Charlotte Hornets coach Charles Lee pointed to Brandon Miller and Grant Williams on Wednesday as the injured players closest to returning, with Charlotte about to leave on a four-game road trip. He did not commit to a game for either one.
The trip opens Thursday at 8 p.m. CT against the Phoenix Suns. Charlotte then faces the Los Angeles Clippers at 3:30 p.m. CT Sunday and the Los Angeles Lakers at 9 p.m. CT on Nov. 17, before closing against the Atlanta Hawks on Nov. 20 at 6 p.m. CT. The Hornets are back home Nov. 23 against the Memphis Grizzlies.
WCNC’s Danielle Stein first reported the update and later posted fuller context from Lee’s answer. Lee said Miller has made progress every day and that the team will see where he is during the trip. He also said he hopes to have news on Williams soon.
Brandon Miller’s Right Hip Strain
Miller left Friday’s 119-80 loss to the Boston Celtics in the second quarter with what the Hornets called right groin soreness. Boston led 70-39 at halftime of the NBA Cup group-play game. Miller finished with 8 points on 3-of-10 shooting, missed all three of his 3-point attempts, and had 2 rebounds and 1 assist in 14 minutes.
Lee had no timeline that night. “I think that we’ll evaluate him over the weekend, and then we’ll have more information,” he said after the game, according to Grant Afseth of Roundtable.
By Monday, the soreness had been diagnosed as a right hip strain, and Charlotte held Miller out against the Cleveland Cavaliers. It was the first game he had missed this season. Rod Boone reported that day that Lee did not expect the absence to last long, and RealGM transcribed Lee’s explanation.
“I don’t think this is gonna be something that takes a while,” Lee said. “He’s already shown some progress since Friday night’s game.” He stopped short of calling Miller day-to-day.
Two nights before the Boston game, Miller shot 2-of-15 in a 114-104 loss at Brooklyn. He is averaging 20.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 10 games while shooting 35.6% from the field and 26.0% from 3-point range. He averaged 20.2 points in 65 games last season, and his 39 points against the Washington Wizards on Oct. 26 are a career high.
Without Miller, Charlotte beat Cleveland 124-112 Monday to end a six-game losing streak and improve to 4-7. Kon Knueppel and Dennis Schröder also sat with left hamstring strains. The team announced Sunday that Knueppel will miss at least four weeks and Schröder at least two weeks before being reevaluated.
Grant Williams’ Hamstring Recovery
The Hornets announced Sept. 25 that Williams injured his right hamstring during offseason on-court activity and would miss preseason.
He has been listed out for all 11 of Charlotte’s games this season. Last season, Williams returned Jan. 10 from a torn right ACL and averaged 7.0 points and 3.9 rebounds in 36 games, shooting 38.8% from 3-point range.
Last week, Williams practiced with the Greensboro Swarm, the team’s G League affiliate. On Wednesday, Lee said Williams “has done a ton of five on five” and “has checked a lot of his testing boxes.”
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