April 11, 2025 • 26 mins
For the final two games of the season, the Hornets head to Boston to the face the Celtics in a rare occurrence this season where Charlotte will play the same team in consecutive games. Sam Farber and Rob Longo give their thoughts on this scheduling quirk and also preview the penultimate game of the season.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the Hornets havevecast, 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 Hornet Podcast, 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 to have you with us
here once again on the Hornets I've cast brought to
you by Santa Charlotte I ear Nose and Throat Associates,
the official ieir nosen Throacare provider of the Charlotte Hornets.
It's a game to edition Hornets taking on the Boston
(00:35):
Celtics tonight, first of two head to head meetings at
TD Garden before the season comes to a closure. Hornets
nineteen and sixty one locked into the bottom four. We'll
talk more about that momentarily. The Boston Celtics fifty nine
and twenty one. They are most definitely locked in as
the number two seed in the Eastern Conference.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
We'll give you a preview of the.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Game, talk about the settings if you will, getting to
play the same team back to back has its pluses
and minuses.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
We'll get into that as.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Well, and we'll do it all with my producer on
the Hornet's Radio network as well as the producer of
this fine podcast, Rob long Ago.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
Rob. Always good to talk to you, Hey, Sam.
Speaker 4 (01:11):
Yeah, definitely winding down the days here over the next
couple of games. But you know it's that time of year,
I suppose, and always good to talk to you.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
As you said, Yeah, we are winding down the daily
podcast run.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
After tomorrow, we'll have kind.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Of the back to back setting because it's a day
game for Sunday, and then we'll press pause for a
couple of days, get through end of season media availability,
give you our season recap, and then get ready for
the draft lottery.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
But it's a labor of love. We love talking hoops.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Obviously, you get into the NBA for a variety of reasons,
but love of the game has to be up there
right at the top. So it's some of the best
thirty minutes of my day every day getting to talk
on the Hornets Podcast with all of you. But we
will be pressing pause soon enough, and Rob, you get
to return to a normal sleep pattern, so that should
be fun.
Speaker 4 (02:02):
Yeah, I'm not really sure what that looks like or resembles.
I might need some help navigating that for everybody out there,
but looking forward to that as well.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
It means you get to wake up early for golf
rather than stay up till very early for doing the
podcast while the team is off at parts unknown. In
any case, Hornet's taking on the Boston Celtics tonight. We
just kind of want to give everyone a lay of
the land. Obviously, this time of year, the battle you
want to be in is for playoff seatings, and there
are some fascinating ones going on right now, primarily in
(02:34):
the Western Conference. They've got a log jam between number
three and number eight that could still theoretically have quite
a bit of fluctuation within that. The number eight team,
the Minnesota Timberwolves, I don't believe are going to be
able to catch the Lakers based off tiebreakers. But other
than that specific flip, everything else is in flux. Denver,
(02:57):
the Clippers, they are a game behind LA right now
with two to play. Memphis Golden State both tied at
forty seven wins as the recording of this podcast, and
both of them are on that six to seven cut line,
so the tiebreaker really looms large there. And then, as
I mentioned, Minnesota only a game back at forty six wins,
So there is a lot that is at stake in
(03:19):
that conference, in that race right now. For the two
teams playing tonight, it's pretty simple. Boston's locked in at
the two. They've already started to manipulate their lineups a
little bit to get the appropriate amount of rest. Will
it be as extreme as their last game where they
basically played their G league groster Probably not, you know,
I'm sure they'll try and do some things to keep
their guys fresh. But at the same time, it could
(03:41):
be and it certainly won't be full minutes based off
my understanding for Boston.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
For Charlotte, it's.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
A similar scenario here in the sense that there's not
a real rush to push guys back from injuries, rush
them back to the floor, because this team's not going
to go on to the postseason. However, there could still
be some movements. As of the recording of this podcast,
New Orleans has a possibility of catching the Charlotte Hornets
(04:06):
in the loss column. If that were to happen, New
Orleans could if they end up finishing with more losses
than Charlotte, which mathematically is still possible, they would finish
with the third worst record and have slightly better lottery
odds than the Hornets would have if they finish with
the exact same number of losses it is a tie.
Then you split the difference between what the percentage chances
(04:29):
is for third and fourth. Basically you're splitting the ping
pong ball combos for those two and if Charlotte ends
up with more losses right now, they're plus two in
that column. If they finish with more losses, then Charlotte
has the third worst record.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
It could also go the other way.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Utah and Washington right now are both sitting on sixty
three losses with two games to play. In theory, the
Hornets can finish with a max of sixty three losses.
That would create a giant tie breaker, which would determine
who gets the best pick if all three of them
fall out of the lottery, but would not change their
lottery odds.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Hopefully that makes sense. I'll say it again.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
If there is a tie between one, two and three
or two and three, something like that in terms of
worst record in the NBA, it doesn't change the lottery odds,
meaning the Hornets don't get more ping pong balls. But
if all three of those teams, let's say it's Charlotte
Utahon watching because those are three eligible, didn't win the lottery,
didn't get any of the top four spots, then there
would be some kind of tie breaker system to figure
(05:28):
out who's picking fifth, who's picking sixth, and who's picking seventh.
Rob you got to listen to me blather on and
used every day, So hopefully that made sense to you.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
Otherwise I'm out of luck.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
No, it makes sense, And I think that the thing
that people need to realize is that, I mean, there's
really not that big of a difference between lottery odds
for the top three and the fourth team. I think
more so, it's just kind of like where you can
fall the max that you can fall in terms of
the draft lottery picking. So that's kind of I think.
What is more I don't want to say concerning, but
(05:57):
that's something that's more to keep an eye on, is
how far further down in the order you can fall
because you have those flattened lottery odds for the team
with the fourth worst record at the twelve and a
half percent mark. But again, top three teams get a
fourteen percent chance. That's not a great lottery odds all
things considered, when you have teams in the NFL that
as long as you have the worst record, you're guaranteed
(06:18):
the first overall pick and that sort of thing. And
I do enjoy the lottery to a certain degree, just
in a sense that it makes sure that there's not
that t word that we talk about, a lot tanking
and that sort of stuff, because again, the top three
teams in this case, the worst three teams in the association,
get those flat and odds at fourteen percent, and then
it kind of dips from there. But again, anything can happen,
(06:38):
as we saw last year with Atlanta moving all the
way up to win the lottery with such low odds.
