The Charlotte Hornets were already without Kon Knueppel against the Boston Celtics amid a hamstring problem. And the Hornets' frontcourt got even thinner after Brandon Miller also went down during the game.

Per ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel, Miller will not return to the game after exiting early due to right groin soreness.

Miller left to the locker room midway through the second quarter with the Hornets already down big to Boston, 47-23. Prior to exiting, Miller had scored eight points on 3-of-10 shooting with two rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block in 14 minutes of action.

Miller had been having a decent start to the season. He is averaging 22 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, both career-bests. However, he is in the midst of a significant shooting slump, hitting just 36% of his shots from the field and 26.7% on 3-pointers.

With both Miller and Knueppel out, the Hornets are now down to Royce O'NEale, Tidjane Salaun and rookie Hannes Steinbach as their forwards.

Article Continues Below

This groin issue is another unfortunate setback for Miller, who has had his share of injury concerns during his four-year NBA career. He has already undergone surgery to repair injuries in his right wrist and left shoulder.

Nevertheless, the Hornets still signed Miller to a five-year, $209 million contract extension. They view him as one of their core pieces along with Knueppel to build around after trading away LaMelo Ball to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Hopefully for the 3-6 Hornets, Miller's groin problem doesn't end up being too serious and he can return to the lineup relatively soon.