July 8, 2023 • 26 mins
As the highly-anticipated showdown between this year's top two draft picks took place, Sam Farber and Rob Longo analyze the performances of Victory Wembanyama and Brandon Miller as the Hornets fell 76-68 to San Antonio in their first game of Summer League action in Las Vegas. Plus, Miles Bridges recently signed a qualifying offer with Buzz City, and Rob and Sam also preview Charlotte's next Summer League game against the Lakers.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to the Hornets High Cast, presented by Charlotte I
Ear Nose and Throat Associates, the official I ear Nose
and Throat Care provider of the Charlotte Hornets. Here's your host,
Sam Farber.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Welcome to another edition of the Hornets IIE Cast, your
Hornets podcast with all the notes quote san daily buzz
around your favorite NBA team. I'm Sam Farber and it
is a pleasure and a privileged to have you with
us here once again on the Hornets hife Cast, brought
to you by Santa Charlotte, I Ear Nose and Throat Associates,
the official I ear Nosen Throat Care provider of the
Charlotte Hornets. Very busy edition of the HHC today, Hornets
(00:39):
have opened up. Summer League played the Las Vegas edition
of IT. Hornets fell in Game one, seventy six to
sixty eight to the San Antonio Spurs, but really that
game was Brandon Miller versus Victor Webbin Yama. Will take
you through the tail of the tape. Also some news
that's come out as of late, Miles Bridges signed a
qualifying offer with the Charlotte Hornets. Will read through some
(01:01):
of the quotes from both Hornets general manager Mitch Kupcheck
as well as Miles Bridges himself. And because we're taking
a little bit of time off here for the weekend,
you are also going to get a preview of Game
two of the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas for
the Hornets. They'll take on the La Lakers. Helping me
on all of these topics a very busy podcast. We've
(01:22):
got my producer from the Hornets Radio Network as well
as the producer of this fine podcast, the always energetic
Rob Longo. Rob, thanks for joining me.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Yeah, no problem, Sam, happy to be here. It seems
like we've been just grinding through this Summer League. We
finally got the Las Vegas We finally got this highly
anticipated matchup between Victor Webbinyalla and Brandon Miller.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
This has been one that people have been waiting for,
not even since the draft, since the lottery, since the
one versus two matchup came out. You knew that the
NBA would give the people what they wanted and we
would see Hornets spurs at some point in Summer League.
It tips it off in Las Vegas. Hornets fell seventy
six to sixty eight Let's be honest, it was a
really rough game to watch offensively overall for both sides.
(02:04):
But fans weren't really there to see the game as
a whole, or you know, some of the ancillary players
from either team. This was all about Brandon Miller Victor Wembanyama,
and to be truthful, they were probably there to see
Victor Wembanyama. He hadn't played yet in any Summer League action.
Brandon Miller had had some appearances in Sacramento, but quite frankly,
Brandon Miller came out and he had the better game
(02:26):
of the two. He finished with sixteen points, eleven boards,
a double double, had three steals a block shot, didn't
shoot great three for ten from three to five of
fifteen overall, but he certainly had better numbers and in
my opinion, looked a lot better offensively than Victor Wembanyama did.
Wemby finishes with nine points on just two for thirteen,
shooting one for six from three. That means he was
(02:49):
one for seven from inside of the arc. Despite all
the advantages that come with having a seven foot three
plus frame that he brings to the table, did have
eight rebounds, did have five block shots. Definitely a game
changer there and turned it over three times. Rob Longo,
your thoughts on the head to head matchup between Brandon
Miller and Victor WINM Binyama.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
There were a lot of people on the social media
circles saying, well, neither of them are really impressive, And
I don't know what people expected the first time out
of the gate for basically Victor Wmbinyama and Brandon Miller
only his third game under their belt. I don't know
if they expected for each of them to drop forty
or what. But I mean, at the end of the day,
really impressed with what Brandon was able to do, especially
to start the game. He hit a three very early
(03:31):
on and kind of really set the tone, but the
rest of the team just didn't really pick it up.
You know, Brandon made the first shot of the game,
and then the rest of the team went oh for
their next thirteen and that include some of Brandon Miller's
shots as well. So I think Miller started about two
for four from the field there in that first quarter
and then kind of fell off a little bit, but
he took more shots. That's what a lot of people
wanted going into this game. A lot of people said that,
(03:54):
you know, they didn't like the shot attempts, the minimal
shot attempts for that game against they Go State Warriors
back in Sacramento a few days ago. But Victor webbin Yama,
obviously everybody was there to see him. The crazy thing
about this matchup, or at least the stat line from
Victor Wembinyama, was he had no offensive rebounds. All eight
of his boards came on the defensive end of the glass.
(04:14):
So that was a little bit surprising to me. Obviously,
the offense has a lot to work on for him.
His defense is impactful. That's going to happen when you
have a guy that's seven to three and a half
if you want to include that half engine there as well.
But I thought Brandon Miller did a great job handling him.
There were a lot of times we saw those two
matched up where on both sides of the court. There
was times where Brandon was guarding Wemby, Wemby was guarding
(04:36):
Brandon and vice versa. And I thought Brandon Miller did
a really good job. He laid the body defensively a
couple of times on wembem Yama, made him a little
bit uncomfortable, waited for some help to arrive, and they
were able to get a couple of turnovers out of it.
And then on the other side too, you have Brandon
going up against Wemby on offense, and he was able
to wait for the screen, be patient, get the switch,
get the matchup that he wanted. So really savvy played
(04:57):
by Brandon Miller, I think on both ends of the
floor in this individual.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
Those two, and I think some of the natural gifts
that Brandon Miller has were on display in this one. Certainly,
a size is not the same as Victor Wembinyama, Victor's
seven foot three plus and Brandon Miller's more in the
six eight six nine to six ten range, but Miller
able to use his size and his physical gifts to
(05:20):
pull down eleven boards. A lot of it was just
a little bit better pacing, I thought from Brandon Miller overall,
but some of the natural size and ability helped him
get those rebounds as well. And then just his shot.
It looks different than other players, and you know, you
can look at three for ten from three and say, Okay,
that's not a great shooting percentage, and it's not, but
(05:41):
it's it's one of those dividing lines where we talked
about it a lot, Rob. You know, if he makes
one more and he goes four for ten, nineteen points
is better than sixteen points. It would have looked like
a better scoring line. But did he shoot that much better?
