Charlotte Hornets coach Steve Clifford said Tuesday the sprained left ankle that rookie Brandon Miller is dealing with isn’t considered to be serious.
Miller suffered the injury on Sunday in a loss to the New York Knicks. He appeared to step on the foot of a defender in the first quarter and immediately hit the court in discomfort. He was eventually ruled out of returning by the team.
The second pick didn’t play on Tuesday in a loss to the Miami Heat, his first absence of the season. He was initially listed as probable but was downgraded to questionable after a morning shootaround.
“Brandon did some light, light shooting this morning, and you could tell he wasn’t able to go through walkthrough,” Clifford said before the game. “Hopefully, we’ll have (him) by Friday (versus Milwaukee).”
The Hornets have dealt with several injuries to start the season. In addition to Miller, Miles Bridges (suspension), James Bouknight (knee), Gordon Hayward (hamstring), Cody Martin (knee), Frank Ntilikina (leg) and Terry Rozier (groin) have missed time.
Miller is averaging 12.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists on 44.4% shooting from the field in nine games. He has scored in double figures eight times, including a season-high 22 points and nine rebounds on Oct. 30 versus Brooklyn.
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