It's happened a lot in the past. Cleveland's another good
example of that as well. They were able to move
up into lottery and pick first overall. So again it
helps the cause when you have those fourteen percent chance
and you have the best odds out of anybody. But
again that's you know, saying that I'm gonna hit a
whole in one on one hundred tries one of those
(07:00):
fourteen times, I'm gonna hit a hole in one. So again,
not the greatest odds, that the integrant scheme of things.
That's probably not how probability works. But I'm not a
math minor like you are. But again, it's one of
those situations where somebody's got to win it, so why
not have the best odds?
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Fair Enough, I would say the hole in one analogy
may be more appropriate for a team like Phoenix or
whoever falls out of the play in tournament. For the Hornets,
it's more like a roll of the dice. It's going
to the craps table and saying I need a seven.
That's basically what we're looking at here to win the lottery.
(07:34):
And by the way, you know, win the lottery is
not just the number one spot. There are other leagues
that that is the case, that only the number one
pick is determined by lottery. For the NBA, it's the
top four, so you can not win the number one
pick but still be a winner by finishing in the
number two, three, or four spot. It's only after that
(07:55):
that teams are pushed down and slated based off how
they finish the regular season. We'll see how it all
works out. Just wanted to give you a lay of
the land there. Charlotte in theory, is one more loss
away or one New Orleans win away from being cemented
into the bottom three, and then they are one Utah
or Washington loss away or Hornets went away from having
(08:18):
no chance to finish with the first or second worst
record in the NBA, which again only influences things if
all of those teams don't win the lottery. Coming up
next scheduling Cork Hornets versus Celtics for back to back
games at TD Garden. We kind of foresaw this at
the start of the season. We'll dig into it a little.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
Bit more right here after this on the Hornets Time Cast.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Sam Farbar, Rob Longo here with you on the HHC
The Hornets Time Cast, brought to you by Santa Hornets,
tipping off a back to back series, if you will,
against the Boston Celtics, hopefully next year this time we're
looking forward to a playoff series. But this is all
we've got for the moment. Rob Hornets versus Celtics for
two in a row. Very interesting scheduling, Courk. But we
last saw Boston in very early November first two weeks
(09:02):
of the season, and at the time Charlotte was a
very different team.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
That's when Nick Richards got hurt.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Mark Williams was already hurt, so the Horns kind of
ended up having a run with no centers for the
month of November because of that injury confluence at that
particular position. But in any case, we thought at the
time it was very odd scheduling. I don't have a
problem with back to backs. I actually kind of liked them.
Think it provides a team a chance to develop their
(09:30):
players and their strategies in a slightly different way and
prepare for a playoff series to potentially come in the future.
I also think it gives you a little bit of
a break from the travel schedule. But I don't love
how this has worked out here in the end of
the season, and in my opinion, the NBA got very,
very lucky. Here's my problem with it. Boston right now
(09:51):
is locked into the two seed. They've got really nothing
to play for. In theory, they're not going to move.
Their goal is to stay healthy, stay fresh, and be
ready for the playoff series. Charlotte doesn't have anything to
play for in the sense that they're not going to
go to the playoffs. There's no you know, postseason spot
to be obtained. My problem with this here is what
(10:12):
if there was something at stake. What if the margin
between Charlotte and someone else, or Boston and someone else
was like what we're seeing between Atlanta, Chicago, and Miami
eight through ten in the play in tournament. You know,
those spots could shuffle very easily. Here in the final
few days of the season, those could be dramatically influenced
(10:32):
by having one of the teams play against another team
that really doesn't have much to play for. In the
Western Conference, it's even more stark we went into it.
The logjam between three and eight is real and so
influencing the final standings. With a back to back where
one team could have drastically different reason to play down
(10:56):
the stretch, I think it is a little bit of
a mistake by the NBA in general. I like the
back to backs in general. I really like them. When
two teams are not in the same division. I think
that's a nice little wrinkle there as well. But I
don't love them coming at the end of the season,
and I think the NBA kind of dodged a pullet
here by not having Boston have a chance to say,
(11:17):
finish with the one seed in the East, taking on
a week in Hornet's opponent, or in an alternate reality,
Charlotte not being able to just grab two easy wins
when they absolutely need them to try and leap frog
someone in the standings.
Speaker 4 (11:31):
It's a tough situation to be in, and I'm not sure.
I haven't really looked at the entire league schedule for
the last couple of games to see if there's any
other instances where there's two teams playing each other back
to back. But I think that the fact that the
Hornets have done this with the Celtics twice this season,
and those have been the only games that the Hornets
have seen the same opponent in consecutive games, I think
(11:52):
that's a little bit of an issue. I mean, like
we said, November one, November second, Hornets play back to
back games at home against Boston again. I don't really
not like that. Like you said, I think that it
does help in certain instances where you see the same
opponent twice, and then of course now we have it
here today and then on Sunday against the Celtics. I
think doing it against the same team is a little
bit of an issue. So I mean, if this was
(12:13):
another case where maybe the Hornets are playing I don't know,
Chicago on the last two nights of the regular season
and that sort of thing, because they haven't done that
yet this year, I think that's a little bit better
in that sense. So the fact that it's the same
team that you played the consecutive games with against, I
think it as the part that I have a little
bit of a problem with. I don't know how you
(12:33):
fix that from a scheduling standpoint. I do notice though,
that I feel like this is the first time this
season since the NBA started doing this, that this isn't
a case where the Hornets have had an opportunity to
really have those consecutive games against the same opponent. I
think a couple of years ago, I want to say,
it happened three or four times where the Hornets played
the same team back to back on consecutive games. And
(12:55):
the fact that it's only happened twice this year and
it's against the same franchise, that's the thing that I
don't like about it a whole lot. So if you're
able to mix it up a little bit and have
that ability to go in And I know scheduling is
a big issue where you got to make sure that
everybody's playing the same amount of games and all that stuff,
and you got to make sure that arenas are available
for some of these franchises that split time with other teams,
that is definitely an issue. Like I think a great
(13:16):
example of that is just recently with the Hornets. I
mean they went to Toronto in the span of what
two weeks, where I think that that could have been
a good opportunity there to cut down on some travel
and play the same team in the same arena on
consecutive nights or maybe have a day often there, depending
on how the arena scheduling was working there for that situation.
I'm sure that's why they didn't do it, But that
(13:36):
would have made a lot more sense than the Hornets
having to go to Toronto and then having to go
down to New Orleans and then swing back home and
then go to Toronto two weeks later. So those are
the examples that I think that could be a little
bit better from the NBA standpoint.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Yeah, I hear what you're saying. For me again, I
think it comes down to you have the possibility of
a team that really needs a win playing against another
team that really doesn't, and that happens in the NBA
this time of year. You know, like motivation is a
factor for a lot of these games. So it can
still happen even if the schedule is a bit more randomized.
