Charlotte Hornets forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist banged heads with Philadelphia 76ers big man Amir Johnson during the third quarter of Tuesday's contest between the two clubs, resulting in Kidd-Gilchrist departing from the game in order to be evaluated in the locker room for a possible concussion.
Kidd-Gilchrist didn't return in the game. The Hornets bowed down to the Sixers, 118-114.
INJURY UPDATE: @hornets F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist left game in 3Q after being hit in the head. He’s being evaluated for a concussion and will not return to the game #Hornets30
— Charlotte Hornets PR (@HornetsPR) March 20, 2019
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was uber-productive in his nine minutes off the bench, collecting six points and six rebounds while knocking down both shot attempts he had.
After having spent the first six years of his NBA career primarily as a starter for the Hornets, Kidd-Gilchrist has had to embrace a bench role this season, starting just one of the 58 contests he has appeared in. Along with that has been a dramatic reduction in role, entering the night averaging 7.0 points and 4.0 rebounds across 19 minutes per game.
Injuries have also reared their head to hinder Kidd-Gilchrist in 2018-19. He missed six games in November due to an ankle injury and has already missed five games in the month of March. Without him in the fold, it likely means more minutes on the wing for Dwayne Bacon and rookie Miles Bridges — the latter of whom has recently ascended to the starting five.
Kidd-Gilchrist's next chance to return to the floor comes Thursday against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Charlotte finds themselves in the thick of the chase for the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, so any injury over the last few weeks of the season becomes amplified, especially one as vital to their bench unit as Kidd-Gilchrist.
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