The Charlotte Hornets are looking for a reset, and Sunday’s matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers gives them a chance to find one.
Charlotte enters at 4-8 after a loss to the Phoenix Suns in its last outing, a result that left the Hornets sitting in the No. 10 spot in the Eastern Conference. That is not where the team expected to be after coming into the season with hopes of making some noise. A strong start offered some early promise, but injuries and uneven play have slowed everything down.
One of the biggest hits has come from Kon Knueppel’s injury, which has forced other players into roles they did not anticipate. There is still time for Charlotte to straighten things out, but the margin for error is shrinking.
A game against a Clippers team that has also had its own struggles could be exactly what the Hornets need.
A big part of Charlotte’s path starts with Coby White. Brought back this offseason to steer the offense, White has begun to settle in, but this game will ask more of him.
He will need to control the tempo, keep the group organized, and make sure teammates are in the right spots. Charlotte can put together a strong offensive showing, but White’s job becomes even more important if Dennis Schroder remains unavailable because of injury.
The Hornets also need Brandon Miller on the floor. He has missed the last few games with an injury, and Charlotte badly needs its best player back.
If Miller is able to play, he could give the Hornets a major lift against Los Angeles. If he can’t go, someone else has to fill that gap.
Then there’s the paint, where Charlotte has to hold up defensively. The Clippers like to attack the rim, so the Hornets will need real resistance inside.
Moussa Diabaté will carry plenty of that responsibility, and he has shown he can handle it. He is averaging 0.9 blocks per game this season.
Ryan Kalkbrenner has also been solid in that area, averaging 1.2 blocks per game for Charlotte.
If the Hornets want to get back on track, those are the three areas that matter most: White running the offense, Miller’s availability, and enough rim protection to keep Los Angeles from living at the basket.
In Other News...
Hornets Get Caught In A Suns Reunion With Extra Tension
The Suns arrive in Charlotte riding the momentum of a win over the Clippers, but this one carries a little more edge than a routine East-West stop. The Hornets are dealing with a long injury list, while Phoenix will be without Mark Williams because of offseason surgery, setting up a matchup that already has a different feel because of the personnel on both sides.
The trade that sent Miles Bridges to Phoenix and brought Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neale to Charlotte still hangs over this meeting, especially with both teams continuing to sort out roles and rotation pieces around the deal. Jordan Ott has already talked about the value Allen and O'Neale can bring, and Bridges has been part of that same conversation from the Suns side, which gives this game a little extra tension even before the ball goes up. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets Let A Winnable Game Slip Away For One Frustrating Reason
The Hornets had enough going for them in Phoenix to make this one feel winnable for long stretches. They rebounded well, shot the 3-ball effectively and took care of business at the line, the kind of ingredients that usually give a young team a chance on the road. Even with injuries forcing lineup shuffling, there were encouraging signs from the supporting cast and a promising look from Coby White before his night was kept in check.
What ultimately undid Charlotte was the part of the game that tends to travel the worst for a team still learning how to close. The ball kept slipping away at the wrong times, and the late-game execution never settled in enough to protect the lead it had built. For a Hornets group trying to patch together a rotation and find some consistency, the frustration was less about effort than about a familiar, self-inflicted problem that turned a manageable night into another missed opportunity. [Read more 🡒]
Grayson Allen Returns To Phoenix With Something To Prove
Grayson Allens return to Phoenix carries a little extra weight for the Hornets, even if the season has already moved on from the offseason trade that brought him to Charlotte. Allen left behind a memorable run with the Suns, including a career night when he poured in 42 points and came close to the franchise mark for made 3-pointers in a game, and he has since settled into a valuable veteran role for a Charlotte team trying to steady itself through injuries.
For the Hornets, Allens presence has mattered beyond the box score because he has brought experience and consistency to a roster that has needed both. The reunion also adds a layer of intrigue for Charlotte, since Allen was appreciative of his time in Phoenix and now gets a chance to remind his old team what it gave up, even if the full story of that move still hangs over the matchup. [Read more 🡒]