(14:11):
But by having the same two teams play a head
to head matchup on the final two days of the season,
it can.
Speaker 3 (14:18):
Really alter the standings.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
And so I think that's a little bit of an
air that the league has to look out for. While
you were talking, Rob, because you know, this is my nature,
I thought to myself, Hey, does anyone else have this?
Speaker 3 (14:30):
And the answer is kind of.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
There is a set of teams that are playing back
to back games to end the season. It's the Detroit
Pistons and the Milwaukee Bucks. The difference is Friday, April eleventh,
Today it's Bucks at Pistons. Sunday April thirteenth, it's Pistons
at Bucks. So it's a difference in location, it's not
a difference in matchup. Again, I think that's a bit
(14:53):
of a mistake here. And the interesting thing is those
two teams are so operated by two games in the standing,
so there they're in. Theory is still a lot at stake,
and in that sense, because it's the same two teams,
it does become more interesting because you can perhaps I
think with the tie breakers, I could be wrong on this,
(15:15):
but perhaps you could influence the standings directly. But at
least it's within the same matchup. It's not Detroit playing
Washington or Philadelphia. Who is you know, Philadelphia is taken
out of their minds. I think they just snapped a
twelve kame losing streak that could directly influence things in
a way that I don't think the NBA particularly wants.
All that said, I do generally like these back to backs.
(15:38):
We get a little bit more downtime in the city
we're visiting.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
I'll be honest. I went to Fenway yesterday.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
It was cold, but it was a lot of fun,
and so we'll get to explore a little bit more
than we ordinarily would on the road. And then Hornets
versus Celtics tonight. We'll have our game preview coming up
after this quick break here on the Hornets idcast.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
Sam Farbara, Rob Law, I want to go here with
you on the AHHC.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
The Hornets Podcast, brought to you by sent a One
Last Opponent to do a game preview for Rob. Sadly,
I don't get to be a part of the last
game preview episode.
Speaker 3 (16:10):
You'll have the recap after.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
Tonight's game and then you'll be getting ready for end
of season media days while I'm traveling basically the rest
of the way. So one last time for the twenty
four to twenty five season, it's a game preview for
your Hornets. You know how these things work, Rob, We
need a player to watch for 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 do
(16:32):
you want to begin.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
Let's go ahead and pick a Celtic player to watch.
And this is of course a little bit more difficult
considering that the last game that Boston played on Wednesday
was in Orlando. It was a ninety six and seventy
six magic win. Boston did not play Jason Tatum, Jylen Brown, Chrisos, Brezeningos,
Derek White, the list goes on and on. So you
know that's gonna be a little bit of an interesting
wrinkle into this one. Seeing who plays and who doesn't,
(16:54):
if there's any minist restrictions and all the stuff that
we kind of touched on a little bit earlier. So,
I mean, the starting five for Boston than in Orlando
was Baylor Shireman, Tory, Craig, Glue, Cornett, Sam hows Er,
Peyton Pritchard. That is certainly not the world beaters for
the defending World champs. So if you got to go
up and down the lineup, I think Peyton Pritchard is
the guy that has the best chance of continuing to
play in this one tonight, and he's one of those
(17:15):
guys that's a very big bench presence when everybody is
playing and healthy. For the Celtics, he had fifteen points
in ten assists in that loss to the Magic and
was seven to seventeen from the field and one of
seven from three, which is a little uncharacteristic in that sense.
And the last time that the Hornets played the Celtics again,
it was the back to back consecutive games that we
talked about, but in the second game it was a
one thirteen to one OZHO three win in favor of
(17:38):
the Celtics, and in that game, Peyton Prichard had twenty
two off the bench, he made six three pointers. So again,
I think that the game against the Magic on Wednesday
is a little bit of an outlier in the sense
of Peyton Pritchard, where he only went one for seven
from three. So he's going to be my player to
watch here for the Celtics tonight.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
He's the perfect pick in this case. He's who I
had at the top of my list. He's a great player,
He's clearly a part of their rotation, and he clearly
is going to fight anyone who tries to pull him
out of a game.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
You know, put thirty.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Five minutes Big Time Score didn't shoot the three all
that well in a ninety six to seventy six loss
to Orlando. As Rob indicated, they are drastically changing their
lineups here for the stretch run, basically giving their best
players potentially a week off leading into a playoff series
against the winner of the play in tournament's first game
between the seven and eight seeds, that team would get
(18:27):
Boston for the opening round of the playoffs. I'm going
to go with another guy who, in theory is part
of their rotation, and that's Luke Cornett, the seven footer
he's kind of this new age of center. He is
a little bit of a rim protector, a little bit
of a shop locker. It's not the biggest part of
his game, but it is an aspect of his game.
He stretches the floor nicely, shoots in his career thirty
(18:48):
two percent from three. Hasn't been as big a part
of his game as of late, but you know, it
is something that he does have in his bag, a
little bit of a trick up his sleeve that he
is laid maybe in a little more often in other seasons,
but nevertheless, you know, this is a guy who we've
seen in the league for the last seven eight years
(19:10):
really good, you know, backup center, and he's going to
get major minutes and he provides a different kind of
matchup for whomever is out there at the center spot
for the Charlotte Hornets.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
Next up hornet to watch or is stat to watch?
Speaker 4 (19:22):
Well, you set me up pretty well. They're talking about
the center position because I think that Usif Nurkich is
going to be my Hornet player to watch in this contest.
Had a season high twenty six points in that loss
against Toronto on Wednesday, a rebound shy of a double
double four assists, went twelve to nineteen from the field,
did go zero for two from beyond the arc, but
you know, was hampered with a little bit of foul
trouble there. He had five fouls, never officially fouled out
(19:44):
of the contest, but ended up playing about twenty five
twenty six minutes in the game. And I think that
it's one of those things that you're just trying to
build on for us off Nirkisch. I know it's a
tough situation for him, falling out of the rotation in
Phoenix and kind of falling out of favor in a
franchise that's had issues. I think that's pretty well documented
with everything that's going on there. But this is an opportunity,
(20:04):
I think, for nirk to just continue to show what
he still has left in the tank. I know he's
not like he's thirty five or anything like that, but
he is thirty. That's kind of, you know, a little
bit older now these days in the NBA, which pains
me to say that now that I just turned thirty two.
