The Charlotte Hornets have a solid starting lineup we never get to see

The Charlotte Hornets have not had their starting lineup very often, but when they have, it's been a very solid unit. Injuries to LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller mean that the Hornets have had to use a few different starting fives, none of them nearly as good as the main one.

Ball, Miller, Kon Knueppel, Miles Bridges, and Ryan Kalkbrenner started the year with a couple of good showings before injuries turned things sour. Miller's been out much longer, and he's been replaced by Collin Sexton and sometimes Sion James.

Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes gave the Ball, Sexton, Knueppel, Bridges, and Kalkbrenner lineup a C grade. Their net rating is positive, and a C might not be giving them due credit for succeeding with injuries.

"LaMelo Ball has played once in November (ankle), and Brandon Miller hasn't seen the floor since Oct. 25 (shoulder), so we're not getting anything close to the full picture for the Charlotte Hornets with this lineup, which has started a team-high three times," he wrote. "Kalkbrenner is probably the most interesting focal point, as the rookie's importance to a team with a dreadfully thin center rotation is hard to overstate."

The main starting five, with Miller and Ball present, had a really strong offensive rating and positive net rating. If that unit had been on the floor more often, this team might be in better shape. Even the secondary lineup, listed above, has been solid.

The problem is that the Hornets haven't had that lineup very often, either. The main starting five has played 10 minutes together. The one with Sexton in for Miller has played 44 minutes (both according to NBA advanced stats), but Ball has been out for four straight games.

Health has always been the biggest issue with the Hornets in the LaMelo Ball era. But in the past, it hasn't mattered much because the talent wasn't there. What did it matter if Ball missed a ton of games if they weren't going to win those games anyway?

But now, it's clear that there is a strong roster here that can hang with the better teams and beat the worse teams in the NBA. We just never get to see it.

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