Preview: Hornets face Nuggets in summer league game two – At The Hive

What: Charlotte Hornets (1-0) vs Denver Nuggets (0-2)

When: 6:00pm Eastern

Where: Cox Pavilion; Las Vegas, NV

How to watch: ESPN2, ESPN+

The Hornets will presumably be without Brandon Miller tonight after he put forth a very dominant, under control performance in the summer league opener. That just means more time for Tidjane Salaün, hopefully.

The Hornets rookie first round pick will try to build off a decent first showing and a very strong second half. He showed a good skill set in its infancy, but more importantly, he was extremely active. Hopefully he can extend that with more time on the floor tonight.

Nick Smith Jr and Zavier Simpson were the other two Hornets that showed out in the opener. After struggling with his shot in the California Classic, Smith scored 24 points on 17 shots against the Knicks. He’ll try to repeat that against the Nuggets. Simpson has been as steady as they come all summer league long, and his play at the point guard is a big part of why the summer league Hornets aren’t the discombobulated mess they’ve been in recent years.

The Hornets are facing the Nuggets, who have stumbled into the Las Vegas Summer League. They’re 0-2, though both games have been competitive. But the summer league isn’t about results. It’s about watching random players you haven’t in a long time or seen much of at all.

Unfortunately the Nuggets first round pick in this most recent draft, Da’Ron Holmes, tore his achilles in the summer league opener and will be out for all of summer league and the upcoming regular season. Last year’s first round pick, Julian Strawther, has been the team’s cornerstone. He’s averaged 28.5 points per game through game and has shot 10 free throws in each of those two games.

They’re starting a pair of Clemson Tigers–last year’s second round pick Hunter Tyson and this year’s undrafted free agent PJ Hall. Tyson has been a mixed bag through two games, but Hall has scored in double figures in both.

The Nuggets have no summer league depth, which is a problem Hornets fans will be quite familiar with. In their opener, three of the four players that came off the bench didn’t even attempt a shot in 28 total minutes on the floor. In game two, those same three players were 0-of-5 from the field in 30 minutes, though they did manage a few free throws.