March 5, 2025 • 26 mins
Carla Metts of Queen City News stops by to preview Charlotte's showdown against Minnesota with Sam Farber. The two also discuss the current state of the Hornets and what to look for in the remaining games 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 (00:01):
Welcome to the Hornets Haveivecast, 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 (00:13):
Welcome to another edition of the Hornets haveive Cast, your
Hornets podcast with all the notes, quotes, and daily buzz
around your favorite NBA team. I'm Sam Farber and it
is a pleasure and a privileged debby with us here
once again on the Hornets iive Cast, brought to you
by Santa Charlotte I ear Nose and Throat Associates, the
official I ear nosen throawcare provider of the Charlotte Hornets.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
It's a game to edition. Hornets fourteen and forty six
on the season.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Ready to take on the thirty three and twenty nine
Minnesota Timberwolves, another clash between two of the top members,
if not the top members of the twenty twenty NBA
Draft class, lamellow Ball and Anthony Edwards. We'll have our
game preview, talk about the season as a whole and
how it compares with the other major sports circuit.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
Our guest today covers.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
She is one of the wonderful hosts of Charlotte Sports
Live and and the sports director for Queen City News,
Carla Metz, back with us once again here on the HHC. Carla,
thanks so much for joining me.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Yeah, excited to talk some basketball.
Speaker 5 (01:09):
Obviously, getting to watch the Hornets back at home lately
it is always a good thing.
Speaker 4 (01:14):
But yeah, excited to be on with you.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
And we'll of course talk about the other aspect of
your sports covering life, covering NASCAR and the Exfinity circuit
on the CW. But let's start with hoops. Let's start
with basketball here in the Queen City. I know you
keep a close watch on everything going on with the Hornets,
and certainly record wise, it's been another disappointing season with
the squad at fourteen and forty six. Not without reason
(01:37):
for it, of course, but nonetheless, the results are what
they are. From your vantage point, what's been the major
issue hurdle, if you will, that the Horns have had
to overcome?
Speaker 4 (01:47):
Yeah, I mean, I.
Speaker 5 (01:48):
Think it's not much different than in the year's past,
but I will say I thought the attitude is a
little bit different, maybe even inside the locker room. But
I think injuries, right, I mean especially early on in
the season when you don't have some of your best
out on the court, it's going to impact things. You've
also got a first year head coach, Charles Lee, I think,
doing the very best that he can with the circumstances
he's been given.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
And listen when you hear from the players even after.
Speaker 5 (02:12):
These losses, I feel like one of the first names
that they say is their head coach Charles Lee and
how he's you know, kind of still rallying the troops
to get through the season and to pull away the
positives and to fight in these games still.
Speaker 4 (02:24):
And so I think.
Speaker 5 (02:25):
That that's definitely the positive to pull away.
Speaker 4 (02:27):
But you know, again, it's kind of hard.
Speaker 5 (02:29):
To have, you know, a full consensus of the season
just because there have been so many injuries to some
of the biggest stars.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Yeah, I think that's that's right on the nose.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
I mean, you can have all all the great players
in the league, you can have the best coaching staff,
the best training staff, you know, everything the best.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
If they're not on the floor, it's just not going
to work.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
It's the equivalent of, you know, being in a NASCAR
race and one car is missing the tire. It doesn't
matter how well the rest of the things work. That's
going to make it hard. And injuries. While we haven't
seen a knock on wood here, I haven't seen a
major injury for LaMelo Ball. He did have a longer
stretch with the glute injury or sorry, with the calf injury.
(03:10):
Another player, Brandon Miller had the glute injury and then
the risk. There's a lot of them to keep up with.
In any case, WHI LaMelo Ball has avoided a major injury,
he has still picked up quite a few nicks and
cuts and bruises and bumps over the course of the
season that has held him out already from twenty two games,
he's played thirty eight out of the possible sixty for
(03:30):
the Hornets. That means he won't meet the sixty five
game threshold. For all NBA consideration, He's on pace to
play in fifty two with a max of sixty and
again that threshold is sixty five games. And really the NBA,
it's about stars, and it's about their availability. You look
up and down the Eastern Conference standings, the six teams
(03:50):
that are currently in position to have automatic entry to
the playoffs, all of them have All Stars, but most importantly,
all of them have been available.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
You look at the top.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Cleveland, there all Star trio of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland,
and Evan Mobley. All three were All Stars this season.
All together, they've missed a combined fourteen games. That's all
three combined. There are other former All Star Jared Allen,
he hasn't missed one yet. So it's not just that
they've got elite ability, they've got incredible availability as well.
Speaker 5 (04:20):
Yeah, absolutely, And I think, yeah, you have to have
your key players. And then I think you always say,
you know, obviously you can look to.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
LaMelo Ball and kind of the the bumps and bruises
that he's gotten along the way.
Speaker 5 (04:31):
But then then you think about Briandon Miller, and you
think about, you know, at the point in which he
kind of had the season ending injury and had to
step away this season. You just wonder, like, what would
they have been able to do.
Speaker 4 (04:43):
If he was still out on the core because I.
Speaker 5 (04:44):
Felt like he was really getting in a groove in
his second year too.
Speaker 4 (04:49):
And I think, you know, even without LaMelo, had he been.
Speaker 5 (04:51):
Available or had some of the other guys been available
when LaMelo wasn't.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
I think it was just the perfect storm of like so.
Speaker 5 (04:58):
Many injuries and then you're going to to put new
guys on the roster world then practices, right, I mean,
you're having to get an agree, you're having to learn
each other on the core, and I think that's just
a lot of transition to happen, even when you're a professional,
even when you're at the top of your game in the.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Biggest league, no doubt about it.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Brandon Miller is a great example, you know, again promising
young star. He's for the first time in his career
averaging twenty points per game, but an injury very early
in the season took him off course after having an
incredible preseason, and then, of course the torn ligament in
his wrist knocks him out for the remainder of the season,
but he only plays in twenty seven games. Miles Bridges,
(05:38):
who's the most durable guy on the team. He's missed
fourteen games so far. If he misses three more, he's
not in consideration.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
For all NBA.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Not saying he's gonna get it, but if that's the threshold,
he's already borderline up to that limit. Mark Williams, of
course missed the first two months of the season with
the foot injury. He's not going to get to that threshold.
And so even if they're not All Stars, they're just
prominent players. And I think if the Hornets had the
record Cleveland did, any one of those guys would be
in for All Star consideration. But the fact that they're
(06:08):
not there is one of the major impediments to even
being in the conversation the first place. Just because I
did the homework, I'll throw these out there. The other
teams in the East that are currently in a top
six spot You've got in addition to Cleveland, Boston, Jason
Tatum and Jalen Brown are the two leaders of that team.
Out of sixty one games played as the recording this podcast,
Tatum's missed three. Brown has missed ten, so both are
(06:28):
in line for all NBA consideration. We'll likely get there
the next sixty games played is the recording of this podcast.
