Charles Lee doing more with less provides optimism for the Hornets' future

Friday's game against the Knicks was an impressive outing for the Charlotte Hornets.

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Charlotte Hornets were 13.5-point underdogs for Friday's home game against the New York Knicks, but you wouldn't have known it by how tough they played Tom Thibodeau's squad from start to finish.

Charlotte allowed just 15 points in the first quarter, which was the lowest total they've given up in any quarter this season. That set the tone for the rest of the afternoon as Charlotte relied on its defensive tenacity to keep them in a game that didn't have LaMelo Ball, Tre Mann, and other key contributors. For Charlotte to even have a chance, they had to lock in defensively, and they did so by holding New York to under 100 points for just the second time this season.

To Hornets head coach Charles Lee, the performance didn't catch him off guard. He expected his group to come out and play with the level of grit and toughness needed to give them a chance to win.

“I think these guys understand that it’s a daily grind," Lee stated. "We’re obsessed with daily improvement at the end of the day, and that never changes for us, whoever is in the lineup. I think these guys are all working their tails off and staying ready for their opportunities, which allows us to compete versus a good Knicks team no matter who plays. A lot of optimism from me in terms of potentially getting guys back, but also just optimism in this group. I think that we’ve shown that no matter who is available on a night-to-day basis, we just continue to play the right way – we compete and we’re together. They have an open mind to adjust to whatever we need to do.”

While fans are upset with the 6-13 start to the season, you have to keep in mind that injuries are still an issue for this club. Despite the injury bug hanging around, the Hornets are remaining competitive, which is something they weren't doing last year when they were down several guys. That should tell you a lot about how good of a coach Charles Lee is.

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