Brandon

Miller

Miller will be back following a two-game absence with a hip strain. Sion James has been starting in his place, so he will likely return to the bench with Miller back in the mix.

Miller will miss a second straight game as he recovers from a strained right hip. Sion James started Monday’s win over the Cavaliers and should continue to do so until Miller returns.

Miller left Friday’s loss to the Celtics with a sore right groin and has since been diagnosed with a strained right hip. The good news is that he’s considered day-to-day, so this may not sideline Miller for long. Tidjane Salaün picked up additional minutes on Friday and should play more with Miller out.

Miller exited Friday’s game during the second quarter with a sore right groin and is now down for the night. Tidjane Salaün started the second quarter and may slide into the back end of the Hornets’ rotation.

Miller had scored at least 24 points in four of his last five games entering play Monday. The Pistons held him in check and the Hornets lost by 33 at home. Charlotte will have a much easier test against the Nets on the road Wednesday.

Miller shot the ball better than he did in Friday’s loss to the Wizards, when he finished 7-of-24 from the field. This season, he’s shooting 37.7 percent from the field, nearly six percentage points lower than last season (43.5). Hopefully, the eventual returns of Coby White and Kon Knueppel will make things a bit easier for Miller by improving the quality of shots he gets in Charlotte’s offense. The Hornets play three games next week, starting with the Pistons on Monday.

After having three straight good games in a row against the Heat, Wizards, and Pistons, he had another bad game. The Wizards did much better on containing Miller and Naz Reid in this game which allowed them to come away with a win against them. Don’t panic after he gave you several good games and he’ll have an opportunity to have a bounce back game tomorrow against the 76ers. The Hornets will not likely shoot 29.7% from the field tomorrow either.

After a rough first two games of the season where he combined for 24 points, Miller has scored at least 31 points in three consecutive games. His 12 rebounds were a season-high so far. Miller is still struggling with his three-pointers as he’s shot at least 30 percent from downtown in only one of the first five games. He’ll get his next chance to improve in that regard against the Wizards on the road on Friday.

The volume has been there all season, but the shots finally started falling for Miller in this game. That allowed him to set a new career high for scoring and score at least 30 points for a second straight game. Until Kon Knueppel (hamstring) and Coby White (calf) return, Miller is going to see as many shots as he wants. He has taken 57 shots over Charlotte’s last two games and should continue to see an insane amount of usage on offense, with a trip to Detroit up next on the schedule on Wednesday.

Miller has been the focal point of the offense for Charlotte early on this year, which gives him a green light to shoot often. He is averaging 21.3 shot attempts per game this season, and while he still isn’t shooting efficiently, he was able to pour in the points in this one. The difference in this game was the free throw rate. He shot three total free throws in their first two games, far less than his 12 attempts in this one. Miller is going to continue to get as many shots as he wants until Kon Knueppel (hamstring) returns. He should be in for more big scoring nights, especially when his shot starts falling at a higher rate.