It’s almost time to get things underway for the second straight night in Uptown as the Charlotte Hornets get set to host the Indiana Pacers. Moments ago, head coach Charles Lee submitted his starting lineup for tonight’s contest. Let’s take a peek.
The first five for the HIVE
G Colin Sexton
LaMelo Ball didn’t play at certain key moments at the end of last night’s game against Toronto, and now, he’s not getting the start tonight, despite being available. Not sure if this is an emergency-only type of situation where he’ll play if absolutely needed or what. It’s been a long time since Ball played and didn’t start. Sexton, however, put up 22 points in 24 minutes in last night’s loss.
G Kon Knueppel
It was a relatively off night for Kon last night, going just 3/11 from the field. Back-to-back poor performances don’t typically happen for him, so perhaps he’ll get back on track tonight.
G Brandon Miller
Miler carried the Hornets’ backcourt last night, posting 28 points on 50% shooting. So far this month, he’s shooting 55% from three-point range.
F Miles Bridges
For the 8th time in the last ten games, Bridges was held to under 20 points. Last night, he went just 4/9 from the field in 30 minutes of play.
C Moussa Diabate
Diabate has pulled down 10+ rebounds in three of his last five games. The scoring may not always be there, but you know the effort on the glass certainly will.
Charles Lee pregame on how the group handled last night’s loss
“They’ve been phenomenal. The will to try to find a way to win, I’ve seen the physicality go up. The understanding of what every moment is requiring of you, and I think that individually and collectively, we have each other’s back in all moments. You see it defensively; you see a group that is bringing a sense of physicality with our switching; the physical steers. I think we’ve had a lot of activity in the paint to try and help protect the rim; transition, occupying second contests; there are just so many winning plays that are going on defensively. Then, offensively, I think they understand how much they need each other. The ball movement has been really good, really consistent. Last night I thought there was a little bit of a hiccup, but again, we put ourselves in position to win a game even though it wasn’t pretty at all times—and it’s not always going to be pretty. The best teams that I’ve been around, you find a way to win that game. I think we’re going to be a lot better from going through that experience yesterday. We’ve been a lot better after we experience these tough games and learn from them.”
The Hornets and Pacers will get the action underway at approximately 7:10 p.m. ET on FanDuel Sports Network Southeast. You can also tune into the game on WFNZ Radio, where Hornets’ play-by-play man Sam Farber will have the call.
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Breaking down the Hornets’ starting lineup vs. the Toronto Raptors
