On this Black Friday, the NBA has a loaded schedule of NBA Cup matchups. There are 10 games in all, before the final day of group play action will take place on Tuesday, December 4. Black Friday’s games start with a noon ET tip-off between the New York Knicks and Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center. New York sits at 2-0 in East Group A while Charlotte is at 0-2. The Knicks were already seen as favorites as the game nears but now are even more so with the LaMelo Ball injury news.
Hornets Star Out For Friday’s Game Against Knicks
LaMelo Ball Sidelined With Calf Injury
As per Rod Boone of the Charlotte Observer, Hornets star point guard LaMelo Ball has an injury and will miss Friday’s outing versus the Knicks. A sore left calf will cause the 23-year-old to be sidelined. It will be the first game that Ball has missed for Charlotte this season. Now in his fifth NBA season, Ball combined to appear in just 58 games for the Hornets over the last two seasons. His last relatively healthy season of 2021-22 saw Ball be named an All-Star.
The 6-foot-7 guard has been on a scoring spree of late. On November 23, Ball became the second Hornets player after Kemba Walker to score 50 points in a game. Ball dropped exactly 50 while Walker had games of 60 and 52 with the Hornets. Ball has scored at least 32 points in each of his last four outings while throwing up 32.5 shots per contest in that time. Ball is averaging 31.1 points per game on the season. That is good for second-most in the league behind Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 32.4.
Backup point guard Tre Mann is also out for Friday’s game. Vasilije Micić seems to be the likely candidate to earn the starting point guard nod. The 30-year-old started 21 games for Charlotte last season.
Hornets Have Had Difficulty Scoring Even With Ball
Even with Ball putting up 30+ points on a near nightly occurrence, the Hornets are towards the bottom in many offensive categories. Their 108.2 points per game places them 25th in the league while their offensive rating of 109.5 is 26th-best.
Charlotte has been without numerous key pieces throughout the season, and at the current moment as well. About a week ago, forward Grant Williams sustained a torn ACL which ended his season prematurely. Center Mark Williams has yet to make his season debut due to a foot sprain that occurred in training camp. As a matter of fact, the seven-footer hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since December 8, 2023. Forward Miles Bridges has missed each of the Hornets last four contests. Center Nick Richards hasn’t played for Charlotte since November 1.
Charlotte certainly hopes Ball’s injury only keeps him out for one game, and that some of the other injured players return soon. Today is the first leg of a back-to-back as they remain at home Saturday against the Atlanta Hawks. The Hornets are 6-12 on the season, good for 12th in the Eastern Conference. Charlotte comes into Friday’s game as losers of three straight, and five of their last six.
