Brandon Miller could return sooner than expected

The Charlotte Hornets had their core-four of Brandon Miller, LaMelo Ball, Mark Williams, and Miles Bridges healthy in their last game versus Philadelphia, which was the first time all four had played since late November of last year. Unfortunately, the Hornets good health lasted for less than 40 minutes of game action before Brandon Miller went down with an apparent ankle injury.

Brandon Miller heading to the locker room to get checked out after stepping on a foot. Looks like he rolled his left ankle. 😩 pic.twitter.com/aukUMDZIaN
— /r/CharlotteHornets (@HornetsReddit) December 17, 2024

Miller was immediately diagnosed with a left ankle sprain and was ruled out for the remainder of the game. There was concern that the injury would keep Miller off the court for a period of time, but he was surprisingly listed as questionable for tonight's contest versus Washington. Obviously, that's very encouraging news even if he isn't able to suit up since the injury looked like it would take some time to come back from.

Miller just like LaMelo Ball has been wearing ankle braces this season, which most likely led to a much better result after the ankle tweak. Miller has had a couple of ankle injuries in his two-year career with the Hornets, but has seemingly bounced back from the injuries rather quickly.

With the Hornets on the first night of a back-to-back, they may be very careful bringing Miller back, especially since the team has to travel and face off against the 76ers on Friday in Philadelphia. Charlotte will most likely play it safe as they have for most of the season with their players and see how Miller feels in pre-game warmups.

Miller has had a stellar season for the Hornets, as he's averaging 21.5 points per game, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists, while shooting 40.6% from the field and 35.3% from three. Miller's streak of 12 straight games of 20+ points ended in the loss to Philadelphia. Miller might've continued that streak if it weren't for the injury, but the 22-year-old will look to start a new streak when he steps back onto the court.

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