Everyone is so happy that competitive NBA basketball is back, and a big reason why is that so many big changes happened this offseason. One team that headlined this roster turnover was the Charlotte Hornets, who decided that their most successful season in a decade wasn't enough and that they had to pivot in another direction around Kon Knueppl and Brandon Miller.
I appluad them for being so brave. However, the injury Gods aren't as impressed with them as I am. Knueppel, one of the two aforementioned centerpieces, missed the entire preseason after suffering a left hamstring strain in an offseason workout in late September.
Now, Knueppel is in jeopardy of missing the team's season-opener against the Brooklyn Nets. The question is: how much trouble?
Knueppel is out for the Hornets opener vs. Nets
I guess the end of the lede was kind of misleading, as it implied that Knueppel has a chance of playing tonight. Unfortunately, he is already listed as out for this game. So, there is no shot we will see him on the court. Yesterday, it was reported that Knueppel has resumed on-court activity in practice, so we won't be missing out on his resplendent shooting for too long.
Knueppel isn't the key player the Hornets are going to be without tonight. Coby White (calf) and Grant Williams (hamstring) are both out for this game, as well as rookie guard Kylan Boswell.
The Nets have a much cleaner bill of health to begin the season. The only player listed on the injury report for them is Tyler Bilodeau, who is out with a right shoulder sprain.
Hornets projected starting lineup without Knueppel and White
STARTER | POSITION | BENCH |
|---|---|---|
Dennis Schröder | PG | Christian Anderson |
Brandon Miller | SG | Grayson Allen |
Royce O'Neale | SF | Sion James |
Naz Reid | PF | Liam McNeeley |
Moussa Diabete | C | Ryan Kalkbrenner |
Fortunately, for the Hornets, they have already had to deal with life without Knueppel and White, as neither of them played at all during the preseason. Without them, the team went with a starting five of Dennis Schröder, Brandon Miller, Royce O'Neale, Naz Reid, and Moussa Diabete. A random aside, but I for one am curious to see how much Reid can expand his scoring usage now that he's going to be a full-time starter.
The other saving grace here is that depth was projected to be one of the Hornets' biggest strengths heading into this season. Even without two of their three best players and a key rotation player, the Hornets still have guys like Grayson Allen, Ryan Kalkbrenner, Liam McNeeley, and Sion James that they can count on to provide minutes off the bench. Given their lack of ball handling, I wouldn't be surprised to see rookie Christian Anderson to get some tick tonight as well.
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