Stock up, stock down: Kalkbrenner's breakout night, a flashy duo, Knueppel's slow start

The Charlotte Hornets picked up their first win of the preseason on Saturday night, defeating the Dallas Mavericks by a score of 120-116. Here's the latest stock watch update following last night's game.

Stock up: Ryan Kalkbrenner

It wasn't all perfect, but Kalkbrenner showed a lot of good things on Saturday night. In addition to being a perfect 7/7 from the floor, he was active underneath, blocking a shot and grabbing 10 rebounds. His most impressive play of the night that won't show up on the stat sheet? Extending out to the perimeter and making life difficult for Cooper Flagg, who tried to shake him loose and drive the ball, but ended up having to pass it back out and reset the offense.

Stock up: Brandon Miller

Miller looked rusty in his first two games shooting the ball, but appeared to have snapped out of that little funk with an efficient 6/10 night, including knocking down a pair of threes. Definitely, well, that's another story. We'll have that conversation another day. It was an encouraging outing, to say the least.

Stock up: LaMelo Ball/Collin Sexton duo

Charles Lee made it very clear before the preseason began that he's not committed to a starting lineup just yet. All offseason, there's been a lot of discussion about the two spot: Knueppel vs. Sexton. I understand why everyone wants to see Kon in that role, but Sexton has the experience and is much better than any option they had a year ago. Things just operate at a much higher level when he's in the game. Richie Randall of Buzz Beat pointed out that the Hornets out-scored the Mavericks 62-36 when Ball and Sexton were both on the floor.

Stok dowm: Kon Knueppel's three-point efficiency

Kon's three-point shot has been off through the first three preseason games, connecting on just 6-of-22 attempts (27%). I know it's easy to hit the panic button already, but I would be hesitant in doing so. He's always shot the ball well, and there's no reason to believe he can't shoot it well from range in the NBA. He may not be firing on all cylinders to start the year, but that might be a good thing. It'll force him to get downhill and make things happen, which he did last night a couple of times.

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