4 Hornets most to blame for 31-point Play-In loss to Magic

The Charlotte Hornets magical season came to an end on Friday night when the team lost their play-in game against the Orlando Magic. LaMelo Ball and Co. defeated the Miami Heat in Tuesday night’s thrilling overtime victory of the 9-10 play-in, advancing to the second play-in game against the loser of the Philadelphia 76ers/Orlando Magic 7-8 matchup.

Orlando saw all five starters score in double-figures in the 121-90 victory, led by Paolo Banchero’s 25 point performance. Charlotte saw four players score in double-figure scoring, but the team gave up 38 points in the opening quarter and 68 in the first half, trailing by 31 points at halftime.

Who is the most to blame for the Hornets play-in loss? No *one* player is directly responsible for the Hornets loss, but multiple players contributed to this unfortunate result.

4. Kon Knueppel

Kon Knueppel just wrapped up his fantastic rookie season, but the likely Rookie of the Year struggled mightily in both play-in games. Knueppel played 34 minutes in the Hornets overtime victory, but finished with just six points, five rebounds, and four fouls on 2-of-12 shooting in what was a disastrous performance for him.

Friday night wasn’t any better, as Knueppel finished with just 11 points on 3-of-10 shooting in 29 minutes of play. The No. 4 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft won the trust of head coach Charles Lee as well as his staff and players throughout the season, so he was going to play him through any struggles this season.

Knueppel finished Friday’s game with the second worst plus/minus on the team with a -26.

3. Miles Bridges

Miles Bridges had just 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field with three turnovers. It was a far cry from the strong performance he had in the Hornets first play-in game against the Heat, where he had 28 points, nine rebounds, two assists, and three blocks on 10-of-18 shooting and 5-of-10 from three.

One of Bridges best traits is his athleticism and ability to blow by defenders and create extra possessions for his team, but none of that was really on display on Friday night.

In his 28 minutes of play, Miles Bridges was a team-worst -29 against the Orlando Magic, who proceeded to lead by roughly 25+ points the entire second half.

2. LaMelo Ball

LaMelo Ball had a fantastic season and was a critical part of the Hornets run all the way down to the Hornets win against the Miami Heat in their first play-in game. But Charlotte goes as Ball goes, and unfortunately, Ball started Friday’s play-in game flat, leading to a big deficit by halftime.

In the first quarter, LaMelo Ball was scoreless with only one assist on 0-of-4 shooting from the field in seven minutes. The Hornets trailed the Magic after 1, 38-21. Ball played just six minutes in the second quarter due to foul trouble, picking up three personals in the quarter. He finished the half with just two points on 1-of-6 shooting from the field

As we’ve seen in years prior, the Hornets really do feed off of the play of their star point guard, so a slow start didn’t help and Charlotte was never able to recover.

1. Experience

While all of these players, and the ones not named, share the blame and responsibility for the poor showing in the win-or-go-home play-in loss against the Magic.

Ultimately, experience is the best teacher and best tool to get over the hump moving forward. The 2025-26 Charlotte Hornets had a phenomenal year, finishing eighth in the NBA in net rating and blowing teams out left and right following their rough start to the season.

While no one is high on moral victories, the Hornets will be able to use this experience if they can continue to compete for spot in the playoffs and, eventually, for an NBA Championship.

The Charlotte Hornets finished the season as the ninth seed in the East with a 44-38 record, the best record the franchise has had in years with the most wins since the 2015-16 season.

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