On Saturday evening, the Charlotte Hornets picked up a huge win vs the Milwaukee Bucks courtesy of two late free throws from LaMelo Ball and then a defensive stop on Giannis Anetokounmpo the ensuing possession. The win pushed the Hornets’ record on the young 2024-25 season to 5-7, which isn’t great but is maybe ahead of where some pundits would have expected them to be at this point in the year.
Up next for the Hornets is a road date with the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are the NBA’s lone remaining undefeated team at a perfect 14-0, and making that challenge even more difficult for the Hornets is the concerning injury report the team released earlier in the day on Sunday.
“LaMelo (left index sprain) is questionable for tonight’s game against Cleveland,” reported Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer on X, formerly Twitter. “Same goes for Miles Bridges (right knee, injury management) and Tre Mann (low back, injury management) are also questionable. #Hornets could be on the thin side against the undefeated Cavs.”
A tough challenge for the Hornets
LaMelo Ball has been having the best season of his young career thus far in 2024-25, averaging north of 29 points and six assists per game on solid efficiency both from the field and beyond the three point line.
Meanwhile, the Hornets are banking on the continued ascension of second year man Brandon Miller out of Alabama, who made the All Rookie first team a season ago but has missed some time thus far this year due to injury.
The Cavaliers, meanwhile, have been red hot to start out the season, having put together the most wins to begin an NBA campaign since the golden State Warriors rattled off 24 in a row during the 2015-16 season, which they finished a record 73-9.
We know about Donovan Mitchell and his status as arguably the best shooting guard in the NBA, but several of the Cavs’ supporting cast members have been revelations this year, including Darius Garland’s improved efficiency as well as Evan Mobley’s increased aggressiveness on the offensive end of the floor when looking for his shot.
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With both LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges potentially out of the lineup for the Hornets, it could be a very tall task for Charlotte to say the least to try to hand the Cavaliers their very first loss of the year.
In any case, the game between the Hornets and the Cavaliers is slated to tip off at 6:00 PM ET from Cleveland.