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Hornets nail-biting win over Pistons laid out the blueprint for Charlotte's long-term success

Matt Alquiza

Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images
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A buzzer beating win can galvanize a franchise, and Brandon Miller's heady tip-in to deliver the Charlotte Hornets their second home win of the 2024-25 season was the exact type of play that could right the rocky ship that has been the Hornets' first two weeks of the NBA season. A raucous Spectrum Center crowd cheered the heroic Brandon Miller and his Hornets teammates off the floor, but the smattering of cheers for plays that Charlotte's big three of LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges, Miller, and their supporting cast made throughout the night paint the picture of how the Hornets can be successful this season.

LaMelo Ball's floor game controlled winning time

It's becoming difficult to find adequate words to describe LaMelo Ball's early-season exploits. Charlotte's vivacious leading man single-handedly kept the Hornets alive in the fourth quarter with his Mary Poppins-esque bag of tricks from behind the arc. Ball can get to his shot from any spot on the floor, off either foot, regardless of who is in front of him, whenever he pleases, and his deep shot-making skills have placed him in a pantheon that contains NBA luminaries like Steph Curry and Damian Lillard. He's been that good from downtown. More than that, Wednesday night's win was the full actuilzation of the LaMelo Ball experience.

It was far from his most spectacular statistical output, but Ball was stellar on Wednesday night in what will go down as one of the most impressive performances of his young career. Ball was in total control. He impacted winning on both ends, playing staunch defense on the Pistons' turbo-charged backcourt without fouling while serving as the engine for Charlotte's offense from the jump. LaMelo's scoring charge in the fourth quarter will get the headlines, but he made play after play for his teammates while limiting the silly turnovers and ticky-tack fouls that have plagued an otherwise top-notch first two weeks of the season. The LaMelo Ball that played tonight, finishing with 25 points, eight assists, and six rebounds is a shoo-in for an All-NBA bid, and the main power source that will carry Charlotte's super-charged offense into contention.

Miles Bridges two-way play is Charlotte's barometer

Tonight was Bridges' best performance under Charles Lee. The Hornets coach spoke pregame about what he wanted to see from Miles tonight and going forward, and the veteran swingman delivered against his hometown squad. "I think offensively he's kind of had the same mindset. He's doing great in his running habits and trying to get off of it, but he's just learning I think offensively the new spots that he's in on the floor. The message that I've hit him with is that 'I need you to be decisive, I need you to be aggressive, and I need you to be confident on every catch." Message received.

Bridges was aggressive (check) getting to the cup in the first half, parading to the free throw line as the Hornets most consistent source of offense in the early goings of tonight's action. His returns in 2024 have been stained by inactivity on offense and a propensity to float around the perimeter without the ball, but Bridges was decisive (check) tonight in his decision-making. He had a quick trigger on jump shots, but an even quicker first-step when he got downhill. Bridges played with confidence (check) offensively, and it gave Charlotte a spark that they needed to push through tonight's offensive dry spells. His fearlessness in attacking Detroit's beefy front line of Isaiah Stewart and Jalen Duren set the tone for the Hornets.

Last year's leading scorer is admittedly the Hornets third option on offense behind Ball and Miller, but we've yet to see much of his scoring prowess this season. Tonight, Bridges full offensive game was on full display, and it added a new dimension to Charlotte's outside-in offense that will continue to level up as he settles in to his new role as the Hornets third banana.

Brandon Miller's clutch play-making, timely shooting are the antidote for slow starts

Tonight was far from Miller's best performance as a professional hooper, but it was also exactly that. A professional night.

The sophomore guard struggled to knock down jumpers (3/11 from distance), but every shot that Miller made carried weight. His long-range hits came at timely moments to either quell a Pistons spurt or kick-off a Hornets run, and even though it was a struggle to find his range, Miller's ever-present gravity is a force unto itself. His shooting ability opened up driving lanes for his teammates, and those gas will only continue to spread once Miller dials in his jumper.

His game-winner was a perfect encapsulation of the kind of big-time plays Miller was drafted to make.

Following a costly turnover that allowed Detroit to take the lead, many a player would sulk and consider tonight's game a lost cause. Not Miller. He kept his chin up (and credited his veteran teammates and coaching staff for the attitude adjustment) and let instinct take over to hit the Piston attempting to box him out with a swim move to grab the offensive board and put back the game-winner off the glass at the buzzer. It's the kind of play you can't teach, and it's the kind of play that Miller has the ability to make due to his size, athleticism, and IQ.

These success of the 2024-25 Charlotte Hornets are going to come down to these three players. Ball, Bridges, and Miller are good for high-flying highlights on a nightly basis (like the four alley-oops that they combined to throw down tonight) but those Top 10 plays eventually need to translate to winning basketball. Tonight it did, and it laid out the blueprint for how each of the three need to play for the Hornets to compete going forward. The atmosphere in the Spectrum Center was euphoric, and it rose to a fever-pitch on the backs of Charlotte's big three.

And if they continue to build on the habits they showed against Detroit? Then tonight is only the beginning of something special brewing in the Queen City.

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Matt Alquiza
MATT ALQUIZA

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