The Charlotte Hornets kick off their season against the Houston Rockets on the road, but they'll do it without their man in the middle. Mark Williams is nursing a strained tendon in his left foot and will need a little more time before he makes his season debut, which shouldn't come as a shock to anyone given he didn't play in any of the preseason games as well.

Per the Hornets' official report, Williams is out for the opener.

‘INJURY UPDATE: @hornets center Mark Williams has continued progression in his rehabilitation from his left foot injury. He has returned to on court activity, he is listed as OUT vs HOU and additional updates will be provided as appropriate.'

The Hornets' rookie head coach, Charles Lee, has to make his debut without his defensive anchor in Williams and two other names on the injury report. Josh Green is out with left Achilles soreness and DaQuan Jefferies with a right-hand fracture. Green and Williams are defense-first guys who match the identity of what Lee's trying to do in Charlotte.

Nick Richards will start in Williams' place

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Nick Richards will hold down the starting center spot. The big man is entering his fifth season with the Hornets and has been a spark starter for most of his career and has filled in for Williams and Mason Plumlee when he was on the roster as well. Richards does a solid job holding down the paint and will have a tough match with Sengun as well, but he'll have some help.

Grant Williams will soak up some minutes at the five spot. Yeah, he's undersized, but can hold his own and will have help off the weak side throughout the course of the game. Moussa Diabaté, who is on a two-way contract, will also be available if need be for Charlotte. Miles Bridges has even seen time at the five spot depending on what the rest of the lineup has looked like in the past.

When will Mark Williams return?

There is still no set timetable for when Williams will return, but he'll have another shot to suit up Friday against the Atlanta Hawks. He has been seen at practice and is participating in basketball activities. It could very well be day by day, but there hasn't been an official date set for when he could be back on the floor competing. It's more of a safety precaution than anything to make sure that everything heals properly.

Williams missed 63 games in the 2023-24 season with back issues, so the team wants to be sure that he's as close to 100% as he could be before playing.

The Hornets' first two games take place on the road, but they open up their doors at Spectrum Center on Saturday to welcome in the Miami Heat for their first home game of the year. It'll be a good test for one of the Eastern Conference's better teams with a couple of star-caliber players in Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.