March 30, 2024 • 27 mins
The Hornets couldn't build off their win at home against Cleveland, as Charlotte fell to Golden State 115-97. Sam Farber and Rob Longo break down the game and their silver-lining performances, and the two also discuss the impressive numbers that Brandon Miller continues to put up, and also touch on the recent news of LaMelo Ball being ruled out for the remainder of the season.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to the Hornetshivecast, presented by Charlotte I ear Nosen
Throat Associates, the official I ear nosen Throatcare provider of
the Charlotte Hornets. Here's your host, Sam Farber.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Welcome to another edition of the Hornets.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
I've cast your Hornets podcast with all the notes quote
san daily buzz around your favorite NBA team. I'm Sam
Farber and it is a pleasure and a privileged to
have you with us here once again on the Hornet's
iove Cast, brought to you by Santa Charlotte, I Hear
Nose and Throat Associates, the official I ear nosen Throatcare
provider of the Charlotte Hornets. It's a silver Linings edition
of the HHC. Hornets fell last night to the Golden
(00:37):
State Warriors. Packed house, sellout crowd at Spectrum Center saw
Charlotte come up short. One fifteen to ninety seven was
the final score. We'll break it down, give you our
silver Lining selections, talk about some new statistical accomplishments for
the rookie wonder Kind Brandon Miller, and unfortunate news from
LaMelo Ball or from the Hornets regarding LaMelo Ball.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
He will be shut down for the remainder of the year.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
We'll discuss all these topics with my producer on the
Hornets Radio Network, as well as the producer this fine podcast.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Rob Longo, here with us once again. Rob. Good to
see is always.
Speaker 4 (01:09):
Yeah, seeing a lot of you lately with this eight
game homestand which has again been pretty rare. But happy
to see your smiling face.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Despite the silver linings performance from the Hornets, It's great
to be home, great atmosphere at Spectrum Center. Fan base
for Charlotte it's second to none. They deserve the rewards
of a postseason series. I feel it come into my bones.
Hopefully next season is the season. But unfortunately this season
saw another loss added to the total eighteen and fifty
five the Hornet record after a one to fifteen ninety
(01:39):
seven defeet. Really this game, it lacked a little bit
of rhythm. Quite frankly, neither team shot it well in
the first half. There wasn't exactly an overwhelming level of
play per se from Golden State. It just Charlotte didn't
shoot the ball well at all, forty percent from the floor,
only twenty six percent from three, and Golden State was
efficient enough and effective enough to just kind of keep
(02:00):
doing what they were doing. It felt like big stack poker.
They didn't necessarily play some amazing hand. They just leaned
on the small stacks until they tipped over and collected
the winnings. It's a good analogy. I wish I would
have that luck whenever I played poker. But yeah, I
mean this one kind of felt like, I don't want
to say death by a thousand paper cuts, but certainly
the points in the paint made a big difference. It
felt like in this one, obviously sixty four to thirty eight,
(02:22):
that advantage went to Golden State. It wasn't this big
dominating paint presence. It was backdoor cuts. It was getting
the second man open, playing toward the week's side. All
of those different things worked out in favor of Golden State.
I mean, especially in that third quarter. I mean they
ended up going sixteen to twenty four from the field
in a third quarter alone, and I want to say, maybe,
I don't know, twelve of those, off the top of
(02:42):
my head, were points inside the paint or field goal
attemps inside the paint, where it was just easy buckets,
And it just felt like, no matter what the Hornets
could do defensively, there was just something always open in
the paint. And it feels like especially too, when you
play a team like Golden State, you kind of have
to live with one or the other. It's kind of
like a picker poison situation where you have one of
the greatest shooters of all time, if not the greatest
shooter of all time in Steph Curry. Do you want
(03:05):
him to beat you from beyond the arc or do
you want to try to run him off the three
point line and have the rest of the team beat
you in Unfortunately, it was kind of both last night
for the Hornets, where Steph had twenty three and the
Warriors didn't shoot the ball well. But again, it doesn't
matter when you shoot thirty four to thirty five percent
from beyond the arc when you have sixty four points
in a paint. So that was definitely obviously the biggest
(03:26):
issue for the Hornets last night defensively, one fifteen to
ninety seven the final score Warriors defeating your Charlotte Hornets.
Let's look at this game from the defensive standpoint. First, Charlotte,
as you mentioned, trying to slow down Steph Curry, who
finished with the game high twenty three points, not his
greatest shooting effort of the season, nine of eighteen solid
from the floor, four of eleven solid from three, but
(03:50):
just his presence out there on the floor thirty two minutes,
zero turnovers, orchestrating that offense beautifully. And I like what
you said there about the death by a thousand paper kits.
They might not have been paper, but there were a
lot of cuts by Golden State, something Horned's head coach
Steve Clifford referenced after the game.
Speaker 5 (04:04):
I think the cutting baskets like they're about I'd say
about two and a half minutes maybe in the first
quarter where they really took us apart with the cuts,
and then the third quarter they ripped us apart. You know,
and if you're not disciplined with them, that's where they're
so unique. You know, they're great without the ball.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
You look at the box score for Golden State and again,
you know, Steph Curree had a good game, Andrew Wiggins
had a good game. But you see these scoring efforts
from guys that are are not ordinarily putting up points
to this level. You've got Trace Jackson Davis, the rookie
out of Indiana who almost had a career high as
best as nineteen. He finished with eighteen points, eight rebounds.
He looked dominant at times out there for the Golden
(04:42):
State Warriors as a small ball center. Chris Paul eleven points.
Obviously we've seen him score a lot more than that
throughout his career, but at this stage is nineteen season,
that's above his season average, which is normally nine per game.
And then Moses Moody came off the bench and added
in fifteen. He's another guy who only averages about eight
game on the season, so that that back cutting that
(05:02):
distributing the ball, sharing the wealth. Thirty five assists for
the Golden State Warriors, helping them to the win. Offensively,
Charlotte had a really good game Wednesday against Cleveland. Did
not have a very good game at all against the
Golden State Warriors, shooting collectively forty percent from the floor
twenty six percent from three miles. Bridges addressed the offensive
(05:23):
ailment for the Hornets after the game.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
No, we just can't make shots. I couldn't make it
three to save my life. We just couldn't make shots
that we usually make. So just got to get in gym,
put up shots.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
You know, I think he's got the right diagnosis on
how to fix it. Just go out there, continue to
work on your game, get better. That's what every player
has to do every single day to keep their role
or improve their lot in the NBA. I do think
looking at the box score, this is an interesting thing
about basketball. There's a way a game can feel rob
and then there's what the stats actually tell you. It
felt like Steph Curry had this awesome shooting game compared
(05:55):
to everyone else, and Brandon Miller clearly struggled because he
missed his first seven shots from the floor. Eventually, you know,
rounded out, he made five of his last eight from
the field. But you look at the pox score and
it's the power of one shot. If Brandon Miller had
made one more three, he's three for eight. It looks
like a strong shooting effort from beyond the ark. If
Stephan Curry made one less three, he's three for eleven.
