Hornets Notes: G. Williams, M. Williams, Miller, Richards

Hornets trainer Charles Lee Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer spoke about the need to develop “emotional maturity” after a late-game skirmish in the loss to Boston. The argument started when Grant Williams met a former teammate Jayson Tatum as the Celtics pushed the ball upfield (Twitter video link from NBC Sports Boston). Williams was ejected from the game for a Flagrant 2 foul and may face further disciplinary action from the league office.

“It was a transition opportunity and I tried to play the ball. I reached across his body, and if you slow the playback down, it looks like I'm making a play and then kind of chasing him.” Williams explained. “JT is always one of my closest friends. There was no intention to harm him in any way. So it was just one of those plays where he passes the ball at full speed, which probably makes it worse because then I'm reaching for the ball. The ball is already out of his hand. … You saw me raise my hand and say I fouled him.”

Williams added that he wanted to apologize to Tatum immediately after the play. But the teams were immediately sent back to their respective benches and Williams was ejected from the game before he could say anything to Tatum.

“We all know JT is my guy. Nothing intentional,” Williams added. “He stood up quickly and when I stood up there was a commotion and they took us to our benches. I'll talk to him tonight or (Saturday). He knows it. We probably don't even need to talk. He knows it was in no way intentional or malicious.”

There's more from Charlotte:

• There is no schedule yet for the casualty center Mark WilliamsBoone adds in the same post. It has been five weeks since Williams was diagnosed with a strained tendon in his left foot and he has been unable to walk around or participate in a full team practice. “He is dedicated and watches all the practice activities and film.” Lee said: “And even (on Friday) at shootaround, he sits next to me and tries to go over the game plan and stuff like that. That's why he's doing everything he can to make sure he absorbs all the information and terminology, and when he comes back he'll be ready to hit the ground running. But right now he's just doing some sort of individual work. And the next phase of his return plan will involve some group-type activities. And then as we get to drills and things like that, I think we'll make further updates.”
• Brandon Miller will return to action tonight for the first time since the season opener with a glute strain, Boone explains in a separate story. However, Seth Curry will miss the competition due to a right knee injury and Nick Richardswho started in place of Williams at center, will be sidelined after leaving Friday's game with a sore shoulder. “Nick was a big part of what we achieved in the first five games. I was really pleased with him and his ability to kind of dominate the paint.” Lee said. “He has changed a lot of shots and I think he helps us with his pick-and-roll coverage and understanding the different gaps in the middle and creating indecision with the ball handlers. He did a great job on defense and also created a lot of advantages on offense for all of our scorers and all of our ball handlers.”
• Jared Weiss of The Athletic examines whether Miller, LaMelo Ball and the rest of the young Hornets can create an identity as a team. Weiss also speaks with the president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson about the unique approach he took in becoming the third team in the world Karl Anthony cities Deal by acquiring three players through sign-and-trades, effectively using the room exception as a trade exception.