March 29, 2025 • 29 mins
Just hours before a 108-97 loss in Toronto, the Hornets got the unfortunate news that LaMelo Ball will miss the remainder of the season, as he undergoes surgery and procedures for his ankle and wrist. Rob Longo and Sam Perley discuss the news and break down Charlotte's loss north of the border, and also preview the next game for Buzz City in New Orleans.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the Hornets Podcast, presented by Charlotte I ear
Nosen Throat Associates, the official I ear nosen throat Care
provider of the Charlotte Hornets. Here's your host, Rob Longo.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Hi, friends, and welcome to today's episode of the Hornet Podcast,
the official podcast of the Charlotte Hornets, brought to you
by Santa Charlotte, I ear Nose and Throw Associates, the official
I ear Noose and throat Care provider of your Charlotte Hornets.
Rob Longo with you on a silver linings edition of
the AHHC Hornets fall in Toronto on Friday one O
eight to ninety seven, and Charlotte did not get some
very good news on the injury front either. We will
(00:35):
touch on that here in just a moment. We'll break
this game down for you as well, and we're also
gonna double dip a little bit here as the Hornets
are out traveling this weekend. We will get you your
game preview for the Hornets taken on the New Orleans
Pelicans on Sunday down in the Bayou and helping me
out with all these topics on today's episode here of
the Hornet Podcast it's the one and only lead writer
(00:56):
of Hornets dot Com, Samparli and Sam. Let's start with
the unfortunate news that unfold late on Friday, right before
the Hornets we're about to take the hardwood against the
Toronto Raptors north of the border, and that is that
LaMelo Ball will be out for the remaining now nine
games of the season. He will undergo Arthur scoptic surgery
to address a right ankle impingement, and he will also
(01:16):
have a minor procedure done on his right wrist as well.
He will be listed out for the remainder of the season.
He's expected to make a full recovery and will have
a complete offseason regiment of work, looking at about a
four to six week recovery before he returns to basketball activities.
So again, unfortunately news here for the Hornets and LaMelo Ball.
As LaMelo has been basically the Cogana machine here for
(01:39):
the Hornets ever since he was drafted third overall several
seasons ago. But this one really hurts here this season
for Charlotte just because he's been in and out of
the lineup dealing with some other injuries and hopefully this
is gonna be something that will alleviate those injuries in
the future. But Charlotte now two to twenty four without
LaMelo Ball this season after the loss in Toronto yesterday,
and again, it's kind of one of those things where
(02:00):
you just hope that everything is able to go well
and he's back in no time. And I'm sure you
will because LaMelo is always one of those guys to
really attack his rehab process and his return to play programs.
But again, just wanted to give everybody an update on
the LaMelo Ball situation and see what's in store for
the remaining now nine games for this Hornets team without
LaMelo Ball the rest of the way.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Yeah, you said it. Obviously unfortunate because it's kind of
been some of these things have been a little nagging
all year with LaMelo Ball. He's been in that of
a lineup. And where the Hornets are at this point
of the season ten games to go, they've obviously been
eliminated from playoff contention. The most logical thing to do is,
you know, if you need not only to not play injured,
but if you need stuff to get repaired surgically or whatnot,
(02:40):
to make sure that's taken care of because you want
as much off season as possible to rehab, train, get better,
et cetera. So, like you said, it's tough because you know, again,
I know the Hornets are not necessarily playing for a
playoff berth at this point. You know, they were eliminated officially,
I think last week or so, but you know, you
still want to see everybody kind of finished this season together.
(03:00):
And I'm sure it's obviously frustrating for LaMelo Ball, this
being the third straight year that he's had to kind
of end the season prematurely, although this one is a
lot closer to the finish line than the previous two.
But you know, I guess a little bit of a
silver lining, which we are known to talk about on
this show. You know, we'll give more opportunities at that
lead ball handling spot for guys like kJ Simpson, Nick Smith,
(03:20):
Miles Bridges, some of those guys. And I'm looking forward,
in particular to kJ Simpson kind of seeing what he
can do with a big opportunity heading down the home
stretch here.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Yeah, you kind of segued that perfectly into what I
was going to talk about here. But LaMelo Ball, by
the way, now that he's done with his fifth season
twenty five point two points per game on average. That's
a new career high, averaged almost seven and a half
the cists per contest, a little bit over a steal
per game, made close to almost four made threes per
contest as well, So definitely a big blow just offensively,
(03:49):
and not only offensively, but I think defensively as well
here for the Hornets, who you saw a lot of
defensive growth I thought from LaMelo Ball here this season
as well. But again you already kind of touched on it.
But something that we've talked about here a lot over
the last now three seasons, unfortunately, is the fact that
it's had to be kind of that next man up
mentality here for Charlotte, and one person's injury is another
(04:11):
person's opportunity. As bad as it sounds, it's reality the situation.
So you touched on a couple of the people that
this might really impact the most. kJ Simpson, Nick Smith
Junior are a couple of the guys that have some
opportunities here moving forward. But again, all in all, it
feels like this is kind of wide open in a
sense for not only the final now nine games of
this season, but also for the future as well, going
(04:33):
into this offseason, going into the summer with some momentum
and figure out what you need to work on that
kind of stuff like that too. And we don't know
what this roster is going to look like six months
from now, whenever the Hornets are getting ready to start
off the twenty twenty five to twenty six campaign. There
could be a lot of turnover, There could be some
open spots for some playing time. So this is a
little bit of an audition as well for some of
these younger guys for maybe next season, in addition to
(04:56):
all of these opportunities that they have right now.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
Most certainly and you know, just one more you know
kind of thing on Lamellow right now. It's you know,
these are what has been described as fairly minor procedures.
I don't think this is anything within the realm close
to the fractured ankle he had to deal with a
couple of years ago that really took up a lot
of his off season in terms of rehabbing. And you know,
that's I think something that kind of gets overlooked maybe
(05:21):
in these situations as oh, you know, guys, hurt goes
into the summer. You know it'll be good as new
when he comes back in the fall. But you know,
you only have so much. You know, again, you got
to give your body a little bit of a break,
and you know you don't want to be using some
of those months just to get back to where you
were necessarily in order to you know, you always want
to be improving on your game and getting better during
the off season, so you come back in the next
(05:42):
year with improvements, playing better, a better shot this or that.
So getting this done now just makes all the sense
in the world from a timing issue, and that way,
you don't have a situation where you know you're playing
through it, you make it worse, or you know you're
waiting till the end of the season and then you're
you know, sacrificing a few more weeks into the off
season when now you're rehab being instead of you know
kind of you know, getting back to or being your
(06:03):
normal self. So again, it's unfortunate. I think it's just
kind of it's unfortunate because it's a situation where it's
you know, the Hornets, you know, aren't contending for a
playoff berth and kind of just yeah, just again with
where the Hornets are at right now, this is a
logical sense, logical move. You don't want to do anything
that's going to jeopardize LaMelo Ball's future risk. And you
also don't want to put him out there if he's
not at one hundred percent because you know that can
(06:25):
take a toll on the rest of the team and
the teammates too. So again, I mean, the ward we
keep repeating is unfortunate, and you know this is the
smart move and hopefully it's going to be for the
best long term. I'm for sure.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Once getting LaMelo Ball out for the remainder of the
season due to some arthroscopic surgery, he will undergo to
address a right ankle impingement, and he will also have
a minor procedure on his right wrist as well, and
he will be back to full basketball activity within four
to six weeks. Any important updates as they are provided
from Hornets pr here on Hornets Iive Cast as well.
(06:56):
But we also have to talk about a game yesterday
Hornets fall in Toronto last night one oh eight to
ninety seven. We will discuss that game and provide you
with our silver lining selections next here on a Hornets.
I've cast it's a silver Linings episode of the HHC.
