Hornets star Brandon Miller ruled out for game with groin soreness as team's struggles continue

The Charlotte Hornets' season doesn't appear to be getting any better.

The team's leading scorer Brandon Miller abruptly exited Charlotte’s NBA Cup opener against the Boston Celtics with an apparent injury in the second quarter. Charlotte, which was trailing 47-23 at the time of Miller's exit, soon announced he had been ruled out for the rest of the game with right groin soreness.

Miller had 8 points on 3-of-10 shooting in 14 minutes at the time of his exit. The Hornets went on to lose 119-80, trailing by as much as 46.

The Hornets were already dealing with an injury to one foundational player, as last season’s Rookie of the Year runner-up Kon Knueppel missed the first eight games of the season with a left hamstring injury, then exited the ninth in the first quarter with what was described as leg soreness.

Knueppel was inactive for Friday's game.

Miller is positioned as the Hornets' franchise player following the surprise trade of LaMelo Ball to the Minnesota Timberwolves over the offseason. Charlotte signed the former No. 2 overall draft pick to a five-year, $209 million extension last month, the largest contract in franchise history.

Through nine games this season, Miller had posted career highs in points (22) and rebounds (5.3) per game, but with the worst shooting numbers of his career. He ranked fifth in the NBA in usage rate entering Friday, in an offense that ranks dead last in the league in offensive rating.