National Basketball Association

The Charlotte Hornets Open the Regular Season Against the Milwaukee Bucks

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Charlotte Hornets take on the Milwaukee Bucks tonight at 8:00pm in Milwaukee. They hope to start the year off right with a win over the Bucks.

Time: 8:00pm; October 26, 2016

Location: BMO Harris Bradley Center; Milwaukee, WI

TV: FSWI, FSSE

Radio: 610 AM

The wait is finally over. The regular season started yesterday and the Hornets are in Milwaukee tonight to start their 2016 campaign. The Charlotte Hornets finished the preseason with a 3-4 record. The new additions started to jell as the preseason came to a close and Frank Kaminsky showed flashes of what he can become as his body and basketball intellect continue to develop. Cody Zeller and Marvin Williams healths are the two biggest concerns heading into this game.

Zeller missed out on the entire preseason so he was not able to build chemistry with the new players. This also held him out from conditioning. However, nothing is worse than the fact that his return will affect rotations.

The rotation of Roy Hibbert and Marvin Williams backed up by Spencer Hawes and Frank Kaminsky seemed to work well throughout the preseason. How will coach Clifford integrate Zeller back into the lineup?

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The Charlotte Hornets decided to bring back Marvin Williams over Courtney Lee, Jeremy Lin, and Al Jefferson. He was an integral piece to the team last year but the departure of the others might hurt the Hornets in the immediate future.

Williams needs to continue his stellar shooting in order to justify his new contract. However, Williams shot an abysmal 12.5% from the three-point line this preseason. To make matters worse, he broke his finger in the second to last preseason game. Will this effect his shooting stroke? Will he regress to his career shooting averages?

Injury Report:

Frank Kaminsky (Strained Right Foot) – OUT

Brian Roberts (Strained Left Hamstring) – OUT

Cody Zeller (knee) – Available

Matchup to Watch

Giannis Antetokounmpo vs. Kemba Walker

Jason Kidd moved Giannis to the point guard spot after the All-Star break last season. The Greek Freak responded by posting a stat line of 18.8 points, 7.2 assist, and 8.6 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks. For some reason this ridiculous stat line went unnoticed last year. The Bucks fully committed to playing Antetokounmpo at point guard this season by trading Michael Carter-Williams.

The stat line he posted after the all-star break was ridiculous. Kemba is the heart and soul of the Hornets. If he is able to contain Giannis, or get the better of him in this matchup, then I expect the Hornets to leave Milwaukee with a win. It will be interesting to see how Kemba responds to being guarded by some that is almost a foot taller than him.

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