Powell's "Old Man Yelling at Purple and Teal Clouds"

Powell’s “Old Man Yelling at Purple and Teal Clouds” Column

9/26/24

Well, let me know if I need to place this in a different category on the forum, but I guess it fits in hornets talk. I don’t know. It’s a well known HP fact: I can often run my mouth. Heck, I even enjoy talking to no one in particular. A core tenet of Buddhism states that “self cherishing” is the source of all suffering and problems. As a middle aged white guy, I can confidently attest that notion is dead wrong. I know much more about life in my 30 some years on earth than some 2,500 year old religion. Self-cherishing is actually the solution to all problems. In fact, that’s what is wrong with being a Charlotte Hornets fan-we have very little self cherishment. Way more self loathing. When it’s been over 20 years since our team has won a playoff series, there is not much self cherishing. Well, as a longtime Hornets fan, I think it’s time for a little less self loathing, and a little more self cherishing.

I’ve mentioned it before, but I wanted to go ahead and post this to help my own accountability. I’m going to give it a go in terms of trying to write something Hornets related every couple of weeks. I know myself-I’ll probably fall off, but it won’t happen at all if I don’t start. So, I’m starting. This is me starting.

I don’t really expect people to read this or care, as it’s mostly for me, hence the “Old Man Yelling at Clouds” title. Afterall, I’m a middle aged white guy-and the things I have to say are EXTREMELY important. I certainly wouldn’t want to deprive the world of another middle aged white guy’s opinion. So I have decided to do what most 30 something year old white guys do: start a podcast, or do something akin to this.

So I thought to myself, “well, I like writing, I have extremely important things to say. I could never deprive others of the opportunity to bask in my vainglorious Charlotte Hornets themed diatribes”. I am never one to eschew verbal ostentation, and hereby vow to use far too many words to convey my thoughts. This is America damnit. Home of the free where excess is celebrated. More is always better. Whoever believes that “less is more” or “quality over quantity” is a loser and coward. As a Hornets fan, I certainly am a loser-I’m reminded every season. But by god, I am no coward.

There are dozens of other Charlotte Hornets fans out there. And I simply cannot wait for none of them to read this. So strap in, prepare yourself to feel a mixture of underwhelmed and disappointed, and brace yourselves for an array of spelling, grammatical, and syntax errors. With a little Charlotte Hornets basketball talked mixed in. Heck, I may even mix in some cherry picked numbers, advanced stats and analytics that will bolster whatever my opinion is. If there’s one thing I know for certain: it’s that feelings are facts, and I can find something out there to finagle into a cohesive, self-serving narrative. I’m only half kidding, I’ll try to be a little objective. Sort of.

If you don’t like this, write your congressman or local representative.

Anyways. Be safe out there and wear your ankle braces.

-P

Next time…Will debut my “Powell’s Hornets Panic Meter” and discuss some hopes, wishes, and projections for the team, players, and more.

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First column and not about basketball. All about you. Perfectly on theme. A+

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I wouldn’t have it any other way Chef.

Can’t wait! :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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I can’t wait for you to feel underwhelmed and disappointed.

Powell’s “Old Man Yelling at Purple and Teal Clouds”: 10/22/2024

Who is the X-Factor to unlock the Hornets 2024/25 Season?

A Quick Note on How We Got Here:

At several points between the trade deadline in 2024 and the subsequent offseason, I had to pinch myself to provide reassurance that what was happening in Charlotte was indeed reality. The old guard was traded prior to the deadline during a sequence of relatively shrewd moves that looked promising at the time, which have aged like fine wine. This flurry of action set the stage for what was to come in Charlotte over the next several months. A young, yet experienced Jeff Peterson was hired-only to be followed by hiring the NBA’s most coveted assistant coaches, Charles Lee (also young, yet experienced). Peterson demonstrated his acumen by several moves that allowed the Hornets to acquire more 2nd round picks simply for just being there and showing up. Okay, the team did have to send James Nnaji and take on some minor salary to help facilitate the Knicks-Wolves swap (which I think was a good basketball trade for both teams). However, it’s Peterson’s willingness to simply “show up” and assert the team into positions to grow and build: by being proactive in collecting assets. I agree with the notion of “you often can create your own luck”.

The bottom line of what I’m trying to get across is that because of what has transpired since February 2024, the season just feels different. Because well, everything is different from top to bottom. The new ownership, management, and coaches are actually building something with new ideas, energy, and a youthful excitement. What’s the old cliche? “If nothing changes, then nothing changes”.