Jalen Brunson, Karl Anthony Towns the stars they've missed combined
those two seven total games. Milwaukee maybe of this group
the one with a slightly disappointing record at this point,
given the assumptions for what that core of Gianni Santekoumpo
(06:50):
and Dame Lillard might be capable of, and from their perspective,
they're hoping to win a championship. Giannis has missed twelve games,
Dame has missed ten, so you know, maybe that's part
of the reason why their record's not a little bit
better right now. But even they are above the threshold
to meet all NBA status in last but not at
least the two teams that are maybe the surprises to
be in the top six right now all things considered,
(07:13):
Indiana and Detroit. Indiana's got Pascal Siakam and Tyrese Haliburton.
Those two have played in every single game except for one.
Halliburton missed one game the whole year, and then Kate
Cunningham has only missed five out of sixty two. So
right there, you see it. It's not just elite talent,
it's not just filling out the bench, and I mean everything,
it's all of it in its totality. But the first
(07:36):
ability is availability, and the top six teams in the East,
they've all had it.
Speaker 4 (07:40):
No, I think that makes perfect sense. And when you're
looking at the.
Speaker 5 (07:42):
Standings, yeah, I mean, you talk about the surprises, but
then knowing, yeah, those stats that you just threw out,
like the fact that their best players have been out
in the court, no wonder they won thirty four thirty
five games this season, and.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
That's a huge discrepancy that I think.
Speaker 5 (07:57):
A lot of people it will make sense when you
look at the record at the end of the year
if you kind of put those stats next to the
way the teams perform.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
For sure, we will hope for better health in the
years to come. Still a lot to be gained from
the last twenty or so games here of the twenty
four to twenty five season, and we'll look forward to
tonight's contest and tonight's opportunity for the Hornets taking on
the Minnesota Timberwolves. Well, our game preview coming up shortly,
but coming up next more with Carlomett' sports reporter for
Queen City News and host of Charlotte Sports Live. After
(08:25):
this quick break here on the Hornets iodcast, Sam Farmer
and Carlamette, sports reporter for Queen City News and the
host of Charlotte Sports Live for the Fox affiliate here
in the Queen City with us once again here on
the HHC and carl In addition to your duties covering
the Hornets, the Panthers, everything else going on here in
(08:46):
the greater Charlotte area, you've got a pretty big gig
on your plate as part of the coverage team for
NASCAR on CW, primarily the Infinity Series. There, tell me,
how does covering the naw Cars circuit and all of
the different races all across the country compare with covering
the NBA and a franchise like the Hornets.
Speaker 5 (09:08):
Yeah, I mean, listen, I'm not traveling quite as much
as you are, but to start the season, yeah, I mean,
you're traveling all over the country right every single weekend.
Speaker 4 (09:16):
Obviously, the NBA has a lot more games than NASCAR
has races, but I think, yeah, it's that you're preparing the.
Speaker 5 (09:23):
Take on you know, I guess, the same field, the
same field of drivers every weekend, but they have to
prepare for, you know, all these different tracks that.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
They're going to.
Speaker 5 (09:31):
They certainly practice and their simulators leading up to the
week and so yeah, I mean, just like any other
sport out there, these guys are are true athletes. They're
true you know, competitors of their sport. They put everything
into it and there's a lot of time where it's
on the road and away from you know, their families
and doing something that they love. So I think the
travel aspect from NASCAR to the NBA can certainly be
(09:54):
be related there and then just the competitive nature of
these guys. But I think you find that the NBA,
you find that in the NFL with.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
The Exfinity Series.
Speaker 5 (10:03):
You know, these are not the Cup level guys, although
you do have Cup Series guys that drop down to
race in the Expinity Series a lot during those weekends,
but these are like up and coming stars, right.
Speaker 4 (10:12):
So it's really cool.
Speaker 5 (10:13):
I think, you know, you can relate that a lot
to watching some of these rookies like t Jon Salon
and last year it was Brandon Miller. We watched them
come into the league and you're just waiting for that
great moment that they add add to their sport. And
I think we saw that even against the Golden State
earlier this week, with t Jon Salon even in there
for just a little bit, the boosting his team at
(10:34):
the right time with those.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
Three straight three pointers that he was able to add.
Speaker 5 (10:38):
I love to see that, and I think that's kind
of what the Exfinity Series is for me is when
I look at these guys, they're so good, but they're
rising still, right, they haven't reached, you know, their their
full potential quite yet, and a lot of these guys
are going to be moving up into the Cup Series
in the coming years, and so it's just really fun
to follow their careers, much like it is following a
rookie when they get drafted and then you know, then
(11:00):
they've been in the league for you know, ten fifteen
years and you just remember their rookie season, You remember
covering them when they were you know, maybe not quite
as good as they are now. And so I think
that's the big carryover for me. I love, you know,
athlete stories and how they strive to be great at
their craft, and I think that's the part that always
draws me to sports.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
Right.
Speaker 5 (11:20):
We love sitting down watching NBA games, we love watching
NASCAR races. But at the end of the day, it's
about the people, and it's about watching their stories and
then trying to put those stories on TV or in
story forma in some way so that other people know,
you know, just the obstacles that they've come overcome in
their own careers.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
For someone who's more of a NASCAR novice, which I
admittedly am. I love the NASCAR Hall of Fame Museum
and everything over there, and taking the kids there and
watching race day when there's time amongst amidst the NBA schedule.
But from my perspective, obviously, the comparison to injuries is
a crash, and a crash could take care of a race,
(11:59):
just like an injury could take you out of a season.
From an outsider's perspective, from a novice perspective, it seems
like the line between winning and losing, between being a
top five racer in a race and being back in
the pack can be so small if you're not really
in tune with everything that goes on. But for those
that live and breathe and are just immersed in the
(12:22):
sport each and every moment of every race, those differences,
the things that separate the great teams from the rest
of the pack, might be a bit more obvious. Is
there something that, as a corollary to the game of basketball,
that you identify in the elite NASCAR teams and Infinity
teams that separates them on any given race that you're
(12:43):
already seeing in the current crop of Hornets where in
a season where, let's be honest, the car kind of
crashed already because you've got Brandon Miller and Grant Williams
and Treyvu. You've got all these guys who have been
so many games it makes it very hard to win
the race. But you're seeing signs that when they start
things up again for the next season, those intangibles are
going to help lead them towards the front of the pack.
Speaker 4 (13:05):
Absolutely. I think that's so true.
Speaker 5 (13:08):
And I think you know, we're just kind of getting
started in the NASCAR season, right It started for us
the weekend of February fifteenth, and you know it's going
to go all the way up to November. I think,
especially as you get in that summer stretch, you kind
of notice whose season is likely already over.
Speaker 4 (13:22):
For the year. But it's how how do they rally? Right?
