Initial takeaways: Hornets spoil Cooper Flagg's preseason debut in Dallas

The Charlotte Hornets are off the mark in the preseason.

Spearheaded by great performances from the starting five of LaMelo Ball, Collin Sexton, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges, and Ryan Kalkbrenner, Charlotte upended the Dallas Mavericks 120-116 in Cooper Flagg's debut in his home arena. Here are a couple of key takeaways from tonight's action.

Ryan Kalkbrenner is an NBA-caliber center

What a night for the big fella.

Kalkbrenner played about as perfect of a game as you can reasonably expect from a first-year center taking on one of the league's premier front courts. All four of Anthony Davis, Derrick Lively Jr., PJ Washington, and Cooper Flagg suited up for the Mavericks, and Kalkbrenner stood tall among the giants.

After struggling with Oklahoma City's more mobile, perimeter-oriented big men, he looked right at home banging around with Dallas' big men.

The four-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year ended his night with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and a steal on 7-7 shooting from the field. His immense wingspan swallowed up Dallas' guards who tried and failed at attacking Kalkbrenner in drop coverage, excelling in the exact style of play that buttered his bread at Creighton.

Kalkbrenner may be deployed as a matchup-specific option, allowing Moussa Diabate and Mason Plumlee the opportunity to suit up against more mobile front courts, but he proved tonight in Dallas that he belongs in the rotation on day one.

Sexton and Dinwiddie's veteran presence is a difference maker

The impact those two (and Tre Mann - get well soon) will have on Charlotte's offense cannot be overstated.

When the offense bogs down, as it is wont to do in the flow of a 48 minute NBA game, having a point guard that is willing to put their head down and draw a foul is crucial. Both Dinwiddie and Sexton steadied Charlotte's offense in the first half when it was going off the rails, proving the importance of veteran ball handlers in Charles Lee's rotation.

Pace!

The Hornets were flying around in Dallas.

The starting five finished +20 in their 13 minutes on the floor together and they dominated Dallas in transition. LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges turned back the clocks to 2022 and connected on an alley-oop. The duo linked up again when Ball whizzed a left-handed pass to Bridges in the corner for an open trey. Collin Sexton pulled the strings and scored or assisted on the Hornets' first 11 points. That lineup had an 'everybody eats' mentality, and they left the Lone Star State with full bellies.

Every NBA team enters the season wanting to play faster, but the majority come out of the gates plodding as they establish their identity. Not these Hornets.

Charlotte was the fifth fastest team in the preseason before tonight's game against Dallas, and when the numbers update in the morning they'll likely be higher. Charles Lee has his men playing fast, and they're doing it with great success in spurts. Tonight's first quarter was a masterclass in 'seven seconds or less' basketball, spurned on by lock down defense, that the Hornets would like to bottle up and save for their regular season opener against Brooklyn.

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