Charlotte Hornets Injury Report (Nov 4th): Latest update on LaMelo Ball and PJ Washington's status
After an injury-riddled season, LaMelo Ball is back suiting up for the Charlotte Hornets and he has not missed a single game. With his injury history, many are keeping an eye on his availability every game as the Hornets are set to play the Indiana Pacers on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. ET.
LaMelo Ball is not on the injury list and seems good to go for their upcoming game against the Pacers. Also not included in the list is PJ Washington and he is expected to start again for the Hornets.
It has not been a good start for the Hornets. They enter their next matchup with a 1-3 record and have lost their last three games. LaMelo Ball has been struggling shooting, making only 30% from the field. He has tallied 15.5 points, 8.0 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.
Five Hornets players are set to miss the game against the Pacers. Ish Smith is still not playing due to conditioning and Caleb Martin is out indefinitely with a knee injury. Frank Ntlikina, James Bouknight and Miles Bridges are expected to join the team sometime in mid-November.
With the team at 1-3, head coach Steve Clifford believes the Hornets need to address their bad starts in games. He told reporters:
"What we haven't done, we haven't started well. You've got to play 48 minutes in this league. The effort has been good, but playing hard in this league is not enough.
"Playing hard gives you a chance, especially a team like we have. But we've got to be purposeful from the beginning, and it's been different things different nights."
The Charlotte Hornets struggled to keep their pace in their last three losses against the Detroit Pistons, Brooklyn Nets and Houston Rockets.
Charlotte Hornets veteran keeps LaMelo Ball in check
With a young team, the importance of veterans is very much valued especially on a losing streak. Gordon Hayward has been the Hornets' glue guy and he has spoken to LaMelo Ball about his early struggles.
Hayward told the media:
"I just try to tell him to stay positive. The thing that I've tried to tell him is he's such a gifted and talented passer, he's got to first think about getting everybody going and getting our team going, getting us some good looks. Because he can do it at a level that not very many guys can. And then his shots will come after that."
After the game against the Indiana Pacers, the team will travel west to meet the Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks on November 5 at the American Airlines Center.