What Charlotte Hornets said about Miles Bridges’ NBA return after loss to Milwaukee Bucks

Given the Charlotte Hornets’ struggles at Spectrum Center during their initial handful of games this season, and knowing they are in the midst of a lengthy homestand, Steve Clifford underscored the significance of reversing their trend against Milwaukee.

“Yeah for sure,” the Hornets coach said. “You’ve got to win at home, which we haven’t done. We haven’t played well here. We played Atlanta the first game of the year and we haven’t played well since. The other night was fine, but we didn’t win and you’ve got to win at home. And it’s important.

“Our schedule, this is obviously a difficult opponent here and I think that’s exactly what we need. In order for us to get better, we have to stop fouling, we’ve got to run back on defense, we’ve got to stop turning the ball over. And when you play teams like this, if you are going to do that, they make you pay. So, maybe it’s a quicker way for us to get to where we need to get to.”

They didn’t quite reach the off ramp. Even with Miles Bridges’ return Friday night, it’s painfully obvious the Hornets still have more than a few miles to travel, as evidenced by their 130-99 loss to the Bucks in an NBA in-season tournament East Group B match up.

“Right, we’re trying to fix that,” LaMelo Ball said. “We’ve just got to get better.”

How?

“Come in prepared,” he said, “ready to play hard.”

Suiting up in his first competitive NBA game since April 13, 2022 after the completion of his 30-game suspension, Bridges provided the Hornets (3-8, 1-2 Group B) with a spark off the bench. As expected, he had a rather hefty workload immediately.

The 25-year-old forward’s conditioning didn’t appear to be a hindrance against the Bucks. He logged nearly 34 minutes and was easily the Hornets’ top reserve, showcasing part of the repertoire that had him leading the Hornets in points at 20.2 per game in 2021-22.

Bridges posted 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals, winding up as the Hornets’ second-highest scorer behind Ball’s 37 points, which was one shy of the star guard’s career best. Bridges received an overly positive, warm response from the bulk of the sellout crowd of 19,258 when he checked in for the first time with 7:05 remaining in the first quarter.

“It was great,” Bridges said. “Like I said (Thursday), I missed these fans. I didn’t know what to expect and they missed me. I was just happy to go out there and be able to play. I know we lost the game, but it was good to be playing in front of the fans again.”

Exceeding early expectations is also a good sign for Bridges.

“I thought he did great,” Clifford said. “He brought a lot of energy to the floor. He scored, he rebounded. He played really, really well. That’s not easy to do having not played for that long of a time. He was ready and also really poised and into the game plan. I thought he did a great job.”

And for one night anyway, he could exhale after taking it all in.

“It feels good,” Bridges said. “Like I said, it just feels good playing with those guys. Melo had 37 points. He for sure needs help scoring, so we’ve just got to go out there and be better. It can’t just be a one-man show. He’s doing everything he can for the team, so we’ve got to help him out.”

Here’s what else the Hornets had to say about Bridges, and their latest defeat:

On what Miles Bridges can add

“His versatility will be big, offensively and defensively,” Gordon Hayward said. “He’s somebody that can guard multiple positions. He can do a lot. He can stretch the floor, handle, cut on offense. So, I think it’s his versatility that will help us.”

Mark Williams said: “His ability to get to the rim, drive, obviously can score. He was one of the top scorers when he was playing. Super athletic, can do a little bit of everything.”

Clifford said: “He brings energy. He’s very positive with his teammates on the floor. He’s got toughness. He’s a very good competitor. And those are all like intangible-type things that you need as many guys like that as possible. So, I don’t think there’s a phase where he doesn’t help the team.”

Said Ball: “Just all around, for real. Offense and defense, putting everything together. … He usually guards one of the best players on the other team, so that’s a big reason right there. He’s real active with his hands and stuff, so it speaks for itself.”

On how aggressive Steve Clifford wants Miles Bridges to be

“I think he just has to play how he plays,” Clifford said. “For his size, he’s tremendous off the dribble. He shot 59% on layups two years ago and that’s very hard to do playing that position, especially when people play him as a driver. I think he’s done everything that he could do to prepare himself to play well, and now we’ve just got to go out and watch him.

“He’s going to help us. He’s just such a good player, but we also have to be fair with expectations because this is going to take a few games. This is the NBA, so I think that it will take him a few games to get his rhythm back.”

On why things fell apart in the second half

“Right now in the NBA going into this game … I know we’re first in points in the paint and I believe we’re first in the ball hitting the paint,” Clifford said. “Our problem is when the ball doesn’t hit the paint, we don’t have one-on-one guys, so we’re really, really bad. That’s what happened tonight. When the ball stopped moving and going inside-out, that’s when we stopped scoring.

“We do spend a lot of time on that. I don’t think there’s any bigger part of offensive basketball than penetration. If you look at the numbers every year, it bears that out. With a team like ours where we have enough talent, you’ve got to be inside-out with a roster like ours. You have to. That cost us tonight.”

On Nick Richards’ concussion

“I just saw him go down and you could tell he got hit hard,” Clifford said. “He came back in to play and thought he was OK. And then at halftime he didn’t feel good. So, hopefully we’ll get good news (Saturday).”