Thursday night is setting up to be a major test in the quest for the Phoenix Suns (4-6) to return to .500.

The next test comes against the mightily struggling Charlotte Hornets (4-7), who own the worst offense in the NBA.

Accompanying the early struggles is a laundry-list of injuries facing the Hornets. Read more below on what the tests the Suns are facing heading into the Thursday night showdown.

The official 8:00 P.M. EST report on Wednesday shed light on where things stand with Charlotte - at least as far as the core roster is concerned. 

OUT

Kon Knueppel (Left Hamstring Strain)

Dennis Schroder (Left Hamstring Strain)

Brandon Miller (Right Hip Strain)

Probable

Grant Williams (Right Hamstring Strain)

Moussa Diabate (Right Quadriceps Tendinopathy)

The Hornets will be without Knueppel for an extended period of time. This is following the sharpshooter re-aggravating the hamstring injury in his return game last week. The loss serves as a massive blow to the Charlotte offense, as much of their shot creation and three-point variance is stabilized with Knueppel. 

Miller hasn't been the most efficient scorer to begin the season, but the former second overall pick is a player that still has the ability to score 30 points. Charlotte's offense is already lacking firepower, and missing Miller could exasperate this issue. 

Expect Coby White to step into a primary scoring role, while Grayson Allen will be the major source of three-point shooting within the offense. It will surely be fascinating to see what head coach Charles Lee decides to do against a deep Phoenix roster.

The only member of the Suns making an appearance on the injury report for the contest is Mark Williams.

The labrum injury will hold the second-year Sun out for roughly three more months, and his absence is exposing a true weakness in the defensive rebounding department. In the meantime, the roster must compensate in other crucial areas.

Outside of this, Phoenix is completely healthy. Among the key returnees within the last two weeks are guard Jordan Goodwin, F/C Oso Ighodaro, and G Luke Kennard. The continuity is heavily benefitting Phoenix, as the 2025-26 team was plagued with a high degree of untimely injuries that stalled process. 

Now, head coach Jordan Ott has nearly the entire collection of talent to work with, which should serve the Suns well long-term. 

The Suns and Hornets are set to tip-off shortly after 7:00 P.M. MST on Thursday night.