Charlotte Hornets New Year's Resolutions
Live a healthier life!
One of the primary culprits of the Hornets’ abysmal record is their injury luck. Of the 30 games Charlotte has played this season, not a single player has appeared in more than 27. When sorted by games missed, the Hornets rank as the second-most injured team this season, trailing only the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Charlotte Hornets have played 28 games and are yet to start and finish a game with all of their top 7 players, all of which could be starters.
— James Plowright (@British_Buzz) December 27, 2023
Below is a list of every game and who was missing. This excludes Cody Martin and Frank Ntilikina who arguably would be in the top 9 pic.twitter.com/wOJOljDp2S
The on-court repercussions of the injury bug are displayed nightly. The Hornets have been unable to establish any rhythm or chemistry due to constant lineup changes. They are consistently forced to play their starters 40+ minutes per game to stay competitive. 127 games missed due to injury through December often spells disaster for a team trying to fight for a play-in spot, and that number doesn’t even include the 10 games missed by Miles Bridges due to league suspension. We are over a third of the way through the NBA regular season, and Charlotte has yet to start and finish a game with their top 7 rotational players. If the Hornets want any hope of salvaging this season with a top-10 seed, they’ll have to squash the injury bug and live a healthier life in 2024.