But at any rate, the thing that you know, you
look at here in this situation for Nurk is mean,
he's trying to find a home here in a little
bit of a sense, trying to figure out if you
(20:26):
know he's going to be returning to this team on
the back end of his contract and that sort of stuff.
And he's another guy where similar to Peyton Pritchard, like
you talked about, where it's hard to keep him off
the floor. Just another great example of that he always
wants to prove himself, always wants to prove that he
is definitely a asset to any franchise that he's on,
and this is another opportunity for him to get better
(20:48):
against the pretty solid Boston team that has some size
in there, even though they're not playing their big guns.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
I like to pick this is tough because as the
recording of this podcast, we still have a lack of
clarity let's call it on who's in who's out for
tonight's game. But one player I think is almost guaranteed
to play barring a really late development, his first round pick,
sixth overall pick, t Jon Salon, So I'll look to him.
I think he's getting extended minutes right now. Got into
(21:13):
the starting lineup the other day in Toronto and played
pretty well. Finished with nine points six rebounds, continues to
show the hustle. Three point shooting was a little off
the mark last game, going one for six. I just
want to see him continue to get some opportunities to
put things on tape, find things to work on, to
build off of, and put himself in the best position
(21:34):
for his future. He's so young, he's so raw, nineteen
years old. I think at the start of the season
we might have looked at this series and said, hey,
this is a real opportunity for Tijon to play because,
hopefully in a good way, the Hornets don't have anything
at stake, and maybe Boston won't either, and it's a
chance for Tijon, who had maybe in this theoretical universe
a longer stint with the ji Leigue Greensborough Swarm, to
(21:57):
get out with the big club and show what he's
learned and show what he can do. The reality is
he's had a lot of those opportunities this season with
the Hornets, and he's grown quite a bit. But overall,
I'm looking to see what he can do here head
to head with the Celtics, and in this matchup in particular,
where it may be a little bit more likely to
have some more veteran presence out there for him to
(22:17):
play off of. Perhaps it'll be a day where his
career highs can fall. His career best or seventeen points,
fourteen rebounds. Seems to me he's gonna have a lot
of opportunity in this one, so we'll see what he
does with it against the Celtics. Last, but not least,
a stat to watch, I.
Speaker 4 (22:31):
Think I'd be pretty basic with my stat to watch.
I'm looking at turnovers. I think that the turnovers have
been definitely a little bit of an issue here for Charlotte.
Not so much that they're turning the ball over a lot,
which the Hornets are right now. They had nineteen in
that loss against Toronto the other night fifteen against Memphis.
The average for the season right now is around fifteen
and a half, and it's about fifth or six worse
(22:51):
in the association in that regard. But just making sure
that you can try to turn a ball over for
the other team too, Just trying to even things out
a little bit. As bad as that sounds, say, oh, well,
if you turn the ball over fifteen sixteen times, if
the other team has thirteen or fourteen, then you know
you're getting a little bit better there, but teams have
done a really good job taking care of the basketball
against the Hornets as of late. So trying to be
a little bit more aggressive on defense, trying to force
(23:13):
some force the issue a little bit for the other
team on offense where you kind of coax them into
making a little bit of a mistake. I think that's
kind of the opportunity here for the Hornets tonight against
a bench squad that again has played a good bit
this season for Boston, but hasn't played obviously as much
as the starters have. So I know that the turnovers
for Charlotte have been kind of linked back to availability
(23:35):
and injuries and that sort of thing, because you don't
have a whole lot of continuity. I mean, heck, the
Hornets had their forty third different starting lineup in Toronto
on Wednesday night in game number eighty, So that just
kind of shows you the reality the situation here for Charlotte.
But again, no excuses, try to do the best you
can with what you have and trying to make sure
that you limit the turnovers one way or the other.
Are force of turnovers on the other side, so the
(23:56):
turnover battle is going to be something I'm keeping an
eye on tonight in Boston.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
I like the pick and also it flows nicely into
you know, looking at other aspects of the game. We're
focused on younger players, guys like t Jon Salon, who
knock on wood for the most part, has not had
major turnover issues this season, so it's a part of
the game within the game to keep an eye on
with him, seeing as we don't know availability and I
don't want to jinx this. I'm not going to say
anyone's name, but Rob you know all too well, and
(24:20):
anyone who's been listening to this podcast over the course
of the year, God bless you. Thanks for tuning in
daily to the AHHC, where it's our pleasure to have
you covered. But the three point line is going to
be my stat to watch because there's a certain someone
who has a certain stat at stake and I'm not
even gonna say it here. If you go through the archives,
you'll know what I'm talking about. If you look closely
at the three point percentage title race, you'll know who
I'm talking about. I don't know who's in, who's out,
(24:42):
and how many minutes are going to be allocated and
if this is even something that is a motivation for
some of the players. But if it is, I would
sure love to see it happen. So the three point line,
whether the person I'm thinking of plays or not is
typically a factor in who wins and who loses in
the modern NBA, so it's almost all always a safe pick.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
But for this one in particular, I'll have my eye
on it.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
However it turns out, we will have you covered on
the Hornets Radio Network. I'll be on the call tonight
from TD Garden, Rob Longo. We'll be at the controls
producing and other than that, this is our last time
talking on the Hornets if cast till we wrap up
the season, if we can. I know the reimagining is
probably taking place all around you.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
Rob. Hopefully you're able to escape the office every now
and again.
Speaker 2 (25:22):
But we'll have our season recap episode roughly a week
from today, and then it'll be onto the summer and
onto awaiting the results of the lottery and see what's
next for.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
The Charlotte Hornets.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
But Rob, we'll enjoy this final couple of games here
of the twenty four to twenty five season.
Speaker 4 (25:38):
Yes, the penultimate game of the regular season here tonight
in Boston.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Oh, it took you twenty seven minutes to get there.
It took it twenty seven minutes. You finally got the
word in all right.
Speaker 4 (25:48):
I had to let everybody wait it out to see
if they were going to get it or not. So yeah,
definitely excited for the next couple of games here because
again we'll miss it when it's gone. But again, always
a pleasure to talk to you. Weird that this is
the last one that we will do together here at
previewing games. Sam Perli is going to be with me
here for the season finale and postgame season finale as well,
(26:08):
So always a pleasure to be on here with you,
and we'll talk to you in a couple of days
time to wrap up the season here at least on
the HAC.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
The Pleasure and Privilege are online for Rob Longo. I'm
Sam Farber saying it has been a pleasure or privilege
having you with us. We'll talk to you next time
right here on the Hornets Hoodcast.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
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 havevecast, 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 Hornet Podcast, 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 to have you with us
here once again on the Hornets I've cast brought to
you by Santa Charlotte I ear Nose and Throat Associates,
the official ieir nosen Throacare provider of the Charlotte Hornets.
