Coby White looks set to make his 2026-27 Charlotte Hornets debut tomorrow vs. the Detroit Pistons, as the two teams meet for the second time in less than a week at 7:30 PM Monday night in the Spectrum Center.

The Charlotte Hornets couldn't have asked for a better time for their starting PG to return, too.

The Hornets are currently on a three-game losing streak after starting the season 3-1, and backup PG Dennis Schröder just had one of his worst performances of the season so far on Sunday night vs. the Philadelphia 76ers.

Schröder scored just four points on an abysmal one-for-eleven shooting night. In the German's defense, Schröder has been a revelation for a team missing its newly signed 3-year, 95 million-dollar PG, Coby White.

But Schröder has played 30 or more minutes in every game for Charlotte so far, except for their 47-point blowout loss to Atlanta in their home opener. He's tired, and the Hornets clearly miss White's youthfulness and ability to attack the rim and shoot at a better, more versatile rate than his backup can.

Charlotte -- and their star Brandon Miller, for that matter -- will benefit heavily from the N.C. natives' return almost immediately. White got to the free-throw line almost five times a night last season, which was 90th percentile amongst all PGs... and the Hornets are currently dead last in the NBA in free-throw attempts per game (16.6).

Charlotte's struggling so bad at getting to the cup that we're seeing all of these low post touches from Naz Reid and Brandon Miller to help make up for the lack of attempts at the rim, because while it's not a downhill drive that collapses the defense in an ideal way, it is a pseudo-paint touch that the Hornets HAVE to have right now.

I believe White helps alleviate that issue significantly and immediately makes the offense more potent. White's return also gives Brandon Miller more ability to move off the ball, which is where he thrived last year. Miller has had some really inefficient nights from the field so far, and it's one thing to take your lumps while learning how to be a No. 1 option.

It's a completely different thing to switch to the No. 1 option and hardly be able to do any of the things that made you successful the year before with LaMelo Ball. He'll still get his primary initiator chances, no doubt, but with his PG coming back... they won't have to be as frequent and, frankly, as predictable for defenses.

The Hornets have the worst offensive rating in the NBA right now, and it's not because they lack good offensive players. It's because the engine that the Hornets felt was best for those players in Coby White hasn't been there, and of course, the absence of Kon Knueppel's shooting threat hasn't helped either.

But Charlotte has shooters. That doesn't mean he's replaceable... but the Hornets have helped recreate him with Grayson Allen's success. Allen and his older age can't do it forever, though, just like Schröder can't.

But Allen's run of form through the first seven games gives them time for Kon.

Schröder's second-half play, by contrast, has consistently been worse than his first halves. The German spent a full month with his national team over the summer before diving straight into Hornets training camp, then preseason, and now the regular season, where he's played the most minutes as a starter in the NBA in years.

That kind of late-game fading isn't something you expect from Coby White, who is firmly in the prime of his career and has proven himself a crunch-time player who can elevate his game when the tension ratchets up.

The Hornets needed someone like that more than they needed air last night in a loss to the 76ers, as Philadelphia went on a 13-0 4Q run to steal it away. Schröder had multiple turnovers in the last three minutes, all by himself, along with some critical fouls. I don't blame the 33-year-old, who's been playing nonstop for months now...

But it's time for Coby White. I'd imagine even Dennis Schröder -- or at least Dennis' legs -- is excited to have that.