The Golden State Warriors play host to the Charlotte Hornets at Chase Center on Wednesday.

The Hornets (5-3) have been one of the surprises of the NBA, entering this matchup with one of the best records in the Eastern Conference. They actually started the season with a perfect 3-0 record but have proceeded to trade-off wins and losses in their last six games. That's the club most people expected to see at the beginning of the season, but the jump from Miles Bridges could not have been foreseen. The young forward leads the team with 24.6 points and 7.7 rebounds per game and nearly picked up a triple-double on Monday. That's a good indicator of how much this team trusts this guy, and it has them in a great spot with LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier holding down the backcourt.

The Warriors (5-1) have been one of the best teams in the NBA through the first two weeks. They have just one loss through six games, narrowly losing to the Memphis Grizzlies over the weekend. That means they could easily be undefeated, but it's hard to complain about a 5-1 start. What's really changed from last season is the play of the role players. Guys like Damion Lee and Jordan Poole have taken a major step forward this year, and it's scary to think how good they'll look when Klay Thompson is back in the fold. As long as Stephen Curry is dropping his usual 30 points and spacing the floor for everyone else, this team will always be competitive.

These teams played twice last season, with the home team winning each outing. It's been like that throughout the history of this series, with both teams owning even 31-31 records against one another.