. Not only did Ball come back, he nearly finished with a triple-double.
Logging 27 minutes — the most he’s played in their three preseason games — he netted 19 points and had nine assists and eight rebounds. He did it all and was under control, a solid indicator he is indeed rounding into the form the Hornets were hoping for. About the lone thing to nit-pick was his shooting from deep. He cut it loose eight times from 3-point range, draining two.
There was his usual highlight reel pass, too. He hit Miles Bridges with a sweet left-handed dish, setting up his buddy for an easy layup.
“I thought Melo controlled the game really from start to finish there,” Borrego said. “Controlled the offense, got us in our stuff, made good decisions, got to the rim. His kick-outs were great, his pace was good. Lot of growth there for him. Two-for-8, he’ll get better in the 3-point area. But we are challenging him on both ends of the floor, especially on the defensive end. I thought he was locked in defensively. The group as a whole was locked in defensively.”
MILES BRIDGES WAS IMPRESSIVE
Miles Bridges looks like inching closer to regular-season form.
Bridges had it going against the Heat, pouring in 22 points to go with 10 rebounds, six assists and two blocks. He made half of his 16 shots and drained 4 of 8 shots beyond the 3-point line — something he will have to do in the regular season to assist in spreading the court and giving others room to operate.
“I feel like it opens up the floor for everybody,” Bridges said, “because if I’m hitting shots, then I can drive. And when I drive, I can score or I can create for somebody else. So yeah, it’s big when I’m hitting my shots.”
Bridges’ game was fluid in the first half. He was efficient with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting to go with seven rebounds and two blocked shots.
“He’s finding his legs, finding his rhythm,” Borrego said. “Obviously this was the best game he’s played in the preseason. So we need Miles. I thought he was fantastic tonight. Shot the ball, made good decisions, one turnover. But the boards, the defense, obviously the shot-making is huge for us. So if we can get this Miles consistently, we’re going to be a much-improved team.”
BOUK COOKED
Since they were without Rozier, the easy thing for Borrego to do would have been inserting rookie James Bouknight into the starting lineup alongside Ball. That could have provided Bouknight with a few extra minutes to do his thing.
But Borrego opted to not deviate from the regular-season plan for Bouknight. That calls for him to be a super-sub off the bench, giving Charlotte a jolt offensively while also using his youthful exuberance to inject energy into the unit on the floor. Bouknight was one of the first reserves summoned, entering early in the first quarter with second-year big man Nick Richards.
“That’s where he’s going to be this season, coming off the bench,” Borrego said. “Obviously, Ish (Smith) will be with him … It will be good for Bouk to start to build that role, that identity coming off the bench.
In posting 14 points in 25 minutes, he didn’t squander the chance to further rehearse.
“Every second you get on the court is an opportunity to develop,” Bouknight said. “I’m just taking advantage of the opportunity I’m given and giving it 100%, just having fun, you know? That’s the main thing for me. Just going out there and having fun.”
This story was originally published October 11, 2021 at 10:09 PM with the headline "Three things we learned about the Charlotte Hornets in their preseason loss at Miami."