Speaker 5 (13:25):
How did they take the information from the races and yeah,
and use that for the next season to propel them
a little bit further. You see this a lot, I
think in the playoffs for NASCAR and that and that
comes later in the fall where a lot of times
it's guys that are not in the playoffs end up
winning those races and why is that, Well, their teams
are still fighting, you know, they're still clawing, and I
(13:48):
think that's you know, kind of what we're seeing from
the Hornets right now. We heard Charles Lee talk about
that after Golden State's lost the other night about you know,
I really thought we were in it in the third
quarter and then you know, we kind of let up
in the fourth. But he was coaching his guys in
that moment, Hey, we're still in this.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
We can still win this game.
Speaker 5 (14:07):
Like, forget the record, And I think in NASCAR that's
what happens in the playoffs is forget that you're not
eligible for the playoffs, forget anything else that's going on.
This is a race where you can win real money,
you can win the trophy, you can end up in
victory Lane. And then a lot of those teams do
go on. You know, they have that off season, which
is about three months, and they take all that information
and take all those wins that they might have gotten
(14:28):
later in the year that didn't really matter that much,
and they use that to propel them on into the season.
So yeah, I think that's that's so true, such a
great carryover, and you know, I think a lot of times.
We were talking earlier too about you know, availability of
these NBA players, and I think for NASCAR, you know,
these races that they race every weekend are really long,
(14:48):
like who can stay available in the race without a reck, without.
Speaker 4 (14:53):
A mistake to give yourself a shot at the end.
Speaker 5 (14:56):
You might be running in the back of the field
during these races, but if you can stay crash free,
like you never know what's going to happen at the
end of you know, three hundred laps or four hundred laps,
if you can stay in it and you can, you know,
keep your mental state clean within those races, like you
always have a shot to win the race at the end.
(15:16):
And so yeah, I think availability, and then I think
just pushing through when times are hard and still trying.
And I think, you know, NASCAR drivers have swamps just
like any other athlete out there, even the really great
ones you could have you know, five.
Speaker 4 (15:30):
Six wins one season and the next you know, have two.
Speaker 5 (15:32):
And so I think it just ebbs and flows, much
like every other sport out there.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
We'll see if the Hornets can keep things on course
for their matchup tonight against the Minnesota Timberwols. Tickets for
this one and all remaining home games available available of
course at Hornets dot com. We will preview Hornets and
Tea Wolves with Carlomets of Queen City News next here
on the Hornets I've Casts, Sam Farbara and Carlomets, host
(15:59):
of Charlotte Sport Live on your local Fox affiliate here
in the great City of Charlotte.
Speaker 3 (16:03):
Queen City News here with your game preview.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
On this episode of the AHHC The Hornets I've Cast,
brought to you by Santa Hornets, taking on the thirty
three and twenty nine Minnesota Timberwolves. Minnesota right now within
a game of sixth place in the West. However, they
were in a logjam of five teams that all have
between thirty two and thirty four wins as the recording
of this podcast. That means they're all stretched out between
sixth and tenth. It's kind of lining up similar to
(16:27):
when the Hornets finished forty three and thirty nine a
couple of years ago LaMelo Ball's All Star season and
only finished in tenth in the East. Had to win
back to back games on the road just to make
it into the bracket. Of course, that didn't happen that year.
Someone's gonna have that fate, it seems, at least in
the West with about twenty games to go, so Minnesota
playing hard to try and avoid that fate. Charlotte, of course,
(16:47):
they've dropped seven in a row overall record of fourteen
and forty six, but an opportunity to see LaMelo ball
go head ahead with Anthony Edwards the top two performers
from the twenty twenty draft class.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
Edwards a three time All Star now.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
LaMelo, of course, though, was the rookie of the year,
so we'll see who gets the better of this head
to head matchup.
Speaker 3 (17:05):
Carlo, you're a veteran of the HHCs game day previews.
You know how this works.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
We need players to watch from both teams as well
as the stat to watch other than points, because that's cheating.
Whoever scores the most points wins the game. Where would
you like to begin.
Speaker 5 (17:17):
I'm going to go with the player to watch for
the timber Wolves.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
I'm going to go Anthony Edwards, and I think that's
maybe the obvious pick, right, but.
Speaker 5 (17:27):
I think just his ability to be that complete player
on the.
Speaker 4 (17:31):
Court, especially on offense.
Speaker 5 (17:33):
I think he's you know, currently one of the leaders
on offense, especially when it comes to three points made,
second to Steph Curry.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
In the league. I think LaMelo Ball there is on
you know, fourth on that.
Speaker 5 (17:41):
List as well, But I think Anthony Edwards right now,
can they keep him from making those threes and can
they keep him I think he's averaging about twenty seven
points right now. I'd love to see them keep him
under twenty. I think if you look at a lot
of their losses this season too, I think that's something
that kind of stands out to him. But trying to contend,
and they do have other playmakers out on the court,
(18:03):
they can kind of overcome that, but certainly I think that's.
Speaker 4 (18:06):
The most obvious one offensively for the t Wolves.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
Yeah, I can't argue with it. He's a three time
All Star. I do think it's worth noting that statistically speaking,
he and LaMelo are very very close. Anthony Edwards twenty
seven point six rebounds per night and four and a
half assists per game. LaMelo twenty six point one points
per game, five point two rebounds per night, seven assists
per game. So they're really really close to one another
(18:32):
all across the board. I'll admit Anthony Edwards efficiency is
much higher a forty percent three point shooter, compared to
LaMelo this year at thirty three percent. But Anthony Edwards
is playing with Julius Randall and Rudy Gobert and has
other all star talent alongside him for the majority of
those games, whereas LaMelo's cohorts have unfortunately, much like LaMelo,
(18:54):
been injured for longer stretches, and that puts even more
focus and more pressure on LaMelo. But statistically speaking, they
are very close to one another. The one edge I
think we have to give Edwards at this point his durability.
He's played in at least seventy two games every season
and this year fifty nine out of sixty two, so
he's gonna get there once again. For LaMelo, that's still
(19:14):
a bar that he is hoping to reach and hopefully
that comes next year in his career. But Edward's a
great pick. I'll go in another direction. I'll bring up
Dante DiVincenzo. I think Minnesota if they're gonna get over
the hump, if they're gonna avoid the play in tournament
and really make a run of things in the West,
they need de Vincenzo. He just came back from a
month long injury three games into his return now, and
(19:35):
he's averaging fifteen points per game off the bench while
shooting fifty one percent from three in that stretch.
Speaker 3 (19:40):
So that's a.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Really productive, effective, accomplished player coming off the pine. For Minnesota,
that's a luxury that they need to take advantage of
if they're going to scratch and claw their way ahead
of teams like the Warriors and Clippers and Kings on
the way to what they hope will be another trip
deep into the Western Conference playoff picture. Do you want
a hornet to watch or a stat to watch?
Speaker 4 (20:03):
Let's go hornet to watch. And I feel like this
one's more of a fun one, right.
