Hornets Head Coach Charles Lee detailed Moussa Diabaté’s rapid growth into a versatile defensive anchor capable of guarding multiple positions. Lee also emphasized the team's depth and his "gut-feeling" approach to player rotations as the Hornets prepare for their final game of 2025. By DIAMOND VENCES| ROD BOONE
Jogging Charles Lee’s memory in Chicago wasn’t necessary.
“I will not forget the 80 points in the paint they scored against us back in Charlotte,” the Charlotte Hornets coach said just before tipoff Saturday. “So, I hope we can lighten that up.”
He got his wish.
Unlike their December meeting with the Chicago Bulls, the Hornets didn’t yield an exhaustive amount of easy points this time around. That was among the keys in their 112-99 win over Chicago at United Center.
“That just shows growth,” Miles Bridges said. “Earlier in the year we wouldn’t have been able to do that. But we are learning as we go. We’ve got guys that want to win, and when you’ve got guys that want to win, it’s easy to compete.”
The Hornets did it despite being extremely shorthanded on the interior.
Ryan Kalkbrenner and Moussa Diabate were once again unavailable, and Tidjane Salaün joined on the injured list thanks to a sore left ankle, leaving the Hornets thin on the front line.
But at least they dodged another potential injury.
The Hornets got a scare early in the third quarter when star guard LaMelo Ball collided with Chicago’s Jalen Smith while trying to come behind for a potential steal along the baseline, instead knocking heads with Smith. Ball lay on the court for about a minute to gather himself and didn’t see any extra assistance while Smith was forced to exit and went to the locker room to get checked out for a concussion.
Coincidentally, all this came on a night when Bridges etched his name into the franchise record books for durability. Bridges, who paced the Hornets with 26 points, surpassed Bismack Biyombo for the fifth-most games played (458), which is why he also ranks among the top five in franchise lore in total points, rebounds, defensive rebounds, made field goals and 3-pointers.
Miles Bridges of the Charlotte Hornets in action. Sarah Stier Getty Images
What’s Lee learned most about Bridges?
“How available he is all the time,” Lee said. “I think it’s been really impressive to work with Miles. I’ve loved everything that he obviously gives to his teammates, but what he gives to the coaching as well. We’re constantly learning from him.
“Him wanting to play through a tweaked ankle, through any type of bumps or bruises that he has, our guys feed off of that. And so it’s been really inspiring to see him out there on a night-to-night basis.”
Then, there’s also what Bridges brings on the other end of the floor.
“He takes on wanting to guard the best player on the other team,” Lee said. “The open-mindedness and willingness to do whatever he can to impact the offensive end is amazing.”
Here’s what else the Hornets (12-23) had to say in Chicago:
On where they can steal energy on games during consecutive nights:
“I think, No. 1, just defensively would help us if we could get a couple of more stops,” Lee said. “I’ve noticed with our group whenever we are starting with stops it puts our offense in such a better spot. The pass aheads, the passing across, the three-man actions, we are able to get to it a little more seamlessly, and it doesn’t allow the defense to be set.”
On what’s been behind recent statistical improvement defensively:
“The area I’ve noticed a lot of growth,” Lee said, “especially statistically and with my eyes and our eyes as a staff, we’ve defended without fouling, and we’ve done a much better job there. And trying to just make people hit tough shots on us and not allow them to get to the free-throw line.
“Whether we’ve had a full roster or not a full roster, defensive rebounding I think is something that has been another area where we’ve been pretty solid throughout the whole year, which I just think shows a great mindset, that you want to compete, that you want to be physical. Because that’s the one thing that’s imperfect. You can’t always say where everybody is going to be or where the ball is going to go, but our guys are focused on finishing possessions.”
On what the message has been defensively:
“I just talked to them recently about transition and there’s been a great next-play mentality from everyone,” Lee said. “We’ve had some phenomenal occupying second-contests is what we like to call them. Instead of letting a guy score a layup, can I do something as the on-ball defender to make him have to Eurostep or slow down or decelerate and then everybody else is coming into the play, and we are getting blocks and it’s a great multiple effort mindset. It would be nice if some of those teams would miss some 3s that we are getting out and contesting.”
On how Tidjane Salaün is taking the next step:
“Those minutes (in Greensboro with the Swarm) allowed him to find confidence even when things don’t go well,” Lee said. “So, now when he comes into games, even when things don’t go well, I see that confidence levels still remaining high. Whereas before he went to the Swarm, if something didn’t go his way, I think he would start to get down, like, ‘Ah, if I’m doing what I need to do defensively, am I not capable of doing something?’
“Same thing offensively. He would second-guess what he was supposed to do. But I think that those reps, that continued conversation helped give him the confidence he needs. Young players even as older adults, just having more reps, more preparation beforehand allows you to go to your game and feel a lot more confident. I think that he’s earned the confidence from his teammates, too.”