Thank you!
Clifford should never have been brought back s a head coach. He should have been replaced this year. He should not be coaching "It's Miller Time!".
1 Like
I didnāt have bouk in mind in my comments about coaching. I personally donāt see him having value on this team and would love, for him and for us, to see him moved to a different situation.
1 Like
Log jam at 2 spot. Someone needs to go. I expect Book and Gordo to be dealt in a package for a backup pt and a first
No need to keep Gordoās expiring cash as we donāt win free agents. Things could change as Melo and Miller thrive but not next yearā¦
3 Likes
Of course we had greedy ball being played but doesnāt change the fact that Bouknight seemingly canāt convert simple layup finishes and has no semblance of consistency in any facet of his game besides rebounding (which, after a rewatch of a couple SL games he actually is fairly good at positionally).
His shot mechanics are inconsistent and he frequently misses side to side, a shooter with consistent mechanics will generally miss long or short the vast majority of the time.
I think the talent is there but the mentality and probably organizational teaching/development to adjust to a role that didnāt allow him to be a primary option has been awful. At this point itās year 3 and he had 1 good game and the rest fluctuated between completely awful to kinda bad.
There are a lot of guys around the league and, at this point, our roster with his same talent level and potential or better who are younger and seem to have a stronger mentality. My opinion is he is the odd man out on a team with a plethora of young, attacking guards due to lack of versatility and extreme lack of reliability.
1 Like
Assuming we resign PJ in some capacity, Iād love to sign Donsunmu and bring Theo back. I think we need both, as thereās nobody else on the roster capable of running point. Maybe Terry and Cody could pick up the 12 or so backup minutes, but theyāre not capable to play proper minutes if/when LaMelo misses a game or two.
That, I think, would take us to 16 players. Bouknight is the clear odd man out IMHO, and I would get rid.
If we can get a first for Gordon we need to get it done ASAP. He hasnāt wanted to be here for 2 seasons now
1 Like
Having 2 years straight of basketball only training, and not attaining any finishing skills are whats most surprising.
I know being a superior athlete his whole life, all he had to do was put the ball on the ground and zoom past everyone. But now with everyone being more equal ground in size and athleticism, hasnāt he had enough failures at the rim to realize there is technique and skills to be learned?
Seems he only has the pump fake and drive, or jab step and drive. Even if he gets a corner, good defenders can recover, or funnel him, and the help defense can time and clean up on his shots basically every time.
Thereās simple ways to set up a defender, get them off balance, change direction, pull up suddenly. NSJ innately knows how to dictate how to move a defender. You canāt just be reactionary to a defender and take the option that heās giving you. You have to test his stance, his intentions with feints, hesitations, whatever to see how heās moving. Makes it easier to see if you can back him up for a step back, or make him jump the wrong direction before taking off the other way.
Also, no matter how quick you are, being able to control and change pace is the most important key. Nobody was faster than Kemba with the ball, but he always went straight to the hole after getting by his man and not finishing.
The moment he started adding the herky jerkyness, to mastering how to switch gears, stop on a dime, head fake and go, how to dip into a defenders body, to suddenly slow step on his gathers, thats when he became an expert finisher and turned into an all star.
Still never got any calls, stupid refsā¦
Also, I caught something Jamal Crawford was saying (he has a future in commentating if he wants it, really good insights). He noticed Boukās best success was when he got to his spots in the corners and was able to repeat his motions for successful shots. He noticed Bouk is actually a rhythm shooter, and where his shot goes awry is when heās trying to create for himself off the dribble.
It sounds simple, but if his role had been simplified as running off screens, and shooting strictly catch and shoot buckets, it couldāve changed his whole course of his career. Master the set up 3s off the catch, then use your athleticism to blow by people closing out on you fast.
He never had the ability or vision as an on the ball player.
2 Likes
Final game today at 2:30 pm against Minnesota on NBA TV and ESPN Plus
Bold prediction - this ones the win! This is our championship game.
Does Bryce finally have a breakout game? Or maybe its Amariās turn. I would predict a Nnaji double double, but letās be real, heās not getting any passes.
Bouk needs a good second game in a row to show consistency. Iād like to see more Leaky too - good defender and rebounder, but seeing if he can add the 3 to his D after hitting a couple 3s last game.
And we have a chat for that
So lazy.
- Chet holmgren is a rookie by technicality
- The single biggest disappointment has to be Vicās premier. Full stop. The second biggest disappointment is injuries.
- I am pro scoot but if we are talking summer league performance, he played a half hour, got hurt (as in his previous history) and never returned. How on earth can you project anything from him let alone ROY with a 65 game minimum!?!
1 Like
Another reason why Miller fits in perfectly for the Hornets. After Wemby gets all the affection and fawning, the media has stars in their eyes for Scooty McBooty. And the love affair with the Thompson twin will commence soon. Along with their long lost son Chet.
Whoās that other guy? Oh yeah Brad Miller or something. Lets check the box scores, ooh, a notable night of missing 3s, lets gloss over anything else positive he did.
Itās fine. In the alternate universe, weāre getting lambasted for taking a smaller, non shooting player who got injured one game in, instead of taking summer league MVP "It's Miller Time!" with Portland, averaging 30 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, and set to lead Dame to his first title.
āWhat were the Alternate Hornets thinking?!!ā
4 Likes
Thought people hear would be interested in this, Iāll post the other parts when theyāre published.
11 Likes
My phone told me i should read that. I am very proud of how far you have gotten with a journalism career spun out from your Hornets interest.
Great work man!
The third and final part of our exclusive interview with Summer League Head Coach Marlon Garnett
5 Likes
Good series of articles @Plowright. I always find that Garnett comes across well in interviews. However, the end product on the floor was extremely poor in Summer League. While I had most of that put down to coaching, the fact that we broke the assist record for the last game, once we werenāt playing 4 score first wings in the rotation, makes me question that assertion. How much of it was coaching and how much of it was, yet again, the lack of PGs on our Summer League roster? Certainly a bit of both, but itās so hard to evaluate a plethora of young wings when thereās nobody designated to run the offence and help get them good looks.
1 Like
Great stuff!