It's a game to edition Hornets taking on the Boston
(00:35):
Celtics tonight, first of two head to head meetings at
TD Garden before the season comes to a closure. Hornets
nineteen and sixty one locked into the bottom four. We'll
talk more about that momentarily. The Boston Celtics fifty nine
and twenty one. They are most definitely locked in as
the number two seed in the Eastern Conference.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
We'll give you a preview of the.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Game, talk about the settings if you will, getting to
play the same team back to back has its pluses
and minuses.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
We'll get into that as.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Well, and we'll do it all with my producer on
the Hornet's Radio network as well as the producer of
this fine podcast, Rob long Ago.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
Rob. Always good to talk to you, Hey, Sam.
Speaker 4 (01:11):
Yeah, definitely winding down the days here over the next
couple of games. But you know it's that time of year,
I suppose, and always good to talk to you.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
As you said, Yeah, we are winding down the daily
podcast run.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
After tomorrow, we'll have kind.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Of the back to back setting because it's a day
game for Sunday, and then we'll press pause for a
couple of days, get through end of season media availability,
give you our season recap, and then get ready for
the draft lottery.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
But it's a labor of love. We love talking hoops.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Obviously, you get into the NBA for a variety of reasons,
but love of the game has to be up there
right at the top. So it's some of the best
thirty minutes of my day every day getting to talk
on the Hornets Podcast with all of you. But we
will be pressing pause soon enough, and Rob, you get
to return to a normal sleep pattern, so that should
be fun.
Speaker 4 (02:02):
Yeah, I'm not really sure what that looks like or resembles.
I might need some help navigating that for everybody out there,
but looking forward to that as well.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
It means you get to wake up early for golf
rather than stay up till very early for doing the
podcast while the team is off at parts unknown. In
any case, Hornet's taking on the Boston Celtics tonight. We
just kind of want to give everyone a lay of
the land. Obviously, this time of year, the battle you
want to be in is for playoff seatings, and there
are some fascinating ones going on right now, primarily in
(02:34):
the Western Conference. They've got a log jam between number
three and number eight that could still theoretically have quite
a bit of fluctuation within that. The number eight team,
the Minnesota Timberwolves, I don't believe are going to be
able to catch the Lakers based off tiebreakers. But other
than that specific flip, everything else is in flux. Denver,
(02:57):
the Clippers, they are a game behind LA right now
with two to play. Memphis Golden State both tied at
forty seven wins as the recording of this podcast, and
both of them are on that six to seven cut line,
so the tiebreaker really looms large there. And then, as
I mentioned, Minnesota only a game back at forty six wins,
So there is a lot that is at stake in
(03:19):
that conference, in that race right now. For the two
teams playing tonight, it's pretty simple. Boston's locked in at
the two. They've already started to manipulate their lineups a
little bit to get the appropriate amount of rest. Will
it be as extreme as their last game where they
basically played their G league groster Probably not, you know,
I'm sure they'll try and do some things to keep
their guys fresh. But at the same time, it could
(03:41):
be and it certainly won't be full minutes based off
my understanding for Boston.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
For Charlotte, it's.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
A similar scenario here in the sense that there's not
a real rush to push guys back from injuries, rush
them back to the floor, because this team's not going
to go on to the postseason. However, there could still
be some movements. As of the recording of this podcast,
New Orleans has a possibility of catching the Charlotte Hornets
(04:06):
in the loss column. If that were to happen, New
Orleans could if they end up finishing with more losses
than Charlotte, which mathematically is still possible, they would finish
with the third worst record and have slightly better lottery
odds than the Hornets would have if they finish with
the exact same number of losses it is a tie.
Then you split the difference between what the percentage chances
(04:29):
is for third and fourth. Basically you're splitting the ping
pong ball combos for those two and if Charlotte ends
up with more losses right now, they're plus two in
that column. If they finish with more losses, then Charlotte
has the third worst record.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
It could also go the other way.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Utah and Washington right now are both sitting on sixty
three losses with two games to play. In theory, the
Hornets can finish with a max of sixty three losses.
That would create a giant tie breaker, which would determine
who gets the best pick if all three of them
fall out of the lottery, but would not change their
lottery odds.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Hopefully that makes sense. I'll say it again.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
If there is a tie between one, two and three
or two and three, something like that in terms of
worst record in the NBA, it doesn't change the lottery odds,
meaning the Hornets don't get more ping pong balls. But
if all three of those teams, let's say it's Charlotte
Utahon watching because those are three eligible, didn't win the lottery,
didn't get any of the top four spots, then there
would be some kind of tie breaker system to figure
(05:28):
out who's picking fifth, who's picking sixth, and who's picking seventh.
Rob you got to listen to me blather on and
used every day, So hopefully that made sense to you.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
Otherwise I'm out of luck.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
No, it makes sense, And I think that the thing
that people need to realize is that, I mean, there's
really not that big of a difference between lottery odds
for the top three and the fourth team. I think
more so, it's just kind of like where you can
fall the max that you can fall in terms of
the draft lottery picking. So that's kind of I think.
What is more I don't want to say concerning, but
(05:57):
that's something that's more to keep an eye on, is
how far further down in the order you can fall
because you have those flattened lottery odds for the team
with the fourth worst record at the twelve and a
half percent mark. But again, top three teams get a
fourteen percent chance. That's not a great lottery odds all
things considered, when you have teams in the NFL that
as long as you have the worst record, you're guaranteed
(06:18):
the first overall pick and that sort of thing. And
I do enjoy the lottery to a certain degree, just
in a sense that it makes sure that there's not
that t word that we talk about, a lot tanking
and that sort of stuff, because again, the top three
teams in this case, the worst three teams in the association,
get those flat and odds at fourteen percent, and then
it kind of dips from there. But again, anything can happen,
(06:38):
as we saw last year with Atlanta moving all the
way up to win the lottery with such low odds.
It's happened a lot in the past. Cleveland's another good
example of that as well. They were able to move
up into lottery and pick first overall. So again it
helps the cause when you have those fourteen percent chance
and you have the best odds out of anybody. But
again that's you know, saying that I'm gonna hit a
whole in one on one hundred tries one of those
(07:00):
fourteen times, I'm gonna hit a hole in one. So again,
not the greatest odds, that the integrant scheme of things.
