Game 2: Hornets vs. Wizards
Location: Capital One Arena
Date: October 12
Key Wizards players: Kyle Kuzma, Jordan Poole, Tyus Jones
New additions: Jordan Poole, Tyus Jones, Landry Shamet, Danilo Gallinari, Bilal Coulibaly, Ryan Rollins, Patrick Baldwin Jr, Mike Muscala
Notable offseason moves: Traded Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns, Traded Chris Paul to the Golden State Warriors, Traded Kristaps Porzingis to the Boston Celtics.
The Washington Wizards hit the reset button this summer. After multiple years of residing in NBA purgatory, Washington’s front office finally made the decision to enter a rebuild. Out went Kristaps Porzingis and Bradley Beal, and in came a string of draft assets, along with a plethora of young talent to begin building around.
The Hornets will have their perimeter defense tested in this clash, with Kyle Kuzma, Landry Shamet, and Jordan Poole operating around the 3-point line. The Wizards are an unknown at this point – they have revamped their entire roster. However, all eyes will be on Brandon Miller and Bilal Coulibaly as the two highly-rated prospects look to make their presence felt.
Both teams will likely look to push the pace, both as a way of conditioning and developing an offensive identity that could translate to the upcoming NBA season.