Seeing that Thor already scored a 3-pointer, if he scores any more points, we might win. We don’t want that…
Nice sequence by Kai. Block on one end, put back slam on the other.
1 Like
Bouknight is at the game but in street clothes. I guess he has no future with Hornet (or the NBA).
Can’t guard THT.
JT has been kind to us, he hasn’t scored since his 3PTer (end Q3).
1 Like
last several games have been pretty fun. Lots of good plays tonight. Glad to see Kai Jones looking like a legit contributor. (Someone must have done the heimlich maneuver on the ref that swallowed that whistle.)
Oubre shooting 6/12 from 3 was nice even if he was 1/8 from inside the arc. Several of those shots came at the end when we needed them.
Talen might have played the game of his life. Everything was going in. Good for that dude. And man is Utah tall.
1 Like
Hornets Law for Talen. All the way.
1 Like
It’s so weird too, but because it’s not like it was bad D. Dude was just putting it in from everywhere.
Hornets Law.
2 Likes
Its amazing how much better Kai looks playing HIS ACTUAL POSITION
I get your point, but I have to believe there’s also been some development. He even looked better in transition and when making decisions at the top of the key. He just looks more comfortable and playing more purposefully. I don’t think that’s just from position change.
Some of it is growth we HOPE, but same thing happened in Summer League. Looked like a good prospect playing center and then didn’t do much playing PF.
He looked outstanding. I wish that earned him more minutes.
I’m sure Kai has improved much more now, but I liked what I saw last December or whenever he got some time. More productive than Thor then, more productive than him now.
Don’t mean to be getting on Thor all the time either, he’s really young, maybe Thybulle can be his ceiling. But he’s so unproductive right now, I really feel g league success might help his offensive game open up and improve, where Kai needs nba floor time to learn to hone his athleticism and how to attack.
Utah is really damn tall. I guess they liked how it worked in Cleveland with Lauri, so they’re trying it out there.
THT, I saw decent talent in LA, but didn’t expect this. He was looking like D Wade out there, and I don’t mean Dean.
1 Like
LeBron can have that effect on you
It will be interesting if they resign Richards or trust Kai with backup center minutes next season. I think if Richards is resigned, Kai is gonna be out of here in a trade for sure. I saw or heard somewhere some NBA people think he can be a player, but his development curve is longer than anticipated.
Kai is such a different type of player though than Nick. Not sure where that leaves him in the rotation, but Nick and Williams play similar styles and roles that seem like would lead to a consistent play style for our team. Kai seems like a guy that could be a terrific wild card big off the bench that could play either 4 or 5 depending on need.
Long term, I think the hardest thing for teams to accomplish is a disciplined, effective play style that is reproducible through multiple 7 games series. In that regard, Nick and Williams seem like the best way to go to establish that, especially since both of them are turning into guys that can reliably get you a double-double given the space. Though, I do get completely how tantalizing Kai’s possibilities are. Hopefully, we keep all three.
3 Likes
Until cliff is no longer the coach, you can’t have Richards on the roster. Cliff can’t help himself. A center like Richards will always eat minutes that Williams should be getting.
Kai is a player I’d like to see get burn to know better how consistent he can be. The way Clif is doling our minutes however concerns me that we’ll never know until much later in his development. I think that’s a big mistake.
2 Likes
Oubre out.
I agree with you there. Mark/Nick is an ideal center combo for us I think. Kai I think still needs to add bulk (though he’s done a good job so far) and establish who HE is more so than trying to confirm to what a team needs.
I think the team saw him similar to a young Giannis but his ball handling has to go a LONG way to even think about something like that. He may never be a polished offensive player but I think he could potentially be Dennis Rodman/Draymond Green if he just really zeroed in on that part of his game along with shooting to space the floor offensively.