Rob Longo and the lead Rider Hornets dot Com Sam
Parley with you after the Hornets fall in Toronto one
(07:17):
oh eight to ninety seven, Now eighteen and fifty five
on the season. Are the Hornets even in the season
series one game each against the Toronto Raptors, and the
rubber match of that contest or of that season series
will be coming up here in a couple of weeks
time down the home stretches. It will be part of
the final road trip of the season for Charlotte. But
Hornets fall one O eight to ninety seven in the
(07:38):
contest yesterday. A couple of the numbers that stand out
for me in this one yesterday, Sam Parley. The big
one was the turnover. Charlotte turned the ball over eighteen times.
It resulted in nineteen Raptors points. The good news for
Charlotte is they took advantage of Toronto's miscues, but the
Raptors only turned the ball over six times. It resulted
in twelve points for Charlotte off of those six turnovers,
so they were able to take advantage for basically every
(07:59):
single one. But the problem is the turnover ratio was
three to one in favor of Toronto. They were able
to take care of the basketball a little bit better.
Yacapurtle had a big game twenty four points twelve rebounds
on the other side for the Raptors, team high eighteen
points from Mark Williams, twelve rebounds, five assists, as well
as four out of the five starters reach double figures
for Charlotte. So the Hornets got some contributions up and
(08:20):
down the lineup, but at the end of the game,
it just felt like the Hornets shooting percentage wasn't the
great around forty forty one percent, only shot twenty nine
percent from three as well. Raptors were around forty four
percent from the field and about thirty two percent from three,
so they ended up making five extra three pointers compared
to what the Hornets did at nine to thirty one
from beyond the arc. And again, little things like that
(08:40):
are gonna make up the difference in what ended up
being a eleven point loss for Charlotte last night.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Turnovers, you know, you have eighteen turnovers, obviously not great.
You want that number to be. I think anything under
fifteen is pretty manageable. Eighteen, you know, you can get
away with the biggest problem was the turnover differential. When
you're only forcing six on the other end, that makes
it had eighteen the plus twelve or I guess minus twelve.
The way you look at it this way, from New Orleans,
(09:06):
New Orleans for Toronto in the I'm already looking ahead
to the next game. You know, that's what makes it
a big difference. You know, it's the possession game. You
just want to look at the shots. And I think
in that first quarter Toronto already had nine nine extra
field goal attempts. They had four six turnovers. I mean,
you couple with how good they are on the offensive glass.
They had six offensive rebounds in the first quarter. I
thought that area was cleaned up very nicely for the
(09:29):
rest of the game after the first quarter. The Hornets
only game up five more offensive rebounds from the second
quarter on after giving up six in the first quarter.
So I thought that was a really good area that
you know, was initially a little rough coming out of
the gates, and they improved on as the game got over,
as the game you know went on. But yeah, the turnovers,
and I think again it's you know, when you don't
have LaMelo Ball, and you're playing a little bit of
(09:50):
point guard by committee. There's kJ Simpson who I thought
did really well, Miles Bridges is handling the ball from
Nick Smith. I mean the Raptors defense too, I think
it kind of flies under the radar. Was kind of surprised,
but the first in the NBA and defense since the
All Star Break, I mean, they are really good. They're
very active. I really like the addition of Jamal Sheed,
who was defensive Player of the Year at Houston when
(10:11):
he was in college. I mean, they just got a
lot of guys and can get their hands on the ball,
deflecting passes, causing miscommunications. They swipe down on a lot
of holding on to the basketball without fouling. I mean,
they're just very difficult to play against. And I just
haven't watched a whole lot of the Raptors since really
the last time the Hornets played him, but was really
impressed on how good they were defensively. So you kind
(10:31):
of take that and couple it in with not having
LaMelo ball and some of the figuring it out on
the fly element of it, and it just it made
for a tough night for the offense.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Again, Hornets fall in Toronto on Friday one, eight to
ninety seven. In additional LaMelo Ball not being available, Damian
Boss still with the G League Swarm team. Josh Akogi
was out due to some injury management. Toronto is not
playing with a full deck of cards either. Ojai Abaji
and Rgie Barrow was out due to rest, which I
kind of made this joke in jest at the halftime
show on the broadcast, But I don't know what they're
(11:02):
resting for a trip to cam Koon or something like that,
because again, it's not completely over for Toronto. The Raptors
still have an opportunity to get the ten spot in
the playing tournament. But it's just a weird time to
rest somebody when there's only a handful of games left.
But I digress. Brandon Ingram had an ankle injury. Grady
Dick did not play in this one either do some
knee issues as well. So again, neither team playing with
(11:22):
a full deck of cards going into this one. But
the guys that were out there on the floor definitely
made some impacts. Mark Williams had a double double. Tjon
Salon had a double double as well. kJ Simpson fourteen points.
Miles Bridges. It took him a while to get there,
but he got the double figures with eleven points to
Kwan Jeffers very efficient nights six to nine shooting from
the field with fifteen points as well. So just a
couple of the candidates here for our silver lining selections
(11:45):
after this one O eight to ninety seven loss in Toronto,
Sampelli as the guest of honor, I will let you
go first. Who's your silver lining selection?
Speaker 3 (11:51):
My silver lining selection is Tjon Salon twelve points, fourteen rebounds.
That was a career high. It's the second ever NBA
double double shot. Five of eight from the field, got
to the line a couple of times or three times,
two of three from the line, had five offensive boards,
also had an assist and just one turnover and just
one foul, and you know, was minus two in a
(12:15):
eleven point loss. I mean again, you know, we look
at T John's you know numbers right now, I know
the efficiency is kind of a little bit overall. He's
not taking a ton of shots during the games right now.
Eight was probably kind of higher than he has been
in the last few But I think he's taking the
right shots. I know it doesn't always look the prettiest
out there, but it's all the rawness is starting to
(12:35):
kind of smoothen out a little bit. You're seeing some
of the flashes. It's not perfect on every possession defensively, offensively,
but he's got the motor, he's got the energy. You know.
The ball handling is getting a little bit better. The
driving is getting a little bit better. He's using his
size to get to the rim more and he's he's
drawing more fouls, which is good. You know, the three
point shooting, I think again, I think we'll get better
(12:55):
over time, you know, get a little bit quicker. But
one play that really impressed me during this game in
particular was I think kJ Simpson had a steal at
mid court and took it the other way and either
got blocked at the rim or missed the layup, and
t Jon was just trailing him as fast as he
could go and got the offensive rebound off the one
on one breakaway and ended up giving the Hornets in
(13:17):
an extra possession. And you know, I can't remember if
they scored on that one, but just you know, little
things like that, you know, even if it looks like
kJ has a breakaway, makeable layup, finish the possession, be
there just in case he misses or something happens, and
Tijon was so just little things like that are starting
to stand out for me about him. And you know,
again just this was another really solid performance from the rookie.
Speaker 4 (13:36):
Bridges off the screen from Nurkic to Nick Smith Junior
for three off the back iron rebound, t Jon Salon
puts it back up and in and a time out
taken by Toronto. A career night right now for t
Jon Salon. He's got twelve points as well as a
career high twelve rebounds.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
I'll completely agree with you. I thought t Joon was
great in the game yesterday. Twenty four minutes, twelve points,
fourteen rebounds, five of eight from the field, two for
three at the free throw line. You know, didn't have
a ton of assists or blocks or steals or anything
like that, but I think his length out there is
just enough to really help out defensively. And again, he's
nineteen years old. He's still gonna be one of the
youngest people in the association next season as well when
(14:18):
he barely turns twenty. So he's still very wry, still
trying to grow into his body a little bit. Kind
of gives you some baby deer vibes a little bit
sometimes when he's trying to bring the ball up the
floor or something like that, and again it's just him
trying to get a little bit more comfortable, get acclimated.