Now you're in the twenties forer percentage by his standard,
(06:18):
which is the greatest shooter of all time. That's a
bad shooting day, But one shot going this way or
that can change the whole trajectory or at least a
feel of a game. And last night a poor shooting
day for Charlotte and a good shooting day relatively speaking
for Golden State.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
And not that it made a difference at the end
of the day. But you go back to the end
of the second quarter, Hornets were down two, looked like
they were going to go down one possession going into
the locker room. Steph Curry doing Steph Curry things, comes
off a screen, hits a three right as time expires
to make it fifty to forty five Golden State going
into the locker room. So there's that three pointer that
you're talking about that Steph made. That could have been
(06:54):
a miss, but either way it probably wouldn't have made
a difference at that point. But instead of being down
five going into the third quarter, you're thinking, Okay, we're
only down two, this is no big deal, and ends
up being two possessions. And again that third quarter just
ended up being a killer there for the Hornets. Say
a lot a twenty one seven run there. They got
outscored thirty nine to twenty six, and the quarter Steph
(07:15):
had twelve of his twenty three in that frame as well.
You can go on and on, but again, just one
more shot maybe gives you a little bit more momentum
going into the locker room. I know I'm nitpicking here,
I'm maybe grasping at straws, but just another example of
how one shot can really change the outcome of a game,
even if it's at the end of the first half.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
Seeing Curry, it was special, even if it wasn't necessarily
a special scoring effort by his standard. It was fun
to watch him warm up, play, see the crowd react
to him. One of Charlotte's favorite sons. Coming back home.
It's always special in the Queen City, and he did
put on a show. He hit that one at the
end of the half. He had one of these trademark
threes where he took the shot turn and faced the
(07:52):
crowd as the ball was still mid flight.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
Before it even went through the cylinder. He is an entertainer.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
He has an exceptional player, one of the best we've
ever seen, and he has truly changed the game. Steph
Curry led the Warriors to the win last night, one
to fifteen to ninety seven. Real quick, let's pick our
silver lining selections from last night's game. Playing it choos
from Brandon Miller ended up knocking down a couple of threes.
Miles bridges a team high twenty two. Six different Hornets
were in double figures. Rob Longo, who did you like
(08:19):
for me?
Speaker 4 (08:20):
I'm gonna go with Vasili Michich. He finishes with ten points,
eight assist. He just goes three to seven from the field,
one for four beyond the arc, but three for fourth
the free throw line. Couple of rebound sprinkled in there,
and again he's playing these heavy point guard minutes right now.
He had two turnovers in the game last night. I
thought he did a pretty good job taking care of
the basketball because Golden State is one of the better
defensive teams and probably one of the more underrated defensive
(08:42):
teams in the entire NBA. And there were a couple
of times where I know he had a pass or
two deflected and it went out of bounce, so it's
technically not a turnover and could have whether the ball
bounced one way or the other. But I thought he
just did a pretty solid job in his starting rolling. Again,
because of the way that the injuries and the absences
have happened this year, I don't know if Vasa was
(09:02):
viewed as a starting point guard coming over at the
trade deadline. I think that was just more of how
it's shaken out here because of injuries to Cody Martin
and La medlal Ball, of course, but what he's done
as a starting point guard here over the last couple
of weeks, I think he's just got really consistent. I
think that has a big reason to do with it,
just because you didn't play a whole lot in Okay see,
(09:23):
and now he's finally starting to get his footing a
little bit here. He's worked on a couple of things,
and he finally has that ability to go out there
and play a lot of minutes and get into that rhythm.
So I think for everything that was not expected of him,
for lack of a better term, coming into Charlotte, he's
done a really good job meeting those expectations and then some,
because let's be honest, we didn't really know what we're
(09:43):
gonna get with Vasa at the trade deadline. Coming in
here in a little bit of a new situation for him,
So I know it's the kind of a cumulative thing.
I know that I might be one of the original
card carrying members of the Vasa Muchets fan club, but
he's definitely my silver lining performance from last night's game.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
Vasa roughly thirteen points too, rebounds six assists per game
in thirteen starts. Now for the Charlotte Hearts, those are
in specifically starts. Hornet's record is only three to ten
in those thirteen starts, but I'm not pinning that at
all on Vasi the other injuries exactly the cumulative effect
of the injuries, but solid numbers certainly for Vasimcic and
(10:18):
a solid selection for silver linings. I am going to
go with a quick cap tip to Miles Bridges got
back north of twenty points. Solid effort from him all
around twenty two points, only one for seven from three,
but had a team high in points with twenty two
and rebounds with nine. I will talk about Brandon Miller
and what he was able to accomplish last night in
our next segment, but my silver lining selection is going
(10:39):
to be Domas Burton's. Bridges throws it to Bertons. Berton's
lets it lose the three little short but it gets
a nice hometown bounce and damas Burton's knocks down another
from distance.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Charlotte down by six.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
Bertons ended up knocking down four to threes in the
first half, finishing with fourteen points. He was the game's
leading scorer at intermission. Unfortunately he didn't score any more.
Also give him the silver Lining selection because of his
toughness he has played. He actually broke his nose in
the game against Cleveland. A fractured nose was the diagnosis,
played through it, played in a mask and shot brilliantly
(11:15):
in the first tap So Davis Bertons with fourteen points
off the bench. Bertons in twenty games now with Charlotte
shooting north of thirty six percent from three. He has
really been a strong addition to this Hornets group and
is putting some good stuff on tape here for the Hornets,
Looking into the future, Hornets Fall the Warriors one fifteen
to ninety seven. We touched on Brandon Miller a sub
(11:39):
his standard shooting effort for him, but he did have
a couple of more milestones met. We're going to talk
about him in our next segment Here on the Hornets.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
I've cast Sam Farbar rob Longo here with you on
the AJHC.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
The Hornet's Side Cast, brought to you by sent Us
Rob the Hornets last night, falling one fifteen to ninety seven.
But it's time for our nightly look at what did
Brandon Miller do and where does it stack up in
the history of the Hornets or the NBA as a whole.
The other day we were looking at his accomplishments against Cleveland,
the seven made threes, a career best for him and
matching the franchise record for most threes in a game
(12:14):
by a rookie, as well as moving past Allen Iverson
and into the top fifteen list for total made threes
in a rookie season. We had a discussion about which
one was more impressive. We said the all time list
was better than just the Hornets franchise record, even though
both were very, very impressive.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
A similar question here for today.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
So Brandon Miller in yesterday's game had twelve points, five
of fifteen, shooting two of eight from three. Again, he
was cold early oh for seven from the floor. Heated
up later five for eight after that point, and finishes
with the respectable total twelve points, getting into double figures
once again before leaving the game a little bit early
with some falls. Let's call we haven't had the full
diagnosis as of the recording this podcast, so we're not
(12:55):
going to speculate too much, but in any case, Brandon
Miller did have a couple of statistical accomplishmentson We're gonna
pick which one's more impressive. So first up, he has
moved now into the top ten for total made threes
in a rookie season. He's up to one hundred and
fifty nine threes in this is Rookie campaign. He has
tied Kyle Kuzma and Rudy Fernandez for ninth all time.