I mean, I thought the shots he took and the
way it looked coming out of his hand, really it
was a strong performance from him overall. So I like
what we saw from Brandon Miller in the head to
(06:02):
head matchup against Wemby. In terms of the game as
a whole, it was designed by the Vets and once
again the Spurs group of Dominic Barlow, Julian Champenni Malachi, Brandon, Blake, Wesley,
all guys who've had NBA time, they did outplay the
Hornets Vets, which include guys like Kai Jones, James Buckknight
and others. They just did and that's what eventually determined
the outcome of the game. That in the Charlotte Hornets
(06:24):
shooting percentage, you'd take Brandon Miller out of the equation.
Hornets shot collectively just twenty nine percent from the floor
eighteen of sixty two and nine percent from three two
for twenty two, so those were the major sticking points.
Even with that being said, though, Charlotte kept it competitive
and made a little bit of a run there to
make it interesting down to the wire, end up falling
(06:44):
seventy six to sixty eight. Dimen. Now to select our
Silver Linings performers, Rob rules are in effect, Rob Longo,
who do you like from the Charlotte Hornets.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
One more thing about Brandon Miller's performance before we move
on to Silver Linings. I wanted to add just two
turnovers the game yesterday. Those both came in the second
half as well, and he finishes with five fouls, which
is a far cry from the eighth that he had
against Golden State the other day, and at halftime he
finished with just two fouls, So a little bit more
slap happy there in that second half. But at the
end of the day, Brandon Miller is able to cut
(07:15):
down on all that stuff, which were some key components
that we mentioned in the previous podcast leading up to
this game. For me my silver Lining performance, I really
want to take Amari Bailey again just because of the
athleticism that we continue to see from him. But I
took him last time, so I cannot I'm gonna go
with Bryce mcgallan's five to twelve from the field, fifteen points,
all coming off the bench. He did not get the
(07:35):
start in last night's game, and hearing from head coach
Marlon Garnett Summer League head coach Marlon Garnett after the game,
he said they wanted to go big, so Bryce mcgallen's
came off the bench. Trayvon Scott ended up getting the
start instead, and of course with Kai Jones, just trying
to bolster that size because obviously the Spurs are gonna
play big now with Victor Webbin Yama. So I thought
Bryce mcgawen's did a good job. He wasn't afraid to
(07:55):
go after Wemby. There were a couple of times he
attacked the paint, and there were a couple of times
where he have gotten blocked and swatted, but at the
same time, he was able to go there try to
finish hard at the rim. He wasn't scared. I love
that mentality from a guy like Bryce McGowan's, that he's
not afraid to go hard at the rack, even though
it's only in his was going to be his second
NBA season, So for me, that's why Bryce mcallan's is
(08:16):
my silver lining performance from last night's game.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
I like the pick, you know, I thought, statistically speaking,
he was close to what we saw production wise from
a lot more of those Spurs veterans, and you know,
that's what you want to see in a guy who's
in his second or third time at Summer League. Is
the progression I thought we saw Bryce McGowan's definitely have
a little bit more of that veteran presence in this one.
So I like the pick. I'm kind of tempted to
(08:40):
go in a couple of directions. I like the mention
of Amari Bailey struggled with his shot a little bit,
but eight rebounds. He just has a nose for the
ball and seems to get in there and mix it up.
But not my pick this time. I really want to
go with Kay Jones for that Welcome to the NBA
moment where he caught the lob and dunked on top
of wemb and Yama. He did a much better better
job rebounding, had ten boards in this one, but everyone
(09:03):
including Brandon Miller after the game, was talking about Kay's
again Welcome to the NBA moment on top of the
number one overall pick. I wasn't expect him to throw
it in, but you know, super athletic. It's definitely gonna
be great for us, just you know, willing to get
better with him every day. Yeah, I think they're gonna
enjoy playing with each other for however long both of
(09:24):
them are out there in Las Vegas in Summer League.
Kai Jones that huge dunk his only field goal of
the game, but it was one to remember. Finished with
seven points and ten rebounds. But my pick for Silver
Linings give me the number two overall pick. I thought
Brandon Miller had his best game yet of Summer League.
He was aggressive enough with his shot. I don't think
he took anything that was what I would call an
(09:46):
ill advised shot. When he makes it, it just looks
different than most players at Summer League. There's those natural
gifts and the eleven rebounds. I think there's a lot
to like about his decision making. Defensively, I thought he
was much more act active. Head coach for the Summer
League squad, Marlin Garnett talked about that after the game.
I'm just really impressed with the steps forward we saw
(10:08):
in this one from Brandon Miller. And I want to
give him his flowers. So Brandon Miller my silver lining
selection today. Here for the Charlotte Hornets. Coming up next.
It's been a busy twenty four to forty eight hours
of news here for the Charlotte Hornets, depending on when
you're listening to this podcast. Miles Bridges signed his qualifying
offer with the Hornets. We'll talk about that next. Here
(10:28):
on the Hornets. I've cast Sam Farber, Rob Longo here
with you on the HHC The Hornets. I've cast brought
to you by SENTA Charlotte I ear nosen Throat Associates,
the official I ear nosen Throatcare provider of the Charlotte Hornets.
Some more news came out from Hornets public relations over
the last day or two, depending on when you're listening
(10:50):
to this podcast. Miles Bridges has signed his qualifying offer
with the Hornets. Miles is going to play for Charlotte
on a one year contract for the twenty three to
twenty four season. It's kind of a prove it deal
for both sides. They didn't come to terms on a
long term deal. Obviously. This is a larger situation than
just a common contract signing. Given what's taken place over
(11:11):
the last twelve months. So we want to just basically
read the quotes for you here from both Hornets general
manager Mitch Cupcheck as well as the player himself, Miles Bridges,
that came out with the announcement of this one year
contract agreement the qualifying offer between Bridges and the Hornets.
First up here is Hornet's general manager Mitch Cupcheck, the quote.
(11:31):
Throughout this process, we have taken a measured and serious approach.
Several factors played a part in our decision to bring
Miles back, including the conclusion of the legal process, the
results of the NBA's investigation, and miles commitment to counseling
and community service. Our five year relationship with Miles has
allowed for open and honest dialogue. He has shown remorse,
(11:52):
indicated that he has learned from his situation, and expressed
that it will not happen again. We look forward to
Miles rejoining our team. Miles Bridges is also quoted in
the press release. Here's what Miles Bridges had to say.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
Quote.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
I sincerely apologize for the pain, embarrassment and disappointment that
last year's incident caused so many people time away from
the game allowed me to reflect, immerse myself in therapy,
and prioritize becoming a better person, someone my family and
peers can be proud of. I'm grateful to the Hornets
in the NBA community for giving me a second chance.
Most people don't ever get one, and I understand those
(12:29):
questioning whether I deserve one. I will do everything I
can to earn back the trust and confidence of my teammates, coaches,
the Hornets organization and staff, fans, and the Charlotte community.