I mean, I don't know what you were doing at
the age of nineteen, Sam, but I was definitely not
anywhere close to trying to compete with some of these
guys on a nightly basis in the NBA. I'm sure
(14:41):
being six nine certainly helps the cause there, but again
can't relate to that either. So you know, it's one
of those things where Tjan's is gonna have to take
some time and develop. And again, coming to a new league,
coming to a new country, coming to a new culture,
all of those things certainly make up some instances where
you kind of have to understand and provide a little
bit of here because it's gonna take some time. Donasantaka
(15:02):
Kupa wasn't a great success overnight either, So again it
just is one of those things where you just have
to have a little bit of patience here with t Jon.
But I think now that you're getting almost a full
season under his belt, You're starting to see a little
bit of the fruits of those labors. So definitely t
John Salona a great silver lining selection for me. I'm
gonna go with the man in the middle. That's Mark Williams.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
Having with kJ Simpson. He draws the double team inside.
It's Mark Williams. Followay jumper good with points, stepping on
the clock. Couple of mid range jumpers from Mark Williams,
showing off a little added depth to that jumper.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
Mark Williams had the final six points of the contest
for the Hornets yesterday and ended up getting him to
a team high eighteen points. He added twelve rebounds, five assists.
He was perfect from the field nine for nine, did
not go to the free throw line. But the interesting
thing with Mark two is that he had a little
bit of range in his game yesterday. Hit a fadeaway
jumper you heard there late in the second quarter, gave
(15:55):
the Hornets a two point deficit instead of four going
into the locker room. So again, it wasn't all just
dunks at the rim from Mark, which is what the
last six points of the game were for Mark Williams.
But again it was just people finding him in the
lane and he was able to clean up a couple
of offensive rebounds as well. But Mark's starting to show
a little bit of maturity to his game, a little
bit different shot selection and starting to find a little
(16:16):
bit of range. I don't know if we're going to
see a three point shot from Mark Williams here in
these final nine games, but he's starting to kind of
branch out a little bit further away from the rims.
So really cool to see Mark Williams get that under
his belt a little bit and just have some more
opportunities here to get into his bag of tricks a
little bit here offensively. And Mark Williams definitely my silver
lying selection from the game yesterday. One more segment to
(16:38):
go on this episode of the HORNETSOB Cast, we're gonna
preview Charlotte's upcoming game on Sunday against New Orleans Pelicans.
Game preview comes to you right after this here on
the Hornetsive Cast. It's also a game day edition of
the HHC maybe depending on when you're listening to this podcast.
Rob Longo and Sam Purley previewing the Hornets and Pelicans
(16:59):
coming up on a Sunday, So if it's Saturday, we're
getting to a day early for your game preview against
the Pelicans. If it's Sunday, well you found your game
day edition here of the AGHC Hornets taken on the
Pelicans here Sunday down in the Bayo. A little bit
of a primer going into this one. Hornets got their
largest win to the season back in January, at the
high of a one to twenty three to ninety two
(17:20):
win over New Orleans. Five Hornets reached double figures. LaMelo
Ball had a team high twenty five points to go
along with five rebounds in seven assists. I On Williamson
did it go for a game high twenty eight for
the Pelicans, but Charlotte's bench out score New Orleans by
a final tally of fifty two to thirteen. Pelicans have
been up and down this season now four and ten.
In the month of March. Did have a win against
(17:42):
Philadelphia on Monday, but going back to Friday's game, lost
one eleven to ninety five at home against the Golden
State Warriors. Steph Curry had twenty three points that ended
up being a game high. Bruce Brown had a team
high eighteen for the Pelicans and New Orleans is kind
of a little bit of the walking wounded right now.
They've had some issues here over the course of the
last couple of weeks, a lot of season ending injuries.
(18:03):
Trey Murphy has a torn labor and he's done for
the year. Dejontay Murray ruptured his achilles Herb Jones has
a torn rotator cuff. He's out for the year as
well as Ilond Williamson did miss Friday's game with a
lower back contusion, and Brandon Boston had a left ankle
injury as well as CJ. McCollum did not play Friday
against the Warriors due to a right foot contusion. So
(18:23):
we'll see what McCollum and williamson status are here for
Sunday against the Hornets. But Sam, you know how these
things work. We need a Hornet player to watch, a
stat to watch, and a Pelican player to watch. Where
would you like to begin.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
My Hornet player to watch is going to be rookie
kJ Simpson talked on him a little bit in some
previous segments here got the start, presumably with no LaMelo
ball for the rest of the season. I'm sure he
will get a lot of playing time and probably a
handful of more starts as well. I love the confidence
he's playing with right now, and even going back to
his draft draft night, he just oozed confidence and intensity
(18:58):
and competitiveness. And it's been kind of a strange year
for him, just rookie wise. I mean, he was, you know,
he was you know, in the rotation for a little bit,
and then he goes stretches of not playing and he's
in the G League and now he's starting, and it
hasn't been a gradual trajectory by any means, just because
of injuries and such. But I love the way he's
playing and I love the way he competes on both ends.
I mean, I think you wouldn't expect necessarily a guard
(19:21):
of his size to be as impactful and the defensive
end as he is, and he is just he makes
things very, very difficult for opposing ball handlers. And you know,
even at times where he gets switched on to bigger
matchups and things like that, I mean, he can hold
his own. And you know, the three point shooting against
Toronto is three to five from three point that tied
(19:44):
a career high for threes finished with fourteen points, five
to eleven from the field, got to the line a
couple of times, you know, had five fouls I think,
get some early foul troubles, so that kind of threw
off the rotations just a little bit. But overall, really
impressive game against a Raptors team that defensively is firing
out on all cylinders right now. So I'm excited to
kind of see kJ with a little bit more. I mean,
(20:06):
he's going to get a lot of playing time down
the stretch here, obviously probably starting in New Orleans for sure.
I like watching him play. I love watching him play
on both sides, and he's a guy that just want
to keep seeing how much he's developed as his rookie
season kind of comes to a close here.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
It's a good pick. There was a point in the
game against the Pelicans on Friday where I forget who
he was going up against, but it was a jump
ball situation. Definitely undersized and the jump ball, but then
he was able to sneak in and kind of steal
the possession away. I don't know if the Hornets scored
off of him, but it just kind of embodies in
that moment. I thought the Muggsy Bogue saying of hard
over height a little bit, and kJ is always going
(20:39):
to be one of the guys that's a little undersized
at the guard position and there's not much you can
do about that, obviously, But you know, kJ, I think
has an opportunity here to really step up and show
what he's made of here, especially on a two way contract.
I mean, he's looking for a full time deal. We'll
see what transpires in the offseason as well. He still
has some things that he needs to work on, but
kJ Simpson definitely a very solid pick in this one going.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
Up against the Pelicans.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
For me, I'm gonna go with Miles Bridges. I think
it's safe to say that Miles is in a little
bit of a slump. And again, I mean, he's been
an iron man this entire season for the Hornets, and
he had a little bit of a rough go of
it against the Raptors on Friday. He finishes with eleven points,
but it took him a long time to get there.
He was four of twenty from the field and just
one for nine from three. Did have six assists and
(21:22):
four rebounds, so he was able to impact the game
in other ways. He started the game zero for seven
from the floor in the first half. He only had
two points at halftime, they were both off of free throws.
And then I remember he came out and he hit
a corner three to start off the third quarter, and
you're thinking, Okay, this is where Miles is gonna get going.
