Friday brought good and bad news for the Charlotte Hornets. While they managed to secure the dub over the Chicago Bulls and only their second winning streak this season, they learned on the same day that Brandon Miller would be sidelined indefinitely because of a torn wrist ligament.
With the squad struggling to score for almost the entire season, losing the guy averaging the second-most points and third-most assists is a huge blow. Miller has recorded 21.0 points and 3.6 assists per game in 27 appearances.
Fortunately, there were plenty of buckets in Charlotte's 125-123 victory against the Bulls.
Brandon Miller's injury should give other Hornets the opportunity to step up
LaMelo Ball led the way for his team, putting up 26 points, although he could have shot better than 7-19 from the field. The inspired Miles Bridges maintained his hot streak, scoring 21 while converting at least 53.3 percent of his field-goal attempts for the third straight contest.
If the Hornets want to compensate for Miller's absence, Ball and Bridges would have to continue to do the heavy lifting. Naturally, that wouldn't be enough, and Charlotte would need the others to step up. The bout against Chicago showed which Hornets players must be involved more on offense.
Mark Williams has surprisingly been one of the squad's most reliable offensive pieces in its three recent contests. After logging a 22-point, 13-rebound first-half performance against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday, he went off for a career-high 31 markers in the Hornets' first game after trading Nick Richards.
In the Bulls tiff, Williams displayed his newfound aggression on offense by taking the second-most shots among all Hornets players with 17 field-goal attempts. He made nine of them to finish with 19 points. He was also there to clean up some of his teammates' mistakes, hauling in a season-high seven offensive rebounds. For Charlotte to have a better chance of winning amid Miller's absence, the third-year center will need to continue being a big part of the team's offense.
Another surprisingly impressive performer for Buzz City on Friday was Nick Smith Jr. The coaching staff threw a curveball before tip-off by plugging in the shooting guard in the starting lineup. Smith Jr. responded to drawing his first start of the season by scoring 15. Maybe he played with a chip on his shoulder after his name was mentioned in trade rumors.
It's unclear if the decision to have him on the floor at the opening tip will carry on in the Hornets' next meetings. But whether or not he starts, Smith Jr. will have to step up while Miller (and Tre Mann) is out because they need another shot-creator alongside Ball.
Of course, in addition to the starters, at least one of the reserves has to take on some of the offensive load for the Miller-less Hornets. Against Chicago, it was Seth Curry who stood out. The veteran had 15 points while shooting just 1-2 from the 3-point line.
Perhaps another member of the second unit will break out next time. Whatever the case may be, Charlotte's reserves will have to prove that they are not liabilities and can cover for Miller while the aspiring star is recovering from his injury.