That's probably not how probability works. But I'm not a
math minor like you are. But again, it's one of
those situations where somebody's got to win it, so why
not have the best odds?
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Fair Enough, I would say the hole in one analogy
may be more appropriate for a team like Phoenix or
whoever falls out of the play in tournament. For the Hornets,
it's more like a roll of the dice. It's going
to the craps table and saying I need a seven.
That's basically what we're looking at here to win the lottery.
(07:34):
And by the way, you know, win the lottery is
not just the number one spot. There are other leagues
that that is the case, that only the number one
pick is determined by lottery. For the NBA, it's the
top four, so you can not win the number one
pick but still be a winner by finishing in the
number two, three, or four spot. It's only after that
(07:55):
that teams are pushed down and slated based off how
they finish the regular season. We'll see how it all
works out. Just wanted to give you a lay of
the land there. Charlotte in theory, is one more loss
away or one New Orleans win away from being cemented
into the bottom three, and then they are one Utah
or Washington loss away or Hornets went away from having
(08:18):
no chance to finish with the first or second worst
record in the NBA, which again only influences things if
all of those teams don't win the lottery. Coming up
next scheduling Cork Hornets versus Celtics for back to back
games at TD Garden. We kind of foresaw this at
the start of the season. We'll dig into it a little.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
Bit more right here after this on the Hornets Time Cast.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Sam Farbar, Rob Longo here with you on the HHC
The Hornets Time Cast, brought to you by Santa Hornets,
tipping off a back to back series, if you will,
against the Boston Celtics, hopefully next year this time we're
looking forward to a playoff series. But this is all
we've got for the moment. Rob Hornets versus Celtics for
two in a row. Very interesting scheduling, Courk. But we
last saw Boston in very early November first two weeks
(09:02):
of the season, and at the time Charlotte was a
very different team.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
That's when Nick Richards got hurt.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Mark Williams was already hurt, so the Horns kind of
ended up having a run with no centers for the
month of November because of that injury confluence at that
particular position. But in any case, we thought at the
time it was very odd scheduling. I don't have a
problem with back to backs. I actually kind of liked them.
Think it provides a team a chance to develop their
(09:30):
players and their strategies in a slightly different way and
prepare for a playoff series to potentially come in the future.
I also think it gives you a little bit of
a break from the travel schedule. But I don't love
how this has worked out here in the end of
the season, and in my opinion, the NBA got very,
very lucky. Here's my problem with it. Boston right now
(09:51):
is locked into the two seed. They've got really nothing
to play for. In theory, they're not going to move.
Their goal is to stay healthy, stay fresh, and be
ready for the playoff series. Charlotte doesn't have anything to
play for in the sense that they're not going to
go to the playoffs. There's no you know, postseason spot
to be obtained. My problem with this here is what
(10:12):
if there was something at stake. What if the margin
between Charlotte and someone else, or Boston and someone else
was like what we're seeing between Atlanta, Chicago, and Miami
eight through ten in the play in tournament. You know,
those spots could shuffle very easily. Here in the final
few days of the season, those could be dramatically influenced
(10:32):
by having one of the teams play against another team
that really doesn't have much to play for. In the
Western Conference, it's even more stark we went into it.
The logjam between three and eight is real and so
influencing the final standings. With a back to back where
one team could have drastically different reason to play down
(10:56):
the stretch, I think it is a little bit of
a mistake by the NBA in general. I like the
back to backs in general. I really like them. When
two teams are not in the same division. I think
that's a nice little wrinkle there as well. But I
don't love them coming at the end of the season,
and I think the NBA kind of dodged a pullet
here by not having Boston have a chance to say,
(11:17):
finish with the one seed in the East, taking on
a week in Hornet's opponent, or in an alternate reality,
Charlotte not being able to just grab two easy wins
when they absolutely need them to try and leap frog
someone in the standings.
Speaker 4 (11:31):
It's a tough situation to be in, and I'm not sure.
I haven't really looked at the entire league schedule for
the last couple of games to see if there's any
other instances where there's two teams playing each other back
to back. But I think that the fact that the
Hornets have done this with the Celtics twice this season,
and those have been the only games that the Hornets
have seen the same opponent in consecutive games, I think
(11:52):
that's a little bit of an issue. I mean, like
we said, November one, November second, Hornets play back to
back games at home against Boston again. I don't really
not like that. Like you said, I think that it
does help in certain instances where you see the same
opponent twice, and then of course now we have it
here today and then on Sunday against the Celtics. I
think doing it against the same team is a little
bit of an issue. So I mean, if this was
(12:13):
another case where maybe the Hornets are playing I don't know,
Chicago on the last two nights of the regular season
and that sort of thing, because they haven't done that
yet this year, I think that's a little bit better
in that sense. So the fact that it's the same
team that you played the consecutive games with against, I
think it as the part that I have a little
bit of a problem with. I don't know how you
(12:33):
fix that from a scheduling standpoint. I do notice though,
that I feel like this is the first time this
season since the NBA started doing this, that this isn't
a case where the Hornets have had an opportunity to
really have those consecutive games against the same opponent. I
think a couple of years ago, I want to say,
it happened three or four times where the Hornets played
the same team back to back on consecutive games. And
(12:55):
the fact that it's only happened twice this year and
it's against the same franchise, that's the thing that I
don't like about it a whole lot. So if you're
able to mix it up a little bit and have
that ability to go in And I know scheduling is
a big issue where you got to make sure that
everybody's playing the same amount of games and all that stuff,
and you got to make sure that arenas are available
for some of these franchises that split time with other teams,
that is definitely an issue. Like I think a great
(13:16):
example of that is just recently with the Hornets. I
mean they went to Toronto in the span of what
two weeks, where I think that that could have been
a good opportunity there to cut down on some travel
and play the same team in the same arena on
consecutive nights or maybe have a day often there, depending
on how the arena scheduling was working there for that situation.
I'm sure that's why they didn't do it, But that
(13:36):
would have made a lot more sense than the Hornets
having to go to Toronto and then having to go
down to New Orleans and then swing back home and
then go to Toronto two weeks later. So those are
the examples that I think that could be a little
bit better from the NBA standpoint.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Yeah, I hear what you're saying. For me again, I
think it comes down to you have the possibility of
a team that really needs a win playing against another
team that really doesn't, and that happens in the NBA
this time of year. You know, like motivation is a
factor for a lot of these games. So it can
still happen even if the schedule is a bit more randomized.