And unfortunately that was the only three that he made
in the contest on Friday in Toronto. But if you
(21:43):
go back and you look at his last six games again,
Miles is the guy that averages close to twenty one
points per contest. He's only reached twenty points or more
in one of the last six games that he's appeared
in now for Charlotte, So I think that it's safe
to say that, you know, maybe the tank is starting
to run a little. I know he did have that
one day where he was inactive against Atlanta back in
(22:04):
the middle of March where the Hornets are coming off
a four game road trip and coming back from LA
and he did sit dude to rest and just trying
to get his feet back under him. But he's been
playing heavy minutes, so certainly makes sense about why the
production isn't as high as it has been at other
points in the season, but I would like to see
Miles Bridges start to get back into that form that
we've seen all season long from him here for the Hornets.
(22:25):
So with that said, we need a Pelicans player to watch,
which might be a little tricky because of the injury report.
We also need a stat to watch. Where would you
like to go next?
Speaker 3 (22:32):
My Pelicans player to watch is going to be the
rookie center from Baylor, Eve Mesi. Amongst all of the Pelicans'
injury situations, he has stayed remarkably healthy this yeraries played
sixty seven games, which I'm sure is pretty high up
amongst rookies, averaging almost nine points, eight rebounds, one point
(22:52):
three assists, and shooting fifty five percent in the field,
which is probably a little low for a center, but again,
he's a rookie. Been thoroughly impressed, you know, with the
way he's played this year. Late eighteen nineteenth pick overall
something like that. Very nice fine by the publicans Again,
I know it's you know, it's been kind of a
very tough year for them with all the injuries and
some particularly serious ones as well, but Mesies has been
(23:16):
a nice fine for them, big body, physical, player. You know,
the efficiency is probably a little low, but you know,
he's a guy that you know, if you get it
to him in the paint, he can create separation and
you know, power his way to the rim. You know,
I think the Hornets have had some flashes where they've
done really well kind of holding their own in the paint. Again,
some of the size issues and depending on when they're playing,
(23:37):
and foul troubles and this and now you saw that
a little bit in the Orlando game earlier this week.
You know, I think things were a little too easy
at times for Yaka Pearl in this Toronto game. You know,
he had a big night twelve or fourteen and felt
like a lot of uncontested layups, a lot of you know,
dunks off pick and rolls where there's miscommunications and things
like that. You know, like you said, New Orleans is
very shorthanded. You know, me, SI's a guy that they
(23:59):
could look to run some actions through. So when it's
got to tighten up that paint a little bit, don't
let him get too comfortable and get a lot of
these easy buckets underneath the rim like they did at
times with Perl in this Toronto game. So eve mecI
again and coming off that Golden State game, sixteen points
on six to seven shooting and only twenty five minutes
and he was had nine rebounds and two assists. One
(24:20):
thing of note, not a three point shooter at all,
So he will not be kind of taking guys away
from the basket like some of these other big men.
He's only attempted one to three this year and it
did not go in. So Mesi is my Pelican to watch.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
Yeah, this is a little bit of a tough one
to navigate here, because again there's a lot of injuries
on the other side for the Pelicans. I'm gonna go
really off the beaten path here and I'm gonna take
Kelly Olinok. Kelly Olynnock was not even on this roster
to start off the season, was kind of a forgotten
I don't want to say, throwing in the Brandon Ingram
trade that sent Bi to Toronto and he ended up coming.
(24:54):
Kelly Olynok that is coming to New Orleans and ever
since he's been there, he's played a pretty solid amount.
He's still his own. He played forty total games this season,
and we're getting down to the nitty gritty of things
a little bit here, but in the last month or so,
with all these injuries, Olynic's been a starter for the Pelicans,
so it's been a little bit of an interesting fine.
He did not have a very good game by any
stretch of the imagination. Against Golden State. He was OH
(25:16):
for seven from the field, oh for two beyond the
Yorky finishes, with six points. All of them came at
the free throw line, so he was perfect at the
charity stripe in that sense, had six rebounds as well
two steals. He ended up fouling out of the contest,
still played twenty nine minutes, but it did break a
streak of him having four straight games and double figures
because he only finished with six obviously, So again, I
just always go back to I want to say it
(25:38):
was when he was with Detroit, he had a buzzer
beater to beat the Hornets at home, and it just
always felt like Kelly Olynock was a little bit of
a Hornet killer. So maybe it's my PTSD kicking in.
I don't know what it is, but I'm just going
to keep an eye on Kelly A. Linock here for
the Hornets and Pelicans game on Sunday and hoping that
he doesn't have any repeat history there in that sense
where he's able to pop off and have a big
game heor hit a buzzer beat or anything like that
(26:00):
against the Hornets. So I'm going to go with Kelly Olynnox.
So again not to open up any old previous now
healed wounds, but I think that it's an interesting find
there in terms of a Pelicans player to watch amongst
all of their inactives and their injuries right now and
trying to navigate who's in and who's out for New Orleans.
So that just leads us with a statistic to watch.
What's the number you're keeping an eye on, Sam.
Speaker 3 (26:19):
Yeah, it's topic we talked a little bit coming off
of this Toronto game. It's the turnovers. Since the All
Star Break, the Pelicans are twenty seventh in turnover percentage
going into the All Star Break, that were seventeenth, So
they've certainly taken a little bit of a dip in
this area. Again, injuries have I probably played a major
major part in that. Again, the Hornets are going to
(26:41):
have their issues with turnovers and you don't have your
you know, your your point guard and you don't have
Brandon Miller and all these guys that were kind of
their their primary ballhanders, I mean, LaMelo, Brandon, train Man.
You know, you haven't had them for you, at least
Tray and Brandon for quite a while. I mean, it's
there's limitations with you know, how much ballhandling you can
have on the court at once. But I think one
(27:01):
thing that would really help them is finding way to
create some more turnovers and close that gap so it's
not a twelve or thirteen fourteen turnover differential like it
was in this Toronto game. Right now, looking at the
point guard situation from New Orleans, they're down to Jose Alvarado.
Doesn't look like they have CG. McCollum, Zion's been out,
and after Jose Alvarado it's Jordan Hawkins and Elford Payton
(27:23):
is also now back with the Pelicans for a second
time this year after spending some time with the Hornets
in January, so they're kind of in a similar situation,
kind of kind of figure out the point guard situation
on the fly, kind of heading down the home stretch here.
So turnovers is something I'm definitely watching. I want to
see the Hornets keep it fifteen or lower will be
obviously a great number considering the circumstances, and see if
you can kind of generate some extra possessions on the
(27:43):
defensive end.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
In a similar vein, I'm going to look at the
fast breakpoints because most of the time fast break opportunities
lead to turnovers. There's a couple of times we're able
to get some runouts and that sort of stuff, maybe
on some rebounds, But I mean, the fast breakpoints is
an interesting stat because the Hornets don't do a great
job scoring off of fast break points. I mean, they
just don't have that many opportunities. I don't think they're
(28:05):
next to last in the association when it comes to
fast break points per contest, around twelve. Now on the
other side of New Orleans, they're top ten team when
it comes to fast break points. They get close to
sixteen seventeen points off of those fast breaks per contest.
So that's a pretty big disparity, and paired with all
of the turnovers, like you mentioned, that could be a
little bit of a recipe for disaster here for Charlotte,
(28:26):
if they turn a ball over a lot, If the
Pelicans are able to get out and run that's something
to really keep an eye on here as the Hornets
take on the New Orleans Pelicans should be an interesting one.
It will be the first night of a back to
back as well. For Charlotte. Hornets will return home Monday
to take on the Utah Jazz on the second end
of a back to back, and of course we will
have your game preview in a game recap of this
one on Monday's episode of the Hornets Ive Cast. Sampurli,
(28:49):
lead writer of Hornets dot com, thank you as always,
can't wait to read the recaps of these next couple games.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
Of course, thank you for having me, and.
Speaker 2 (28:55):
Thanks to all of you for tuning in as well,
for sam Perli and rob Logos saying so long. We
will reb and preview the next name here for the
Hornets on tomorrow's edition of the HHC.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
Thank you for listening to the Hornets Podcast, brought to
you by Santa, the official i ere nosen throadcare provider
of the Charlotte Hornets. For more coverage, visit Hornets dot com.