I'm ready to return to work and can't wait to
rejoin my Hornets teammates Rob Loongo. Those are the quotes
from Miles Bridges and Mitch Cupcheck. We're gonna let those
stand for themselves. We do anticipate at some point a
(12:52):
press conference to talk more about the signing, and we'll
let the parties involved in that speak further at that point.
For now, let's just look at how this roster is
coming together. Not a ton of activity from the Hornets,
but two pretty significant signings in terms of on court contributions.
LaMelo Ball we talked about last edition of the AHHC
(13:13):
has been signed long term. Now the Rookie Extension and
now Miles Bridges will be back for the twenty three
to twenty fourth season after serving his NBA suspension, And
this roster is coming together and looking an awful lot
more like the one that won forty three games two
seasons ago now than the one that was saddled with
twenty seven wins last year. You've got LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier,
(13:37):
Gordon Hayward, Miles Bridges, Mark Williams as a potential starting five,
and then you fill in from the bench with a
lot of experienced players who knock on wood all will
be healthy this year, Guys like Cody Martin, guys like
Nick Richards, and of course the number two overall pick
Brandon Miller filling in as well. Your thoughts on how
things are starting to come together in this Hornet's offseason.
Speaker 3 (14:01):
Yeah, it's starting to look like that team that won
forty three games not that long ago, like you mentioned,
And I mean, any time that you get a guy
that averaged twenty point seven rebounds and almost four assists
during the season where he started all eighty games, I mean,
that's really really remarkable that you're able to get a
guy like that. It's almost like getting an extra draft pick,
(14:21):
so you're getting another guy on the roster. This one
just happens to have a little bit more experience, and
we saw in previous seasons what that connection between LaMelo
Ball and Miles Bridges is able to deliver. So it's
going to certainly be an improved roster from a season ago. Again,
knock on wood, hoping that everybody remains healthy, and there's
still some irons in a fire, I'm sure depending on
(14:43):
free agency and those sorts of things. There's still some
free agents that we cannot talk about yet because there
aren't any deals yet to be done, to be honest,
So this is just another step in building this roster
and getting it ready for the fall.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Yeah, I think there are certainly more moves to be made.
There were spots open on the roster currently, and so
some work to be done by Mitch Kupchek and the
front office. But clearly things seem to be again, if healthy,
headed in a closer direction to the trajectory the team
was on before all those injuries and absences, including quite
(15:16):
frankly Miles Bridges. That absence was felt on the roster
all throughout last season, and we'll see what this team
looks like once they get back Hole, it won't be
on opening day. He'll still have a suspension to serve,
but this team gets a lot deeper, a lot more experienced,
and a lot more high powered, scoring wise and defending,
quite frankly, bringing him back into the fold again. We
(15:38):
do anticipate at some point a press conference involving Miles
Bridges in the front office, either pieces of that combination
or collectively. When it comes, we will clearly cover it
for you here on the Hornets high Cast, and we
encourage you to go to Hornets dot com and Hornets
social media see the press release for yourself and take
a look at those quotes coming up next. We've been
(16:00):
working awful hard all summer league long. I think we're
gonna give ourselves a little bit of a time off
and not do a full preview podcast tomorrow. Who knows,
maybe some breaking news will come out we'll have to
do it, but for the moment we will just plan
ahead for Hornets versus Lakers. Give you our game preview
next here on the HHC. Sam Farbar rob Longo here
(16:23):
with you on the Hornets I'm Cast brought to you
by Santa Hornets will have Game two of the Las
Vegas portion of Summer League on Sunday, and we're gonna
give you our game preview. First, though, I want to
talk Rob about the trajectory of this specific Summer League roster.
I thought we saw a big step forward, and it
wasn't just me. Head coach Marlon Garnett on the sidelines
(16:45):
talked about how even though the team really shot badly
the other day against the San Antonio Spurs, they didn't
let that affect their overall effort defensively and overall on
the floor.
Speaker 4 (17:00):
For the games ahead, because I thought the guys pasted
this game with the right mindset. I thought it was
a step in the right direction. Obviously, we didn't shoot
the ball all that great, so that that hurt us
a little bit, But typically when you don't shoot the
ball well, it affects your defense, and I thought that's
a night It was a little bit of reverse. So
we felt like we had a pillar that we can
stand on. Okay, we're not shooting well, but we didn't
(17:22):
give up our efforts on the defensive end, which is
gonna help us win games going forward.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
Rob Longo, that's just so hard to do to play
well when you're not shooting well. They're so closely tied
for especially young players. I think it's a tribute to
their determination out there and to the coaching staff keeping
them engaged, even though clearly they did not shoot the
basketball well at all. Collectively, the Hornets shot under thirty
(17:47):
percent from the floor, under twenty percent from three, and
those numbers just get worse when you take Brandon Miller out.
He didn't have a great shooting day, but it was
better than the rest of the squad. So I think
it's commendable the way they fought out there and gave
that great effort and a Spurs team that put a
huge number on them in the first go around in Sacramento.
Now adding Victor wembin Yam into the fold, was still
(18:09):
held to seventy six points. So some certainly some bright
spots here for Charlotte moving forward in Summer League.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
Certainly, I thought they did a great job defensively. Like
I mentioned in that first segment, I mean, when you
go back and you look at it, San Antonio didn't
shoot the ball particularly well either, thirty three percent from
the field. The three ball definitely fell more for them,
about thirty one percent, But yeah, I mean I think
that this is a step in the right direction. And again,
basketball is such a chemistry heavy sport where you all
(18:37):
five guys on the floor need to be on the
same page, and it's really tough to do that when
you've only had a week, week and a half being
together with all these guys. And there's times on the
floor where you see some turnovers and you see guys
looking at each other like I thought you were going
to go here when you ended up going this way.
So again, those things are going to happen. Those mistakes
are going to happen. You just don't want to have
that breakdown defensively. We saw that a couple times in Sacramento.
(18:59):
We also saw that and the Spurs last night as well.
So it's just going to be one of those things
that keeps improving and improving on a game by game basis.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Rob We're not doing the full preview for this one
here today, but if we were going to throw in
a key to the game, I would say, just have
it close going into the fourth quarter. Hornets have done
a good job in fourth quarters here so far in
Summer League, but clearly struggling in other portions of the game.
Hopefully they can do a better job of that here
on Sunday against the La Lakers, Game two of Summer
(19:29):
League is upon us Rob Longo our game preview. Again,
you don't need to come up with the stat We'll
say that's the collective stat here. We do need players
to watch, however, for the Hornets and Lakers, where would
you like to begin.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
Well, before we get to that, one note to add
on to what you were talking about, you go back
to yesterday's game. The Hornets trailed the Spurs by thirteen
after the third quarter was fifty eight to forty five.
