It’s fair to be very forward up front about this one:
This is going to be a tough matchup for the Charlotte Hornets at 7:30 PM in the Boston Celtics’ TD Garden.
Preseason or not, Boston is coming off a game where they scored an absurd 144 points against the Philadelphia 76ers. Paul George had 5 steals, the Celtics ' defense looked astounding, and they are just as physical on the glass as Charlotte.
After all, Charlotte Hornets’ third-year head coach Charles Lee came to North Carolina, picked straight off of Boston’s staff -- head coach Joe Mazzulla -- and the Celtics had just won their 2023-24 NBA Championship.
These teams are awfully similar in their design for a reason, and Boston directly challenges what Charlotte does best because they do it just as well.
I think Mitchell Robinson and Neemias Queta will be my biggest X-Factors for both teams.
For Charlotte C Moussa Diabaté, both Robinson and Queta will make him work for every moment of rebound positioning on the offensive and defensive glass. The same goes for Hornets second-year C Ryan Kalkbrenner, whom I worry about much more than Diabaté tonight.
It will be a good test for Kalkbrenner, who’s seemingly been placed by Charles Lee in lineups that don’t favor him as much; it definitely seems like a test I expect Kalkbrenner to still be working on finishing tonight.
It could also be a real opportunity for Hannes Steinbach:
Steinbach’s go-to skill coming out of the NBA Draft this past summer was rebounding, and if I were Charles Lee, there’s no better test for the rookie preseason-wise than tonight.
It’ll show how he looks against guys who will undoubtedly test his best skill during the regular season, and if he looks good, you’d think that would increase his chances of earning regular 82-game rotational minutes.
Charlotte’s Brandon Miller is the ultimate offensive pendulum that could swing this game in Charlotte’s direction. As good as Boston played against Philadelphia, can he catch defensive specialist Paul George off guard?
In the same way I mentioned this could be a “measuring stick” game for Hannes Steinbach against some of the best rebounders in the NBA, I believe if Boston plays their starters in the first half— the same applies to Brandon Miller.
Sure: Miller was spectacular against Milwaukee the other night.
But I’m much more excited to see how he handles George/Tatum and how the Celtics can defend ball screens and overall defend much better than the Bucks. Does the primary initiation we saw flashes of on Sunday continue?
If it does for Brandon tonight in Boston, I’ll become even more giddy and optimistic about how that initiator skill set can translate and grow during the regular season. Same with his shot-making ability on the catch and on and off the dribble. Does it hold up against a better defense?
If Miller struggles, Charlotte won’t stand much of a chance to withstand an incredibly deep Celtics team that is much healthier than Charlotte, at the moment.
Charlotte is deep in their own right, but that fact doesn’t stand as tall right now with two starters injured (Coby White, Kon Knueppel).
Despite all the worry I’ve shown for Charlotte throughout the process of writing this?
I’m picking the Hornets to win. Not out of sheer guessing and hoping, but because Brandon Miller gave me one of those “Whoa” Feelings on Sunday night at the Spectrum Center.
It wasn’t the Bucks being bad at all, in my opinion:
One of Miller’s first -- if not his very first -- makes of the night against Milwaukee?
An INCREDIBLY low-percentage, fading, foot-on-the-line two-point jumper from the corner; Milwaukee’s Jamie Jacquez Jr. absolutely SMOTHERED Brandon on the contest, too. Jamie genuinely couldn’t have defended it better, and to top it off, Brandon, as I said, was in such a tight space with tough luck to make anything happen in the corner with the shot clock winding down.
It was one shot. I get that.
But I think Miller has something to prove, and he’s showing it. I expect that to continue tonight against Boston, and I want to see Brandon show the rest of the NBA how ready he is for this chance to be THE guy for Charlotte.
HORNETS ON SI STAFF PREDICTIONS:
My Prediction: Hornets 114, Celtics 106
Schuyler Callihan: Celtics 122, Hornets 112
It's always tough to know how coaches will handle minutes for their regulars in preseason games, but regardless, I expect this one to be pretty competitive. Assuming Jayson Tatum and Co. get 20+ minutes of floor time, I expect them to find a way to get the win. Charlotte just needs to figure out who is going to be a part of their rotation and they have a bunch of options to sort through.
Zach Roberts: Celtics 113, Hornets 100
The Hornets are hurt and while they are deep, they don't have a ton in the way of ready-made reinforcements, at least not to compete in the preseason with a title-level team that's been building their depth for a long time. Expect the Celtics to pull away late in this one.
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