The Hornets' Injury Report Is Officially Longer Than Their Highlight Reel
Marc Stein: 'The Hornets’ rough start only gets more painful'
The Charlotte Hornets' medical staff is currently working harder than their actual roster.
Marc Stein just dropped an update that reads like a triage report. Kon Knueppel is out at least four more weeks with a left hamstring strain, Dennis Schröder is sidelined for two weeks with the exact same issue, and Brandon Miller is sitting out Monday against with a right hip strain.
If you are keeping track at home, that is three core rotation guys whose lower bodies just went on strike. Knueppel's situation is especially brutal. The reigning Rookie of the Year runner-up missed the first eight games of the season, finally suited up against Brooklyn on November 4, and lasted less than six minutes before his hamstring tapped out again.
Charlotte's offense was already a crime against basketball before this news. They are currently the only team in the NBA with an offensive rating under 100, sitting at a putrid 99.7. Their minus-14.2 net rating is second-worst in the league, saving them from the absolute basement only because the Chicago Bulls exist.
Taking Miller out of the mix removes the only reliable offensive pulse this team had left. Schröder had been holding the point guard spot together for the first seven games while Coby White got healthy, but now the backcourt depth is completely cooked.
Anyone looking at the totals for Monday's matchup against the needs to factor in that Charlotte might legitimately struggle to score. They just put up a miserable 80 points in a 39-point blowout loss to on Saturday, and that was before Miller was officially ruled out.
The Hornets host on Monday night, and it is going to be a rough watch. With Knueppel and Schröder shelved until at least December and Miller day-to-day, Charlotte is staring down a brutal stretch of schedule with a roster that looks more like a G League showcase than an NBA rotation.