The Charlotte Hornets were able to field their preferred starting lineup on Wednesday, but it didn't matter as they got manhandled by the New York Knicks. A lot of things went wrong for the Hornets, including the trio of LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, and Kon Knueppel having no answer for Jalen Brunson.
The Knicks superstar finished with 33 points on 14-28 shooting, having his way with whoever Charlotte put on him. Miller drew the assignment primarily and struggled to stay in front of him. Ball did even worse. Knueppel had some decent defensive possessions on Brunson, but the experience gap between them was just too evident.
Brunson and company were too much for Hornets
It's worth noting that the two-time All-NBA Second Team selection had plenty of help.
Karl-Anthony Towns rode roughshod over the Hornets' bigs and took advantage of smaller matchups when they switched onto him. His dominant first half led Charles Lee to call for Moussa Diabate to start the second half over Ryan Kalkbrenner. It ended up not mattering much, as New York didn't allow the home squad to mount a rally after halftime.
Josh Hart and Miles McBride also capitalized on another Hornets weakness: 3-point shooting defense. The pair of wings shot a combined 9-11 from downtown. Meanwhile, Mikal Bridges was impressive on both ends of the floor and even decided to rub it in after his steal and easy layup put the Knicks up 116-89.
Still, Brunson was the head of the snake and reminded Charlotte of its major dilemma whenever Ball, Miller, and Knueppel appear together on the starting lineup.
Hornets' terrifying perimeter defense
Perhaps there will come a time when any of those three can become an acceptable perimeter stopper, but for now, premier ball-handlers can exploit the Hornets' front line of defense with relative ease. They were even hopeless when James Harden broke the LA Clippers' franchise scoring record with 55 points on Saturday.
The scary proposition for Charlotte is that there are other players like Brunson and Harden who can break down hapless defenses and put a ton of pressure on its bigs. It doesn't help that Kalkbrenner has yet to find ways to make up for his lack of mobility, and that Diabate's interior defense is still a work in progress.
If the organization decides to stick with the three in the long run, it's non-negotiable that Ball, Miller, and Knueppel focus on improving their point-of-attack defense and chasing off-ball threats. Otherwise, frustration and losses will only continue to mount, and the clamor to disband the trio will only grow louder.