They were able to outscore San Antonio twenty three to
eighteen in that fourth quarter, So yeah, keep it close.
Like you mentioned, that might be a good note to
kind of keep an eye on. But in terms of
players to watch, let's begin with the Lakers, and I
think the easy one to pick here on this roster
(20:01):
that they've kind of assembled here for Summer League is
their first round pick, and that was Jalen Hoods Schafino.
He was selected seventeenth overall by the Lakers. He's a
native Pittsburgher, so might have a little bit of bias there,
but a little bit of a lanky guy, kind of
a combo guard forward slasher kind of guy, listened anywhere
between sixty four and six y five, has a little
bit of linked on and played one year in Indiana,
(20:22):
so I played in some pretty big environments into Big ten.
But for me, that might be a potential matchup here
moving forward with Brandon Miller once again, and I think
that we've always just been consistently keeping an eye on
Brandon as our quasi player to watch, even though we
might not pick him on a game by game or
a podcast by podcast basis, because all eyes are obviously
always going to be on the number two overall pick,
(20:42):
regardless of the time and what players we pick. But again,
Jalen hood Shaffino hasn't had the best run of things
in Summer League more or less here over the last
handful of games. But again, he's been one of those
guys that is a first round pick for a reason.
The Lakers took him with that selection for a reason.
So for me, he's going to be my player to
watch here tonight for the Lakers.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
I like it. The rookies are always the attention grabbers,
but really the better performers in Summer League ten to
be veterans. That's been the case in every game the
Hornets have been involved with it. It hasn't really been
you know, Brandon Miller and Nick Smith and Amari Bailey
haven't done their part or outdueled their counterpart on the
other side. Quite frankly, I think they have in just
(21:24):
about every game, it's been more the veterans for the
other team putting up better numbers than the Hornets vets.
So I'm gonna go with a veteran here for this one.
I'm gonna look at Max Christi. He's a guy with
a you know, about a half a season of NBA
time under his belt, got a handful of starts for
the Lakers last year. Really good shooter. He's in his
second season now out of Michigan State, a young guy,
(21:46):
did spend a lot of time in the G League
with the South Bay Lakers. But he's someone who's been
a real focal point of their offense through one game
of Summer League. And again, he's a good shooter, he's
a good all around guard. This will be a really
good matchup, I think for a James Book night in
for Bryce McGowan's and for Nick Smith and whoever gets
matched up on him. This is a guy who is
(22:06):
hungry for NBA time, wants to show that he has
taken that next step and kind of join that corps
with Lebron James and Anthony Davis and start trying to
help the Lakers compete for championships in the Western Conference.
So I think that will be a player certainly to
focus on. Yes, the first round pick. The draft picks
in general, they get all of the eyeballs. It's their
debut on the NBA floor. But just as we saw
(22:29):
the other day against the Spurs, the Vets tend to
tell the story of who wins the games. So Max
Christy my player to watch here for the Lakers. Let's
wrap it up with a Hornets player to watch.
Speaker 3 (22:38):
And let's go with another first round pick from this
previous draft. I'm gonna go with Nick Smith Junior. I
know he is kind of playing out of position a
little bit here during Summer League. He's not really considered
the point guard, but he's playing the point guard position
right now. But he just hasn't been shooting the ball
very well. He was two to ten the other night
against San Antonio four points oh four from Beyond York.
He has this thing right now where he gets into
(23:01):
this rhythm and he shoots this very very long two
that's just maybe a step or two inside the three
point arc, and it's a fine shot. There's nothing wrong
with the shot, but it's almost in that no man's land.
I mean, Damar DeRozan has made a career after being
a mid range assassin. But at this point right now,
I don't know if Nick's is still trying to get
acclimated to that three point line where in the college
(23:22):
game that was a three pointer that he was taking
and he just needs to back it up a little bit.
And he's just kind of has been fixated on that
sweet spot there right now on the floor, and that's
his spot and that's where he likes to shoot from.
But I would like to see him mix it up
a little bit, drive to the hoop a little bit more,
maybe have an opportunity for a catch and shoot three
on the wing. I know those haven't come a whole
lot here the way the offense has worked in Summer League,
(23:42):
but as a whole I just want to see the
offense get going for Nick Smith junior, and that's why
he's my player to watch tonight against the Lakers.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
I like Nick Smith's summer league so far in spurts.
He hasn't shot a great percentage by any stretch just yet,
but I think he's put together some really nice games.
And that long two that you talked about, I think
they were describing it on the telecast as it's a
good shot when you make it. Every shot is and
he's definitely got some range, definitely has some game. I
(24:08):
like it. I'll go with the number two overall pick.
I'll take the easy out and say Brandon Miller. I
think there are some interesting matchups on the other side here.
Cole Swider is a guy who's been in the Lakers
system in the NBA system for the last couple of seasons.
He's a really good player and size wise, he's a
decent matchup here for Brandon Miller. Another six foot nine
(24:29):
guy to two hundred twenty pounds. He has a year
worth of NBA slash G League experience in summer league
experience quite frankly under his belt. He performed well the
other day in the Lakers Summer League opener against the
Golden State Warriors. So he's someone that I think Brandon
Miller should have a good, interesting matchup against. I thought
he performed very well the other day against the Spurs.
(24:51):
I'm looking for him to build on that send a
message here. None of the young guys have really stepped
out and had a huge game. It's been mostly second
year players throughout this Summer League process. Brandon Miller has
been as good as any rookie has been. This is
a chance, I think for him to really bust out,
and I'm looking for him to do it. Brandon Miller
my player to watch here for the Charlotte Hornets. All right,
(25:13):
that's gonna do it for this edition of the Hornets
Time Cast. Whether you're listening to this a day after
the contest against the Spurs, or you're listening to it
on game day for Hornets versus Lakers, we appreciate your
patronage here of the Hornet timee Cast. And Rob Longo,
thanks for these late nights here. I know you love
those West Coast road trips. Summer League is like a
never ending West Coast road trip for you, my friend.
Speaker 3 (25:35):
I'm just glad that Sunday's game is a four o'clock
start knock on wood Eastern time, so then that way
I'm not literally burning the midnight oil like I am
on this podcast, but happy to always talk hornet soups
as well.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
We always love doing it with you, and we know
no matter how late we make you stay up, you're
always going to bring that energy here on the Hornets
Iive Cast. Thanks to Rob Longo, Thanks to all of
you for tuning in. For everyone here, I'm Sam Farber
saying it's been a pleasure and a privilege having you along.
