It didn't even take two games before the Charlotte Hornets' nemesis — the injury bug — reared its ugly head again. Brandon Miller had to exit the team's loss to the Philadelphia 76ers after sustaining a shoulder injury. However, the Hornets may have a more urgent concern to deal with after they gave up a match they were supposed to win on Saturday. They have to learn to play to win instead of simply trying to hold onto the lead if they find themselves well ahead on the scoreboard.
Despite Miller suiting up for just nine minutes, Charlotte still had the game somewhat in control. It had a 10-point margin entering the fourth quarter, and Joel Embiid, who scored 20 in 20 minutes, may have already reached his minutes restriction at that point because he sat out the entire period.
Unfortunately for the Hive, the Sixers put up 39 points in the final stanza and held the Hornets to just five points in the final four minutes of the contest. A 116-109 margin for Buzz City with 4:19 left in the game clock ended in a 125-121 loss.
Hornets' crunch-time offense still needs plenty of work
LaMelo Ball put on a show, displaying his all-around brilliance, but had to deal with foul trouble that kept him off the court for a couple of minutes during crunch time. With Miller out, Tre Mann struggling, and Collin Sexton running out of gas at the end, there just wasn't enough offense to go around for Charlotte.
The Hornets may have also relied too much on the 3-ball, as Mann, Miles Bridges, and Kon Knueppel each missed two shots from downtown in the final 4:19 of the fourth quarter.
Ball also airballed an ill-advised 29-foot jumper with the score tied at 119-119, but criticizing him for that play alone would be misguided because he is a huge reason Charlotte was in a great position to go up 2-0 in the standings. Also, he was the only Hornet to score during the said stretch, sinking a pull-up jumper with 2:03 left and splitting his free throws two possessions later. Ryan Kalkbrenner made a tip-in near the end, but the game was already decided at that point.
Depending on how the rest of the campaign plays out for the Hornets, this loss might not matter much. However, it should serve as a stinging reminder that the team has to be more creative on offense when defenses are more keyed in. It could also help if they work on their free throws, as they collectively shot 19-28 from the charity stripe.
Of course, the Hornets faithful are holding out hope that Miller's injury is nothing serious. For now, the prognosis doesn't look that bad, as the organization has described it as "left shoulder soreness." But beyond praying for some good news in the coming days, it's also important that Charlotte can figure out how to keep the offense humming and get buckets in the clutch.