It's a new month.

In the opening month of the 2026-27 NBA season, the Charlotte Hornets went 3-4 with losses to the Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards, and Philadelphia 76ers. They ended the month on a three game losing streak, and are back in action on Monday night to try to snap that streak.

They take on a team who beat them less than a week ago: the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons have started off the season strong, starting 5-1 with wins over the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, and Miami Heat.

Though they will be without Jalen Duren (hamstring) again on Monday night, big man Paul Reed has been excellent in the starting role with the squad. Across 4 games, Reed has averaged 14.5 points, 6.3 rebounds (3 offensive per game), and shooting 60% from both the field and behind the 3-point line.

The Pistons will also be without sharpshooter Isaiah Joe, who has missed the last four games with a hamstring injury suffered against the Philadelphia 76ers on October 25. Joe had averaged 7.3 points in just 3 games with the new team, and Pistons Head Coach J.B. Bickerstaff said pregame that he is in the process of getting back to action.

Monday night will see the season debut of Hornets point guard Coby White, who was re-signed to a 3-year, $74 million deal shortly after the team dealt LaMelo Ball to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

White has been dealing with a calf injury to begin the season, which has kept him out of the first seven games.

"We're not going to push it to the limit with him," Head Coach Charles Lee said during his pregame media availability. "Our thing is always to put together a plan for guys when they come back from injury, and we're going to be mindful of his minutes to make sure that we can maximize his availability for the entire regular season."

White is expected to be on a minutes restriction, and will be in a "certain range" for a while. The team will be seeing how he responds to each game, and will evaluate from there.

It was not the only injury update that Charles Lee gave to the media pregame, as he announced that second-year wing Kon Knueppel is "right behind" Coby White in his return to play. Knueppel has also missed the first seven (tonight will be eight) games of the new season with a hamstring injury, but Lee said his debut is "right around the corner."

Grant Williams (hamstring) is the only other Hornet listed out tonight. The Hornets will tip-off with the Pistons at 7:30 PM, looking to snap their three-game losing streak.