Welcome to the Hornets Podcast, presented by Charlotte I ear
Nosen Throat Associates, the official I ear nosen throat Care
provider of the Charlotte Hornets. Here's your host, Rob Longo.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Hi, friends, and welcome to today's episode of the Hornet Podcast,
the official podcast of the Charlotte Hornets, brought to you
by Santa Charlotte, I ear Nose and Throw Associates, the official
I ear Noose and throat Care provider of your Charlotte Hornets.
Rob Longo with you on a silver linings edition of
the AHHC Hornets fall in Toronto on Friday one O
eight to ninety seven, and Charlotte did not get some
very good news on the injury front either. We will
(00:35):
touch on that here in just a moment. We'll break
this game down for you as well, and we're also
gonna double dip a little bit here as the Hornets
are out traveling this weekend. We will get you your
game preview for the Hornets taken on the New Orleans
Pelicans on Sunday down in the Bayou and helping me
out with all these topics on today's episode here of
the Hornet Podcast it's the one and only lead writer
(00:56):
of Hornets dot Com, Samparli and Sam. Let's start with
the unfortunate news that unfold late on Friday, right before
the Hornets we're about to take the hardwood against the
Toronto Raptors north of the border, and that is that
LaMelo Ball will be out for the remaining now nine
games of the season. He will undergo Arthur scoptic surgery
to address a right ankle impingement, and he will also
(01:16):
have a minor procedure done on his right wrist as well.
He will be listed out for the remainder of the season.
He's expected to make a full recovery and will have
a complete offseason regiment of work, looking at about a
four to six week recovery before he returns to basketball activities.
So again, unfortunately news here for the Hornets and LaMelo Ball.
As LaMelo has been basically the Cogana machine here for
(01:39):
the Hornets ever since he was drafted third overall several
seasons ago. But this one really hurts here this season
for Charlotte just because he's been in and out of
the lineup dealing with some other injuries and hopefully this
is gonna be something that will alleviate those injuries in
the future. But Charlotte now two to twenty four without
LaMelo Ball this season after the loss in Toronto yesterday,
and again, it's kind of one of those things where
(02:00):
you just hope that everything is able to go well
and he's back in no time. And I'm sure you
will because LaMelo is always one of those guys to
really attack his rehab process and his return to play programs.
But again, just wanted to give everybody an update on
the LaMelo Ball situation and see what's in store for
the remaining now nine games for this Hornets team without
LaMelo Ball the rest of the way.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Yeah, you said it. Obviously unfortunate because it's kind of
been some of these things have been a little nagging
all year with LaMelo Ball. He's been in that of
a lineup. And where the Hornets are at this point
of the season ten games to go, they've obviously been
eliminated from playoff contention. The most logical thing to do is,
you know, if you need not only to not play injured,
but if you need stuff to get repaired surgically or whatnot,
(02:40):
to make sure that's taken care of because you want
as much off season as possible to rehab, train, get better,
et cetera. So, like you said, it's tough because you know, again,
I know the Hornets are not necessarily playing for a
playoff berth at this point. You know, they were eliminated officially,
I think last week or so, but you know, you
still want to see everybody kind of finished this season together.
(03:00):
And I'm sure it's obviously frustrating for LaMelo Ball, this
being the third straight year that he's had to kind
of end the season prematurely, although this one is a
lot closer to the finish line than the previous two.
But you know, I guess a little bit of a
silver lining, which we are known to talk about on
this show. You know, we'll give more opportunities at that
lead ball handling spot for guys like kJ Simpson, Nick Smith,
(03:20):
Miles Bridges, some of those guys. And I'm looking forward,
in particular to kJ Simpson kind of seeing what he
can do with a big opportunity heading down the home
stretch here.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Yeah, you kind of segued that perfectly into what I
was going to talk about here. But LaMelo Ball, by
the way, now that he's done with his fifth season
twenty five point two points per game on average. That's
a new career high, averaged almost seven and a half
the cists per contest, a little bit over a steal
per game, made close to almost four made threes per
contest as well, So definitely a big blow just offensively,
(03:49):
and not only offensively, but I think defensively as well
here for the Hornets, who you saw a lot of
defensive growth I thought from LaMelo Ball here this season
as well. But again you already kind of touched on it.
But something that we've talked about here a lot over
the last now three seasons, unfortunately, is the fact that
it's had to be kind of that next man up
mentality here for Charlotte, and one person's injury is another
(04:11):
person's opportunity. As bad as it sounds, it's reality the situation.
So you touched on a couple of the people that
this might really impact the most. kJ Simpson, Nick Smith
Junior are a couple of the guys that have some
opportunities here moving forward. But again, all in all, it
feels like this is kind of wide open in a
sense for not only the final now nine games of
this season, but also for the future as well, going
(04:33):
into this offseason, going into the summer with some momentum
and figure out what you need to work on that
kind of stuff like that too. And we don't know
what this roster is going to look like six months
from now, whenever the Hornets are getting ready to start
off the twenty twenty five to twenty six campaign. There
could be a lot of turnover, There could be some
open spots for some playing time. So this is a
little bit of an audition as well for some of
these younger guys for maybe next season, in addition to
(04:56):
all of these opportunities that they have right now.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
Most certainly and you know, just one more you know
kind of thing on Lamellow right now. It's you know,
these are what has been described as fairly minor procedures.
I don't think this is anything within the realm close
to the fractured ankle he had to deal with a
couple of years ago that really took up a lot
of his off season in terms of rehabbing. And you know,
that's I think something that kind of gets overlooked maybe
(05:21):
in these situations as oh, you know, guys, hurt goes
into the summer. You know it'll be good as new
when he comes back in the fall. But you know,
you only have so much. You know, again, you got
to give your body a little bit of a break,
and you know you don't want to be using some
of those months just to get back to where you
were necessarily in order to you know, you always want
to be improving on your game and getting better during
the off season, so you come back in the next
(05:42):
year with improvements, playing better, a better shot this or that.
So getting this done now just makes all the sense
in the world from a timing issue, and that way,
you don't have a situation where you know you're playing
through it, you make it worse, or you know you're
waiting till the end of the season and then you're
you know, sacrificing a few more weeks into the off
season when now you're rehab being instead of you know
kind of you know, getting back to or being your
(06:03):
normal self. So again, it's unfortunate. I think it's just
kind of it's unfortunate because it's a situation where it's
you know, the Hornets, you know, aren't contending for a
playoff berth and kind of just yeah, just again with
where the Hornets are at right now, this is a
logical sense, logical move. You don't want to do anything
that's going to jeopardize LaMelo Ball's future risk. And you
also don't want to put him out there if he's
not at one hundred percent because you know that can
(06:25):
take a toll on the rest of the team and
the teammates too. So again, I mean, the ward we
keep repeating is unfortunate, and you know this is the
smart move and hopefully it's going to be for the
best long term. I'm for sure.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Once getting LaMelo Ball out for the remainder of the
season due to some arthroscopic surgery, he will undergo to
address a right ankle impingement, and he will also have
a minor procedure on his right wrist as well, and
he will be back to full basketball activity within four
to six weeks. Any important updates as they are provided
from Hornets pr here on Hornets Iive Cast as well.
(06:56):
But we also have to talk about a game yesterday
Hornets fall in Toronto last night one oh eight to
ninety seven. We will discuss that game and provide you
with our silver lining selections next here on a Hornets.
I've cast it's a silver Linings episode of the HHC.
