Charlotte Hornets at San Antonio Spurs 10/19/22 - NBA Picks & Predictions

The Charlotte Hornets visit the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas on Wednesday to play the San Antonio Spurs in the opening game of the NBA regular season for both teams. Charlotte finished 10th in the Eastern Conference last season at 43-39. The Hornets were 22-19 at home and 21-20 on the road. Charlotte was knocked out of the play and tournament last season and promptly fired head coach James Borrego and replaced him with Steve Clifford.

Charlotte's LaMelo Ball became a star for the team and one of the better point guards in the NBA last season after averaging 20.1 points, 7.6 assists and 6.7 rebounds per game. Miles Bridges was charged with domestic violence during the offseason and his status is unknown at this time. Last season Bridges averaged 20.2 points per game. Gordon Hayward returns and provides much needed scoring as well as leadership. 

The San Antonio Spurs finished 10th in the Western Conference last season at 34-48. San Antonio was 16-25 at home and 18-23 on the road. The Spurs are looking to the future this season with a lineup that most basketball pundits will not recognize. San Antonio dealt Dejounte Murray to Atlanta and received several draft choices as well as Danilo Gallinari, who they have since waived. 

San Antonio now has five additional first-round picks through the 2028 draft. Keita Bates-Diop played very well last season for the Spurs and will join Jakob Poeltl and Jeremy Sochan to give San Antonio a solid frontcourt. Keldon Johnson and Poeltl are the top two players returning from last season. Tre Jones will be the top point guard and Josh Primo the first player off the bench.