The Hornets announced Thursday that forward Miles Bridges suffered a bone bruise in his right knee on Wednesday night against the Pistons. According to the release, the injury happened after he hyperextended his knee in the fourth quarter. He will be out for the team’s game against the Pacers and will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
The injury leaves the Hornets more short-handed, as they’re already without starting center Mark Williams and backup Nick Richards. According to Rod Boone of the Charlotte Observer, Taj Gibson, rookie Tidjane Salaun, Grant Williams and two-way player Moussa Diabate will continue to earn more minutes in the wake of all the team’s injuries.
In eight games (all starts), Bridges is averaging 14.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. He’s been struggling with his shot, connecting on just 39.2% of his field-goal attempts and 26.7% of his threes.
The Hornets re-signed Bridges to a three-year, $75M extension with no options this offseason.
Although he suffered the injury, he closed out the game for the Hornets. At 3-5, the Hornets enter Thursday as the No. 9 seed in the playoff picture. They’ll continue to try to weather the storm of injuries this season in hopes of making the playoffs for the first time since 2015-16.