(13:17):
He passed Harry Kittles Blast from the past name. My
old basketball card collecting days had a lot of great
Kittles cards. I'm sure you do too, Rob Longo, you're
a big collector. In any case, Brandon Miller passes him
up and now joins the top ten, which of course
includes Kuzman Fernandez for the moment because they're all tied
for ninth, but also has names.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Like Keegan Murray, Donovan Mitchell, Damian.
Speaker 3 (13:38):
Lillard, Sadiq Bay, Anthony Edwards, Luka Dancic, Landry Shammitt, and
the greatest shooter of all time, Stephan Curry.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
So that's option one. He's now in the top ten list.
Still climbing.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
Option two, Brandon Miller moved into fourth all time in
Hornets franchise history for points in a rookie season. He
passed a Mecca Oka four who had one thy one
hundred five points in his rookie campaign. Miller now with
one one hundred and fifteen, trailing only Rex Chapman, who
he's behind about one hundred and fifty points of it's
possible he could catch him if he plays out the
(14:12):
rest of the season, and he's about four hundred and
fifty points behind Larry Johnson who is in second, and
the all time leader is Alonzo Morning, who scored one thousand,
six hundred and thirty nine points in his rookie season,
some five hundred more than Brandon Miller has to this point.
I don't think he's gonna get there. I don't think
he's going to average fifty a night for the remainder
of the season. But all you need for Brandon Miller
(14:32):
to be inspired is have somebody doubt him. So maybe
we'll put that on tape and watch him go for
fifty a night from here on out. Your choice, Rob Loango,
what's more impressive. He's now top ten for made threes
in a rookie season, or he's now top four for
most points in a rookie year. In Hornet's franchise history.
Speaker 4 (14:46):
It's still the top ten in all made threes throughout
rookies throughout the entirety of the NBA, just because it's
a much larger sample size. And that's not a knock
on Rex, Chapman or LJ. Those guys are great players,
but it's a smaller sample size. Considered that the Hornets
are still a younger franchise at thirty five seasons in
the NBA, so you gotta go with the seventy five
(15:06):
plus years. I guess we're on what you're seventy seven
now of the associations, so over the course of all
of those years, and I know that the three point
line is a little bit more modern, obviously, but just
the list of names and the people that are still
on that list that Brandon can still reach. I think
anytime you're able to crack a top ten all time
list in the entirety of NBA history, for whatever it is,
(15:27):
whether it's threes in a rookie season, threes in a
regular season, whatever it may be. I think that's always
a little bit more impressive because you're going up against
the entirety of the league, just not maybe a handful
of people that played for your team. So that's gonna
be the one that's still more impressive than me, and
probably will be for the entire season. If I'm being honest,
This is tough for me. This is really tough for me.
I'm battling with this one. I'm actually gonna defer a
(15:50):
go against the grain on this one. I'm gonna say
it's the Hornets record, and this is why he has
now hit a level of scoring in a particular season
that really was only achieved if you're in the conversation
for Rookie of the Year, Now, Rex Chapman was a
really great rookie. I mean, you look at his numbers
(16:10):
compared to Brandon Miller, they're pretty darn favorable.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
Rex had sixteen point nine points per game. He didn't
shoot it nearly as well from three. But it was
a different era of the game at that time. And granted,
you know, that was the expansion year for the Charlotte Hornets,
so you know there might have been less established star
power on that team.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
There were stars, no doubt about it.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
But it wasn't quite the same team that would exist
two three years later on down the line. But nonetheless,
Brandon Miller's at a level of scoring where unless you're
in contention to be a Rookie of the Year, you're
not going to score at this kind of level.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
So a Mecha okafor one Rookie of the.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
Year, Brandon Miller has now scored more than him okafor
contributed in other categories that put him over the top
for that, But still the argument kind of stays the same.
Larry Johnson, he was a Rookie of the Year. Alonzo
Mourning was second in the Rookie of the Year vote.
The only reason Alonzo Morning did not win Rookie of
the Year that year is because I don't know, there
was some guy named Shack who is coming into the
(17:11):
league at the exact same time that ended up holding
back I guess Zoe from winning the honors. So overall,
I think that that kind of puts it into a
different category. And the three point shooting in the season,
it's great. The names he's on there with, they're legends,
most of them, but there's a couple that are not
(17:32):
necessarily Landry Shamits a very very good shooter and very
good player. Same for Sadiq Bay, same for Keegan Murray.
But they're not legends of the game all across the board.
So this is close. But I'm going to say the
Hornets record one is more impressive this time.
Speaker 4 (17:44):
I think that's fair. But I just think again, just
because you're going up against the entirety of the NBA,
that makes it a little bit more impressive, especially in
today's age. I mean, there could be a chance in
I don't know, five ten years win Brandon Miller's and
multiple time All Star that he's not even on the
top ten of may three pointers anymore, just because of
the way that the game has been progressing towards the
(18:05):
importance of the three point shot here over the last
decade or a half or however long Steph Curry's career
has been specifically, if you want to go that way,
But I just think that it continues to be one
of those things where as the game evolves, the three
point shot becomes so much more influential and important that
that is why it's a little bit more impressive for me.
(18:25):
And again, maybe that's something that if he's still on
that list five, ten, fifteen years from now. Maybe that's
when I sit back and I say, Okay, that's really
impressive now that he still is remaining on that list,
compared to maybe if there's another great hornet Trookey that
comes up that is able to surpass him in a
couple of years as well. So that's just kind of
where I'm landing on this.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
I'll say this.
Speaker 3 (18:45):
It does put into context just how amazing of rookie
seasons a lot. Until Morning and Larry Johnson had that
their point total obliterates Brandon Miller, and Miller's now top
four in franchise history one thousand, one or and fifteen
points and counting. If he plays the remaining games of
the season and has his normal averages, you're looking at
(19:06):
another one hundred and fifty points or so, maybe more
or maybe less somewhere around there. So you know, maybe
let's say he ends up close to thirteen hundred points.
Larry Johnson scored over fifteen hundred points. Alonso Morning scored
over sixteen one hundred points in his rookie season.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
As a rookie, Alonzo.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
Morning twenty one points and ten rebounds per game in
his rookie season, Larry Johnson nineteen points, eleven rebounds per game.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
These guys numbers were phenomenal.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
And so it puts into context just how great those
two players were, how high the bar is set in.
Brandon Miller is starting to etch his name on a
pretty high rung on the latter as well, now moving
into fourth in franchise history for scoring in a rookie season.
All right, good debate coming up next. Not the most
positive topic, but one we certainly need to address. LaMelo Ball.
He's been shut down from the remainder of the year.
(19:53):
The announcement coming out earlier this week. We'll let a
year from Hornets head coach Steve Clifford on that topic.