(14:11):
But by having the same two teams play a head
to head matchup on the final two days of the season,
it can.
Speaker 3 (14:18):
Really alter the standings.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
And so I think that's a little bit of an
air that the league has to look out for. While
you were talking, Rob, because you know, this is my nature,
I thought to myself, Hey, does anyone else have this?
Speaker 3 (14:30):
And the answer is kind of.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
There is a set of teams that are playing back
to back games to end the season. It's the Detroit
Pistons and the Milwaukee Bucks. The difference is Friday, April eleventh,
Today it's Bucks at Pistons. Sunday April thirteenth, it's Pistons
at Bucks. So it's a difference in location, it's not
a difference in matchup. Again, I think that's a bit
(14:53):
of a mistake here. And the interesting thing is those
two teams are so operated by two games in the standing,
so there they're in. Theory is still a lot at stake,
and in that sense, because it's the same two teams,
it does become more interesting because you can perhaps I
think with the tie breakers, I could be wrong on this,
(15:15):
but perhaps you could influence the standings directly. But at
least it's within the same matchup. It's not Detroit playing
Washington or Philadelphia. Who is you know, Philadelphia is taken
out of their minds. I think they just snapped a
twelve kame losing streak that could directly influence things in
a way that I don't think the NBA particularly wants.
All that said, I do generally like these back to backs.
(15:38):
We get a little bit more downtime in the city
we're visiting.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
I'll be honest. I went to Fenway yesterday.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
It was cold, but it was a lot of fun,
and so we'll get to explore a little bit more
than we ordinarily would on the road. And then Hornets
versus Celtics tonight. We'll have our game preview coming up
after this quick break here on the Hornets idcast.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
Sam Farbara, Rob Law, I want to go here with
you on the AHHC.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
The Hornets Podcast, brought to you by sent a One
Last Opponent to do a game preview for Rob. Sadly,
I don't get to be a part of the last
game preview episode.
Speaker 3 (16:10):
You'll have the recap after.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
Tonight's game and then you'll be getting ready for end
of season media days while I'm traveling basically the rest
of the way. So one last time for the twenty
four to twenty five season, it's a game preview for
your Hornets. You know how these things work, Rob, We
need a player to watch for 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 do
(16:32):
you want to begin.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
Let's go ahead and pick a Celtic player to watch.
And this is of course a little bit more difficult
considering that the last game that Boston played on Wednesday
was in Orlando. It was a ninety six and seventy
six magic win. Boston did not play Jason Tatum, Jylen Brown, Chrisos, Brezeningos,
Derek White, the list goes on and on. So you
know that's gonna be a little bit of an interesting
wrinkle into this one. Seeing who plays and who doesn't,
(16:54):
if there's any minist restrictions and all the stuff that
we kind of touched on a little bit earlier. So,
I mean, the starting five for Boston than in Orlando
was Baylor Shireman, Tory, Craig, Glue, Cornett, Sam hows Er,
Peyton Pritchard. That is certainly not the world beaters for
the defending World champs. So if you got to go
up and down the lineup, I think Peyton Pritchard is
the guy that has the best chance of continuing to
play in this one tonight, and he's one of those
(17:15):
guys that's a very big bench presence when everybody is
playing and healthy. For the Celtics, he had fifteen points
in ten assists in that loss to the Magic and
was seven to seventeen from the field and one of
seven from three, which is a little uncharacteristic in that sense.
And the last time that the Hornets played the Celtics again,
it was the back to back consecutive games that we
talked about, but in the second game it was a
one thirteen to one OZHO three win in favor of
(17:38):
the Celtics, and in that game, Peyton Prichard had twenty
two off the bench, he made six three pointers. So again,
I think that the game against the Magic on Wednesday
is a little bit of an outlier in the sense
of Peyton Pritchard, where he only went one for seven
from three. So he's going to be my player to
watch here for the Celtics tonight.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
He's the perfect pick in this case. He's who I
had at the top of my list. He's a great player,
He's clearly a part of their rotation, and he clearly
is going to fight anyone who tries to pull him
out of a game.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
You know, put thirty.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Five minutes Big Time Score didn't shoot the three all
that well in a ninety six to seventy six loss
to Orlando. As Rob indicated, they are drastically changing their
lineups here for the stretch run, basically giving their best
players potentially a week off leading into a playoff series
against the winner of the play in tournament's first game
between the seven and eight seeds, that team would get
(18:27):
Boston for the opening round of the playoffs. I'm going
to go with another guy who, in theory is part
of their rotation, and that's Luke Cornett, the seven footer
he's kind of this new age of center. He is
a little bit of a rim protector, a little bit
of a shop locker. It's not the biggest part of
his game, but it is an aspect of his game.
He stretches the floor nicely, shoots in his career thirty
(18:48):
two percent from three. Hasn't been as big a part
of his game as of late, but you know, it
is something that he does have in his bag, a
little bit of a trick up his sleeve that he
is laid maybe in a little more often in other seasons,
but nevertheless, you know, this is a guy who we've
seen in the league for the last seven eight years
(19:10):
really good, you know, backup center, and he's going to
get major minutes and he provides a different kind of
matchup for whomever is out there at the center spot
for the Charlotte Hornets.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
Next up hornet to watch or is stat to watch?
Speaker 4 (19:22):
Well, you set me up pretty well. They're talking about
the center position because I think that Usif Nurkich is
going to be my Hornet player to watch in this contest.
Had a season high twenty six points in that loss
against Toronto on Wednesday, a rebound shy of a double
double four assists, went twelve to nineteen from the field,
did go zero for two from beyond the arc, but
you know, was hampered with a little bit of foul
trouble there. He had five fouls, never officially fouled out
(19:44):
of the contest, but ended up playing about twenty five
twenty six minutes in the game. And I think that
it's one of those things that you're just trying to
build on for us off Nirkisch. I know it's a
tough situation for him, falling out of the rotation in
Phoenix and kind of falling out of favor in a
franchise that's had issues. I think that's pretty well documented
with everything that's going on there. But this is an opportunity,
(20:04):
I think, for nirk to just continue to show what
he still has left in the tank. I know he's
not like he's thirty five or anything like that, but
he is thirty. That's kind of, you know, a little
bit older now these days in the NBA, which pains
me to say that now that I just turned thirty two.