Speaker 5 (20:07):
I Mean I kind of wanted to go Mark Williams
on one side, but I think just with t John
Salon and what he was able to do, I just
want to see, right.
Speaker 4 (20:14):
I feel like we.
Speaker 5 (20:15):
Think we want to see them win this game, but
I want to see more of him and what he
can do.
Speaker 4 (20:19):
I feel like he, you know.
Speaker 5 (20:20):
Really made a quick little statement right all in the
first quarter, all those three points that he made three
in a row.
Speaker 4 (20:26):
I'm impressed with what he's able to do.
Speaker 5 (20:28):
He took that that big shot in the throat by
Green there against the Golden State, Like how physical of
a rookie is he? And can can we see more
right from the bench? So I think he added what
ten points in the games with the Warriors? Can he
add a little bit more?
Speaker 4 (20:46):
You know?
Speaker 5 (20:46):
Can you know, Coach League, give him a little.
Speaker 4 (20:49):
Bit more time out on the court to do some
damage there.
Speaker 5 (20:51):
I just think it would be fun to you know,
you've got Lamela Ball, You've got Miles Bridges and Mark
Williams doing great things as well. But I but I think,
you know how, I think that extra a little off
the bench would be certainly helpful.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
I love the pick.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
I love it when our guests go a little off
the beaten path from some of the superstars, and yeah,
let's see t Jhon back up that performance with another
one right behind it.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
I love it when he's playing.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
With confidence, when he shoots with confidence, drives with confidence,
just attack it. Sometimes I'm not sure if he fully
realizes just how big and strong and physically imposing he is.
But every opportunity he takes to relearn that is a
good one. So I love the pick. I thought you
might go with LaMelo, so I was fully prepped to
go in a different direction and I'm gonna keep it there.
(21:35):
But you know, we do expect LaMelo to have a
big game. He has had some really good performances against Minnesota.
But I'm gonna go with Miles Bridges for this one.
He's coming off a thirty five point performance, one shy
of his season high of thirty six, which he had
at Denver earlier. In the most recent road trip. He's
been playing really well and when he's paired up with
(21:55):
LaMelo Ball, his efficiency really shoots through the roof. And
it needs to. It's not just the LaMelo Ball show.
He's not the only one out there. He needs someone
to relieve some of that pressure, and I think Miles
Bridges has done a good job of it. I'll be
interested to see how the Timberwolves choose to defend him.
Who do they, you know, put in terms of premium
defenders on LaMelo? Do they put him on Miles? And
(22:16):
how do the Hornets make him pay? So Bridges is
a nice rhythm here, ten for his last ten from
the foul line, three straight games with multiple made threes
and of course, the thirty five points the other day
against Golden State.
Speaker 3 (22:27):
Let's see how he does there.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
Oh, by the way, twenty second career thirty point performance
for Miles Bridges that ties Larry Johnson for I think
the seventh most in franchise history. So continuing to climb
the all time top ten lists as well. Here for
the Hornets. Last, but not least, we need a stat
to watch, stat to watch.
Speaker 5 (22:45):
Okay, I kind of was going through some of the
Tea Wolves stats, and I know this one's like a
little different, a little off the beaten path as well.
But keeping them under thirty points for at least two
quarters during the game has been kind of their Kurk tonight,
so that you know, they have a bad, slow start,
a bad second half. Sometimes they kind of alternate quarters
(23:06):
where they go on these runs and then you know,
then they are able to not really make as many
shots in the next and so I think, you know, defensively,
that's going to be key. And even going back to
Anthony Edwards and back to Mark Williams and you know,
the presence he made on the boards earlier this week,
I think that's going to be huge in all of this.
But just Yeah, limiting those big runs and those big
(23:27):
quarters where you know, the temper Wolves.
Speaker 4 (23:30):
They can get on a roll pretty easily.
Speaker 5 (23:32):
And so yeah, I know again that's a little a
little different, but under thirty points for at least two
quarters during the game.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
Oh, I love it. I love it.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
You're right on the nose too, because Minnesota, you know,
even though they've got Anthony Edwards, who's a real uptempo player,
they are bottom five along with the Hornets, by the way,
in fast breakpoints.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
They like the half court game.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
They've got Rudy Gobert back there is you know, the
stifle tower to try and stifle opposing offenses. And while
they're scoring hasn't been great, they're about an average offensive team.
They really make their bones by winning on the defensive
side of the floor, but offensively, you know, if they're
not getting to that threshold that you're talking about, yeah,
(24:14):
it gets very difficult to win. So nice, nice poll
there for a stat to watch for me, I'll take
an easy way out. I'm going to go with threes
for this one. These are two of the top six
teams in the NBA in terms of percentage of their
offense that comes from the three. So that is to say,
even though they're not playing up tempo and scoring a
ton of points, they do try and maximize their point
(24:35):
value per possession by taking a lot of threes. Anthony
Edwards and LaMelo Ball at the heart of that for
both of these teams. So oftentimes they live by it,
sometimes they die by it. In many games we'll see
who's able to prevail from beyond the arc, and I
think there's a strong likelihood whoever wins the three point
line will end up winning the game. However it turns out,
we know the outstanding team led by Carla Metz at
(24:57):
Queen City News and Charlotte Sports Veil, have you come
with a review of the contest, And of course we'll
do the same tomorrow with another edition of the HHC.
But Carla, thanks so much for joining us. Good luck
on the race circuit, and good luck with all the
things that you're working on covering the great city of
Charlotte on Queen City News and for Charlotte Sports Live.
Speaker 4 (25:15):
Yeah, I appreciate it.
Speaker 5 (25:16):
We will have that recap of the Hornets game against
the Timberwolves, and then yeah, I'll be out in Phoenix
for the CW Race If there's NBA fans out there
not familiar with NASCAR the Xcinity Series, you can watch
that race at Phoenix Raceway.
Speaker 4 (25:30):
On March at five pm Eastern. That this Saturday. So yeah,
we'll be.
Speaker 5 (25:34):
Be traveling and then of course keeping up with the
Hornets at the same time as well.
Speaker 2 (25:38):
We'll be locked in and looking forward to all your
great coverage. Carlo Mets, reporter for Queen City News and
host of Charlotte Sports Live.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
Our guest today here on the HHC.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
Thanks to Carla, Thanks to our producer Rob Longo for
putting this podcast together. Most of all to all of
you for tuning in. For all of us here, I'm
Sam Farber saying it's been a pleasure and of privilege
having you along and we'll talk to you next time.
Right here, I'm the Hornet's Podcasts.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
Thank you for listening to The Hornets Podcast, brought to
you by Santa, the official i ear nosen throad care
provider of the Charlotte Hornets. For more coverage, visit Hornets
dot com.
