The Hornets Are Paying the Price, and It All Could Have Been Avoided

Charlotte has dropped each of its first two games out of the All-Star break.

Feb 7, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges (0) drives to the basket against the Atlanta Hawks in the fourth quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Following a nine-game winning streak, the Charlotte Hornets have fallen back to Earth, dropping three of their last four games, including these first two coming out of the All-Star break. That loss to Detroit to snap the streak stung the Hornets, but more so because of the suspensions to Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabaté.

The Bugs have had to recall Tidjane Salaün and PJ Hall from the Greensboro Swarm to not only play, but also eat up significant minutes, which is far from ideal. Because of the back-to-back, Charles Lee went deep into the bench on Friday night in the loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, inserting Pat Connaughton, Antonio Reeves, and even Xavier Tillman Sr., although his floor time was very brief.

All of that momentum Charlotte had found has been disrupted because of two starters letting their emotions get the best of them. Now, it may sound like I'm trying to spin this into saying the Hornets would have won the last two nights with Bridges and Diabaté, but I don't know if they do. No one does.

The point is, they directly impacted the team's chances of winning four of its remaining 28 games at the time of the suspension. Without them, the Hornets are 1-2 and will have one more contest to get through before their return, which will be Sunday's game on the road against the Washington Wizards.

Both Diabaté and Bridges are at fault; however, Miles is the one who really hurt this squad. The Hornets can get by at center by using the combination of Ryan Kalkbrenner, PJ Hall, and even Grant Williams there in small-ball lineups. They don't have that same type of versatility and depth at the power forward spot.

As I mentioned the night the brawl went down, Bridges should have never gotten involved in the scuffle. Instead of going across the court to take a shot at Jalen Duren, he should have helped remove Moussa from the scuffle and been a leader in that regard. Sticking up for your teammate(s) is not chasing down a guy to go fight for him. It's by helping cool your teammate off and understanding that you can't afford to be suspended for multiple games when the team is pushing for a postseason spot.

This is a painful learning experience for both players who were suspended. The next time tempers flare or words are exchanged, we'll see how they respond and if they have grown from the previous altercation.