What: Charlotte Hornets vs Orlando Magic

When: 7:30pm Eastern

Where: Cox Pavilion; Las Vegas, NV

How to watch: Prime Video

It’s Charlotte Hornets basketball on your TV screens. The first of (at least) five summer league games start tonight. It doesn’t quite have the juice of past summers given that the Hornets don’t have any shiny new high lottery picks to debut, but we’ll enjoy it all the same.

Tonight’s opponent is the Magic, who have a couple of interesting players on their roster. Last year’s draft picks Jase Richardson and Noah Penda will play, as will former five star recruit and first round pick TyTy Washington. But perhaps the most interesting player to me is Cam Reddish, who has thus far flopped in the NBA but is trying to make a comeback after splitting last season between Lithuania and the G League.

As for the Hornets, their projected starting lineup is an intriguing mix of recent draft picks. I’d expect the lineup to be Ryan Kalkbrenner, Tidjane Salaun, Liam McNeeley, Sion James, and Christian Anderson. Maybe Hannes Steinbach takes one of the starting spots, but I don’t know whose. Here’s what I’ll be watching for:

• Can Tidjane Salaun play himself out of summer league? You don’t typically see third year players in the summer league, so it’d be reassuring to see Salaun show that he doesn’t need to be there for long. Based on pictures on social media, he’s clearly been going hard in the gym to make himself as physically imposing as possible. I’ll be watching to see if he’s able to utilize that strength and play with the composure that’ll be required of him to be a contributor next season.
• I want to see Ryan Kalkbrenner shoot a couple of threes. He showed at Creighton that he’s got some touch on his jumper, but he didn’t bring it to the NBA. I’d like to see him let some fly in the summer league.
• Liam McNeeley was a superstar in the one full game he played in the summer league last season, but there was no room for him in the regular rotation in the regular season. I want more big performances to remind us that the Hornets have wing depth on their roster already.
• Christian Anderson is going to get to run the show and will get his first opportunity to show that he’s able to overcome his small stature
• I’m curious to see how Hannes Steinbach’s game translates. The talk has been that he’s a better passer than he got to show at Washington. I want to see what that looks like.

I always love the summer league. It’s one of my favorite times on the basketball calendar. As the World Cup starts to wind down, what better way to pick up the sports action than with the NBA Summer League?