After an exciting win on Wednesday to tip-off the 2026-27 season for the Charlotte Hornets, the squad was back in action on Friday to open their year at the Spectrum Center.
With no Kon Knueppel, Coby White, or Grant Williams for the second straight game, the Hornets would be short-handed against an Atlanta Hawks game that took down the Orlando Magic 132-125 on Wednesday.
It was a much different night than Wednesday for the Hornets, though.
The team went down double-digits in the first quarter, and that was essentiallt the ballgame. Atlanta led by as many as 39 points against the Hornets, in a wire-to-wire victory where the Hornets were unable to even score 90 points.
With a game against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Miami Heat looming tomorrow, the Hornets fell 128 to 81 on Friday night.
Turnovers
An issue that persisted in preseason, the Hornets struggled to keep the ball on Friday. They finished the night with 25 turnovers, turning into 22 points for the Hawks.
There were several careless turnovers that the Hornets made, which led to their near-30 turnover line. With a team like Miami on the horizon, who have several excellent defensive players that can cause trouble for the Hornets, they will need to clean-up in the turnover category if they want the chance to succeed.
"Some of this, we are still trying to learn each other, figure out offensive systems, where to be," Head Coach Charles Lee said after the game ended.
Brandon Miller
After a disappointing second half against the Nets on Wednesday, Miller did not improve in his second game of the season.
The now fourth-year star finished his night with 6 points, shooting 2/14 from the field, 1/11 from three, and was a team-low -37 in plus-minus.
"I have the upmost confidence in some of the shots he's taking, he's going to hit them at a higher clip this year," Lee said to the media after the game.
The Hornets need more out of Miller. After paying him $209 million over the next few seasons on Monday, it became evident that the Hornets would now need Miller to take a leap and become the clear-cut best player on the Hornets. Outside of a scoring burst in the first quarter against Brooklyn, Brandon has struggled mightily, and the Hornets are going to need to see more over the following games.
Hannes Steinbach
The 2026 14th overall pick made his NBA debut on Friday, where he recorded 6 points, and hauled in 5 boards (3 defensive rebounds and 2 offensive rebounds). While he did not play much, it was exciting to get a glimpse at the Hornets' top pick over the Summer.
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