Next Here on the Hornets five Cast, Sam Farbara Rob
Loongo here with you on the AHHC The Hornet's Sodcast,
brought to you by SENTA Charlotte, I Hear Nos and
Throat Associates, the official I ear Nosen throw Care provider
of this Charlotte Hornet. Some sad news, disappointing news for
(20:15):
everyone involved in the last couple of days here earlier
this week, LaMelo Ball has been shut down for the
remainder of the season. He sadly only played in twenty
two games this year. He'll end up missing sixty and
over the last two seasons. Once this campaign comes to
a close, he'll have missed more than one hundred games
over a two season set. This coming off the All
(20:35):
Star campaign he had in his second season in the NBA,
and of course, his Rookie of the Year.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Campaign in the twenty twenty one season.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
We talked to hornet S head coach Steve Clifford prior
to yesterday's game against Golden State for pregame and asked
him where LaMelo is with an eye towards the future.
Speaker 5 (20:51):
Yeah, I mean, he's been very diligent with his with
his rehab and work and everything, and his ankle just
hasn't responded the way that we hoped it would. But
he's in a much better place than he was a
year ago. So you know, our hopes are our plan,
and you know, the way he's thinking too, is that
this summer, you know, should be able to be a
lot more about you know, his game and his strength
and everything versus rehab.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
Rob Neither of us know anything in terms of, you know,
where he is on his rehabilitation journey other than what's
been communicated to us, which is he's not going to
play the remainder of this season, and you know exactly
what coach said. He's in a much better position to
prepare through the offseason for the upcoming season. Even if
I could say something, it's going to fall on deaf ears.
You know, if I was saying a positive like, oh,
(21:35):
he's slated to come back at x State and should
you know, it would fall on deaf ears because he's missed.
He'll have missed over one hundred games in a two
year sample size. So until fans see him on the
floor and followers of the NBA see him on the floor,
there's going to be a certain amount of skepticism and fear.
But I do think that the team looking towards the
future if you get the healthy LaMelo Ball, the kind
(21:57):
of player who has continued to build on his performance
year after year, the numbers keep going up, the stats
keep getting better. And I know the sample size is small,
but it's significant enough to extrapolate from and assume that
if he plays the sixty five seventy seventy five games
eighty two games that you'd love to see him play
next season, that he'll be the leader helping the Hornets
(22:18):
turn the tide and get back into the postseason.
Speaker 4 (22:20):
And the way I look at this too is, I mean, obviously,
the reason the record is eighteen and fifty five this
year is because LaMelo has missed a lot of time.
But at this point of this season, I'm not saying
that what's the point of LaMelo coming back or forcing
something to come back? But you're playing a long game here,
You're playing chess and not checkers. You want to make
sure that he's one hundred percent ready to go moving forward,
(22:40):
and this is a summer where he can really just
take his game to the next level, because, if we're
being honest, last year, he didn't have that ability because
he was rehabbing the entire time, because he didn't get
cleared until right before training camp to start full contact
and go full tilt because that ankle surgery that he
had after he broke that ankle towards the end of
last season. So this is something that you just want
(23:01):
to continue to be careful with. And this is the
I guess positive, the silver lining I suppose of a
season that has gone away that the Hornets have is
you don't have to worry about rushing LaMelo back. You
can make sure you can take his time and get
everything perfect, so he's ready for training camp next year
and he's ready to go and try to make that
full run at seventy seventy five games the following season.
(23:23):
So as much as it stinks and as a disappointing
as it has been all season long to not see
him out there, and the fact that he only ended
up playing twenty two games, like you mentioned, he almost
averaged almost close to twenty four points per game this
season in those twenty two games, smaller sample sized than
in years past obviously, but continue to have a higher trajectory.
So you just want to see that steady improvement. And
(23:44):
I know it's only twenty two games and it's not
the greatest of sample sizes, but at the same time,
I mean, what more do you want? So it's you know,
it's kind of like damned if you do, damned if
you don't. Unfortunately, but again, this is something that you're
it's just gonna have to take time and you're just
gonna have to be patient.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
With to close it out.
Speaker 3 (24:00):
On the comparison that a lot of people turned to
looking for the light at the end of the tunnel
is Steph Curry, who of course missed a large part
of what was his third season due to ankle injuries
and then obviously recovered came back has been for.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
The most part of a very healthy player. Knock on what
we hope you know.
Speaker 3 (24:20):
He's the greatest shoot of the game has ever seen.
I love every opportunity we get to see him. Hopefully
he continues to play very very well this season and
can lead the Warriors into the postseason and make another run.
But the comparison is there, just for context, LaMelo ball
fourth season partial but fourth season averaged almost twenty four
points per game, eight assists per game thirty five and
a half percent from three in this partial fourth season.
(24:42):
Steph Curry in his partial season three averaged fourteen point
seven points per game five point three assists per game.
At that point, Korey had never scored more than eighteen
points per game in any season, had never averaged more
than five assists per game in any season, and had
never gotten his team into the playoffs. And there were
all kinds of questions, well his ankles ever, hold up?
Is he going to be this kind of star player?
(25:03):
What is his role going to be in the NBA?
Will the Warriors ever get out of their tail spin?
At that point, they had an extremely long layoff between
playoff bursts, and we're just constantly in the lottery and
trying to find the answer. Of course, the next season,
Curry came back and never looked back. Warriors became a contender,
Curry became an MVP, Golden State became a dynasty. I'm
(25:25):
not saying that's exactly what's going to happen in the future,
but that's the kind of inspiration you hope to draw
from a similar situation, and LaMelo is building from a
stronger position, if you will, because statistically he has posted
those kinds of numbers that at that point Stephan Curry,
now the game's greatest shooter, undeniably the greatest shooter the
game has ever seen, had not put up anywhere near
(25:48):
those kinds of numbers when he was hit with all
those injuries. Now there's no question he's maybe the best
player of his generation, unquestionably the greatest shooter the game
has ever seen, And he'll end up being in those conversations,
those fun ones on.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Is he top five, is he top ten? Is he
top three.
Speaker 3 (26:03):
Where does he fit in the pantheon of great players
in the NBA. Hopefully one day we have similar conversations
about LaMelo Bam. But just a little inspiration for you
as we look.
Speaker 2 (26:12):
To the future.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
All right, that's going to do it for this edition
of the Hornets Podcast. Tomorrow a special episode we will
have our game preview of Hornets versus Clippers, but with
Charlotte taking on the La Clippers, a team that includes
Paul George. Oh, We're gonna have a special conversation with
ESPN staff writer Alm Young Missouk, who wrote a piece
focused on Brandon Miller and his infatuation let's call it
(26:35):
his love affair for Paul George, and how Paul George
is the model for a new generation of NBA players.
We'll have that conversation for you tomorrow as well as
a game preview for Hornets versus Clippers. Rob Longo, thanks
as always for joining me here on the HC.
Speaker 4 (26:48):
Happy to be here.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
As always.