We will talk to you next time right here on
the Hornets Podcast.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
Thank you for listening to the Hornets Hypecast, brought to
you by Santa, the official i Ere Nosenthroat Care provider
of the Charlotte Hornets. For more coverage, visit Hornets dot com.
Welcome to the Hornets High Cast, presented by Charlotte I
Ear Nose and Throat Associates, the official I ear Nose
and Throat Care provider of the Charlotte Hornets. Here's your host,
Sam Farber.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Welcome to another edition of the Hornets IIE Cast, your
Hornets podcast with all the notes quote san daily buzz
around your favorite NBA team. I'm Sam Farber and it
is a pleasure and a privileged to have you with
us here once again on the Hornets hife Cast, brought
to you by Santa Charlotte, I Ear Nose and Throat Associates,
the official I ear Nosen Throat Care provider of the
Charlotte Hornets. Very busy edition of the HHC today, Hornets
(00:39):
have opened up. Summer League played the Las Vegas edition
of IT. Hornets fell in Game one, seventy six to
sixty eight to the San Antonio Spurs, but really that
game was Brandon Miller versus Victor Webbin Yama. Will take
you through the tail of the tape. Also some news
that's come out as of late, Miles Bridges signed a
qualifying offer with the Charlotte Hornets. Will read through some
(01:01):
of the quotes from both Hornets general manager Mitch Kupcheck
as well as Miles Bridges himself. And because we're taking
a little bit of time off here for the weekend,
you are also going to get a preview of Game
two of the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas for
the Hornets. They'll take on the La Lakers. Helping me
on all of these topics a very busy podcast. We've
(01:22):
got my producer from the Hornets Radio Network as well
as the producer of this fine podcast, the always energetic
Rob Longo. Rob, thanks for joining me.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Yeah, no problem, Sam, happy to be here. It seems
like we've been just grinding through this Summer League. We
finally got the Las Vegas We finally got this highly
anticipated matchup between Victor Webbinyalla and Brandon Miller.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
This has been one that people have been waiting for,
not even since the draft, since the lottery, since the
one versus two matchup came out. You knew that the
NBA would give the people what they wanted and we
would see Hornets spurs at some point in Summer League.
It tips it off in Las Vegas. Hornets fell seventy
six to sixty eight Let's be honest, it was a
really rough game to watch offensively overall for both sides.
(02:04):
But fans weren't really there to see the game as
a whole, or you know, some of the ancillary players
from either team. This was all about Brandon Miller Victor Wembanyama,
and to be truthful, they were probably there to see
Victor Wembanyama. He hadn't played yet in any Summer League action.
Brandon Miller had had some appearances in Sacramento, but quite frankly,
Brandon Miller came out and he had the better game
(02:26):
of the two. He finished with sixteen points, eleven boards,
a double double, had three steals a block shot, didn't
shoot great three for ten from three to five of
fifteen overall, but he certainly had better numbers and in
my opinion, looked a lot better offensively than Victor Wembanyama did.
Wemby finishes with nine points on just two for thirteen,
shooting one for six from three. That means he was
(02:49):
one for seven from inside of the arc. Despite all
the advantages that come with having a seven foot three
plus frame that he brings to the table, did have
eight rebounds, did have five block shots. Definitely a game
changer there and turned it over three times. Rob Longo,
your thoughts on the head to head matchup between Brandon
Miller and Victor WINM Binyama.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
There were a lot of people on the social media
circles saying, well, neither of them are really impressive, And
I don't know what people expected the first time out
of the gate for basically Victor Wmbinyama and Brandon Miller
only his third game under their belt. I don't know
if they expected for each of them to drop forty
or what. But I mean, at the end of the day,
really impressed with what Brandon was able to do, especially
to start the game. He hit a three very early
(03:31):
on and kind of really set the tone, but the
rest of the team just didn't really pick it up.
You know, Brandon made the first shot of the game,
and then the rest of the team went oh for
their next thirteen and that include some of Brandon Miller's
shots as well. So I think Miller started about two
for four from the field there in that first quarter
and then kind of fell off a little bit, but
he took more shots. That's what a lot of people
wanted going into this game. A lot of people said that,
(03:54):
you know, they didn't like the shot attempts, the minimal
shot attempts for that game against they Go State Warriors
back in Sacramento a few days ago. But Victor webbin Yama,
obviously everybody was there to see him. The crazy thing
about this matchup, or at least the stat line from
Victor Wembinyama, was he had no offensive rebounds. All eight
of his boards came on the defensive end of the glass.
(04:14):
So that was a little bit surprising to me. Obviously,
the offense has a lot to work on for him.
His defense is impactful. That's going to happen when you
have a guy that's seven to three and a half
if you want to include that half engine there as well.
But I thought Brandon Miller did a great job handling him.
There were a lot of times we saw those two
matched up where on both sides of the court. There
was times where Brandon was guarding Wemby, Wemby was guarding
(04:36):
Brandon and vice versa. And I thought Brandon Miller did
a really good job. He laid the body defensively a
couple of times on wembem Yama, made him a little
bit uncomfortable, waited for some help to arrive, and they
were able to get a couple of turnovers out of it.
And then on the other side too, you have Brandon
going up against Wemby on offense, and he was able
to wait for the screen, be patient, get the switch,
get the matchup that he wanted. So really savvy played
(04:57):
by Brandon Miller, I think on both ends of the
floor in this individual.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
Those two, and I think some of the natural gifts
that Brandon Miller has were on display in this one. Certainly,
a size is not the same as Victor Wembinyama, Victor's
seven foot three plus and Brandon Miller's more in the
six eight six nine to six ten range, but Miller
able to use his size and his physical gifts to
(05:20):
pull down eleven boards. A lot of it was just
a little bit better pacing, I thought from Brandon Miller overall,
but some of the natural size and ability helped him
get those rebounds as well. And then just his shot.
It looks different than other players, and you know, you
can look at three for ten from three and say, Okay,
that's not a great shooting percentage, and it's not, but
(05:41):
it's it's one of those dividing lines where we talked
about it a lot, Rob. You know, if he makes
one more and he goes four for ten, nineteen points
is better than sixteen points. It would have looked like
a better scoring line. But did he shoot that much better?
I mean, I thought the shots he took and the
way it looked coming out of his hand, really it
was a strong performance from him overall. So I like
what we saw from Brandon Miller in the head to
(06:02):
head matchup against Wemby. In terms of the game as
a whole, it was designed by the Vets and once
again the Spurs group of Dominic Barlow, Julian Champenni Malachi, Brandon, Blake, Wesley,
all guys who've had NBA time, they did outplay the
Hornets Vets, which include guys like Kai Jones, James Buckknight
and others. They just did and that's what eventually determined
the outcome of the game. That in the Charlotte Hornets
(06:24):
shooting percentage, you'd take Brandon Miller out of the equation.
