Already without Kon Knueppel, Hornets lose Miles Bridges in loss to Bucks
Someone is toying with the Charlotte Hornets’ master calendar.
Instead of it being almost New Year’s Eve, it’s more like Groundhog Day.
Just when it seems as if things can’t get any more frustratingly comical with the Hornets’ repeat injury woes, it happened again on Monday night.
Already missing Kon Knueppel due to a sprained right ankle, the dreaded injury bug zapped the Hornets again in their 123-113 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks at Spectrum Center.
Miles Bridges exited in the first half with a right ankle injury of his own, leaving the Hornets even more shorthanded since they were also without Ryan Kalkbrenner for a fourth straight game.
“We were down some bodies, but I just feel like we needed to just stay locked in,” LaMelo Ball told the Charlotte Observer, “know the game plan. And we just pretty much wasn’t too locked in for real I think.”
Bridges came up gimpy midway through the opening quarter after attempting to block Gary Trent’s made 3-pointer with 5:11 remaining. Bridges’ right foot landed on Trent’s left foot and he spent the Hornets’ ensuing possession parked in the left corner, rubbing the ankle a few times.
That’s when he signaled to the bench, needing a sub because something was amiss.
“Yeah, all I got, just postgame was real fast,” coach Charles Lee said. “We’ll evaluate him (Tuesday) at practice. Right ankle.”
Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Just another day for the Hornets (11-21), and not the good kind.
“It sucks,” Brandon Miller said. “But, next man up.”
Until Bridges returns, anyway.
“You hate to see anybody go down, but Miles is real tough,” Ball said. “So, he’ll probably be back soon for real.”
Here are some key takeaways from the Hornets’ defeat:
Collin Sexton big off the bench
Collin Sexton appears to be finding his stride again.
Make that three straight games in double figures for Sexton after pouring in 16 points and dishing eight assists off the bench. He’s slowly rounding into form after being sidelined for seven games with a strained left quadriceps.
It hasn’t been easy, though.
“I would say it’s tough, it’s definitely tough,” Sexton said. “But I have to be patient, have to be patient with my body and make sure my mind is connected to my body. I feel like the mind is something that most people don’t think about. Everybody is worried about the body, but your mind has to be connected so that you can go out there and perform the way you want to and not think and not overthink about it.
“And I feel like just getting back in the rhythm of things. I want to just continue to be patient and know that it does take a while. And I was out for three weeks, three and a half weeks. And you’re not going to just get everything back in one day.”
Lee is pleased with what he’s seeing from Sexton.
“I love his energy,” Lee said. “He elevates the group as soon as he steps on the court with his energy. And then offensively, he’s another guy for us to be able to have a really good ball-handler out there that can also score when we get to the bonus. He’s a guy that can get himself downhill and take advantage of some of the hand checking and physicality that might come into the game and get himself to the free throw line.
“So, Collin’s kind of added a lot of different elements and his voice is always present. But now it’s present and he’s playing, so it’s a huge added bonus for our group.”
Replacing Kon Knueppel’s production
With their rookie sensation Kon Knueppel unavailable to suit up against his hometown team — which he dropped a then-career-best 32 points in their last meeting that’s since been eclipsed by the 33 points against Chicago — the Hornets had to fill the void.
Lee went with fellow Duke product Sion James in Knueppel’s spot in the game-opening lineup, giving James his 15th start in appearance No. 32 of the season. It’s one thing trying to use a slew of others in an effort to duplicate Knueppel’s production of 19.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.
Getting the same level of spacing is also among the things the Hornets missed without Knueppel’s services, and he’s been a part of the Hornets’ best three-man grouping alongside LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller. According to Cleaning the Glass, that trio has shared the court for 340 possessions this season and have registered an offensive rating of 130.3 offensive and a +14.1 net.
“Definitely miss his just overall competitiveness,” Lee said. “Defensively, I think he’s made a really big mark on our team, with his ability to guard a lot of different positions and do it with a great physicality. And then offensively, his shooting’s been really good, his playmaking has been good.”
Now, Knueppel just has to work on getting back healthy, and he’s on that path.
“He is attacking his rehab plan like I would expect Kon to attack his rehab plan,” Lee said, “and I think that every day he sees a little bit of improvement. I think that the goal from our coaching staff and from our performance staff is just to take the approach like we would with anybody that’s hurt, just a daily evaluation of where he is and where his symptoms are.
“And so I would say (Monday) I think that he made good progress and we’ll kind of see how he shows up (Tuesday).”
Doc Rivers impressed with LaMelo Ball’s versatility
On the day the first batch of fan voting for the All-Star game in Los Angeles was unveiled, LaMelo Ball went out and put up 28 points to go with seven assists and two rebounds against Milwaukee.
In a season when Ball’s shooting numbers are down — he entered the night only draining 40% of his overall attempts, which includes a 34.2% showing beyond the arc — that certainly hasn’t diminished his popularity.
Ball is 11th among players in the Eastern Conference with 135,236 votes. It places him behind the likes of other guards such as Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey, Detroit’s Cade Cunningham and New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson.
“Right now I’ve been feeling good for real,” Ball said, “but just focus on trying to get wins.”
When Ball is on, the Hornets are hard to beat. And Lee knows that better than anyone.
“Yeah, I thought offensively, he gave us some good things, created really well for us,” Lee said. “What, 7 assists? It contributed to a ton of the playmaking that we had out there. We’ve just got to be able to knock down a few more of those jumpers, get to our stuff a little bit quicker and be a little bit sharper in our execution.
“But Melo had a good little bounce to him. I thought it carried over sometimes with some of his defensive possessions, too.”
Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers is among those impressed with Ball’s skillset.
“He’s just creative,” Rivers said. “I mean, the guy is so skilled, so talented, the game almost comes too easy for him (with) his passing. It’s funny, when you go in a game, you don’t know if he’s going to be a 3-point shooter that night or is he just going to be a point guard to get everybody else involved.
“And you have to get in the game and find out which way he’s going. He’s that talented.”
This story was originally published December 29, 2025 at 10:26 PM with the headline "Already without Kon Knueppel, Hornets lose Miles Bridges in loss to Bucks."
