The Charlotte Hornets got a double dose of bad news on Friday, with LaMelo Ball having to be shut down to deal with his ankle and wrist injuries and the team losing to the Toronto Raptors to fall to an 18-55 record.
But then again, it's not that bad. Ball is finally getting the treatment he needs to help his body return to 100 percent. He hasn't looked right for a while now, as evidenced by the decline in his scoring and efficiency as the regular season wore on. Moreover, every loss for the Hornets will help them in this year's tankathon.
Besides, they have been too dependent on Ball to deliver the wins. To wit, 88.9 percent of their dubs have come when the star suits up. If Charlotte wants to become a legitimate contender, it must find ways to keep up with the opponents whenever he is on the bench or on the sidelines.
Interestingly, the defeat against the Raptors saw Buzz City field a frontcourt trio that fans have been waiting for.
Hornets tried an intriguing three-man combination in Toronto
Charlotte undoubtedly has a flawed roster, and one of its problems at the moment is a crowded rotation at the big man spots. Mark Williams and Miles Bridges currently hold the starting center and power forward positions, while Jusuf Nurkic, Moussa Diabate, and the returning (from the G League) Tidjane Salaun split the backup minutes.
The coaching staff may have solved the riddle on Friday by playing Nurkic, Diabate, and Salaun together in limited minutes. What resulted was a potentially scary frontcourt trio because of its length. The energy Moose and Tidjane, who had one of the best games of his rookie year with 12 points and 14 rebounds, have provided has also been a sight to behold for the Hornets. Meanwhile, "The Bosnian Beast" has been an unconventional option at the five because of his willingness to shoot the three and his playmaking skills.
The three-man combination saw limited minutes, though. Coach Charles Lee had them on the floor in the final 2:02 of the first quarter, with Charlotte getting outscored by three points in that span. They took to the floor again at the 4:23 mark in the period until there were 11 seconds in the quarter. The Hornets were a plus-3 in those minutes.
It's unclear if we will see that three-headed monster again, although Lee might want to experiment with his rotation with only nine games left in the regular season and with wins not exactly a priority for the squad. Seeing Diabate play power forward could help him get the minutes he deserves. And Salaun might actually thrive more as a combo forward instead of splitting his minutes at the four and five positions.
Of course, the discussion might be a moot point moving forward because it remains to be seen if the Hornets plan on keeping all of their current frontcourt pieces on the roster beyond this summer. Still, Diabate and Salaun appear guaranteed to be on the squad once the 2025-26 regular season gets underway. So, it bodes well for the team to look for ways to utilize the French duo.