Hornets shot collectively just twenty nine percent from the floor
eighteen of sixty two and nine percent from three two
for twenty two, so those were the major sticking points.
Even with that being said, though, Charlotte kept it competitive
and made a little bit of a run there to
make it interesting down to the wire, end up falling
(06:44):
seventy six to sixty eight. Dimen. Now to select our
Silver Linings performers, Rob rules are in effect, Rob Longo,
who do you like from the Charlotte Hornets.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
One more thing about Brandon Miller's performance before we move
on to Silver Linings. I wanted to add just two
turnovers the game yesterday. Those both came in the second
half as well, and he finishes with five fouls, which
is a far cry from the eighth that he had
against Golden State the other day, and at halftime he
finished with just two fouls, So a little bit more
slap happy there in that second half. But at the
end of the day, Brandon Miller is able to cut
(07:15):
down on all that stuff, which were some key components
that we mentioned in the previous podcast leading up to
this game. For me my silver Lining performance, I really
want to take Amari Bailey again just because of the
athleticism that we continue to see from him. But I
took him last time, so I cannot I'm gonna go
with Bryce mcgallan's five to twelve from the field, fifteen points,
all coming off the bench. He did not get the
(07:35):
start in last night's game, and hearing from head coach
Marlon Garnett Summer League head coach Marlon Garnett after the game,
he said they wanted to go big, so Bryce mcgallen's
came off the bench. Trayvon Scott ended up getting the
start instead, and of course with Kai Jones, just trying
to bolster that size because obviously the Spurs are gonna
play big now with Victor Webbin Yama. So I thought
Bryce mcgawen's did a good job. He wasn't afraid to
(07:55):
go after Wemby. There were a couple of times he
attacked the paint, and there were a couple of times
where he have gotten blocked and swatted, but at the
same time, he was able to go there try to
finish hard at the rim. He wasn't scared. I love
that mentality from a guy like Bryce McGowan's, that he's
not afraid to go hard at the rack, even though
it's only in his was going to be his second
NBA season, So for me, that's why Bryce mcallan's is
(08:16):
my silver lining performance from last night's game.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
I like the pick, you know, I thought, statistically speaking,
he was close to what we saw production wise from
a lot more of those Spurs veterans, and you know,
that's what you want to see in a guy who's
in his second or third time at Summer League. Is
the progression I thought we saw Bryce McGowan's definitely have
a little bit more of that veteran presence in this one.
So I like the pick. I'm kind of tempted to
(08:40):
go in a couple of directions. I like the mention
of Amari Bailey struggled with his shot a little bit,
but eight rebounds. He just has a nose for the
ball and seems to get in there and mix it up.
But not my pick this time. I really want to
go with Kay Jones for that Welcome to the NBA
moment where he caught the lob and dunked on top
of wemb and Yama. He did a much better better
job rebounding, had ten boards in this one, but everyone
(09:03):
including Brandon Miller after the game, was talking about Kay's
again Welcome to the NBA moment on top of the
number one overall pick. I wasn't expect him to throw
it in, but you know, super athletic. It's definitely gonna
be great for us, just you know, willing to get
better with him every day. Yeah, I think they're gonna
enjoy playing with each other for however long both of
(09:24):
them are out there in Las Vegas in Summer League.
Kai Jones that huge dunk his only field goal of
the game, but it was one to remember. Finished with
seven points and ten rebounds. But my pick for Silver
Linings give me the number two overall pick. I thought
Brandon Miller had his best game yet of Summer League.
He was aggressive enough with his shot. I don't think
he took anything that was what I would call an
(09:46):
ill advised shot. When he makes it, it just looks
different than most players at Summer League. There's those natural
gifts and the eleven rebounds. I think there's a lot
to like about his decision making. Defensively, I thought he
was much more act active. Head coach for the Summer
League squad, Marlin Garnett talked about that after the game.
I'm just really impressed with the steps forward we saw
(10:08):
in this one from Brandon Miller. And I want to
give him his flowers. So Brandon Miller my silver lining
selection today. Here for the Charlotte Hornets. Coming up next.
It's been a busy twenty four to forty eight hours
of news here for the Charlotte Hornets, depending on when
you're listening to this podcast. Miles Bridges signed his qualifying
offer with the Hornets. We'll talk about that next. Here
(10:28):
on the Hornets. I've cast Sam Farber, Rob Longo here
with you on the HHC The Hornets. I've cast brought
to you by SENTA Charlotte I ear nosen Throat Associates,
the official I ear nosen Throatcare provider of the Charlotte Hornets.
Some more news came out from Hornets public relations over
the last day or two, depending on when you're listening
(10:50):
to this podcast. Miles Bridges has signed his qualifying offer
with the Hornets. Miles is going to play for Charlotte
on a one year contract for the twenty three to
twenty four season. It's kind of a prove it deal
for both sides. They didn't come to terms on a
long term deal. Obviously. This is a larger situation than
just a common contract signing. Given what's taken place over
(11:11):
the last twelve months. So we want to just basically
read the quotes for you here from both Hornets general
manager Mitch Cupcheck as well as the player himself, Miles Bridges,
that came out with the announcement of this one year
contract agreement the qualifying offer between Bridges and the Hornets.
First up here is Hornet's general manager Mitch Cupcheck, the quote.
(11:31):
Throughout this process, we have taken a measured and serious approach.
Several factors played a part in our decision to bring
Miles back, including the conclusion of the legal process, the
results of the NBA's investigation, and miles commitment to counseling
and community service. Our five year relationship with Miles has
allowed for open and honest dialogue. He has shown remorse,
(11:52):
indicated that he has learned from his situation, and expressed
that it will not happen again. We look forward to
Miles rejoining our team. Miles Bridges is also quoted in
the press release. Here's what Miles Bridges had to say.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
Quote.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
I sincerely apologize for the pain, embarrassment and disappointment that
last year's incident caused so many people time away from
the game allowed me to reflect, immerse myself in therapy,
and prioritize becoming a better person, someone my family and
peers can be proud of. I'm grateful to the Hornets
in the NBA community for giving me a second chance.
Most people don't ever get one, and I understand those
(12:29):
questioning whether I deserve one. I will do everything I
can to earn back the trust and confidence of my teammates, coaches,
the Hornets organization and staff, fans, and the Charlotte community.
I'm ready to return to work and can't wait to
rejoin my Hornets teammates Rob Loongo. Those are the quotes
from Miles Bridges and Mitch Cupcheck. We're gonna let those
stand for themselves. We do anticipate at some point a
(12:52):
press conference to talk more about the signing, and we'll
let the parties involved in that speak further at that point.
