Coach Charles Lee and the team address the "missed opportunity" and the shooting woes that led to a 94-87 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers despite the national spotlight and the pre-game buzz generated by the ESPN broadcast. By DIAMOND VENCES
Miles Bridges is used to the routine by now.
Seemingly every year, as the calendar approaches February and the NBA trade deadline nears, rumors surrounding the Charlotte Hornets forward run rampant across the internet and social media sphere. And the sundial is once again approaching that point on the programming schedule.
Still, Bridges remains unmoved by the chatter.
“Just focus on winning, focus on controlling what I can control,” Bridges told The Charlotte Observer on Saturday. “If I get traded, if I don’t get traded. … I would rather be here. But I know if I do get traded, I know Jeff Peterson (the Hornets’ president of basketball operations) and those guys, they’ll talk to me first. So, I don’t try to worry about that. I just worry about the games.”
He’ll probably get no argument from the Washington Wizards. In helping the Hornets grab a 119-115 victory at Spectrum Center in advance of the impending ice storm blanketing the region, Bridges came up with some key plays down the stretch in the waning minutes, including a nifty left-handed dunk flush over Washington center Alex Sarr, a key offensive rebound with just under 10.7 seconds remaining and a pair of crucial free throws to seal a game the Hornets led by as many as 18 points.
Charlotte Hornets’ Collin Sexton heads up the court Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, during the game against the Washington Wizards at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. TRACY KIMBALL tkimball@charlotteobserver.com
Bridges recorded 20 points, four assists and three rebounds against the Wizards, and is averaging 18.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. His production is among the reasons the Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns are reportedly among the teams expressing interest in acquiring the 27-year-old.
Beyond this season, he has one more year remaining on his pact and is scheduled to pocket $22.8 million in 2026-27, meaning he has an economical deal that other teams around the league view as a commodity.
But Bridges’ preference is to stick around with good buddy LaMelo Ball and the rest of the Hornets’ young core, featuring Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel.
“Yeah, I for sure want to be a part of it,” Bridges said. “I feel like everybody else wants everybody to stay together. But you’ve just got to control what you can control, continue to stack games.”
Do that and maybe the band will — mostly — still be together once 3 p.m. rolls around on Feb. 5 and the trade deadline passes while the Hornets are in Houston preparing to square off versus the Rockets.
“That’s the goal,” Miller said, “to have everybody stay here. But unfortunately, it’s the game. We only can control what we can control. So, I think just controlling the controllables would be great.”
In the meantime, it’s all about ignoring the external noise.
“We just stay together, stay in the locker room,” Miller said. “We hear it, we see it all. Can’t really let that faze us as men/basketball players. So, just stay locked in with your brothers and just go from there.”
Here are some other key takeaways from the Hornets’ victory over Washington:
Brandon Miller is on a good run
The impressive streak for Miller continues.
In recording his second double-double of the season, Miller tossed in a team-best 21 points to go with 10 rebounds and seven assists, barely missing out on a triple double. It’s the sixth straight game Miller has reached the 20-point plateau.
The third-year swingman also registered 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists through the game’s opening two quarters, marking the first time in his career he posted at least 10 points along with five rebounds and five assists before halftime. He’s in a pretty good rhythm.
Charlotte Hornets head coach Charles Lee coaches his team from the sideline during the game against the Washington Wizards on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. TRACY KIMBALL tkimball@charlotteobserver.com
“Just my teammates trusting me,” Miller said. “I try to make the right plays 100% of the time of the game. Whether it’s me shooting, whether it’s me coming off the screen hitting another roller, or is just me guarding on the defensive side and just kind of bringing that energy for our transition offense.”
Miller’s recent stretch hasn’t gone unnoticed by his coach.
Charles Lee is pleased with how Miller is efficient and effective on both ends of the floor, something he takes great pride in being a two-way player.
“I think that just his overall command when he has the ball in his hands, you feel comfortable,” Lee said. “I think that his pace has improved, his understanding of coverages and how to beat different coverages. His passing has gotten really good. I think he had a couple turnovers tonight, but I think he’s seeing the right play. Sometimes it’s right on time, sometimes it’s a little bit late. But he sees it, he’s able to make it because he’s got such great size, too.
“And then the threat of being able to score off the pick-and-roll or off an off-ball action, he’s just getting a little bit more comfortable, a little bit more rhythm and again like just his overall pace and patience is really good.”
Efficiency is growing
Don’t look now, but the Hornets are in the midst of a solid span on both sides of the ball that has them among the NBA’s upper crust in each category of late.
Entering their matchup with the Wizards, the Hornets had the highest net rating in the NBA over the previous 10 games. During this stretch, the Hornets rank second in offensive rating at 121.4 and sixth in defensive rating at 109.5.
Additionally, they are among the top 5 in true shooting percentage (59.6%) and made 3-pointers per game (15.5). Factor in the five-man lineup featuring Miller, Bridges, Ball, Knueppel and Moussa Diabate boasting a differential of plus-29.1 — the highest point differential of any five-man lineup in the NBA per Cleaning The Glass — and the Hornets are rolling in the right direction.
“Just physicality,” Bridges said. “We’re playing smarter on offense and on defense, we’re just playing more physical and limiting teams to one possession.”
Which is music to their ears. Slowly, they’re gaining consistency.
“I think we’re playing confident, we’re trusting each other, trusting the pass,” Miller said. “Our defense kind of leads us into our strips, which we can (then) play in transition. I think we just need to keep playing to our strengths, and we’ll have games like this a lot more.”
In other words, they believe they’ve cracked the formula. Now, it’s all about making sure they keep putting it to good use and not squander their discovery.
“I think our energy,” Moussa Diabate said. “I think that’s the main thing — our energy, our pace offensively, I think helps a lot. Even though it’s kind of weird, but I think our base offensive kind of helps us defensively, just keeping us going. I think that just matches. You play fast, you’re going to play fast either way, and physical. So, that’s just how I see that. Yeah, it really just comes up to being physical and playing fast.”
‘I’m usually taking my nap’
An earlier start time than initially anticipated didn’t cause too much of a disruption in the Hornets’ usual game-day routine.
Given the original tipoff time was slated for 6 p.m., the Hornets would not have had a morning shootaround anyway. Typically, most NBA teams only hold one when the game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. or later.
So although the circumstances weren’t ideal since the Hornets were coming off one full day of rest following outings on consecutive nights, things weren’t overly disrupted. Not too much, anyway.
Charlotte Hornets’ Moussa Diabate puts up the shot as Tre Johnson III defends during the game against the Washington Wizards on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. Tracy Kimball tkimball@charlotteobserver.com
“Nothing different,” Lee said. “I’m glad that, as an organization, we value everyone’s safety. The fact that even the Wizards could agree upon something like this — to play a little bit earlier and get ahead of the storm — for everyone’s travels, it was the right thing to do.
“Our guys are able to have that same routine, that same mentality to get ready for a game. Three o’clock, 5 o’clock, 7 o’clock … doesn’t matter.”
With the brunt of the storm expected to hit the region Sunday and linger into wee hours after midnight, it could also affect Monday’s matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers. But everything is trending toward the game being played, as evidenced by the 76ers altering their plans and flying into Charlotte following Saturday’s contest with the New York Knicks instead of Sunday afternoon.
At least the Hornets have an example to point to if the game time is changed again.
“I think it was just a little weird because of that — I think it was a lot different,” Diabate said. “But you know, at the end of the day, it doesn’t change anything. It was just you’ve got to come out and still play and try to get a win. And that’s what we did. But no, it definitely felt a little different, I’ll say that for sure.
“I’m usually taking my nap at that time.”