Speaker 3 (26:50):
We'll look forward to doing it again tomorrow. I hope
you all have a wonderful start to your weekend. We'll
talk to you on Easter Sunday. Get you ready for
Hornets versus Clippers right here on the Hornets Podcast.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
Thank you for listening to the Hornets Podcast, brought to
you by Santa, the official i ear nosen Throadcare provider
of the Charlotte Hornets. For more coverage, visit Hornets dot
com
Welcome to the Hornetshivecast, presented by Charlotte I ear Nosen
Throat Associates, the official I ear nosen Throatcare provider of
the Charlotte Hornets. Here's your host, Sam Farber.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Welcome to another edition of the Hornets.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
I've cast your Hornets podcast with all the notes quote
san daily buzz around your favorite NBA team. I'm Sam
Farber and it is a pleasure and a privileged to
have you with us here once again on the Hornet's
iove Cast, brought to you by Santa Charlotte, I Hear
Nose and Throat Associates, the official I ear nosen Throatcare
provider of the Charlotte Hornets. It's a silver Linings edition
of the HHC. Hornets fell last night to the Golden
(00:37):
State Warriors. Packed house, sellout crowd at Spectrum Center saw
Charlotte come up short. One fifteen to ninety seven was
the final score. We'll break it down, give you our
silver Lining selections, talk about some new statistical accomplishments for
the rookie wonder Kind Brandon Miller, and unfortunate news from
LaMelo Ball or from the Hornets regarding LaMelo Ball.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
He will be shut down for the remainder of the year.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
We'll discuss all these topics with my producer on the
Hornets Radio Network, as well as the producer this fine podcast.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Rob Longo, here with us once again. Rob. Good to
see is always.
Speaker 4 (01:09):
Yeah, seeing a lot of you lately with this eight
game homestand which has again been pretty rare. But happy
to see your smiling face.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Despite the silver linings performance from the Hornets, It's great
to be home, great atmosphere at Spectrum Center. Fan base
for Charlotte it's second to none. They deserve the rewards
of a postseason series. I feel it come into my bones.
Hopefully next season is the season. But unfortunately this season
saw another loss added to the total eighteen and fifty
five the Hornet record after a one to fifteen ninety
(01:39):
seven defeet. Really this game, it lacked a little bit
of rhythm. Quite frankly, neither team shot it well in
the first half. There wasn't exactly an overwhelming level of
play per se from Golden State. It just Charlotte didn't
shoot the ball well at all, forty percent from the floor,
only twenty six percent from three, and Golden State was
efficient enough and effective enough to just kind of keep
(02:00):
doing what they were doing. It felt like big stack poker.
They didn't necessarily play some amazing hand. They just leaned
on the small stacks until they tipped over and collected
the winnings. It's a good analogy. I wish I would
have that luck whenever I played poker. But yeah, I
mean this one kind of felt like, I don't want
to say death by a thousand paper cuts, but certainly
the points in the paint made a big difference. It
felt like in this one, obviously sixty four to thirty eight,
(02:22):
that advantage went to Golden State. It wasn't this big
dominating paint presence. It was backdoor cuts. It was getting
the second man open, playing toward the week's side. All
of those different things worked out in favor of Golden State.
I mean, especially in that third quarter. I mean they
ended up going sixteen to twenty four from the field
in a third quarter alone, and I want to say, maybe,
I don't know, twelve of those, off the top of
(02:42):
my head, were points inside the paint or field goal
attemps inside the paint, where it was just easy buckets,
And it just felt like, no matter what the Hornets
could do defensively, there was just something always open in
the paint. And it feels like especially too, when you
play a team like Golden State, you kind of have
to live with one or the other. It's kind of
like a picker poison situation where you have one of
the greatest shooters of all time, if not the greatest
shooter of all time in Steph Curry. Do you want
(03:05):
him to beat you from beyond the arc or do
you want to try to run him off the three
point line and have the rest of the team beat
you in Unfortunately, it was kind of both last night
for the Hornets, where Steph had twenty three and the
Warriors didn't shoot the ball well. But again, it doesn't
matter when you shoot thirty four to thirty five percent
from beyond the arc when you have sixty four points
in a paint. So that was definitely obviously the biggest
(03:26):
issue for the Hornets last night defensively, one fifteen to
ninety seven the final score Warriors defeating your Charlotte Hornets.
Let's look at this game from the defensive standpoint. First, Charlotte,
as you mentioned, trying to slow down Steph Curry, who
finished with the game high twenty three points, not his
greatest shooting effort of the season, nine of eighteen solid
from the floor, four of eleven solid from three, but
(03:50):
just his presence out there on the floor thirty two minutes,
zero turnovers, orchestrating that offense beautifully. And I like what
you said there about the death by a thousand paper kits.
They might not have been paper, but there were a
lot of cuts by Golden State, something Horned's head coach
Steve Clifford referenced after the game.
Speaker 5 (04:04):
I think the cutting baskets like they're about I'd say
about two and a half minutes maybe in the first
quarter where they really took us apart with the cuts,
and then the third quarter they ripped us apart. You know,
and if you're not disciplined with them, that's where they're
so unique. You know, they're great without the ball.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
You look at the box score for Golden State and again,
you know, Steph Curree had a good game, Andrew Wiggins
had a good game. But you see these scoring efforts
from guys that are are not ordinarily putting up points
to this level. You've got Trace Jackson Davis, the rookie
out of Indiana who almost had a career high as
best as nineteen. He finished with eighteen points, eight rebounds.
He looked dominant at times out there for the Golden
(04:42):
State Warriors as a small ball center. Chris Paul eleven points.
Obviously we've seen him score a lot more than that
throughout his career, but at this stage is nineteen season,
that's above his season average, which is normally nine per game.
And then Moses Moody came off the bench and added
in fifteen. He's another guy who only averages about eight
game on the season, so that that back cutting that
(05:02):
distributing the ball, sharing the wealth. Thirty five assists for
the Golden State Warriors, helping them to the win. Offensively,
Charlotte had a really good game Wednesday against Cleveland. Did
not have a very good game at all against the
Golden State Warriors, shooting collectively forty percent from the floor
twenty six percent from three miles. Bridges addressed the offensive
(05:23):
ailment for the Hornets after the game.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
No, we just can't make shots. I couldn't make it
three to save my life. We just couldn't make shots
that we usually make. So just got to get in gym,
put up shots.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
You know, I think he's got the right diagnosis on
how to fix it. Just go out there, continue to
work on your game, get better. That's what every player
has to do every single day to keep their role
or improve their lot in the NBA. I do think
looking at the box score, this is an interesting thing
about basketball. There's a way a game can feel rob
and then there's what the stats actually tell you. It
felt like Steph Curry had this awesome shooting game compared
(05:55):
to everyone else, and Brandon Miller clearly struggled because he
missed his first seven shots from the floor. Eventually, you know,
rounded out, he made five of his last eight from
the field. But you look at the pox score and
it's the power of one shot. If Brandon Miller had
made one more three, he's three for eight. It looks
like a strong shooting effort from beyond the ark. If
Stephan Curry made one less three, he's three for eleven.