Welcome to the Hornets Haveivecast, 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 (00:13):
Welcome to another edition of the Hornets haveive Cast, your
Hornets podcast with all the notes, quotes, and daily buzz
around your favorite NBA team. I'm Sam Farber and it
is a pleasure and a privileged debby with us here
once again on the Hornets iive Cast, brought to you
by Santa Charlotte I ear Nose and Throat Associates, the
official I ear nosen throawcare provider of the Charlotte Hornets.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
It's a game to edition. Hornets fourteen and forty six
on the season.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Ready to take on the thirty three and twenty nine
Minnesota Timberwolves, another clash between two of the top members,
if not the top members of the twenty twenty NBA
Draft class, lamellow Ball and Anthony Edwards. We'll have our
game preview, talk about the season as a whole and
how it compares with the other major sports circuit.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
Our guest today covers.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
She is one of the wonderful hosts of Charlotte Sports
Live and and the sports director for Queen City News,
Carla Metz, back with us once again here on the HHC. Carla,
thanks so much for joining me.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Yeah, excited to talk some basketball.
Speaker 5 (01:09):
Obviously, getting to watch the Hornets back at home lately
it is always a good thing.
Speaker 4 (01:14):
But yeah, excited to be on with you.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
And we'll of course talk about the other aspect of
your sports covering life, covering NASCAR and the Exfinity circuit
on the CW. But let's start with hoops. Let's start
with basketball here in the Queen City. I know you
keep a close watch on everything going on with the Hornets,
and certainly record wise, it's been another disappointing season with
the squad at fourteen and forty six. Not without reason
(01:37):
for it, of course, but nonetheless, the results are what
they are. From your vantage point, what's been the major
issue hurdle, if you will, that the Horns have had
to overcome?
Speaker 4 (01:47):
Yeah, I mean, I.
Speaker 5 (01:48):
Think it's not much different than in the year's past,
but I will say I thought the attitude is a
little bit different, maybe even inside the locker room. But
I think injuries, right, I mean especially early on in
the season when you don't have some of your best
out on the court, it's going to impact things. You've
also got a first year head coach, Charles Lee, I think,
doing the very best that he can with the circumstances
he's been given.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
And listen when you hear from the players even after.
Speaker 5 (02:12):
These losses, I feel like one of the first names
that they say is their head coach Charles Lee and
how he's you know, kind of still rallying the troops
to get through the season and to pull away the
positives and to fight in these games still.
Speaker 4 (02:24):
And so I think.
Speaker 5 (02:25):
That that's definitely the positive to pull away.
Speaker 4 (02:27):
But you know, again, it's kind of hard.
Speaker 5 (02:29):
To have, you know, a full consensus of the season
just because there have been so many injuries to some
of the biggest stars.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Yeah, I think that's that's right on the nose.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
I mean, you can have all all the great players
in the league, you can have the best coaching staff,
the best training staff, you know, everything the best.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
If they're not on the floor, it's just not going
to work.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
It's the equivalent of, you know, being in a NASCAR
race and one car is missing the tire. It doesn't
matter how well the rest of the things work. That's
going to make it hard. And injuries. While we haven't
seen a knock on wood here, I haven't seen a
major injury for LaMelo Ball. He did have a longer
stretch with the glute injury or sorry, with the calf injury.
(03:10):
Another player, Brandon Miller had the glute injury and then
the risk. There's a lot of them to keep up with.
In any case, WHI LaMelo Ball has avoided a major injury,
he has still picked up quite a few nicks and
cuts and bruises and bumps over the course of the
season that has held him out already from twenty two games,
he's played thirty eight out of the possible sixty for
(03:30):
the Hornets. That means he won't meet the sixty five
game threshold. For all NBA consideration, He's on pace to
play in fifty two with a max of sixty and
again that threshold is sixty five games. And really the NBA,
it's about stars, and it's about their availability. You look
up and down the Eastern Conference standings, the six teams
(03:50):
that are currently in position to have automatic entry to
the playoffs, all of them have All Stars, but most importantly,
all of them have been available.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
You look at the top.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Cleveland, there all Star trio of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland,
and Evan Mobley. All three were All Stars this season.
All together, they've missed a combined fourteen games. That's all
three combined. There are other former All Star Jared Allen,
he hasn't missed one yet. So it's not just that
they've got elite ability, they've got incredible availability as well.
Speaker 5 (04:20):
Yeah, absolutely, And I think, yeah, you have to have
your key players. And then I think you always say,
you know, obviously you can look to.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
LaMelo Ball and kind of the the bumps and bruises
that he's gotten along the way.
Speaker 5 (04:31):
But then then you think about Briandon Miller, and you
think about, you know, at the point in which he
kind of had the season ending injury and had to
step away this season. You just wonder, like, what would
they have been able to do.
Speaker 4 (04:43):
If he was still out on the core because I.
Speaker 5 (04:44):
Felt like he was really getting in a groove in
his second year too.
Speaker 4 (04:49):
And I think, you know, even without LaMelo, had he been.
Speaker 5 (04:51):
Available or had some of the other guys been available
when LaMelo wasn't.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
I think it was just the perfect storm of like so.
Speaker 5 (04:58):
Many injuries and then you're going to to put new
guys on the roster world then practices, right, I mean,
you're having to get an agree, you're having to learn
each other on the core, and I think that's just
a lot of transition to happen, even when you're a professional,
even when you're at the top of your game in the.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Biggest league, no doubt about it.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Brandon Miller is a great example, you know, again promising
young star. He's for the first time in his career
averaging twenty points per game, but an injury very early
in the season took him off course after having an
incredible preseason, and then, of course the torn ligament in
his wrist knocks him out for the remainder of the season,
but he only plays in twenty seven games. Miles Bridges,
(05:38):
who's the most durable guy on the team. He's missed
fourteen games so far. If he misses three more, he's
not in consideration.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
For all NBA.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Not saying he's gonna get it, but if that's the threshold,
he's already borderline up to that limit. Mark Williams, of
course missed the first two months of the season with
the foot injury. He's not going to get to that threshold.
And so even if they're not All Stars, they're just
prominent players. And I think if the Hornets had the
record Cleveland did, any one of those guys would be
in for All Star consideration. But the fact that they're
(06:08):
not there is one of the major impediments to even
being in the conversation the first place. Just because I
did the homework, I'll throw these out there. The other
teams in the East that are currently in a top
six spot You've got in addition to Cleveland, Boston, Jason
Tatum and Jalen Brown are the two leaders of that team.
Out of sixty one games played as the recording this podcast,
Tatum's missed three. Brown has missed ten, so both are
(06:28):
in line for all NBA consideration. We'll likely get there
the next sixty games played is the recording of this podcast.
Jalen Brunson, Karl Anthony Towns the stars they've missed combined
those two seven total games. Milwaukee maybe of this group
the one with a slightly disappointing record at this point,
given the assumptions for what that core of Gianni Santekoumpo
(06:50):
and Dame Lillard might be capable of, and from their perspective,
they're hoping to win a championship. Giannis has missed twelve games,
Dame has missed ten, so you know, maybe that's part
of the reason why their record's not a little bit
better right now. But even they are above the threshold
to meet all NBA status in last but not at
least the two teams that are maybe the surprises to
be in the top six right now all things considered,
(07:13):
Indiana and Detroit. Indiana's got Pascal Siakam and Tyrese Haliburton.
