Hornets fortunate to avoid costly setback in bounceback win

The Charlotte Hornets entered their Sunday bout with the Washington Wizards expecting to win after two straight losses. What they were not anticipating, though, was dealing with another injury scare. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like the ankle sprain Ryan Kalkbrenner sustained will keep him out for long.

The rookie center went down with the injury early in the third quarter, while the Hornets were in the midst of breaking the game open. After they opened the second half with three unanswered 3-pointers to extend the lead to 70-56, Kalkbrenner had to leave the contest after rolling his ankle upon coming down from a rebound.

Considering the bad luck the franchise has had with injuries, some fans may have opted to brace for the worst. However, the team announced sometime later that he could return to the match. Of course, with the game already in hand at that point, Kalkbrenner had time to rest instead and prepare himself for the next contest.

Coming back to full strength

Kalkbrenner’s missing time could have complicated things a bit for Charlotte. Sure, Mousa Diabate and Miles Bridges will return on Tuesday from their four-game suspensions. However, with the squad looking to make a playoff push in the next two months, it needs as many healthy bodies as possible. In addition, the 24-year-old center has been key to its recent surge.

For instance, he led the Hornets in rebounding for the second consecutive time. After recording a career-high 13 boards in their loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday, he had already grabbed nine by the time he had to head to the locker room in the Wizards tiff.

The Creighton University product has also continued to provide Charlotte with efficient scoring and reliable interior defense, which helped it keep up with three of the league’s best teams, the Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, and Cleveland Cavaliers. It may have lost those matchups to go 1-3 in its previous four games, but all three losses were decided by six points or fewer.

Now, the Hornets are looking to bounce back and secure as many dubs as possible in their next four contests, which would come against opponents they are more than capable of defeating. They are off to a good start, beating Washington 129-112, thanks to Kalkbrenner’s solid performance in limited minutes, a combined 87 points from the trio of LaMelo Ball (37), Kon Knueppel (28), and Brandon Miller (22), and outstanding production from veterans Grant Williams and Josh Green.