Now you're in the twenties forer percentage by his standard,
(06:18):
which is the greatest shooter of all time. That's a
bad shooting day, But one shot going this way or
that can change the whole trajectory or at least a
feel of a game. And last night a poor shooting
day for Charlotte and a good shooting day relatively speaking
for Golden State.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
And not that it made a difference at the end
of the day. But you go back to the end
of the second quarter, Hornets were down two, looked like
they were going to go down one possession going into
the locker room. Steph Curry doing Steph Curry things, comes
off a screen, hits a three right as time expires
to make it fifty to forty five Golden State going
into the locker room. So there's that three pointer that
you're talking about that Steph made. That could have been
(06:54):
a miss, but either way it probably wouldn't have made
a difference at that point. But instead of being down
five going into the third quarter, you're thinking, Okay, we're
only down two, this is no big deal, and ends
up being two possessions. And again that third quarter just
ended up being a killer there for the Hornets. Say
a lot a twenty one seven run there. They got
outscored thirty nine to twenty six, and the quarter Steph
(07:15):
had twelve of his twenty three in that frame as well.
You can go on and on, but again, just one
more shot maybe gives you a little bit more momentum
going into the locker room. I know I'm nitpicking here,
I'm maybe grasping at straws, but just another example of
how one shot can really change the outcome of a game,
even if it's at the end of the first half.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
Seeing Curry, it was special, even if it wasn't necessarily
a special scoring effort by his standard. It was fun
to watch him warm up, play, see the crowd react
to him. One of Charlotte's favorite sons. Coming back home.
It's always special in the Queen City, and he did
put on a show. He hit that one at the
end of the half. He had one of these trademark
threes where he took the shot turn and faced the
(07:52):
crowd as the ball was still mid flight.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
Before it even went through the cylinder. He is an entertainer.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
He has an exceptional player, one of the best we've
ever seen, and he has truly changed the game. Steph
Curry led the Warriors to the win last night, one
to fifteen to ninety seven. Real quick, let's pick our
silver lining selections from last night's game. Playing it choos
from Brandon Miller ended up knocking down a couple of threes.
Miles bridges a team high twenty two. Six different Hornets
were in double figures. Rob Longo, who did you like
(08:19):
for me?
Speaker 4 (08:20):
I'm gonna go with Vasili Michich. He finishes with ten points,
eight assist. He just goes three to seven from the field,
one for four beyond the arc, but three for fourth
the free throw line. Couple of rebound sprinkled in there,
and again he's playing these heavy point guard minutes right now.
He had two turnovers in the game last night. I
thought he did a pretty good job taking care of
the basketball because Golden State is one of the better
defensive teams and probably one of the more underrated defensive
(08:42):
teams in the entire NBA. And there were a couple
of times where I know he had a pass or
two deflected and it went out of bounce, so it's
technically not a turnover and could have whether the ball
bounced one way or the other. But I thought he
just did a pretty solid job in his starting rolling. Again,
because of the way that the injuries and the absences
have happened this year, I don't know if Vasa was
(09:02):
viewed as a starting point guard coming over at the
trade deadline. I think that was just more of how
it's shaken out here because of injuries to Cody Martin
and La medlal Ball, of course, but what he's done
as a starting point guard here over the last couple
of weeks, I think he's just got really consistent. I
think that has a big reason to do with it,
just because you didn't play a whole lot in Okay see,
(09:23):
and now he's finally starting to get his footing a
little bit here. He's worked on a couple of things,
and he finally has that ability to go out there
and play a lot of minutes and get into that rhythm.
So I think for everything that was not expected of him,
for lack of a better term, coming into Charlotte, he's
done a really good job meeting those expectations and then some,
because let's be honest, we didn't really know what we're
(09:43):
gonna get with Vasa at the trade deadline. Coming in
here in a little bit of a new situation for him,
So I know it's the kind of a cumulative thing.
I know that I might be one of the original
card carrying members of the Vasa Muchets fan club, but
he's definitely my silver lining performance from last night's game.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
Vasa roughly thirteen points too, rebounds six assists per game
in thirteen starts. Now for the Charlotte Hearts, those are
in specifically starts. Hornet's record is only three to ten
in those thirteen starts, but I'm not pinning that at
all on Vasi the other injuries exactly the cumulative effect
of the injuries, but solid numbers certainly for Vasimcic and
(10:18):
a solid selection for silver linings. I am going to
go with a quick cap tip to Miles Bridges got
back north of twenty points. Solid effort from him all
around twenty two points, only one for seven from three,
but had a team high in points with twenty two
and rebounds with nine. I will talk about Brandon Miller
and what he was able to accomplish last night in
our next segment, but my silver lining selection is going
(10:39):
to be Domas Burton's. Bridges throws it to Bertons. Berton's
lets it lose the three little short but it gets
a nice hometown bounce and damas Burton's knocks down another
from distance.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Charlotte down by six.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
Bertons ended up knocking down four to threes in the
first half, finishing with fourteen points. He was the game's
leading scorer at intermission. Unfortunately he didn't score any more.
Also give him the silver Lining selection because of his
toughness he has played. He actually broke his nose in
the game against Cleveland. A fractured nose was the diagnosis,
played through it, played in a mask and shot brilliantly
(11:15):
in the first tap So Davis Bertons with fourteen points
off the bench. Bertons in twenty games now with Charlotte
shooting north of thirty six percent from three. He has
really been a strong addition to this Hornets group and
is putting some good stuff on tape here for the Hornets,
Looking into the future, Hornets Fall the Warriors one fifteen
to ninety seven. We touched on Brandon Miller a sub
(11:39):
his standard shooting effort for him, but he did have
a couple of more milestones met. We're going to talk
about him in our next segment Here on the Hornets.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
I've cast Sam Farbar rob Longo here with you on
the AJHC.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
The Hornet's Side Cast, brought to you by sent Us
Rob the Hornets last night, falling one fifteen to ninety seven.
But it's time for our nightly look at what did
Brandon Miller do and where does it stack up in
the history of the Hornets or the NBA as a whole.
The other day we were looking at his accomplishments against Cleveland,
the seven made threes, a career best for him and
matching the franchise record for most threes in a game
(12:14):
by a rookie, as well as moving past Allen Iverson
and into the top fifteen list for total made threes
in a rookie season. We had a discussion about which
one was more impressive. We said the all time list
was better than just the Hornets franchise record, even though
both were very, very impressive.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
A similar question here for today.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
So Brandon Miller in yesterday's game had twelve points, five
of fifteen, shooting two of eight from three. Again, he
was cold early oh for seven from the floor. Heated
up later five for eight after that point, and finishes
with the respectable total twelve points, getting into double figures
once again before leaving the game a little bit early
with some falls. Let's call we haven't had the full
diagnosis as of the recording this podcast, so we're not
(12:55):
going to speculate too much, but in any case, Brandon
Miller did have a couple of statistical accomplishmentson We're gonna
pick which one's more impressive. So first up, he has
moved now into the top ten for total made threes
in a rookie season. He's up to one hundred and
fifty nine threes in this is Rookie campaign. He has
tied Kyle Kuzma and Rudy Fernandez for ninth all time.