Those two have played in every single game except for one.
Halliburton missed one game the whole year, and then Kate
Cunningham has only missed five out of sixty two. So
right there, you see it. It's not just elite talent,
it's not just filling out the bench, and I mean everything,
it's all of it in its totality. But the first
(07:36):
ability is availability, and the top six teams in the East,
they've all had it.
Speaker 4 (07:40):
No, I think that makes perfect sense. And when you're
looking at the.
Speaker 5 (07:42):
Standings, yeah, I mean, you talk about the surprises, but
then knowing, yeah, those stats that you just threw out,
like the fact that their best players have been out
in the court, no wonder they won thirty four thirty
five games this season, and.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
That's a huge discrepancy that I think.
Speaker 5 (07:57):
A lot of people it will make sense when you
look at the record at the end of the year
if you kind of put those stats next to the
way the teams perform.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
For sure, we will hope for better health in the
years to come. Still a lot to be gained from
the last twenty or so games here of the twenty
four to twenty five season, and we'll look forward to
tonight's contest and tonight's opportunity for the Hornets taking on
the Minnesota Timberwolves. Well, our game preview coming up shortly,
but coming up next more with Carlomett' sports reporter for
Queen City News and host of Charlotte Sports Live. After
(08:25):
this quick break here on the Hornets iodcast, Sam Farmer
and Carlamette, sports reporter for Queen City News and the
host of Charlotte Sports Live for the Fox affiliate here
in the Queen City with us once again here on
the HHC and carl In addition to your duties covering
the Hornets, the Panthers, everything else going on here in
(08:46):
the greater Charlotte area, you've got a pretty big gig
on your plate as part of the coverage team for
NASCAR on CW, primarily the Infinity Series. There, tell me,
how does covering the naw Cars circuit and all of
the different races all across the country compare with covering
the NBA and a franchise like the Hornets.
Speaker 5 (09:08):
Yeah, I mean, listen, I'm not traveling quite as much
as you are, but to start the season, yeah, I mean,
you're traveling all over the country right every single weekend.
Speaker 4 (09:16):
Obviously, the NBA has a lot more games than NASCAR
has races, but I think, yeah, it's that you're preparing the.
Speaker 5 (09:23):
Take on you know, I guess, the same field, the
same field of drivers every weekend, but they have to
prepare for, you know, all these different tracks that.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
They're going to.
Speaker 5 (09:31):
They certainly practice and their simulators leading up to the
week and so yeah, I mean, just like any other
sport out there, these guys are are true athletes. They're
true you know, competitors of their sport. They put everything
into it and there's a lot of time where it's
on the road and away from you know, their families
and doing something that they love. So I think the
travel aspect from NASCAR to the NBA can certainly be
(09:54):
be related there and then just the competitive nature of
these guys. But I think you find that the NBA,
you find that in the NFL with.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
The Exfinity Series.
Speaker 5 (10:03):
You know, these are not the Cup level guys, although
you do have Cup Series guys that drop down to
race in the Expinity Series a lot during those weekends,
but these are like up and coming stars, right.
Speaker 4 (10:12):
So it's really cool.
Speaker 5 (10:13):
I think, you know, you can relate that a lot
to watching some of these rookies like t Jon Salon
and last year it was Brandon Miller. We watched them
come into the league and you're just waiting for that
great moment that they add add to their sport. And
I think we saw that even against the Golden State
earlier this week, with t Jon Salon even in there
for just a little bit, the boosting his team at
(10:34):
the right time with those.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
Three straight three pointers that he was able to add.
Speaker 5 (10:38):
I love to see that, and I think that's kind
of what the Exfinity Series is for me is when
I look at these guys, they're so good, but they're
rising still, right, they haven't reached, you know, their their
full potential quite yet, and a lot of these guys
are going to be moving up into the Cup Series
in the coming years, and so it's just really fun
to follow their careers, much like it is following a
rookie when they get drafted and then you know, then
(11:00):
they've been in the league for you know, ten fifteen
years and you just remember their rookie season, You remember
covering them when they were you know, maybe not quite
as good as they are now. And so I think
that's the big carryover for me. I love, you know,
athlete stories and how they strive to be great at
their craft, and I think that's the part that always
draws me to sports.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
Right.
Speaker 5 (11:20):
We love sitting down watching NBA games, we love watching
NASCAR races. But at the end of the day, it's
about the people, and it's about watching their stories and
then trying to put those stories on TV or in
story forma in some way so that other people know,
you know, just the obstacles that they've come overcome in
their own careers.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
For someone who's more of a NASCAR novice, which I
admittedly am. I love the NASCAR Hall of Fame Museum
and everything over there, and taking the kids there and
watching race day when there's time amongst amidst the NBA schedule.
But from my perspective, obviously, the comparison to injuries is
a crash, and a crash could take care of a race,
(11:59):
just like an injury could take you out of a season.
From an outsider's perspective, from a novice perspective, it seems
like the line between winning and losing, between being a
top five racer in a race and being back in
the pack can be so small if you're not really
in tune with everything that goes on. But for those
that live and breathe and are just immersed in the
(12:22):
sport each and every moment of every race, those differences,
the things that separate the great teams from the rest
of the pack, might be a bit more obvious. Is
there something that, as a corollary to the game of basketball,
that you identify in the elite NASCAR teams and Infinity
teams that separates them on any given race that you're
(12:43):
already seeing in the current crop of Hornets where in
a season where, let's be honest, the car kind of
crashed already because you've got Brandon Miller and Grant Williams
and Treyvu. You've got all these guys who have been
so many games it makes it very hard to win
the race. But you're seeing signs that when they start
things up again for the next season, those intangibles are
going to help lead them towards the front of the pack.
Speaker 4 (13:05):
Absolutely. I think that's so true.
Speaker 5 (13:08):
And I think you know, we're just kind of getting
started in the NASCAR season, right It started for us
the weekend of February fifteenth, and you know it's going
to go all the way up to November. I think,
especially as you get in that summer stretch, you kind
of notice whose season is likely already over.
Speaker 4 (13:22):
For the year. But it's how how do they rally? Right?
Speaker 5 (13:25):
How did they take the information from the races and yeah,
and use that for the next season to propel them
a little bit further. You see this a lot, I
think in the playoffs for NASCAR and that and that
comes later in the fall where a lot of times
it's guys that are not in the playoffs end up
winning those races and why is that, Well, their teams
are still fighting, you know, they're still clawing, and I
(13:48):
think that's you know, kind of what we're seeing from
the Hornets right now. We heard Charles Lee talk about
that after Golden State's lost the other night about you know,
I really thought we were in it in the third
quarter and then you know, we kind of let up
in the fourth. But he was coaching his guys in
that moment, Hey, we're still in this.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
We can still win this game.
