What we learned from Liam McNeeley’s NBA debut with the Hornets

A 135-114 loss typically does not come with many positives, especially to a team benching their entire top six.

It's what happened last night in Charleston, South Carolina. The Oklahoma City Thunder, without any of their starters or sixth man Alex Caruso, dismantled a near-fully healthy Hornets roster.

Lost in the mess of the Hornets' first preseason game last night was the debut of the squad's second first-round pick, wing Liam McNeeley out of UConn.

The Hornets selected McNeeley 29th overall in June after a trade with the Phoenix Suns involving Mark Williams. When the Summer League began, fans only got to see McNeeley play two games, with the first being a promising game in regard to his potential.

McNeeley's role with the Hornets has been unknown to this point. It's been unclear whether or not the wing would spend lots of time developing in Greensboro or would spend time in Charlotte immediately.

While the team was missing two important wings last night in Josh Green and Grant Williams, Head Coach Charles Lee went to McNeeley. The former Husky was the first man off the bench last night, and finished his night with 7 points on 1-6 from the field (0-4 from three) during 16 minutes of action.

While McNeeley had a sub-par performance, Lee's confidence to go to him off the bench shows both his and the organization's view on the wing. The Hornets played their starters for the first half and pulled them for the second half. McNeeley spent his time with the second unit, alongside Tre Mann, Ryan Kalkbrenner, Collin Sexton, and Tidjane Salaun.

It has to be noted that Josh Green and Grant Williams were out. The two wings would easily receive minutes over McNeeley when healthy; however, neither was last night. Having said that, the Hornets are never fully healthy.

McNeeley appeared anxious to start the game, but that wore off extremely quickly. While his shot was not falling, the wing was continually getting to the line, showing a knack for getting points for the team even when his shot was not falling.

It's a veteran-level move. McNeeley to this point is only 19, and is likely still a few years away from being an impactful. That being said, the confidence the organization has in him points to a potential contributor even this season.

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