(13:17):
He passed Harry Kittles Blast from the past name. My
old basketball card collecting days had a lot of great
Kittles cards. I'm sure you do too, Rob Longo, you're
a big collector. In any case, Brandon Miller passes him
up and now joins the top ten, which of course
includes Kuzman Fernandez for the moment because they're all tied
for ninth, but also has names.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Like Keegan Murray, Donovan Mitchell, Damian.
Speaker 3 (13:38):
Lillard, Sadiq Bay, Anthony Edwards, Luka Dancic, Landry Shammitt, and
the greatest shooter of all time, Stephan Curry.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
So that's option one. He's now in the top ten list.
Still climbing.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
Option two, Brandon Miller moved into fourth all time in
Hornets franchise history for points in a rookie season. He
passed a Mecca Oka four who had one thy one
hundred five points in his rookie campaign. Miller now with
one one hundred and fifteen, trailing only Rex Chapman, who
he's behind about one hundred and fifty points of it's
possible he could catch him if he plays out the
(14:12):
rest of the season, and he's about four hundred and
fifty points behind Larry Johnson who is in second, and
the all time leader is Alonzo Morning, who scored one thousand,
six hundred and thirty nine points in his rookie season,
some five hundred more than Brandon Miller has to this point.
I don't think he's gonna get there. I don't think
he's going to average fifty a night for the remainder
of the season. But all you need for Brandon Miller
(14:32):
to be inspired is have somebody doubt him. So maybe
we'll put that on tape and watch him go for
fifty a night from here on out. Your choice, Rob Loango,
what's more impressive. He's now top ten for made threes
in a rookie season, or he's now top four for
most points in a rookie year. In Hornet's franchise history.
Speaker 4 (14:46):
It's still the top ten in all made threes throughout
rookies throughout the entirety of the NBA, just because it's
a much larger sample size. And that's not a knock
on Rex, Chapman or LJ. Those guys are great players,
but it's a smaller sample size. Considered that the Hornets
are still a younger franchise at thirty five seasons in
the NBA, so you gotta go with the seventy five
(15:06):
plus years. I guess we're on what you're seventy seven
now of the associations, so over the course of all
of those years, and I know that the three point
line is a little bit more modern, obviously, but just
the list of names and the people that are still
on that list that Brandon can still reach. I think
anytime you're able to crack a top ten all time
list in the entirety of NBA history, for whatever it is,
(15:27):
whether it's threes in a rookie season, threes in a
regular season, whatever it may be. I think that's always
a little bit more impressive because you're going up against
the entirety of the league, just not maybe a handful
of people that played for your team. So that's gonna
be the one that's still more impressive than me, and
probably will be for the entire season. If I'm being honest,
This is tough for me. This is really tough for me.
I'm battling with this one. I'm actually gonna defer a
(15:50):
go against the grain on this one. I'm gonna say
it's the Hornets record, and this is why he has
now hit a level of scoring in a particular season
that really was only achieved if you're in the conversation
for Rookie of the Year, Now, Rex Chapman was a
really great rookie. I mean, you look at his numbers
(16:10):
compared to Brandon Miller, they're pretty darn favorable.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
Rex had sixteen point nine points per game. He didn't
shoot it nearly as well from three. But it was
a different era of the game at that time. And granted,
you know, that was the expansion year for the Charlotte Hornets,
so you know there might have been less established star
power on that team.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
There were stars, no doubt about it.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
But it wasn't quite the same team that would exist
two three years later on down the line. But nonetheless,
Brandon Miller's at a level of scoring where unless you're
in contention to be a Rookie of the Year, you're
not going to score at this kind of level.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
So a Mecha okafor one Rookie of the.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
Year, Brandon Miller has now scored more than him okafor
contributed in other categories that put him over the top
for that, But still the argument kind of stays the same.
Larry Johnson, he was a Rookie of the Year. Alonzo
Mourning was second in the Rookie of the Year vote.
The only reason Alonzo Morning did not win Rookie of
the Year that year is because I don't know, there
was some guy named Shack who is coming into the
(17:11):
league at the exact same time that ended up holding
back I guess Zoe from winning the honors. So overall,
I think that that kind of puts it into a
different category. And the three point shooting in the season,
it's great. The names he's on there with, they're legends,
most of them, but there's a couple that are not
(17:32):
necessarily Landry Shamits a very very good shooter and very
good player. Same for Sadiq Bay, same for Keegan Murray.
But they're not legends of the game all across the board.
So this is close. But I'm going to say the
Hornets record one is more impressive this time.
Speaker 4 (17:44):
I think that's fair. But I just think again, just
because you're going up against the entirety of the NBA,
that makes it a little bit more impressive, especially in
today's age. I mean, there could be a chance in
I don't know, five ten years win Brandon Miller's and
multiple time All Star that he's not even on the
top ten of may three pointers anymore, just because of
the way that the game has been progressing towards the
(18:05):
importance of the three point shot here over the last
decade or a half or however long Steph Curry's career
has been specifically, if you want to go that way,
But I just think that it continues to be one
of those things where as the game evolves, the three
point shot becomes so much more influential and important that
that is why it's a little bit more impressive for me.
(18:25):
And again, maybe that's something that if he's still on
that list five, ten, fifteen years from now. Maybe that's
when I sit back and I say, Okay, that's really
impressive now that he still is remaining on that list,
compared to maybe if there's another great hornet Trookey that
comes up that is able to surpass him in a
couple of years as well. So that's just kind of
where I'm landing on this.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
I'll say this.
Speaker 3 (18:45):
It does put into context just how amazing of rookie
seasons a lot. Until Morning and Larry Johnson had that
their point total obliterates Brandon Miller, and Miller's now top
four in franchise history one thousand, one or and fifteen
points and counting. If he plays the remaining games of
the season and has his normal averages, you're looking at
(19:06):
another one hundred and fifty points or so, maybe more
or maybe less somewhere around there. So you know, maybe
let's say he ends up close to thirteen hundred points.
Larry Johnson scored over fifteen hundred points. Alonso Morning scored
over sixteen one hundred points in his rookie season.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
As a rookie, Alonzo.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
Morning twenty one points and ten rebounds per game in
his rookie season, Larry Johnson nineteen points, eleven rebounds per game.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
These guys numbers were phenomenal.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
And so it puts into context just how great those
two players were, how high the bar is set in.
Brandon Miller is starting to etch his name on a
pretty high rung on the latter as well, now moving
into fourth in franchise history for scoring in a rookie season.
All right, good debate coming up next. Not the most
positive topic, but one we certainly need to address. LaMelo Ball.
He's been shut down from the remainder of the year.
(19:53):
The announcement coming out earlier this week. We'll let a
year from Hornets head coach Steve Clifford on that topic.
Next Here on the Hornets five Cast, Sam Farbara Rob
Loongo here with you on the AHHC The Hornet's Sodcast,
brought to you by SENTA Charlotte, I Hear Nos and
Throat Associates, the official I ear Nosen throw Care provider
of this Charlotte Hornet. Some sad news, disappointing news for
(20:15):
everyone involved in the last couple of days here earlier
this week, LaMelo Ball has been shut down for the
remainder of the season. He sadly only played in twenty
two games this year. He'll end up missing sixty and
over the last two seasons. Once this campaign comes to
a close, he'll have missed more than one hundred games
over a two season set. This coming off the All
(20:35):
Star campaign he had in his second season in the NBA,
and of course, his Rookie of the Year.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Campaign in the twenty twenty one season.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
We talked to hornet S head coach Steve Clifford prior
to yesterday's game against Golden State for pregame and asked
him where LaMelo is with an eye towards the future.
