Hornets Preseason Game 1 versus Toronto

I don’t think we ever saw this in the broadcast, the live camera feed was on the bench. I think made shot fast breaks like this are going to be a nice wrinkle for us.

This is fun, watch Melo’s reaction

  1. I was against drafting Melo. And I still don’t like the pick. Having said, I’ll ease off that sentiment a bit after watching that kid grab boards like he did (assertively too) and some of those passes. Wow.

  2. I’ve never liked the martin twins and I never will. They logged a few good minutes on a bad team last year. Good for them. Lots of guys do that.

  3. I want to see Monk and Melo on the floor at the same time. It’ll be a huge defensive liability, but I can envision them taking over a game-especially with a drive and kick style offense. Monk always has the green light to shoot, which is something this team needs sorely and was addressed by Hayward.

  4. Speaking of Hayward, I really really really liked what I saw. He can do it all. I’d like to see this team emulate what the Miami Heat are doing, in having 5 guys on the floor that are triple threats. I see Hayward taking a bit of the jimmy butler role as Swiss Army knife floor leader.

  5. Oh, and Biz. Love ya buddy. I did lol when I saw him nearly bobble passes he didn’t expect to receive while relatively wide open below the rim, only to panic score. Love the guy. I’d consider getting a Biz jersey out of respect.

I think the Heat/Raptors are unquestionably what we’re modeling ourselves after.

Fair points, though I’m not so harsh on Martin twins. In a perfect world they’d be utility deep bench guys, which I think they will likely move to by mid season.

  1. LaMelo has the potential to be a once-in-a-generation passer, he played pretty solid defense, ran the offense well, and pushed the tempo. I did not like most of the shots he took.

  2. PJ didn’t have a big game, but he seemed to be playing so much looser and seemed to have the ball in his hands more to make decisions. I think he could have a big year this year.

  3. Gordon played very well, I think he’ll at least be in the consideration for an All-Star nod this year. As Powell said he’s really a swiss army knife and does a lot without demanding the ball much. In the post game press conference, JB said he never called a play for Gordon all night.

  4. Miles was aggressive attacking the basket, which I hope is something he can stick with. Because despite his ability to jump out of the gym, I always felt like he was pretty soft on drives not really wanting to challenge other players at the rim.

1 Like

40% of ESPN’s Top 10 Plays were @Hornets. 50% of the Top 10 were on our court.

1 Like

Good stuff. I watched my App state guys on ESPN3 so I had to DVR the Hornets and watch it later. It was a good night of sports and predicted both my teams would be showing up on the top 10 lists.

1 Like

Game thoughts:

So I knew Melo could pass, but wow. This will be fun!
Has Miles turned on beast mode a little bit? He is not going to sit back this year.
PJ touching the ball more…
Got what we expected with Hayward
Cody popping a long ball… (the mythical Zeller 3 pointer)
The new buys really look like they need some work. Especially Nick Richards
But… Riller looks like he is ahead of the others fur sure. (I know small sample size on the new guys)

The five I want to see on the court together. Melo, Monk, Hayward, Bridges, and PJ

Just a reminder for those who are hypercritical after the first preseason game: The Hornets haven’t played in 270+ days unlike the Raptors. Considering all the roster changes, lack of chemistry, lack of set plays and more read-and-react, conceptual basketball, and natural rustiness, last night had a lot more positives than negatives. As I said before, I was impressed with PJ despite his “bad” performance (Note: I went back and watched the full game changed my mind about Miles. He was actually very good). He’s bigger, stronger, and a heck of a lot more ready to take on a larger offensive role. (Mitch wasn’t lying about the gold dust.) Devonte looks a lot more certain out there. He expects the ball to go in every time now. I don’t even think we’ll see the real Devonte 3.0 until the season starts. He’s not the least bit worried about how he’s going to get his. I expect him to be a lot more efficient and consistent this year. And Hayward… all I’ll say is he’s no Nic Batum. Boy can PLAY! Smart all-around player. Efficient shot selection and great playmaking. Loving him already.

1 Like

Truly outstanding. Every time I see it I’m surprised by how unbelievably accurate that pass was. What a gifted passer.

That’s a great point about the raptors having played a lot more basketball over the past year than the Hornets. Their rust is a lot different than the rust of a team who hasn’t played in well over 200 days.

To call Ball’s passes “confident” doesn’t do them justice. It looked so natural for him out there he doesn’t need confidence to make those passes. I wish more than anything I could sit court side to watch Lamelo play. I’d like to track his eyes to see where he’s looking for court vision as plays develop. Almost reminds me of a quarterback who uses his eyes or movements to throw off a defender in coverage.