Rob Longo and the lead Rider Hornets dot Com Sam
Parley with you after the Hornets fall in Toronto one
(07:17):
oh eight to ninety seven, Now eighteen and fifty five
on the season. Are the Hornets even in the season
series one game each against the Toronto Raptors, and the
rubber match of that contest or of that season series
will be coming up here in a couple of weeks
time down the home stretches. It will be part of
the final road trip of the season for Charlotte. But
Hornets fall one O eight to ninety seven in the
(07:38):
contest yesterday. A couple of the numbers that stand out
for me in this one yesterday, Sam Parley. The big
one was the turnover. Charlotte turned the ball over eighteen times.
It resulted in nineteen Raptors points. The good news for
Charlotte is they took advantage of Toronto's miscues, but the
Raptors only turned the ball over six times. It resulted
in twelve points for Charlotte off of those six turnovers,
so they were able to take advantage for basically every
(07:59):
single one. But the problem is the turnover ratio was
three to one in favor of Toronto. They were able
to take care of the basketball a little bit better.
Yacapurtle had a big game twenty four points twelve rebounds
on the other side for the Raptors, team high eighteen
points from Mark Williams, twelve rebounds, five assists, as well
as four out of the five starters reach double figures
for Charlotte. So the Hornets got some contributions up and
(08:20):
down the lineup, but at the end of the game,
it just felt like the Hornets shooting percentage wasn't the
great around forty forty one percent, only shot twenty nine
percent from three as well. Raptors were around forty four
percent from the field and about thirty two percent from three,
so they ended up making five extra three pointers compared
to what the Hornets did at nine to thirty one
from beyond the arc. And again, little things like that
(08:40):
are gonna make up the difference in what ended up
being a eleven point loss for Charlotte last night.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Turnovers, you know, you have eighteen turnovers, obviously not great.
You want that number to be. I think anything under
fifteen is pretty manageable. Eighteen, you know, you can get
away with the biggest problem was the turnover differential. When
you're only forcing six on the other end, that makes
it had eighteen the plus twelve or I guess minus twelve.
The way you look at it this way, from New Orleans,
(09:06):
New Orleans for Toronto in the I'm already looking ahead
to the next game. You know, that's what makes it
a big difference. You know, it's the possession game. You
just want to look at the shots. And I think
in that first quarter Toronto already had nine nine extra
field goal attempts. They had four six turnovers. I mean,
you couple with how good they are on the offensive glass.
They had six offensive rebounds in the first quarter. I
thought that area was cleaned up very nicely for the
(09:29):
rest of the game after the first quarter. The Hornets
only game up five more offensive rebounds from the second
quarter on after giving up six in the first quarter.
So I thought that was a really good area that
you know, was initially a little rough coming out of
the gates, and they improved on as the game got over,
as the game you know went on. But yeah, the turnovers,
and I think again it's you know, when you don't
have LaMelo Ball, and you're playing a little bit of
(09:50):
point guard by committee. There's kJ Simpson who I thought
did really well, Miles Bridges is handling the ball from
Nick Smith. I mean the Raptors defense too, I think
it kind of flies under the radar. Was kind of surprised,
but the first in the NBA and defense since the
All Star Break, I mean, they are really good. They're
very active. I really like the addition of Jamal Sheed,
who was defensive Player of the Year at Houston when
(10:11):
he was in college. I mean, they just got a
lot of guys and can get their hands on the ball,
deflecting passes, causing miscommunications. They swipe down on a lot
of holding on to the basketball without fouling. I mean,
they're just very difficult to play against. And I just
haven't watched a whole lot of the Raptors since really
the last time the Hornets played him, but was really
impressed on how good they were defensively. So you kind
(10:31):
of take that and couple it in with not having
LaMelo ball and some of the figuring it out on
the fly element of it, and it just it made
for a tough night for the offense.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Again, Hornets fall in Toronto on Friday one, eight to
ninety seven. In additional LaMelo Ball not being available, Damian
Boss still with the G League Swarm team. Josh Akogi
was out due to some injury management. Toronto is not
playing with a full deck of cards either. Ojai Abaji
and Rgie Barrow was out due to rest, which I
kind of made this joke in jest at the halftime
show on the broadcast, But I don't know what they're
(11:02):
resting for a trip to cam Koon or something like that,
because again, it's not completely over for Toronto. The Raptors
still have an opportunity to get the ten spot in
the playing tournament. But it's just a weird time to
rest somebody when there's only a handful of games left.
But I digress. Brandon Ingram had an ankle injury. Grady
Dick did not play in this one either do some
knee issues as well. So again, neither team playing with
(11:22):
a full deck of cards going into this one. But
the guys that were out there on the floor definitely
made some impacts. Mark Williams had a double double. Tjon
Salon had a double double as well. kJ Simpson fourteen points.
Miles Bridges. It took him a while to get there,
but he got the double figures with eleven points to
Kwan Jeffers very efficient nights six to nine shooting from
the field with fifteen points as well. So just a
couple of the candidates here for our silver lining selections
(11:45):
after this one O eight to ninety seven loss in Toronto,
Sampelli as the guest of honor, I will let you
go first. Who's your silver lining selection?
Speaker 3 (11:51):
My silver lining selection is Tjon Salon twelve points, fourteen rebounds.
That was a career high. It's the second ever NBA
double double shot. Five of eight from the field, got
to the line a couple of times or three times,
two of three from the line, had five offensive boards,
also had an assist and just one turnover and just
one foul, and you know, was minus two in a
(12:15):
eleven point loss. I mean again, you know, we look
at T John's you know numbers right now, I know
the efficiency is kind of a little bit overall. He's
not taking a ton of shots during the games right now.
Eight was probably kind of higher than he has been
in the last few But I think he's taking the
right shots. I know it doesn't always look the prettiest
out there, but it's all the rawness is starting to
(12:35):
kind of smoothen out a little bit. You're seeing some
of the flashes. It's not perfect on every possession defensively, offensively,
but he's got the motor, he's got the energy. You know.
The ball handling is getting a little bit better. The
driving is getting a little bit better. He's using his
size to get to the rim more and he's he's
drawing more fouls, which is good. You know, the three
point shooting, I think again, I think we'll get better
(12:55):
over time, you know, get a little bit quicker. But
one play that really impressed me during this game in
particular was I think kJ Simpson had a steal at
mid court and took it the other way and either
got blocked at the rim or missed the layup, and
t Jon was just trailing him as fast as he
could go and got the offensive rebound off the one
on one breakaway and ended up giving the Hornets in
(13:17):
an extra possession. And you know, I can't remember if
they scored on that one, but just you know, little
things like that, you know, even if it looks like
kJ has a breakaway, makeable layup, finish the possession, be
there just in case he misses or something happens, and
Tijon was so just little things like that are starting
to stand out for me about him. And you know,
again just this was another really solid performance from the rookie.
Speaker 4 (13:36):
Bridges off the screen from Nurkic to Nick Smith Junior
for three off the back iron rebound, t Jon Salon
puts it back up and in and a time out
taken by Toronto. A career night right now for t
Jon Salon. He's got twelve points as well as a
career high twelve rebounds.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
I'll completely agree with you. I thought t Joon was
great in the game yesterday. Twenty four minutes, twelve points,
fourteen rebounds, five of eight from the field, two for
three at the free throw line. You know, didn't have
a ton of assists or blocks or steals or anything
like that, but I think his length out there is
just enough to really help out defensively. And again, he's
nineteen years old. He's still gonna be one of the
youngest people in the association next season as well when
(14:18):
he barely turns twenty. So he's still very wry, still
trying to grow into his body a little bit. Kind
of gives you some baby deer vibes a little bit
sometimes when he's trying to bring the ball up the
floor or something like that, and again it's just him
trying to get a little bit more comfortable, get acclimated.
