The Charlotte Hornets entered Sunday's matchup against the Denver Nuggets without LaMelo Ball who is once again sidelined with an ankle injury. Ball, had his 2022-23 season and 2023-24 seasons shortened due to ankle injuries and has also missed eight games this year for the same reason.
That said, in his absence, the Hornets looked competitive. Despite entering the game third in the Western Conference, Denver was unable to pull away from the 7-16 Hornets. Charlotte stayed in the game in large part due to an impressive performance from Miles Bridges. Bridges finished with a near triple-double, posting 24 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Rookie Liam McNeely provided a spark off the bench, scoring 13 points on 4-for-5 shooting from three-point range. KJ Simpson stepped also stepped up, starting in place of Ball and scoring 16 points with five rebounds.
But ultimately, Denver held on to a nine point lead and won 115-106, behind a near triple-double from Nikola Jokic and 34 points from Jamal Murray.
Given the injury history and defensive concerns of Ball, at some point, Charlotte should feel comfortable moving on from their star guard.
Doing so would get guaranteed money off of the books and add draft capital as Charlotte would look to build around Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel.
With that in mind, Charlotte will remain with Ball, at least for the time being. The Hornets will have the next four days off before returning to action on Friday night against the Chicago Bulls.
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