3 Things to Watch When the Charlotte Hornets Take on the Milwaukee Bucks in Preseason Action

It won't take much for the Charlotte Hornets to improve on their preseason debut.

A couple of days after getting thrashed by the Brooklyn Nets' first, second, and third teams, the Hornets are set to welcome the new-look Milwaukee Bucks to the Spectrum Center for another preseason contest. The Hornets will be without Coby White, Kon Knueppel, and Grant Williams due to injury management, and we'll find out closer to tip off if the other Charlotteans who missed the preseason opener, Brandon Miller and Christian Anderson Jr., will be available for tonight's matchup.

Ahead of the game against Milwaukee, our staff at Charlotte Hornets On SI is here to tell you what they'll be looking for when the team takes the floor.

Matt Alquiza: Hannes Steinbach's Usage

It's too early to come to any conclusions about how the Hornets will utilize their rookie center this season. I wrote this after Charlotte's preseason opener, but remember: Sion James didn't enter the Hornets' first preseason game last year until late in the third quarter. He wound up playing all 82 games after being the second player off of the Hornets' bench in the season opener.

I thought Steinbach was fine in his Hornets debut, but he'll look better if he's given the chance to play alongside some players higher up in Charlotte's pecking order. It's one thing to get set up by Jarkell Joyner and Michael Ajayi. It's a totally different world when your pick-and-roll partner is someone like Dennis Schroder or Christian Anderson Jr.

Steinbach should see some first half minutes against the Bucks tonight. We'll see if he actually does.

Zach Roberts: Better Shot Creation

The facilitating was not up to par last time out. Now, the Hornets were and are without Coby White, but he can’t play 48 minutes. Someone has to be a facilitator, and there are numerous options on the roster. So, who's going to step up?

Evan Campos: Interior Scoring Improvements

One thing to keep an eye on offensively throughout the rest of the preseason is whether Charlotte can get into the paint more frequently and finish with greater efficiency once there. The Hornets were outscored 44-22 in points in the paint against Brooklyn, and without Coby White driving the offense, the question is who else in Charlotte's guard and wing group can generate some rim pressure outside of Dennis Schröder.

In terms of the bigs, I'd like to see Moussa Diabaté, Hannes Steinbach and Naz Reid more involved around the basket and on the offensive glass, along with more controlled drives from Tidjane Salaün.

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