Charlotte Hornets coach Charles Lee discusses LaMelo Ball's ankle injury before Tuesday night's game against the New Orleans Pelicans. By Roderick Boone| Charlotte Observer
Barely a month into the official start of the second season at the end of the bench for the Charlotte Hornets, Charles Lee isn’t the least bit edgy.
Quite the opposite, in fact, which doesn’t deviate much from his usual nature.
Even as the Hornets coach is doing more juggling than a clown at a 2-year-old’s birthday party — partly because of LaMelo Ball’s three-game absence nursing a right ankle impingement and now Collin Sexton being a bit banged up — he remains as positive as always, assuring in his usual fashion that things will be just fine in the long run.
“Yeah, love a lot of what I’ve seen throughout the season,” Lee said. “I think that as an overall team, we’re playing four rookies in our rotation, and it’s good to see their growth and development. I think we’ve got to see some really good stretches from Melo in terms of being a great two-way player and a more vocal leader. I think Miles (Bridges) has had some really good moments.
“And so up and down the roster — I feel like Tre Mann’s starting to find his way in his footing a little bit more game by game. Collin’s gave us a great boost and so I see a ton of good individual things that I think are helping our team play well during certain spurts. I just think that there have to be more moments where we’re able to sustain it within a game and then also from game to game.”
Head coach Charles Lee of the Charlotte Hornets directs his team during the second half against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 17, 2025 in New York City. Sarah Stier Getty Images
Lee wasn’t done assessing the play of the Hornets (3-6) during those first few weeks.
“Offensively, I see a really dynamic offensive team as long as we can do a better job of taking care of the ball,” he said. “It’s the one statistical category that I think weighs down our offense. And defensively, I think that statistically we’re doing great and defending without fouling. For the most part, rebounding has been really good.
“I think that we have to do a better job of giving more ball pressure so that maybe we are able to create a couple more deflections, a couple more turnovers and then also that effective field-goal percentage. We can test a little bit better and get some different guys taking different types of shots.”
Lee spoke with The Observer about a range of topics, including rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner’s contributions, what he’s seen from Ball when he’s been healthy, managing end-of-game situations and more.
Roderick Boone: As you mentioned, you’ve got four rookies out there. How are you balancing trying to play fast uptempo when the personnel may not be what you thought it would be because you are fighting through injuries right now.
Charles Lee: I would say our identity is still to just play for the pass, play with the pass ahead, play with the pass across, make the proper rim reads and shift reads. And so that part won’t change for us. We also think that we have really good multiple ball handlers out there. I think that Kon (Knueppel) is able to handle, I think Miles is able to handle. Collin. So, the personnel, whether we have a full roster or players injured, we still have the guys that I think that can execute the way that we need to.
We have some really good bigs that can screen, and I think that they do a great job of putting pressure on the rim. We’ve seen Ryan be able to grab some lobs. I think (Moussa Diabate) is getting even better in the seam game-by-game and day-by-day. So, I think our style has to continue to stay the same. Me trying to find a couple more moments, maybe to call some plays at certain moments of the game could help. But it’s not always what you run, it’s how you run it.
And so even within those settings or environments, can we screen a little bit better? Can we drive the ball with a little bit more force? Can there just be some more purpose behind what we do?
RB: You’ve also said yourself a couple times to me about how you’re still trying to learn, not only the team, trying to figure out as a coach what works well, personnel-wise, play-wise. How is that ongoing for you and what kind of challenges do you face to make sure that you get it right, because obviously it’s very important.
CL: Yeah, no, I think every game, every day is a learning opportunity. And so especially with a young team and dealing with some injuries right now, you come into a season thinking that it’s going to be the three starters and two other guys that maybe you have to figure out at the end of the game. And now sometimes depending on who’s healthy and who’s not, that could look different. But I think that the structure of what we do stays the same.
I’m enjoying it because I think from a game-to-game basis, some guys got it going, some guys are playing well, and then you want to try to find opportunities for them to be able to experience the end of the game. And you see that the physicality goes up, the execution goes up, the defensive attention to detail has to go up and then the ability to finish possessions with a rebound, it’s just really important. I think that we’re learning that.
Charlotte Hornets head coach Charles Lee, left, speaks with guard Tre Mann during action against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets defeated the Brooklyn Nets 136-117. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
RB: You haven’t had your full roster yet but you guys have been kind of up and down in terms of wins, losses, wins, losses. How much does that bother you?
CL: Right now I’m more worried about our consistency of our approach every day. And that’s the thing that we control. And so controlling the controllables focused on the everyday daily improvement is important. And so we’re thankful that we have another day to try to improve on what we did yesterday. That is the goal. And so no frustration, I would say just an overall focus and approach of control of this.
RB: As for the big guys at center, how have they held things down for you at the position?