Speaker 5 (14:07):
Like, forget the record, And I think in NASCAR that's
what happens in the playoffs is forget that you're not
eligible for the playoffs, forget anything else that's going on.
This is a race where you can win real money,
you can win the trophy, you can end up in
victory Lane. And then a lot of those teams do
go on. You know, they have that off season, which
is about three months, and they take all that information
and take all those wins that they might have gotten
(14:28):
later in the year that didn't really matter that much,
and they use that to propel them on into the season.
So yeah, I think that's that's so true, such a
great carryover, and you know, I think a lot of times.
We were talking earlier too about you know, availability of
these NBA players, and I think for NASCAR, you know,
these races that they race every weekend are really long,
(14:48):
like who can stay available in the race without a reck, without.
Speaker 4 (14:53):
A mistake to give yourself a shot at the end.
Speaker 5 (14:56):
You might be running in the back of the field
during these races, but if you can stay crash free,
like you never know what's going to happen at the
end of you know, three hundred laps or four hundred laps,
if you can stay in it and you can, you know,
keep your mental state clean within those races, like you
always have a shot to win the race at the end.
(15:16):
And so yeah, I think availability, and then I think
just pushing through when times are hard and still trying.
And I think, you know, NASCAR drivers have swamps just
like any other athlete out there, even the really great
ones you could have you know, five.
Speaker 4 (15:30):
Six wins one season and the next you know, have two.
Speaker 5 (15:32):
And so I think it just ebbs and flows, much
like every other sport out there.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
We'll see if the Hornets can keep things on course
for their matchup tonight against the Minnesota Timberwols. Tickets for
this one and all remaining home games available available of
course at Hornets dot com. We will preview Hornets and
Tea Wolves with Carlomets of Queen City News next here
on the Hornets I've Casts, Sam Farbara and Carlomets, host
(15:59):
of Charlotte Sport Live on your local Fox affiliate here
in the great City of Charlotte.
Speaker 3 (16:03):
Queen City News here with your game preview.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
On this episode of the AHHC The Hornets I've Cast,
brought to you by Santa Hornets, taking on the thirty
three and twenty nine Minnesota Timberwolves. Minnesota right now within
a game of sixth place in the West. However, they
were in a logjam of five teams that all have
between thirty two and thirty four wins as the recording
of this podcast. That means they're all stretched out between
sixth and tenth. It's kind of lining up similar to
(16:27):
when the Hornets finished forty three and thirty nine a
couple of years ago LaMelo Ball's All Star season and
only finished in tenth in the East. Had to win
back to back games on the road just to make
it into the bracket. Of course, that didn't happen that year.
Someone's gonna have that fate, it seems, at least in
the West with about twenty games to go, so Minnesota
playing hard to try and avoid that fate. Charlotte, of course,
(16:47):
they've dropped seven in a row overall record of fourteen
and forty six, but an opportunity to see LaMelo ball
go head ahead with Anthony Edwards the top two performers
from the twenty twenty draft class.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
Edwards a three time All Star now.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
LaMelo, of course, though, was the rookie of the year,
so we'll see who gets the better of this head
to head matchup.
Speaker 3 (17:05):
Carlo, you're a veteran of the HHCs game day previews.
You know how this works.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
We need players to watch from both teams as well
as the stat to watch other than points, because that's cheating.
Whoever scores the most points wins the game. Where would
you like to begin.
Speaker 5 (17:17):
I'm going to go with the player to watch for
the timber Wolves.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
I'm going to go Anthony Edwards, and I think that's
maybe the obvious pick, right, but.
Speaker 5 (17:27):
I think just his ability to be that complete player
on the.
Speaker 4 (17:31):
Court, especially on offense.
Speaker 5 (17:33):
I think he's you know, currently one of the leaders
on offense, especially when it comes to three points made,
second to Steph Curry.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
In the league. I think LaMelo Ball there is on
you know, fourth on that.
Speaker 5 (17:41):
List as well, But I think Anthony Edwards right now,
can they keep him from making those threes and can
they keep him I think he's averaging about twenty seven
points right now. I'd love to see them keep him
under twenty. I think if you look at a lot
of their losses this season too, I think that's something
that kind of stands out to him. But trying to contend,
and they do have other playmakers out on the court,
(18:03):
they can kind of overcome that, but certainly I think that's.
Speaker 4 (18:06):
The most obvious one offensively for the t Wolves.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
Yeah, I can't argue with it. He's a three time
All Star. I do think it's worth noting that statistically speaking,
he and LaMelo are very very close. Anthony Edwards twenty
seven point six rebounds per night and four and a
half assists per game. LaMelo twenty six point one points
per game, five point two rebounds per night, seven assists
per game. So they're really really close to one another
(18:32):
all across the board. I'll admit Anthony Edwards efficiency is
much higher a forty percent three point shooter, compared to
LaMelo this year at thirty three percent. But Anthony Edwards
is playing with Julius Randall and Rudy Gobert and has
other all star talent alongside him for the majority of
those games, whereas LaMelo's cohorts have unfortunately, much like LaMelo,
(18:54):
been injured for longer stretches, and that puts even more
focus and more pressure on LaMelo. But statistically speaking, they
are very close to one another. The one edge I
think we have to give Edwards at this point his durability.
He's played in at least seventy two games every season
and this year fifty nine out of sixty two, so
he's gonna get there once again. For LaMelo, that's still
(19:14):
a bar that he is hoping to reach and hopefully
that comes next year in his career. But Edward's a
great pick. I'll go in another direction. I'll bring up
Dante DiVincenzo. I think Minnesota if they're gonna get over
the hump, if they're gonna avoid the play in tournament
and really make a run of things in the West,
they need de Vincenzo. He just came back from a
month long injury three games into his return now, and
(19:35):
he's averaging fifteen points per game off the bench while
shooting fifty one percent from three in that stretch.
Speaker 3 (19:40):
So that's a.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Really productive, effective, accomplished player coming off the pine. For Minnesota,
that's a luxury that they need to take advantage of
if they're going to scratch and claw their way ahead
of teams like the Warriors and Clippers and Kings on
the way to what they hope will be another trip
deep into the Western Conference playoff picture. Do you want
a hornet to watch or a stat to watch?
Speaker 4 (20:03):
Let's go hornet to watch. And I feel like this
one's more of a fun one, right.
Speaker 5 (20:07):
I Mean I kind of wanted to go Mark Williams
on one side, but I think just with t John
Salon and what he was able to do, I just
want to see, right.
Speaker 4 (20:14):
I feel like we.
Speaker 5 (20:15):
Think we want to see them win this game, but
I want to see more of him and what he
can do.
Speaker 4 (20:19):
I feel like he, you know.
Speaker 5 (20:20):
Really made a quick little statement right all in the
first quarter, all those three points that he made three
in a row.
Speaker 4 (20:26):
I'm impressed with what he's able to do.
