There Was No Better Emphasis on the Hornets Being Short Handed than a 53 Point First Quarter for the Miami Heat to Set the Tone.

The theme is becoming familiar. Another night, another patchwork lineup, and another result that felt decided before the Hornets really had a chance to settle in.

Charlotte’s 126-108 loss to the Miami Heat on the road wasn’t about effort or scheme as much as the continued reality of who wasn’t available. With LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller and Collin Sexton sidelined, the Hornets once again were forced to rely heavily on bench players in extended roles. 

This was supposed to be the season where continuity finally worked in Charlotte’s favor. The roster had been reshaped to better fit Charles Lee’s system, emphasizing spacing, pace, and defensive discipline. Training camp buzzed with optimism.

Lamelo Ball has now missed three straight games with an ankle injury. His ankle has been something that has plagued him for multiple years of his Hornets career.

It's bad enough that your two best players in Brandon Miller and Lamelo Ball are already missing a chunk of time very early on in the season, but that wasn't all the Hornets were missing tonight against the Heat.

Collin Sexton was also missing tonight in Miami. He was listed as questionable on Thursday after showing up on the injury report with a neck strain. He was then downgraded to doubtful on Friday afternoon a couple hours before tip. 

Brandon Miller and Lamelo Ball missing time has almost become a bit of a cliche at this point, but Collin Sexton has been a real backbone that Charlotte has relied on this year, and to lose him really left the back court short handed.

What’s frustrating for Charlotte is that this stretch isn’t revealing who they are—it’s obscuring who they could be. Before the injuries piled up, you got some really flashes of how fun this Hornets team could be offensively. Now, head coach Charles Lee is essentially rewriting his substitution patterns nightly, and the inconsistencies show.

There doesn't seem to be any panic at this early stage of the season, but with the years of injury frustration being one of the main reasons the Hornets couldn't take the next step as an organization, it's definitely concerning.

The Hornets will have the weekend to try and lick their wounds before one of the best teams in the NBA right now, the Los Angeles Lakers come to town.