For now, let's just look at how this roster is
coming together. Not a ton of activity from the Hornets,
but two pretty significant signings in terms of on court contributions.
LaMelo Ball we talked about last edition of the AHHC
(13:13):
has been signed long term. Now the Rookie Extension and
now Miles Bridges will be back for the twenty three
to twenty fourth season after serving his NBA suspension, And
this roster is coming together and looking an awful lot
more like the one that won forty three games two
seasons ago now than the one that was saddled with
twenty seven wins last year. You've got LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier,
(13:37):
Gordon Hayward, Miles Bridges, Mark Williams as a potential starting five,
and then you fill in from the bench with a
lot of experienced players who knock on wood all will
be healthy this year, Guys like Cody Martin, guys like
Nick Richards, and of course the number two overall pick
Brandon Miller filling in as well. Your thoughts on how
things are starting to come together in this Hornet's offseason.
Speaker 3 (14:01):
Yeah, it's starting to look like that team that won
forty three games not that long ago, like you mentioned,
And I mean, any time that you get a guy
that averaged twenty point seven rebounds and almost four assists
during the season where he started all eighty games, I mean,
that's really really remarkable that you're able to get a
guy like that. It's almost like getting an extra draft pick,
(14:21):
so you're getting another guy on the roster. This one
just happens to have a little bit more experience, and
we saw in previous seasons what that connection between LaMelo
Ball and Miles Bridges is able to deliver. So it's
going to certainly be an improved roster from a season ago. Again,
knock on wood, hoping that everybody remains healthy, and there's
still some irons in a fire, I'm sure depending on
(14:43):
free agency and those sorts of things. There's still some
free agents that we cannot talk about yet because there
aren't any deals yet to be done, to be honest,
So this is just another step in building this roster
and getting it ready for the fall.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Yeah, I think there are certainly more moves to be made.
There were spots open on the roster currently, and so
some work to be done by Mitch Kupchek and the
front office. But clearly things seem to be again, if healthy,
headed in a closer direction to the trajectory the team
was on before all those injuries and absences, including quite
(15:16):
frankly Miles Bridges. That absence was felt on the roster
all throughout last season, and we'll see what this team
looks like once they get back Hole, it won't be
on opening day. He'll still have a suspension to serve,
but this team gets a lot deeper, a lot more experienced,
and a lot more high powered, scoring wise and defending,
quite frankly, bringing him back into the fold again. We
(15:38):
do anticipate at some point a press conference involving Miles
Bridges in the front office, either pieces of that combination
or collectively. When it comes, we will clearly cover it
for you here on the Hornets high Cast, and we
encourage you to go to Hornets dot com and Hornets
social media see the press release for yourself and take
a look at those quotes coming up next. We've been
(16:00):
working awful hard all summer league long. I think we're
gonna give ourselves a little bit of a time off
and not do a full preview podcast tomorrow. Who knows,
maybe some breaking news will come out we'll have to
do it, but for the moment we will just plan
ahead for Hornets versus Lakers. Give you our game preview
next here on the HHC. Sam Farbar rob Longo here
(16:23):
with you on the Hornets I'm Cast brought to you
by Santa Hornets will have Game two of the Las
Vegas portion of Summer League on Sunday, and we're gonna
give you our game preview. First, though, I want to
talk Rob about the trajectory of this specific Summer League roster.
I thought we saw a big step forward, and it
wasn't just me. Head coach Marlon Garnett on the sidelines
(16:45):
talked about how even though the team really shot badly
the other day against the San Antonio Spurs, they didn't
let that affect their overall effort defensively and overall on
the floor.
Speaker 4 (17:00):
For the games ahead, because I thought the guys pasted
this game with the right mindset. I thought it was
a step in the right direction. Obviously, we didn't shoot
the ball all that great, so that that hurt us
a little bit, But typically when you don't shoot the
ball well, it affects your defense, and I thought that's
a night It was a little bit of reverse. So
we felt like we had a pillar that we can
stand on. Okay, we're not shooting well, but we didn't
(17:22):
give up our efforts on the defensive end, which is
gonna help us win games going forward.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
Rob Longo, that's just so hard to do to play
well when you're not shooting well. They're so closely tied
for especially young players. I think it's a tribute to
their determination out there and to the coaching staff keeping
them engaged, even though clearly they did not shoot the
basketball well at all. Collectively, the Hornets shot under thirty
(17:47):
percent from the floor, under twenty percent from three, and
those numbers just get worse when you take Brandon Miller out.
He didn't have a great shooting day, but it was
better than the rest of the squad. So I think
it's commendable the way they fought out there and gave
that great effort and a Spurs team that put a
huge number on them in the first go around in Sacramento.
Now adding Victor wembin Yam into the fold, was still
(18:09):
held to seventy six points. So some certainly some bright
spots here for Charlotte moving forward in Summer League.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
Certainly, I thought they did a great job defensively. Like
I mentioned in that first segment, I mean, when you
go back and you look at it, San Antonio didn't
shoot the ball particularly well either, thirty three percent from
the field. The three ball definitely fell more for them,
about thirty one percent, But yeah, I mean I think
that this is a step in the right direction. And again,
basketball is such a chemistry heavy sport where you all
(18:37):
five guys on the floor need to be on the
same page, and it's really tough to do that when
you've only had a week, week and a half being
together with all these guys. And there's times on the
floor where you see some turnovers and you see guys
looking at each other like I thought you were going
to go here when you ended up going this way.
So again, those things are going to happen. Those mistakes
are going to happen. You just don't want to have
that breakdown defensively. We saw that a couple times in Sacramento.
(18:59):
We also saw that and the Spurs last night as well.
So it's just going to be one of those things
that keeps improving and improving on a game by game basis.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Rob We're not doing the full preview for this one
here today, but if we were going to throw in
a key to the game, I would say, just have
it close going into the fourth quarter. Hornets have done
a good job in fourth quarters here so far in
Summer League, but clearly struggling in other portions of the game.
Hopefully they can do a better job of that here
on Sunday against the La Lakers, Game two of Summer
(19:29):
League is upon us Rob Longo our game preview. Again,
you don't need to come up with the stat We'll
say that's the collective stat here. We do need players
to watch, however, for the Hornets and Lakers, where would
you like to begin.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
Well, before we get to that, one note to add
on to what you were talking about, you go back
to yesterday's game. The Hornets trailed the Spurs by thirteen
after the third quarter was fifty eight to forty five.
They were able to outscore San Antonio twenty three to
eighteen in that fourth quarter, So yeah, keep it close.