But at any rate, the thing that you know, you
look at here in this situation for Nurk is mean,
he's trying to find a home here in a little
bit of a sense, trying to figure out if you
(20:26):
know he's going to be returning to this team on
the back end of his contract and that sort of stuff.
And he's another guy where similar to Peyton Pritchard, like
you talked about, where it's hard to keep him off
the floor. Just another great example of that he always
wants to prove himself, always wants to prove that he
is definitely a asset to any franchise that he's on,
and this is another opportunity for him to get better
(20:48):
against the pretty solid Boston team that has some size
in there, even though they're not playing their big guns.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
I like to pick this is tough because as the
recording of this podcast, we still have a lack of
clarity let's call it on who's in who's out for
tonight's game. But one player I think is almost guaranteed
to play barring a really late development, his first round pick,
sixth overall pick, t Jon Salon, So I'll look to him.
I think he's getting extended minutes right now. Got into
(21:13):
the starting lineup the other day in Toronto and played
pretty well. Finished with nine points six rebounds, continues to
show the hustle. Three point shooting was a little off
the mark last game, going one for six. I just
want to see him continue to get some opportunities to
put things on tape, find things to work on, to
build off of, and put himself in the best position
(21:34):
for his future. He's so young, he's so raw, nineteen
years old. I think at the start of the season
we might have looked at this series and said, hey,
this is a real opportunity for Tijon to play because,
hopefully in a good way, the Hornets don't have anything
at stake, and maybe Boston won't either, and it's a
chance for Tijon, who had maybe in this theoretical universe
a longer stint with the ji Leigue Greensborough Swarm, to
(21:57):
get out with the big club and show what he's
learned and show what he can do. The reality is
he's had a lot of those opportunities this season with
the Hornets, and he's grown quite a bit. But overall,
I'm looking to see what he can do here head
to head with the Celtics, and in this matchup in particular,
where it may be a little bit more likely to
have some more veteran presence out there for him to
(22:17):
play off of. Perhaps it'll be a day where his
career highs can fall. His career best or seventeen points,
fourteen rebounds. Seems to me he's gonna have a lot
of opportunity in this one, so we'll see what he
does with it against the Celtics. Last, but not least,
a stat to watch, I.
Speaker 4 (22:31):
Think I'd be pretty basic with my stat to watch.
I'm looking at turnovers. I think that the turnovers have
been definitely a little bit of an issue here for Charlotte.
Not so much that they're turning the ball over a lot,
which the Hornets are right now. They had nineteen in
that loss against Toronto the other night fifteen against Memphis.
The average for the season right now is around fifteen
and a half, and it's about fifth or six worse
(22:51):
in the association in that regard. But just making sure
that you can try to turn a ball over for
the other team too, Just trying to even things out
a little bit. As bad as that sounds, say, oh, well,
if you turn the ball over fifteen sixteen times, if
the other team has thirteen or fourteen, then you know
you're getting a little bit better there, but teams have
done a really good job taking care of the basketball
against the Hornets as of late. So trying to be
a little bit more aggressive on defense, trying to force
(23:13):
some force the issue a little bit for the other
team on offense where you kind of coax them into
making a little bit of a mistake. I think that's
kind of the opportunity here for the Hornets tonight against
a bench squad that again has played a good bit
this season for Boston, but hasn't played obviously as much
as the starters have. So I know that the turnovers
for Charlotte have been kind of linked back to availability
(23:35):
and injuries and that sort of thing, because you don't
have a whole lot of continuity. I mean, heck, the
Hornets had their forty third different starting lineup in Toronto
on Wednesday night in game number eighty, So that just
kind of shows you the reality the situation here for Charlotte.
But again, no excuses, try to do the best you
can with what you have and trying to make sure
that you limit the turnovers one way or the other.
Are force of turnovers on the other side, so the
(23:56):
turnover battle is going to be something I'm keeping an
eye on tonight in Boston.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
I like the pick and also it flows nicely into
you know, looking at other aspects of the game. We're
focused on younger players, guys like t Jon Salon, who
knock on wood for the most part, has not had
major turnover issues this season, so it's a part of
the game within the game to keep an eye on
with him, seeing as we don't know availability and I
don't want to jinx this. I'm not going to say
anyone's name, but Rob you know all too well, and
(24:20):
anyone who's been listening to this podcast over the course
of the year, God bless you. Thanks for tuning in
daily to the AHHC, where it's our pleasure to have
you covered. But the three point line is going to
be my stat to watch because there's a certain someone
who has a certain stat at stake and I'm not
even gonna say it here. If you go through the archives,
you'll know what I'm talking about. If you look closely
at the three point percentage title race, you'll know who
I'm talking about. I don't know who's in, who's out,
(24:42):
and how many minutes are going to be allocated and
if this is even something that is a motivation for
some of the players. But if it is, I would
sure love to see it happen. So the three point line,
whether the person I'm thinking of plays or not is
typically a factor in who wins and who loses in
the modern NBA, so it's almost all always a safe pick.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
But for this one in particular, I'll have my eye
on it.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
However it turns out, we will have you covered on
the Hornets Radio Network. I'll be on the call tonight
from TD Garden, Rob Longo. We'll be at the controls
producing and other than that, this is our last time
talking on the Hornets if cast till we wrap up
the season, if we can. I know the reimagining is
probably taking place all around you.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
Rob. Hopefully you're able to escape the office every now
and again.
Speaker 2 (25:22):
But we'll have our season recap episode roughly a week
from today, and then it'll be onto the summer and
onto awaiting the results of the lottery and see what's
next for.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
The Charlotte Hornets.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
But Rob, we'll enjoy this final couple of games here
of the twenty four to twenty five season.
Speaker 4 (25:38):
Yes, the penultimate game of the regular season here tonight
in Boston.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Oh, it took you twenty seven minutes to get there.
It took it twenty seven minutes. You finally got the
word in all right.
Speaker 4 (25:48):
I had to let everybody wait it out to see
if they were going to get it or not. So yeah,
definitely excited for the next couple of games here because
again we'll miss it when it's gone. But again, always
a pleasure to talk to you. Weird that this is
the last one that we will do together here at
previewing games. Sam Perli is going to be with me
here for the season finale and postgame season finale as well,
(26:08):
So always a pleasure to be on here with you,
and we'll talk to you in a couple of days
time to wrap up the season here at least on
the HAC.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
The Pleasure and Privilege are online for Rob Longo. I'm
Sam Farber saying it has been a pleasure or privilege
having you with us. We'll talk to you next time
right here on the Hornets Hoodcast.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
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
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