Hornets Roll Out Chaotic Starting Lineup Featuring a Mystery 'James'

The Charlotte Hornets are rolling out a Monday night starting lineup that looks like it was drafted by a broken random number generator. According to Underdog NBA, Charlotte will start Dennis Schroder, "James," Brandon Miller, Naz Reid, and Moussa Diabate against the Washington Wizards.

If you are actively betting the spread on a late-October Hornets-Wizards game, you might need to consult a professional. But for the prop market, this lineup drop actually answers a few massive rotation questions for Charlotte.

"Underdog NBA tweeted: 'Lineup alert: Hornets will start Schroder, James, Miller, Reid, Diabate on Monday.'"

The biggest real news here is the return of Diabate. The big man is stepping right back into the starting five after serving a four-game suspension for his role in a brawl against the Detroit Pistons. Charlotte desperately needs his frontcourt presence after getting absolutely obliterated by the Atlanta Hawks 128-81 just a few days ago.

Then there is the backcourt, where Schroder continues to operate as the ultimate professional bucket-getter. He is quietly averaging 16 points and 4.3 assists this season, coming off a vintage 25-point performance where he shot a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.

But we have to talk about the elephant in the alert. Underdog casually dropping "James" into a Hornets starting five is top-tier internet chaos. Considering LeBron James is currently employed by the Philadelphia 76ers, this is either the quietest blockbuster trade in league history or a typo that just gave every fantasy manager a mild heart attack.

Assuming LeBron has not secretly relocated to North Carolina, Charlotte is likely just shuffling the deck to survive the week. They managed to bounce back with a 115-110 win over the Miami Heat on Saturday, proving this roster can actually score when they aren't throwing punches.

The Hornets tip off against Washington tonight before heading to Detroit on Wednesday. Expect Schroder to keep gunning, Diabate to immediately test the referees, and the timeline to spend the entire first quarter figuring out exactly who is wearing that James jersey.