Like you mentioned, that might be a good note to
kind of keep an eye on. But in terms of
players to watch, let's begin with the Lakers, and I
think the easy one to pick here on this roster
(20:01):
that they've kind of assembled here for Summer League is
their first round pick, and that was Jalen Hoods Schafino.
He was selected seventeenth overall by the Lakers. He's a
native Pittsburgher, so might have a little bit of bias there,
but a little bit of a lanky guy, kind of
a combo guard forward slasher kind of guy, listened anywhere
between sixty four and six y five, has a little
bit of linked on and played one year in Indiana,
(20:22):
so I played in some pretty big environments into Big ten.
But for me, that might be a potential matchup here
moving forward with Brandon Miller once again, and I think
that we've always just been consistently keeping an eye on
Brandon as our quasi player to watch, even though we
might not pick him on a game by game or
a podcast by podcast basis, because all eyes are obviously
always going to be on the number two overall pick,
(20:42):
regardless of the time and what players we pick. But again,
Jalen hood Shaffino hasn't had the best run of things
in Summer League more or less here over the last
handful of games. But again, he's been one of those
guys that is a first round pick for a reason.
The Lakers took him with that selection for a reason.
So for me, he's going to be my player to
watch here tonight for the Lakers.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
I like it. The rookies are always the attention grabbers,
but really the better performers in Summer League ten to
be veterans. That's been the case in every game the
Hornets have been involved with it. It hasn't really been
you know, Brandon Miller and Nick Smith and Amari Bailey
haven't done their part or outdueled their counterpart on the
other side. Quite frankly, I think they have in just
(21:24):
about every game, it's been more the veterans for the
other team putting up better numbers than the Hornets vets.
So I'm gonna go with a veteran here for this one.
I'm gonna look at Max Christi. He's a guy with
a you know, about a half a season of NBA
time under his belt, got a handful of starts for
the Lakers last year. Really good shooter. He's in his
second season now out of Michigan State, a young guy,
(21:46):
did spend a lot of time in the G League
with the South Bay Lakers. But he's someone who's been
a real focal point of their offense through one game
of Summer League. And again, he's a good shooter, he's
a good all around guard. This will be a really
good matchup, I think for a James Book night in
for Bryce McGowan's and for Nick Smith and whoever gets
matched up on him. This is a guy who is
(22:06):
hungry for NBA time, wants to show that he has
taken that next step and kind of join that corps
with Lebron James and Anthony Davis and start trying to
help the Lakers compete for championships in the Western Conference.
So I think that will be a player certainly to
focus on. Yes, the first round pick. The draft picks
in general, they get all of the eyeballs. It's their
debut on the NBA floor. But just as we saw
(22:29):
the other day against the Spurs, the Vets tend to
tell the story of who wins the games. So Max
Christy my player to watch here for the Lakers. Let's
wrap it up with a Hornets player to watch.
Speaker 3 (22:38):
And let's go with another first round pick from this
previous draft. I'm gonna go with Nick Smith Junior. I
know he is kind of playing out of position a
little bit here during Summer League. He's not really considered
the point guard, but he's playing the point guard position
right now. But he just hasn't been shooting the ball
very well. He was two to ten the other night
against San Antonio four points oh four from Beyond York.
He has this thing right now where he gets into
(23:01):
this rhythm and he shoots this very very long two
that's just maybe a step or two inside the three
point arc, and it's a fine shot. There's nothing wrong
with the shot, but it's almost in that no man's land.
I mean, Damar DeRozan has made a career after being
a mid range assassin. But at this point right now,
I don't know if Nick's is still trying to get
acclimated to that three point line where in the college
(23:22):
game that was a three pointer that he was taking
and he just needs to back it up a little bit.
And he's just kind of has been fixated on that
sweet spot there right now on the floor, and that's
his spot and that's where he likes to shoot from.
But I would like to see him mix it up
a little bit, drive to the hoop a little bit more,
maybe have an opportunity for a catch and shoot three
on the wing. I know those haven't come a whole
lot here the way the offense has worked in Summer League,
(23:42):
but as a whole I just want to see the
offense get going for Nick Smith junior, and that's why
he's my player to watch tonight against the Lakers.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
I like Nick Smith's summer league so far in spurts.
He hasn't shot a great percentage by any stretch just yet,
but I think he's put together some really nice games.
And that long two that you talked about, I think
they were describing it on the telecast as it's a
good shot when you make it. Every shot is and
he's definitely got some range, definitely has some game. I
(24:08):
like it. I'll go with the number two overall pick.
I'll take the easy out and say Brandon Miller. I
think there are some interesting matchups on the other side here.
Cole Swider is a guy who's been in the Lakers
system in the NBA system for the last couple of seasons.
He's a really good player and size wise, he's a
decent matchup here for Brandon Miller. Another six foot nine
(24:29):
guy to two hundred twenty pounds. He has a year
worth of NBA slash G League experience in summer league
experience quite frankly under his belt. He performed well the
other day in the Lakers Summer League opener against the
Golden State Warriors. So he's someone that I think Brandon
Miller should have a good, interesting matchup against. I thought
he performed very well the other day against the Spurs.
(24:51):
I'm looking for him to build on that send a
message here. None of the young guys have really stepped
out and had a huge game. It's been mostly second
year players throughout this Summer League process. Brandon Miller has
been as good as any rookie has been. This is
a chance, I think for him to really bust out,
and I'm looking for him to do it. Brandon Miller
my player to watch here for the Charlotte Hornets. All right,
(25:13):
that's gonna do it for this edition of the Hornets
Time Cast. Whether you're listening to this a day after
the contest against the Spurs, or you're listening to it
on game day for Hornets versus Lakers, we appreciate your
patronage here of the Hornet timee Cast. And Rob Longo,
thanks for these late nights here. I know you love
those West Coast road trips. Summer League is like a
never ending West Coast road trip for you, my friend.
Speaker 3 (25:35):
I'm just glad that Sunday's game is a four o'clock
start knock on wood Eastern time, so then that way
I'm not literally burning the midnight oil like I am
on this podcast, but happy to always talk hornet soups
as well.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
We always love doing it with you, and we know
no matter how late we make you stay up, you're
always going to bring that energy here on the Hornets
Iive Cast. Thanks to Rob Longo, Thanks to all of
you for tuning in. For everyone here, I'm Sam Farber
saying it's been a pleasure and a privilege having you along.
We will talk to you next time right here on
the Hornets Podcast.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
Thank you for listening to the Hornets Hypecast, brought to
you by Santa, the official i Ere Nosenthroat Care provider
of the Charlotte Hornets. For more coverage, visit Hornets dot com.
Hosts And Creators
Sam Farber
Rob Longo
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