I mean, I don't know what you were doing at
the age of nineteen, Sam, but I was definitely not
anywhere close to trying to compete with some of these
guys on a nightly basis in the NBA. I'm sure
(14:41):
being six nine certainly helps the cause there, but again
can't relate to that either. So you know, it's one
of those things where Tjan's is gonna have to take
some time and develop. And again, coming to a new league,
coming to a new country, coming to a new culture,
all of those things certainly make up some instances where
you kind of have to understand and provide a little
bit of here because it's gonna take some time. Donasantaka
(15:02):
Kupa wasn't a great success overnight either, So again it
just is one of those things where you just have
to have a little bit of patience here with t Jon.
But I think now that you're getting almost a full
season under his belt, You're starting to see a little
bit of the fruits of those labors. So definitely t
John Salona a great silver lining selection for me. I'm
gonna go with the man in the middle. That's Mark Williams.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
Having with kJ Simpson. He draws the double team inside.
It's Mark Williams. Followay jumper good with points, stepping on
the clock. Couple of mid range jumpers from Mark Williams,
showing off a little added depth to that jumper.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
Mark Williams had the final six points of the contest
for the Hornets yesterday and ended up getting him to
a team high eighteen points. He added twelve rebounds, five assists.
He was perfect from the field nine for nine, did
not go to the free throw line. But the interesting
thing with Mark two is that he had a little
bit of range in his game yesterday. Hit a fadeaway
jumper you heard there late in the second quarter, gave
(15:55):
the Hornets a two point deficit instead of four going
into the locker room. So again, it wasn't all just
dunks at the rim from Mark, which is what the
last six points of the game were for Mark Williams.
But again it was just people finding him in the
lane and he was able to clean up a couple
of offensive rebounds as well. But Mark's starting to show
a little bit of maturity to his game, a little
bit different shot selection and starting to find a little
(16:16):
bit of range. I don't know if we're going to
see a three point shot from Mark Williams here in
these final nine games, but he's starting to kind of
branch out a little bit further away from the rims.
So really cool to see Mark Williams get that under
his belt a little bit and just have some more
opportunities here to get into his bag of tricks a
little bit here offensively. And Mark Williams definitely my silver
lying selection from the game yesterday. One more segment to
(16:38):
go on this episode of the HORNETSOB Cast, we're gonna
preview Charlotte's upcoming game on Sunday against New Orleans Pelicans.
Game preview comes to you right after this here on
the Hornetsive Cast. It's also a game day edition of
the HHC maybe depending on when you're listening to this podcast.
Rob Longo and Sam Purley previewing the Hornets and Pelicans
(16:59):
coming up on a Sunday, So if it's Saturday, we're
getting to a day early for your game preview against
the Pelicans. If it's Sunday, well you found your game
day edition here of the AGHC Hornets taken on the
Pelicans here Sunday down in the Bayo. A little bit
of a primer going into this one. Hornets got their
largest win to the season back in January, at the
high of a one to twenty three to ninety two
(17:20):
win over New Orleans. Five Hornets reached double figures. LaMelo
Ball had a team high twenty five points to go
along with five rebounds in seven assists. I On Williamson
did it go for a game high twenty eight for
the Pelicans, but Charlotte's bench out score New Orleans by
a final tally of fifty two to thirteen. Pelicans have
been up and down this season now four and ten.
In the month of March. Did have a win against
(17:42):
Philadelphia on Monday, but going back to Friday's game, lost
one eleven to ninety five at home against the Golden
State Warriors. Steph Curry had twenty three points that ended
up being a game high. Bruce Brown had a team
high eighteen for the Pelicans and New Orleans is kind
of a little bit of the walking wounded right now.
They've had some issues here over the course of the
last couple of weeks, a lot of season ending injuries.
(18:03):
Trey Murphy has a torn labor and he's done for
the year. Dejontay Murray ruptured his achilles Herb Jones has
a torn rotator cuff. He's out for the year as
well as Ilond Williamson did miss Friday's game with a
lower back contusion, and Brandon Boston had a left ankle
injury as well as CJ. McCollum did not play Friday
against the Warriors due to a right foot contusion. So
(18:23):
we'll see what McCollum and williamson status are here for
Sunday against the Hornets. But Sam, you know how these
things work. We need a Hornet player to watch, a
stat to watch, and a Pelican player to watch. Where
would you like to begin.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
My Hornet player to watch is going to be rookie
kJ Simpson talked on him a little bit in some
previous segments here got the start, presumably with no LaMelo
ball for the rest of the season. I'm sure he
will get a lot of playing time and probably a
handful of more starts as well. I love the confidence
he's playing with right now, and even going back to
his draft draft night, he just oozed confidence and intensity
(18:58):
and competitiveness. And it's been kind of a strange year
for him, just rookie wise. I mean, he was, you know,
he was you know, in the rotation for a little bit,
and then he goes stretches of not playing and he's
in the G League and now he's starting, and it
hasn't been a gradual trajectory by any means, just because
of injuries and such. But I love the way he's
playing and I love the way he competes on both ends.
I mean, I think you wouldn't expect necessarily a guard
(19:21):
of his size to be as impactful and the defensive
end as he is, and he is just he makes
things very, very difficult for opposing ball handlers. And you know,
even at times where he gets switched on to bigger
matchups and things like that, I mean, he can hold
his own. And you know, the three point shooting against
Toronto is three to five from three point that tied
(19:44):
a career high for threes finished with fourteen points, five
to eleven from the field, got to the line a
couple of times, you know, had five fouls I think,
get some early foul troubles, so that kind of threw
off the rotations just a little bit. But overall, really
impressive game against a Raptors team that defensively is firing
out on all cylinders right now. So I'm excited to
kind of see kJ with a little bit more. I mean,
(20:06):
he's going to get a lot of playing time down
the stretch here, obviously probably starting in New Orleans for sure.
I like watching him play. I love watching him play
on both sides, and he's a guy that just want
to keep seeing how much he's developed as his rookie
season kind of comes to a close here.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
It's a good pick. There was a point in the
game against the Pelicans on Friday where I forget who
he was going up against, but it was a jump
ball situation. Definitely undersized and the jump ball, but then
he was able to sneak in and kind of steal
the possession away. I don't know if the Hornets scored
off of him, but it just kind of embodies in
that moment. I thought the Muggsy Bogue saying of hard
over height a little bit, and kJ is always going
(20:39):
to be one of the guys that's a little undersized
at the guard position and there's not much you can
do about that, obviously, But you know, kJ, I think
has an opportunity here to really step up and show
what he's made of here, especially on a two way contract.
I mean, he's looking for a full time deal. We'll
see what transpires in the offseason as well. He still
has some things that he needs to work on, but
kJ Simpson definitely a very solid pick in this one going.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
Up against the Pelicans.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
For me, I'm gonna go with Miles Bridges. I think
it's safe to say that Miles is in a little
bit of a slump. And again, I mean, he's been
an iron man this entire season for the Hornets, and
he had a little bit of a rough go of
it against the Raptors on Friday. He finishes with eleven points,
but it took him a long time to get there.
He was four of twenty from the field and just
one for nine from three. Did have six assists and
(21:22):
four rebounds, so he was able to impact the game
in other ways. He started the game zero for seven
from the floor in the first half. He only had
two points at halftime, they were both off of free throws.
And then I remember he came out and he hit
a corner three to start off the third quarter, and
you're thinking, Okay, this is where Miles is gonna get going.
And unfortunately that was the only three that he made
in the contest on Friday in Toronto. But if you
(21:43):
go back and you look at his last six games again,
Miles is the guy that averages close to twenty one
points per contest. He's only reached twenty points or more
in one of the last six games that he's appeared
in now for Charlotte, So I think that it's safe
to say that, you know, maybe the tank is starting
to run a little. I know he did have that
one day where he was inactive against Atlanta back in
(22:04):
the middle of March where the Hornets are coming off
a four game road trip and coming back from LA
and he did sit dude to rest and just trying
to get his feet back under him. But he's been
playing heavy minutes, so certainly makes sense about why the
production isn't as high as it has been at other
points in the season, but I would like to see
Miles Bridges start to get back into that form that
we've seen all season long from him here for the Hornets.
