The Charlotte Hornets will ultimately set their first starting five tomorrow against the Brooklyn Nets. Whatever they choose is likely to be the main starting lineup until something goes wrong. It’s going to feature either Collin Sexton or Kon Knueppel in the backcourt with Brandon Miller and LaMelo Ball.
The most straightforward option is to let Sexton, who is a point guard and facilitator, sit and relieve Ball instead of playing alongside him. Plus, Knueppel’s shooting makes him an ideal spacer for Ball and Miller.
However, during the preseason, the Hornets started Sexton and Ball sometimes, and that lineup was excellent offensively. It’s a unique pairing, one that has virtually no defense, but it’s one that’s pretty intriguing and could be very good, at least in the eyes of analysts Zach Lowe and Rob Mahoney.
🎙️ @ZachLowe_NBA: “Collin Sexton is undersized to play the 2, defensively. He is a score-first guard, hybrid guard. He might be best as a sixth man, but he plays f-cking hard on both ends of the floor, all the time. He is not a defensive liability because he doesn’t see the game… pic.twitter.com/RaXuS8Tmhq
— r/CharlotteHornets (@HornetsReddit) October 20, 2025
“Collin Sexton is undersized to play the two, defensively. He is a score-first guard, hybrid guard. He might be best as a sixth man, but he plays f*****g hard on both ends of the floor, all the time. He is not a defensive liability because he doesn’t see the game on that end or doesn’t compete on that end,” Lowe said.
Lowe added that Sexton will fight for rebounds, work around screens, and generally give great effort on that side even if he is small. “He’s a fearless, balls-to-the-wall player that I’ve always enjoyed watching, and I think he’s going to help this team as long as he’s on it. I think he’s the kind of player they need. I’m excited for that,” he added.
Oct 15, 2025; Greensboro, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Collin Sexton (8) looks to inbound the ball against the Memphis Grizzlies in the first half at First Horizon Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Brian Westerholt-Imagn Images / Brian Westerholt-Imagn Images
Mahoney believes there’s a worthwhile experiment in pairing Sexton, a straightforward player, with Ball, a much more innovative and creative player. “I think there’s something about how LaMelo (Ball) experiences the game. Is it all spiraling loops and convoluted paths? He takes a route through navigating playmaking that other players don’t,” he said.
Where Ball operates in circles, Sexton is a “straight f*****g line all the time,” so there’s a potentially complementary pairing there, a “yin-yang dynamic” of sorts. Mahoney doesn’t know if it’ll work or if there’s enough defense to justify that two-guard rotation, but he’s on board. “I like the experiment of pairing LaMelo with someone who is so direct at doing the things LaMelo wants to be a little cuter about,” he concluded.
Ball and Sexton do similar things in different ways, which might make the offense redundant, but it might also give them so many different ways to attack the defense. Ball would benefit from having someone to create for him for the first time ever, and everyone who plays alongside him, including maybe Sexton, benefits from his creation.
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