Charlotte Hornets open preseason with a rash of injuries

JACOB KUPFERMAN | GETTY IMAGES

Dennis Schroder (17) of the Charlotte Hornets drives to the basket while guarded by Egor Demin of the Brooklyn Nets in the first half during their preseason game at Spectrum Center on Oct. 6, 2026, at Spectrum Center.

The Charlotte Hornets were run out of Spectrum Center in their preseason opener.

The Brooklyn Nets handled the makeshift Hornets 124-90 in a game where Charlotte’s injury report mimicked a pharmacy receipt for its length. 

Charlotte was without projected starters Coby White (calf), guard/forward Brandon Miller (leg) and Kon Knueppel (hamstring). The Hornets were also without reserve forward Grant Williams (hamstring) and rookie guard Cristian Anderson Jr. (ankle). 

Given this reality, coach Charles Lee experimented with lineups and 15 players – all but two logged double-digit minutes. Former first round draft pick Tidjan Salaün had a team-high 28 minutes but a team worst minus-24 impact. 

One bright spot was forward Liam McNeely, who finished the game with 14 points on 5-for-8 shooting and 4-for-6 from three-point range. 

“Liam has had a really good offseason,” Lee said. “He’s had a really good training camp. When you take the totality of his work, he had some good moments today. He had some moments where he still can be better. The thing that I want him to focus on, no matter what is going on offensively, how can he still be tight defensively? I thought that there were just some areas where there's too much slippage, too many layups, or not enough activity to get back on closeouts, and so that's where the focus has got to be.”

Center/forward Naz Reid had a productive 16 minutes, scoring 13 points and grabbing four rebounds. His style of play being a face-up stretch four can lend itself to creating mismatches for opponents. 

“[Tonight] just showed the versatility that we have with Naz,” Lee said. “The trust that we have in Naz to be a good playmaker. Sometimes those mismatch situations are there for you to score, but it’s also just to create maybe some shifts in the defense, collapsing the defense around the paint. So, I think he did a good job of reading those situations.”

Reid was an offseason acquisition as well as guard Grayson Allen, who had a team best plus-2 impact with 13 points on 4-for-6 shooting and 3-for-3 from beyond the arc in 14 minutes. 

Still, the injuries can’t be overlooked. Charlotte committed 25 turnovers and much of it can be attributed to White’s absence. Without Miller and Knueppel Charlotte was lacking not only on offense but defensively from a physicality standpoint as well as communication. 

“These are the cards we are dealt right now with some of the injuries,” Lee said, “and we are trying to be mindful of how we’re building up certain guys. There’s going to be some moments where you don’t want to push the envelope on somebody because they aren’t ready for those extra minutes. So, we are just trying to be mindful as we continue to work through the preseason. Some of it is experimenting, but some of it is also just these are the healthy bodies that we have and we have to find a way to rotate them throughout the game.”

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