Our best 5 is Melo, Terry, Miller, Bridges and Mark. That’s the lineup I’d like to see start and finish games.
Lavine makes a ton of money over the next couple of years. This would definitely involve Gordon as the main guy going back, but it’s an interesting consideration. I don’t blame us for being intrigued.
I don’t know. I don’t like the fit.
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The fit is horrible. Pairing Melo with another poor defensive player of melo’s caliber would be horrendous.
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I don’t like it, years ago when there was rumors we might trade for Lavine when Kemba was here, I was for it but now, not a fan.
Although I can’t say I wouldn’t be able to sucker myself in and get excited though
Ownership needs to step up and put a stop to this mess. As discussed in game chat, it’s GM, talent, and coaching. No sense in waiting. Make changes sooner rather than later. If they haven’t been able to evaluate by now, they’re blind. As I type this, they’ve cut the lead to 6. Shouldn’t have been down by 19 to wash to begin with.
Edit: even though they came back and won, I still stand by the above.
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As a Steelers fan, I wholeheartedly concur. I would love to be liberated of the hornets coaching and FO at the same week I was liberated from Matt Canada
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Not a Steelers fan, but tons of respect for the organization and Mike Tomlin. That was a ballsy move this late in the season and in a playoff race. He wasn’t satisfied with the results and had the courage to make a change now. Much respect.
I would be happy with 3-4 wins from these. I want us to win against Min, Mia, Ind, and Lac. There are some maybe games there, like Den, Tor, and Phx, depending on how lax they come to us.
Maybe squeak out a closely fought divisional battle against Miami, I could see that. And the clippers who don’t have things together yet. But I feel like the clippers always blow us out. Didn’t we lose by 30 or so to the clippers last year?
I’m higher on the pacers and the twolves are legit. And Minnesota is 1st in the west. They’ve definitely figured it out.
Hey guys, don’t look now but our team defense efficiency rating has “surged” from 30th to 27th!
For a span of three games, the hornets are 14th in defensive efficiency rating. The return of miles may have a lot to do with that. He’s grabbed 25 rebounds over the last two games, which is huge. Limiting second chance points is key.
Random interesting stat: despite the 25 rebounds for miles in the last two games, only 2 of those have been offensive rebounds. What does that mean? Probably nothing! But it’s a stat!
I’m excited to see what this team can be when we’re finally at full strength. I’ve long since felt we weren’t that far away when we have all our pieces. I don’t think the 43 win team was a fluke nor do I think that’s our ceiling. We just haven’t had the chance to be a fully intact unit since then. Once we add Terry’s shotmaking back in the mix to complement Lamelo, Miller, Miles and Mark, we will have a nice combination of athleticism, shot creation, 3-point shooting and ball handling ability within the starting unit.
We also need Nick back as well. I don’t love our small ball lineups. His rim protection, rebounding and ability to finish around the basket ensures very little drop off when Mark is out of the game. Nick, PJ, Hayward and Ish is a competent second unit. Both units need to be committed to defending consistently and for whatever reason, that continues to be our Achilles heal. But at full strength, this team can be competitive.
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I disagree. I won’t open that box again, but I think 43 wins is the ceiling. Im not opposed to an argument for a couple more wins with the addition of an emerging mark Williams. But im done beating that dead horse.
I know how you feel about that, and I respect your opinion there. I just think it’s hard to say what our ceiling is when we’ve never gotten to see that group together again since then. Especially since we’ve added a couple of key pieces in Mark and Miller since. Miles is finally back and that has clearly made a difference. When we get Terry and Nick back (I won’t even mention Cody), then we can see.
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With how long and how many times we’ve had this debate on HP, I could give you an outlined play by, along with the talking points on both sides of the argument. Or a flow chart of sorts, or a hornets themed choose your own adventure story book for kids (if you choose the healthy Gordon Hayward option go to page 7!).
So I’ll say this and avoid it. After we get Terry back, and if everyone is healthy: if the hornets start to go on a run that would match the pace of a 43+ win season, I think it’s an argument worth revisiting.
But until then, I’m out on the coulda/woulda/shoulda narrative. You guys feel free to 
, but I’ve spoken my peace on this topic fam. 
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Sounds like we’re in agreement then. As I said above, let’s wait and see.
Totally agree.
Or terry and Gordon could be gone by the trade deadline, so who knows.
Only if kupchak is gone first. 
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