Charlotte Hornets: Gordon Hayward cleared for opener in Cleveland

With the Charlotte Hornets’ opener only a day away, the team got some good news on one of their starters.

Last week, the Charlotte Hornets were surprised with a finger injury sustained by starter Gordon Hayward. However, the team found out some good news regarding Hayward’s injury on Tuesday.

More from Swarm and Sting

• Hornets: Where does Brandon Miller’s ceiling rank among other rookies?
• Charlotte Hornets grade out mostly average in position-by-position ranking
• Hornets News: P.J. Washington makes bold statement on Brandon Miller
• Grade the mock trade: Hornets snag Tyler Herro, flip Gordon Hayward
• Will the Charlotte Hornets be in the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery?

According to the Hornets, Hayward will be available in Wednesday night’s opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers. With this news, fans could likely expect to see Hayward back in the starting lineup.

Along with this news, Head Coach James Borrego also told the media to expect the same starting lineup as seen in the preseason. If for some reason, Hayward cannot start, the team could look at starting Cody Martin as they did in their final two preseason games.

The Hornets are heading into an opener where they will need all hands on deck, meaning Hayward should play an impact in a potential Charlotte win. Fans will need to pay close attention to his performance to see if this injury will affect his play.

Hayward is coming off a comeback season, where he had not played for a full season due to an injury he sustained on opening night in 2017 with the Celtics. Last season he averaged 17.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.

The Hornets finished last season with a record of 23-42, making them the 9th team in the Eastern Conference. The team will be looking toward a second straight season of winning an opener on Wednesday night.