The New York Knicks will travel to North Carolina to face the Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center in an NBA preseason matchup on Sunday. This will be the first preseason game for both sides and with the NBA regular season less than three weeks away, both coaches are expected to put out strong lineups.
New York Knicks vs Charlotte Hornets: Predicted starting lineups and depth chart
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New York fans will be excited about the prospect of seeing Karl-Anthony Towns in a Knicks jersey for the first time. Coach Tom Thibodeau will likely start the American-Dominican center, but as is common in the preseason, limit the minutes of his star players.
Rookie guard Tyler Kolek had some strong performances in the NBA Summer League and he should see some time on the court as well.
Mitchell Robinson will be out with a left foot injury. Guard Kevin McCullar Jr. missed the Summer League due to knee issue and could miss Sunday’s game as well.
Expect a strong starting lineup from Thibodeau that includes Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns.
New York Knicks depth chart:
| G | Jalen Brunson | Cameron Payne | Tyler Kolek | |
| G | Mikal Bridges | Miles McBride | Landry Shamet | Pacome Dadiet |
| F | OG Anunoby | Kevin McCuller Jr. | Jacob Toppin | |
| F | Josh Hart | Precious Achiuwa | T.J. Warren | |
| C | Karl-Anthony Towns | Jericho Sims | Ariel Hukporti |
After struggling in the Eastern Conference for nearly a decade, the Charlotte Hornets will be looking to some of their younger players to step up this season. LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller are both expected to start. Hornets fans will be hoping to get a closer look at rookies Tidjane Salaün and KJ Simpson, selected as the no. 6 and no. 42 overall picks in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Center Mark Williams (foot) and forward Cody Martin (finger) are expected to miss the game with injuries for Charlotte.
Charles Lee will likely send out a strong starting five with LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, Josh Green, Miles Bridges and Nick Richards taking the court.
Charlotte Hornets depth chart:
| G | LaMelo Ball | Vasilije Micic | KJ Simpson | Duanne Washington Jr. |
| G | Brandon Miller | Tre Mann | Seth Curry | |
| F | Josh Green | Tidjane Salaün | DaQuan Jeffries | Keyontae Johnson |
| F | Miles Bridges | Grant Williams | Taj Gibson | |
| C | Nick Richards | Moussa Diabate | Mark Williams | Harry Giles III |
New York Knicks vs Charlotte Hornets: Players to watch
Jalen Brunson remains the nucleus of this New York Knicks side with Tom Thibodeau’s offense going through the talented point guard. Brunson has continued to improve year after year and averaged 28.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 6.7 assists last season. His connetion with Towns will be key to the organization’s success this year and the two must develop some chemistry early on.
After a stellar 2021 season where he was named Rookie of the Year, the expectations were sky high for Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball. Unfortunately, injuries have hampered his progress over the last two seasons, with the guard playing just 58 games since the summer of 2022.
Ball looks healthy and ready to go for the 2024/25 season and will be a player to keep an eye on as the year progresses.
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Edited by nagpaltusharn25
