Meaningful games this time of year and the Charlotte Hornets haven’t exactly gone hand in hand for the last decade.
That’s finally changing, buoyed by the Hornets’ resurgence over the past two months garnering national attention, and it’s enough to make even the most diehard fan shed a tear or two.
“Yeah, it’s exciting but more than anything, I’m just happy that the guys have put themselves in this position,” coach Charles Lee said. “It’s all them, their commitment. … And we just got to keep approaching every day the same way we always have — not necessarily talking about standings and playoffs and all those things.
“Just keep grinding, keep our head down. When you do all the things that impact winning, that should put you in a spot to be in that race.”
After years of futility, that’s exactly where the Hornets are, and on Friday night they got another dose of just what they should expect over the coming weeks in a 128-120 loss to the Miami Heat.
In seeing their six-game winning streak halted just before hitting the friendly skies for a four-game road trip that tips off in Phoenix on Sunday, the Hornets (32-32) were victimized by Miami in the fourth quarter. Not making enough stops defensively to thwart the Heat while subsequently only hitting 7 of 21 attempts in the final 12 minutes doomed the Hornets.
Chalk it up as a lesson they hope to learn from.
Charlotte’s Kon Kneuppel makes a 3-pointer during the first half of the Hornets-Heat game Friday. Jonathan Aguallo
“Just with our individual defense, pride guarding the ball, personally I didn’t do well enough in that area,” Kon Knueppel said. “So, I’ll take that away for sure. Their zone, I’ll go back and watch that, and just see how I personally and we as a team can attack that better with more determination. Just determining what we want to do quicker, instead of just waiting, being a little tentative, trying to figure it out.”
Lee envisions at least two aspects of necessary improvement.
“No. 1, just the physicality and the intensity of the game,” Lee said. “We’ve talked a ton about how meaningful these games are in your last 20, 19 games. And then everyone’s really just like fighting for seeding and fighting to get better and trying to really ramp up their intensity to properly prepare them for a hopeful or potential postseason action.”
End-of-game execution is the other thing that has to take a leap forward. Against the NBA’s upper echelon, mistakes during clutch time will frequently be exposed.
“We’ve made a lot of progress, so we just got to keep getting better in that area,” Lee said. “You come off a game in Boston where you have five turnovers, and then you turn around and you only have 13, but seven in the fourth quarter. It’s going to be tough to win a really tight ball game.”
Here are some key takeaways from the Hornets’ loss to the Heat:
Brandon Miller starts hot, then cools off
Sizzling probably best describes the offensive run Brandon Miller is on.
The third-year swingman hasn’t totaled less than 17 points in his last eight games and kept the fireworks going against the Heat. Miller recorded a double-double, pouring in 22 points to go with 13 rebounds, and fell five assists shy of recording his first career triple-double.
Only eight of Miller’s points came after halftime, though. So what changed?
Miami’s defensive approach, for one.
“I think some of it is that zone,” Lee said. “In the first half they played way more man-to-man. … A lot of times he’s in that high quadrant, and you’ve just got to make a quick decision. You’ve either got to let it fly or drive it. So, I think a lot of times he tried to make the right plays, but sometimes it doesn’t result in him actually getting field goal attempts.
Charlotte’s Brandon Miller backs down the Miami Heat’s Tyler Herro during early first-half action on Friday, March 6, 2026. Jonathan Aguallo
“But I thought he did a good job of just trying to make other things happen throughout the night. He guarded (Tyler) Herro for a lot of the night, too, so the two-way mindset was definitely there.”
Miller also pointed to Miami switching things up, but knows that can’t be an excuse.
“They went to zone the whole game, which they’ve been doing for 10 years now,” Miller said. “Just finding ways to attack the zone, play to our advantages and play the backside action, I think that will help us out a lot with beating the zone.”
He added: “The main thing that will work against that zone is just our pace, not letting them get set up. I feel like we kind of just play with them in the half court to get them set up. So, it’s easy to guard with a 2-3 in the half court. You got two 7-footers in the game. But I think we have to be better with just attacking the zone.”
LaMelo Ball bodying up
Noticing a more physical nature from LaMelo Ball this season? That’s not by happenstance.
Ball isn’t getting knocked off the ball as easily as he has in years past and has found ways to maximize utilizing his wiry 6-foot-7, 180-pound frame more in his sixth season.
More importantly, Ball made appearance No. 54 of the 2025-26 campaign in the Hornets’ matchup with Miami. That puts him already above the amount of games he’s logged in any season besides 2021-22, when he played in 75 contests and was named an All-Star reserve.
“I think it started for him in the offseason,” Lee said. “He made it a point to try to put on some weight, understand how people were guarding him, knowing how much physicality he was going to need. I think some of the management that we’ve had around his body, his minutes, him taking more ownership of his routines, has put him in a better position to physically endure the season while also the competition level.
“And it means a lot to have a player of his caliber that’s willing to bring it defensively with that physicality, but also offensively to use his gravity, use his ability. … He loves anything he can do to get a teammate open or to help us score. He’s getting better and better at it.”
Charlotte head coach Charles Lee encourages his team during the game against the Miami Heat on Friday, March 6, 2026. Jonathan Aguallo Coby White’s influence
There’s a distinct difference with the Hornets’ second unit and that has a lot to do with Coby White’s arrival. He’s quickly become invaluable since his insertion into the lineup after nursing a left calf strain following his Feb. 4 trade to his native North Carolina from Chicago.
White’s knack for remaining unflappable was on display against the Heat, just as it was two nights earlier in Boston versus the Celtics, when he posted five points in the final minute of the third quarter to help the Hornets grab a three-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
His basketball IQ in regard to end-of-quarter play and late-game scenarios are just some of the vassets he offers up when he’s on the court. He’s capable of running the pick-and-roll, drawing fouls, and facilitating shooters.
He adds a lot to the Hornets.
“No. 1, his experience helps,” Lee said. “There’s been a ton of times where I think that he’s able to just rely on being in big situations. There’s a calm about him. Never rattled. Then he’s able to also vocalize the things that he sees on the floor. And then just his overall competitive spirit, I feel it defensively. His communication on the defensive end of the floor has been really good, too.
“Offensively, he just has so many different weapons that we’re able to utilize. … Have loved everything he’s kind of contributed to our team.”
The Charlotte Observer
Roderick Boone joined the Observer in September 2021 to cover the Charlotte Hornets and NBA. In his more than two decades of writing about the world of sports, he’s chronicled everything from high school rodeo to a major league baseball no-hitter to the Super Bowl to the Finals. The Long Island native has deep North Carolina roots and enjoys watching “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” endlessly.
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