Speaker 5 (20:51):
Yeah, I mean, he's been very diligent with his with
his rehab and work and everything, and his ankle just
hasn't responded the way that we hoped it would. But
he's in a much better place than he was a
year ago. So you know, our hopes are our plan,
and you know, the way he's thinking too, is that
this summer, you know, should be able to be a
lot more about you know, his game and his strength
and everything versus rehab.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
Rob Neither of us know anything in terms of, you know,
where he is on his rehabilitation journey other than what's
been communicated to us, which is he's not going to
play the remainder of this season, and you know exactly
what coach said. He's in a much better position to
prepare through the offseason for the upcoming season. Even if
I could say something, it's going to fall on deaf ears.
You know, if I was saying a positive like, oh,
(21:35):
he's slated to come back at x State and should
you know, it would fall on deaf ears because he's missed.
He'll have missed over one hundred games in a two
year sample size. So until fans see him on the
floor and followers of the NBA see him on the floor,
there's going to be a certain amount of skepticism and fear.
But I do think that the team looking towards the
future if you get the healthy LaMelo Ball, the kind
(21:57):
of player who has continued to build on his performance
year after year, the numbers keep going up, the stats
keep getting better. And I know the sample size is small,
but it's significant enough to extrapolate from and assume that
if he plays the sixty five seventy seventy five games
eighty two games that you'd love to see him play
next season, that he'll be the leader helping the Hornets
(22:18):
turn the tide and get back into the postseason.
Speaker 4 (22:20):
And the way I look at this too is, I mean, obviously,
the reason the record is eighteen and fifty five this
year is because LaMelo has missed a lot of time.
But at this point of this season, I'm not saying
that what's the point of LaMelo coming back or forcing
something to come back? But you're playing a long game here,
You're playing chess and not checkers. You want to make
sure that he's one hundred percent ready to go moving forward,
(22:40):
and this is a summer where he can really just
take his game to the next level, because, if we're
being honest, last year, he didn't have that ability because
he was rehabbing the entire time, because he didn't get
cleared until right before training camp to start full contact
and go full tilt because that ankle surgery that he
had after he broke that ankle towards the end of
last season. So this is something that you just want
(23:01):
to continue to be careful with. And this is the
I guess positive, the silver lining I suppose of a
season that has gone away that the Hornets have is
you don't have to worry about rushing LaMelo back. You
can make sure you can take his time and get
everything perfect, so he's ready for training camp next year
and he's ready to go and try to make that
full run at seventy seventy five games the following season.
(23:23):
So as much as it stinks and as a disappointing
as it has been all season long to not see
him out there, and the fact that he only ended
up playing twenty two games, like you mentioned, he almost
averaged almost close to twenty four points per game this
season in those twenty two games, smaller sample sized than
in years past obviously, but continue to have a higher trajectory.
So you just want to see that steady improvement. And
(23:44):
I know it's only twenty two games and it's not
the greatest of sample sizes, but at the same time,
I mean, what more do you want? So it's you know,
it's kind of like damned if you do, damned if
you don't. Unfortunately, but again, this is something that you're
it's just gonna have to take time and you're just
gonna have to be patient.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
With to close it out.
Speaker 3 (24:00):
On the comparison that a lot of people turned to
looking for the light at the end of the tunnel
is Steph Curry, who of course missed a large part
of what was his third season due to ankle injuries
and then obviously recovered came back has been for.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
The most part of a very healthy player. Knock on what
we hope you know.
Speaker 3 (24:20):
He's the greatest shoot of the game has ever seen.
I love every opportunity we get to see him. Hopefully
he continues to play very very well this season and
can lead the Warriors into the postseason and make another run.
But the comparison is there, just for context, LaMelo ball
fourth season partial but fourth season averaged almost twenty four
points per game, eight assists per game thirty five and
a half percent from three in this partial fourth season.
(24:42):
Steph Curry in his partial season three averaged fourteen point
seven points per game five point three assists per game.
At that point, Korey had never scored more than eighteen
points per game in any season, had never averaged more
than five assists per game in any season, and had
never gotten his team into the playoffs. And there were
all kinds of questions, well his ankles ever, hold up?
Is he going to be this kind of star player?
(25:03):
What is his role going to be in the NBA?
Will the Warriors ever get out of their tail spin?
At that point, they had an extremely long layoff between
playoff bursts, and we're just constantly in the lottery and
trying to find the answer. Of course, the next season,
Curry came back and never looked back. Warriors became a contender,
Curry became an MVP, Golden State became a dynasty. I'm
(25:25):
not saying that's exactly what's going to happen in the future,
but that's the kind of inspiration you hope to draw
from a similar situation, and LaMelo is building from a
stronger position, if you will, because statistically he has posted
those kinds of numbers that at that point Stephan Curry,
now the game's greatest shooter, undeniably the greatest shooter the
game has ever seen, had not put up anywhere near
(25:48):
those kinds of numbers when he was hit with all
those injuries. Now there's no question he's maybe the best
player of his generation, unquestionably the greatest shooter the game
has ever seen, And he'll end up being in those conversations,
those fun ones on.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Is he top five, is he top ten? Is he
top three.
Speaker 3 (26:03):
Where does he fit in the pantheon of great players
in the NBA. Hopefully one day we have similar conversations
about LaMelo Bam. But just a little inspiration for you
as we look.
Speaker 2 (26:12):
To the future.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
All right, that's going to do it for this edition
of the Hornets Podcast. Tomorrow a special episode we will
have our game preview of Hornets versus Clippers, but with
Charlotte taking on the La Clippers, a team that includes
Paul George. Oh, We're gonna have a special conversation with
ESPN staff writer Alm Young Missouk, who wrote a piece
focused on Brandon Miller and his infatuation let's call it
(26:35):
his love affair for Paul George, and how Paul George
is the model for a new generation of NBA players.
We'll have that conversation for you tomorrow as well as
a game preview for Hornets versus Clippers. Rob Longo, thanks
as always for joining me here on the HC.
Speaker 4 (26:48):
Happy to be here.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
As always.
Speaker 3 (26:50):
We'll look forward to doing it again tomorrow. I hope
you all have a wonderful start to your weekend. We'll
talk to you on Easter Sunday. Get you ready for
Hornets versus Clippers right here on the Hornets Podcast.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
Thank you for listening to the Hornets Podcast, brought to
you by Santa, the official i ear nosen Throadcare provider
of the Charlotte Hornets. For more coverage, visit Hornets dot
com
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
The Nikki Glaser Podcast
Every week comedian and infamous roaster Nikki Glaser provides a fun, fast-paced, and brutally honest look into current pop-culture and her own personal life.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.