The Charlotte Hornets organization and its fans entered the 2024 training camp carrying plenty of hope that its time as either a cellar-dweller or a mediocre squad will soon come to an end.
Unfortunately, the injury bug stung the team hard, with Mark Williams among the first to go down. In hindsight, it was a bad omen for the Hornets, as the past months have seen several other players have no choice but to attend games in street clothes.
No other injury has affected Charlotte as LaMelo Ball's has done. Without the fulcrum of its offense on the floor, the team has struggled more than usual to put the ball in the basket, averaging 5.8 points less without the 2021 Rookie of the Year.
Fans have yet to see the Hornets starter play together
A piece of good news greeted the Hornets to start the week, though. After missing the past seven contests, Ball has been upgraded to questionable for their matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday.
At last, Charlotte's expected starting lineup of Ball, Williams, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges, and Josh Green is going to see the light of day.
Of course, it is still possible for the 2022 All-Star to extend his stay on the sidelines for a few more days. However, the fact that his status has changed may signify that his calf strain is not as severe as a few people probably thought. There were concerns about the magnitude of his specific injury, as the recovery period for high-grade calf strains could extend up to three months.
It seems the Hornets were able to avert disaster, and the timing of Ball's injury wasn't the worst. He didn't have to miss that many games, as the NBA Cup taking place has reduced the number of regular-season contests in the past couple of weeks.
In addition, the lack of healthy bodies has caused the star point guard to take on a heavier offensive load than the coaching staff probably envisioned at the start of the season. He did well, all things considered, but such a game plan isn't sustainable.
Now, Ball would likely be returning to a starting lineup that is at full or near-full strength. Hopefully, there will be no more need for him to continue posting astronomically high usage rates.
Fans should still temper their expectations, especially because the bench is still missing a key piece in Tre Mann. The second unit remains lacking in shot creators, although coach Charles Lee can address that by staggering his stars' minutes.
Still, Christmas came early for the coaching staff, as it will finally have empirical data to determine whether its starting lineup will work or not.