(22:25):
So with that said, we need a Pelicans player to watch,
which might be a little tricky because of the injury report.
We also need a stat to watch. Where would you
like to go next?
Speaker 3 (22:32):
My Pelicans player to watch is going to be the
rookie center from Baylor, Eve Mesi. Amongst all of the Pelicans'
injury situations, he has stayed remarkably healthy this yeraries played
sixty seven games, which I'm sure is pretty high up
amongst rookies, averaging almost nine points, eight rebounds, one point
(22:52):
three assists, and shooting fifty five percent in the field,
which is probably a little low for a center, but again,
he's a rookie. Been thoroughly impressed, you know, with the
way he's played this year. Late eighteen nineteenth pick overall
something like that. Very nice fine by the publicans Again,
I know it's you know, it's been kind of a
very tough year for them with all the injuries and
some particularly serious ones as well, but Mesies has been
(23:16):
a nice fine for them, big body, physical, player. You know,
the efficiency is probably a little low, but you know,
he's a guy that you know, if you get it
to him in the paint, he can create separation and
you know, power his way to the rim. You know,
I think the Hornets have had some flashes where they've
done really well kind of holding their own in the paint. Again,
some of the size issues and depending on when they're playing,
(23:37):
and foul troubles and this and now you saw that
a little bit in the Orlando game earlier this week.
You know, I think things were a little too easy
at times for Yaka Pearl in this Toronto game. You know,
he had a big night twelve or fourteen and felt
like a lot of uncontested layups, a lot of you know,
dunks off pick and rolls where there's miscommunications and things
like that. You know, like you said, New Orleans is
very shorthanded. You know, me, SI's a guy that they
(23:59):
could look to run some actions through. So when it's
got to tighten up that paint a little bit, don't
let him get too comfortable and get a lot of
these easy buckets underneath the rim like they did at
times with Perl in this Toronto game. So eve mecI
again and coming off that Golden State game, sixteen points
on six to seven shooting and only twenty five minutes
and he was had nine rebounds and two assists. One
(24:20):
thing of note, not a three point shooter at all,
So he will not be kind of taking guys away
from the basket like some of these other big men.
He's only attempted one to three this year and it
did not go in. So Mesi is my Pelican to watch.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
Yeah, this is a little bit of a tough one
to navigate here, because again there's a lot of injuries
on the other side for the Pelicans. I'm gonna go
really off the beaten path here and I'm gonna take
Kelly Olinok. Kelly Olynnock was not even on this roster
to start off the season, was kind of a forgotten
I don't want to say, throwing in the Brandon Ingram
trade that sent Bi to Toronto and he ended up coming.
(24:54):
Kelly Olynok that is coming to New Orleans and ever
since he's been there, he's played a pretty solid amount.
He's still his own. He played forty total games this season,
and we're getting down to the nitty gritty of things
a little bit here, but in the last month or so,
with all these injuries, Olynic's been a starter for the Pelicans,
so it's been a little bit of an interesting fine.
He did not have a very good game by any
stretch of the imagination. Against Golden State. He was OH
(25:16):
for seven from the field, oh for two beyond the
Yorky finishes, with six points. All of them came at
the free throw line, so he was perfect at the
charity stripe in that sense, had six rebounds as well
two steals. He ended up fouling out of the contest,
still played twenty nine minutes, but it did break a
streak of him having four straight games and double figures
because he only finished with six obviously, So again, I
just always go back to I want to say it
(25:38):
was when he was with Detroit, he had a buzzer
beater to beat the Hornets at home, and it just
always felt like Kelly Olynock was a little bit of
a Hornet killer. So maybe it's my PTSD kicking in.
I don't know what it is, but I'm just going
to keep an eye on Kelly A. Linock here for
the Hornets and Pelicans game on Sunday and hoping that
he doesn't have any repeat history there in that sense
where he's able to pop off and have a big
game heor hit a buzzer beat or anything like that
(26:00):
against the Hornets. So I'm going to go with Kelly Olynnox.
So again not to open up any old previous now
healed wounds, but I think that it's an interesting find
there in terms of a Pelicans player to watch amongst
all of their inactives and their injuries right now and
trying to navigate who's in and who's out for New Orleans.
So that just leads us with a statistic to watch.
What's the number you're keeping an eye on, Sam.
Speaker 3 (26:19):
Yeah, it's topic we talked a little bit coming off
of this Toronto game. It's the turnovers. Since the All
Star Break, the Pelicans are twenty seventh in turnover percentage
going into the All Star Break, that were seventeenth, So
they've certainly taken a little bit of a dip in
this area. Again, injuries have I probably played a major
major part in that. Again, the Hornets are going to
(26:41):
have their issues with turnovers and you don't have your
you know, your your point guard and you don't have
Brandon Miller and all these guys that were kind of
their their primary ballhanders, I mean, LaMelo, Brandon, train Man.
You know, you haven't had them for you, at least
Tray and Brandon for quite a while. I mean, it's
there's limitations with you know, how much ballhandling you can
have on the court at once. But I think one
(27:01):
thing that would really help them is finding way to
create some more turnovers and close that gap so it's
not a twelve or thirteen fourteen turnover differential like it
was in this Toronto game. Right now, looking at the
point guard situation from New Orleans, they're down to Jose Alvarado.
Doesn't look like they have CG. McCollum, Zion's been out,
and after Jose Alvarado it's Jordan Hawkins and Elford Payton
(27:23):
is also now back with the Pelicans for a second
time this year after spending some time with the Hornets
in January, so they're kind of in a similar situation,
kind of kind of figure out the point guard situation
on the fly, kind of heading down the home stretch here.
So turnovers is something I'm definitely watching. I want to
see the Hornets keep it fifteen or lower will be
obviously a great number considering the circumstances, and see if
you can kind of generate some extra possessions on the
(27:43):
defensive end.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
In a similar vein, I'm going to look at the
fast breakpoints because most of the time fast break opportunities
lead to turnovers. There's a couple of times we're able
to get some runouts and that sort of stuff, maybe
on some rebounds, But I mean, the fast breakpoints is
an interesting stat because the Hornets don't do a great
job scoring off of fast break points. I mean, they
just don't have that many opportunities. I don't think they're
(28:05):
next to last in the association when it comes to
fast break points per contest, around twelve. Now on the
other side of New Orleans, they're top ten team when
it comes to fast break points. They get close to
sixteen seventeen points off of those fast breaks per contest.
So that's a pretty big disparity, and paired with all
of the turnovers, like you mentioned, that could be a
little bit of a recipe for disaster here for Charlotte,
(28:26):
if they turn a ball over a lot, If the
Pelicans are able to get out and run that's something
to really keep an eye on here as the Hornets
take on the New Orleans Pelicans should be an interesting one.
It will be the first night of a back to
back as well. For Charlotte. Hornets will return home Monday
to take on the Utah Jazz on the second end
of a back to back, and of course we will
have your game preview in a game recap of this
one on Monday's episode of the Hornets Ive Cast. Sampurli,
(28:49):
lead writer of Hornets dot com, thank you as always,
can't wait to read the recaps of these next couple games.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
Of course, thank you for having me, and.
Speaker 2 (28:55):
Thanks to all of you for tuning in as well,
for sam Perli and rob Logos saying so long. We
will reb and preview the next name here for the
Hornets on tomorrow's edition of the HHC.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
Thank you for listening to the Hornets Podcast, brought to
you by Santa, the official i ere nosen throadcare provider
of the Charlotte Hornets. For more coverage, visit Hornets dot com.
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Sam Farber
Rob Longo
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