CL: I actually like what we’ve gotten out of our bigs. I think that we get some versatility. Ryan, a lot of times, is going to be in center field at different levels. His instincts are really good. He leads the league right now in contested shots where he’s somewhere up near the top. And so he’s altering shots at the rim, which is great.
But I think we’re also seeing Moussa come in. He probably switches a little bit more. So, he’s a little bit of an on-ball defender at times, a little bit more often. But he’s still coming over and blocking shots and altering things at the rim. And both guys are doing a really good job of rebounding on both ends of the floor.
And also both of them are doing a good job in the scene. And so it’s a testament to their teammates kind of helping them because I think Mason (Plumlee) has been able to give them some valuable tools of how to play that position and how to be effective.
RB: Which player has jumped out to you most so far?
CL: No, all these guys have been really impressive. But I would say overall I’m just impressed with the team, the team’s competitiveness and overall togetherness. I see a group that they respond well, and they respond well because they are competitive. They respond well because they rally around each other. And that’s what I love about the group so far.
So, yes, there’s been a lot of individual things that have been positive spots for the season, but I think overall the whole team has really impressed me with how resilient we’ve been, how competitive we are and how together we are.
RB: You had mentioned trying to string together more positive plays, more things that you actually want to see out there as a coach. How do you go about doing that and give them freedom while also making sure they are executing how you want?
CL: Yeah, there’s a standard for how we want to play. There’s an expectation. So, a lot of times, we do want to play fast. But if you notice that we’ve maybe turned it over a couple times, that’s usually when I’m on the side saying, ‘Hold on, hold on, hold on. Let’s get to one of our called plays and try to manipulate it in a different way.’ So, it’s a lot of just game feel, game flow at the end of the day. But I trust these guys and a lot of times our process is good. If we can create a good look, and we miss it, there might be some that are like, ‘Oh, why didn’t we call a play there?’
But to me, if I can get a quote-unquote ‘fast action’ and we get Kon an open three, I’m going to be happy with that. Our staff is gonna be happy with that. So, as long as our process is in a good place, I trust our guys to be able to play fast because they understand what are the type of shots that we want to get.
RB: With four rookies, how do you balance trying to get those guys to learn how to play the way you want while trying to also win games?
Charlotte Hornets head coach Charles Lee, center, calls his players together during action against the Orlando Magic at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. The Magic defeated the Hornets 123-107. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
CL: Yeah, we can do both. And you know, these are valuable reps for these guys. They’ve earned the opportunity to be out there, which is great. And I think they show every night why they should. Defensively, they’re out there competing, and they understand game plans for the most part, and they’re helping affect things at the rim.
And then I think offensively their skill set really fits what we want to do. So, I’m excited that we have this opportunity for these guys to earn some valuable minutes.
RB: LaMelo is obviously the main engine for you guys. What can you say about what he’s done so far this season? What do you want to see, next-level improvement, to be able to have you guys be a good team this year?
CL: Yeah, I love what he’s kind of given to our team on both ends of the floor. I think the nights that we’ve seen like Washington, where he’s active defensively and then also puts up a triple-double. I think the game versus Brooklyn stands out to me where again on both sides of the court he’s giving you his best and affecting the game and getting deflections. And when he’s in that mode, he makes us a very dangerous team. So, I just want to continue to see him grow on both ends of the court. And I think offensively we have to find ways to continue to help him deal with some of the physical of defenders.
But I think he’s done a really good job. The fact that he’s willing to pass it ahead, and pass it across to his teammates and unleash their greatness is all of a sudden benefiting him. And I think that his shot profile has looked different and he’s getting a couple more catch-and-shoot threes. And so I just want to continue to see him be engaged on both ends of the floor because when his engagement’s there and then also his spirit and his level of vocal leadership is there, our team feels it.
RB: How do you determine who’s on the floor at the end of the games? Because there’s been a couple of times where you’ve gone with different lineups and had some guys on the bench.
CL: Yeah, that’s a long, long, long conversation that we can have. But I would say the short end of it is just trying to find the best five guys that help you in that moment. And sometimes you’re playing a defensive possession and there’s things that you see defensively that could help you and that might be a five-man unit. And then there’s offensive possession where you can kind of go both ways of who can help us offensively, and create the best shot or who has it going and is shooting it well or scoring it well or making the best pass for you.
And so some nights there’s guys that are doing both, and they’re on the court. And then there’s some guys that probably are a little bit better in certain areas. So, you’re trying to juggle that. And I would say so far in the young season, that’s something that I’m trying to learn about: Who’s better in these situations, and who can deal with the physicality offensively that now we’re going to see?
Or defensively, who’s going to bring that level of physicality or understanding of what the game plan is? So, I have to continue to get better in that area. But I would say, long story short, I’m just trying to think of who are the best five guys to make sure that we can win that possession that’s right in front of us.