Speaker 5 (20:28):
He took that that big shot in the throat by
Green there against the Golden State, Like how physical of
a rookie is he? And can can we see more
right from the bench? So I think he added what
ten points in the games with the Warriors? Can he
add a little bit more?
Speaker 4 (20:46):
You know?
Speaker 5 (20:46):
Can you know, Coach League, give him a little.
Speaker 4 (20:49):
Bit more time out on the court to do some
damage there.
Speaker 5 (20:51):
I just think it would be fun to you know,
you've got Lamela Ball, You've got Miles Bridges and Mark
Williams doing great things as well. But I but I think,
you know how, I think that extra a little off
the bench would be certainly helpful.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
I love the pick.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
I love it when our guests go a little off
the beaten path from some of the superstars, and yeah,
let's see t Jhon back up that performance with another
one right behind it.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
I love it when he's playing.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
With confidence, when he shoots with confidence, drives with confidence,
just attack it. Sometimes I'm not sure if he fully
realizes just how big and strong and physically imposing he is.
But every opportunity he takes to relearn that is a
good one. So I love the pick. I thought you
might go with LaMelo, so I was fully prepped to
go in a different direction and I'm gonna keep it there.
(21:35):
But you know, we do expect LaMelo to have a
big game. He has had some really good performances against Minnesota.
But I'm gonna go with Miles Bridges for this one.
He's coming off a thirty five point performance, one shy
of his season high of thirty six, which he had
at Denver earlier. In the most recent road trip. He's
been playing really well and when he's paired up with
(21:55):
LaMelo Ball, his efficiency really shoots through the roof. And
it needs to. It's not just the LaMelo Ball show.
He's not the only one out there. He needs someone
to relieve some of that pressure, and I think Miles
Bridges has done a good job of it. I'll be
interested to see how the Timberwolves choose to defend him.
Who do they, you know, put in terms of premium
defenders on LaMelo? Do they put him on Miles? And
(22:16):
how do the Hornets make him pay? So Bridges is
a nice rhythm here, ten for his last ten from
the foul line, three straight games with multiple made threes
and of course, the thirty five points the other day
against Golden State.
Speaker 3 (22:27):
Let's see how he does there.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
Oh, by the way, twenty second career thirty point performance
for Miles Bridges that ties Larry Johnson for I think
the seventh most in franchise history. So continuing to climb
the all time top ten lists as well. Here for
the Hornets. Last, but not least, we need a stat
to watch, stat to watch.
Speaker 5 (22:45):
Okay, I kind of was going through some of the
Tea Wolves stats, and I know this one's like a
little different, a little off the beaten path as well.
But keeping them under thirty points for at least two
quarters during the game has been kind of their Kurk tonight,
so that you know, they have a bad, slow start,
a bad second half. Sometimes they kind of alternate quarters
(23:06):
where they go on these runs and then you know,
then they are able to not really make as many
shots in the next and so I think, you know, defensively,
that's going to be key. And even going back to
Anthony Edwards and back to Mark Williams and you know,
the presence he made on the boards earlier this week,
I think that's going to be huge in all of this.
But just Yeah, limiting those big runs and those big
(23:27):
quarters where you know, the temper Wolves.
Speaker 4 (23:30):
They can get on a roll pretty easily.
Speaker 5 (23:32):
And so yeah, I know again that's a little a
little different, but under thirty points for at least two
quarters during the game.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
Oh, I love it. I love it.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
You're right on the nose too, because Minnesota, you know,
even though they've got Anthony Edwards, who's a real uptempo player,
they are bottom five along with the Hornets, by the way,
in fast breakpoints.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
They like the half court game.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
They've got Rudy Gobert back there is you know, the
stifle tower to try and stifle opposing offenses. And while
they're scoring hasn't been great, they're about an average offensive team.
They really make their bones by winning on the defensive
side of the floor, but offensively, you know, if they're
not getting to that threshold that you're talking about, yeah,
(24:14):
it gets very difficult to win. So nice, nice poll
there for a stat to watch for me, I'll take
an easy way out. I'm going to go with threes
for this one. These are two of the top six
teams in the NBA in terms of percentage of their
offense that comes from the three. So that is to say,
even though they're not playing up tempo and scoring a
ton of points, they do try and maximize their point
(24:35):
value per possession by taking a lot of threes. Anthony
Edwards and LaMelo Ball at the heart of that for
both of these teams. So oftentimes they live by it,
sometimes they die by it. In many games we'll see
who's able to prevail from beyond the arc, and I
think there's a strong likelihood whoever wins the three point
line will end up winning the game. However it turns out,
we know the outstanding team led by Carla Metz at
(24:57):
Queen City News and Charlotte Sports Veil, have you come
with a review of the contest, And of course we'll
do the same tomorrow with another edition of the HHC.
But Carla, thanks so much for joining us. Good luck
on the race circuit, and good luck with all the
things that you're working on covering the great city of
Charlotte on Queen City News and for Charlotte Sports Live.
Speaker 4 (25:15):
Yeah, I appreciate it.
Speaker 5 (25:16):
We will have that recap of the Hornets game against
the Timberwolves, and then yeah, I'll be out in Phoenix
for the CW Race If there's NBA fans out there
not familiar with NASCAR the Xcinity Series, you can watch
that race at Phoenix Raceway.
Speaker 4 (25:30):
On March at five pm Eastern. That this Saturday. So yeah,
we'll be.
Speaker 5 (25:34):
Be traveling and then of course keeping up with the
Hornets at the same time as well.
Speaker 2 (25:38):
We'll be locked in and looking forward to all your
great coverage. Carlo Mets, reporter for Queen City News and
host of Charlotte Sports Live.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
Our guest today here on the HHC.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
Thanks to Carla, Thanks to our producer Rob Longo for
putting this podcast together. Most of all to all of
you for tuning in. For all of us here, I'm
Sam Farber saying it's been a pleasure and of privilege
having you along and we'll talk to you next time.
Right here, I'm the Hornet's Podcasts.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
Thank you for listening to The Hornets Podcast, brought to
you by Santa, the official i ear nosen throad care
provider of the Charlotte Hornets. For more coverage, visit Hornets
dot com.
Hosts And Creators
Sam Farber
Rob Longo
Popular Podcasts
True Crime Tonight
If you eat, sleep, and breathe true crime, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT is serving up your nightly fix. Five nights a week, KT STUDIOS & iHEART RADIO invite listeners to pull up a seat for an unfiltered look at the biggest cases making headlines, celebrity scandals, and the trials everyone is watching. With a mix of expert analysis, hot takes, and listener call-ins, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT goes beyond the headlines to uncover the twists, turns, and unanswered questions that keep us all obsessed—because, at TRUE CRIME TONIGHT, there’s a seat for everyone. Whether breaking down crime scene forensics, scrutinizing serial killers, or debating the most binge-worthy true crime docs, True Crime Tonight is the fresh, fast-paced, and slightly addictive home for true crime lovers.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.