What: Charlotte Hornets (0-4) vs Minnesota Timberwolves (1-3)

When: July 15th, 2023; 2:30pm EDT

Where: Thomas & Mack Center; Las Vegas, NV

How to watch: NBA TV, ESPN+, NBA League Pass

It’s your last chance to watch Hornets basketball for almost three months, so cherish it while it’s here. Though with it being the last game, there won’t be many actual Hornets on the floor.

James Bouknight is coming off his best performance of the summer league with 28 points against the Pelicans. Assuming he’s active for the game again, he’ll try to do something he’s struggled with since turning pro–string together multiple good performances. The fact that he continued to play while fellow third year pro Kai Jones was shut down speaks volumes of his standing within the team. He might be fighting for his roster spot and he’s definitely fighting for the fourth year on his contract, so it’s an important game for him if he plays.

Nick Smith and Bryce McGowens are the other full time Hornets still set to play. They were both okay on Thursday, so it’d be nice to see them go into the final few months of the offseason on a high note.

The Timberwolves are led in scoring by Brandon Williams and Josh Minott. Williams finished the 2021-22 season with the Blazers and randomly popped off a few times down the stretch when their season went down the drain. He averaged 20 points and 6 assists in the G League last seaosn. Minott is last year’s second round pick (technically drafted by the Hornets) that played sparingly while splitting his time between the NBA and the G League.

33rd overall pick Leonard Miller has impressed thus far as well. He’s averaging 16.0 points and a team high 8.3 rebounds while scoring efficiently both inside and outside the arc.

The Hornets will have their first preseason game sometime around October 10th, so a lot of dead time is coming, especially if they continue to not do anything with the roster. So again, cherish these moments of kinda Hornets basketball.