For the first time this season, the Charlotte Hornets looked like a deer in the headlights, giving up a 144-117 loss to the Miami Heat on Tuesday. The players are partly to blame for not being prepared to play against one of the most disciplined teams in the league. However, Charles Lee could have helped the Hornets put up a better fight with his rotation decisions.
For instance, keeping LaMelo Ball off the floor for almost seven minutes of game time, which, in reality, was more because of the break between the first and second quarters, timeouts, referee reviews, and other dead-ball situations, may have killed his momentum.
The star scored 15 in the opening period before not scoring a single point in the second. He then shot 1-5 from the field in the second half and let his frustration get the best of him. He finished the disappointing night with a season-low 20 points on 6-18 shooting and without making a significant mark on defense.
Another egregious mistake from Lee's end was playing Tre Mann too much. The combo guard suited up for 27 minutes despite shooting just 3-15 from the field. The Hornets were outscored by 31 points when he was on the floor, which suggests he should have been on the bench more.
Some might argue that a jaw injury could have impacted Mann's play. However, the Heat bout was his third consecutive game of bricking shots left and right. After an impressive season opener in which he put up 12 points on 4-7 shooting, he has made just four of 26 field-goal attempts since then. So, Lee should be trying to look at playing Sion James and Liam McNeeley more while the fifth-year pro shakes the rust off.
Hornets' defense has been predictably unsteady
The silver lining for Charlotte, in spite of the loss to Miami, is that its scoring has continued to be explosive to start the 2025-26 campaign. On the other hand, the defense, which many predicted to be bad before the regular season began, has not kept up with its offense.
The Hornets are now 24th in opponents per game and defensive rating, which is understandable given how their roster has been constructed. Still, Lee might be able to compensate with a more effective substitution pattern — even if that means seeing less of Mann for the meantime. He also needs to be more mindful of players who have the hot hand when executing his rotation on the fly; that's just the reality he has to face with a roster headlined by the likes of Ball and Miles Bridges, whose defensive performances are typically influenced by their offensive production.
Charlotte's following stretch of contests will be a good gauge of whether Lee has what it takes to execute the necessary adjustments to put his crew in the best position to win. The team next faces the visiting Orlando Magic, who have been subpar so far in the first one-and-a-half weeks of the season but can turn things around anytime soon. Home matchups against the Minnesota Timberwolves, missing their best player, and a rebuilding Utah Jazz squad come after that.