X-Factor Candidates:

Now that this franchise seems to be rebuilding the structural foundation, I see more possibilities for success and growth: real, sustainable growth. So who or what will be the x factor this year? There are a lot of candidates for this one, with no real wrong answer.

-Coach Lee could certainly be the x factor for team success this year. Will he be able to install a new system? Can he get the guys to buy into defensive accountability and limit dribble drive penetration? Can Charles Lee help LaMelo Ball more fully buy into the competitive side and install a system that maximizes his talent? Or will Coach Lee be able to do little things like draw up an inbounds play better than any previous Hornets coaches? (Pretty low bar there). This may be a little premature, but I think Lee can do all of the above. As transformative as I believe Lee will be, this is his first year at the helm. I know we’ll see flashes of that improvement across the board this year, but this may be better to evaluate after season’s end and well into season number two at the helm. Having Lee has already garnered results. Given Lee’s acumen and pedigree-I think the team is in very good hands.

-The more obvious and more popular answer to the x-factor/skeleton key question is undoubtedly LaMelo Ball. I’ll keep this one brief. Without getting into the details of why he is so critical to this team’s success, he simply has to be healthy and on the floor. Full stop. The difference between having Melo on the floor or out with injury is stark. He just has to be healthy. For this thought experiment, I will be framing this write up through the lens that LaMelo Ball will be mostly healthy this season. It’s just too obvious to say “Melo being available is the x factor”. That’s akin to the assertion that the key to living is breathing #analysis.

-Next up, how about rookie sensation Brandon Miller? I do have the humility to say that I was dead wrong about Brandon Miller pre-draft. I atoned for my sins about 8-10 games into the regular season last year. I always thought Miller could be good, I just did not forecast him being this good. So is Miller the x factor this year? Maybe. I think that’s a lot to put onto a second year player entering his sophomore NBA campaign. Having said, it’s hard to envision Miller not taking a step forward this year given the skill he displayed last year. But how much better can he get? Could he be in for a “sophomore slump”?

I’m not sure that I truly believe in the “sophomore slump” phenomenon that gets tossed around. Someone much more intelligent than myself downloaded a data set from 1995 to 2019 to analyze the rookie to sophomore years of 330 NBA players. The data shows that only 25% of second year players “get worse” from their rookie campaigns. Also, about 73% of players improved from their first to second years. Furthermore, the data shows that for the top 5 rookies of each year, they improved their second season 71% of the time-which matches the initial trends stated above. So do I think Branon Miller will improve from last year? Probably. I have a hard time imagining his performance dropping off a cliff. While improvement is certainly reasonable, Miller would have to blast off into all star/all NBA territory to be considered the x factor for the Hornets season, while an exciting prospect-is quite unlikely.

The Answer:

This leaves us with Mark Williams. I fully believe that 22 year old Mark Williams is the skeleton key that can unlock a higher level of success this season. He’s the most underrated center in the NBA. Also, can one be underrated if one doesn’t play? The much maligned big man entering his third season will dictate how far this team can go and what they will achieve. Even with a healthy Melo Ball, the team’s ceiling is capped without Mark Williams. (A quick moment of appreciation). I appreciate having Nick Richards as a backup center. His contract is great, he can grab some boards, dunk it, and knock down some free throws. All great attributes. But the possibility of the Hornets facing another season of watching Richards start and play about 30 minutes a game, makes me want to pull my fingernails out with pliers. Cue Steve Clifford:

[While writing this I got to about this point when I saw the news that Mark Williams was in a walking boot. I shit you not. I slowly closed my computer, walked away, and did not return to writing this for about two weeks or so. I will pretend that the Williams injury didn’t happen upon my return.]

A reminder: Mark’s 7’6.5” wingspan and 9’9” standing reach. For reference, Victor Wembanyama has an 8’0” wingspan. Bol Bol’s wingspan was a massive 8’6”, but he was an unreal 7’7”. The absence of that for this team is undeniably debilitating-on either side of the floor. Williams, somehow even more snakebitten by injuries than even LaMelo Ball, often feels like the forgotten man on the Hornets-which is fair. Mark only played an abysmal 19 games last season, so the sample size is small. During those 19 games, Mark averaged a robust 12.7ppg and 9.7rbs, along with 1.1 blocks within the confines of an averaged 26.7 minutes per game time. Oh, and shooting an obnoxious 65fg%. He added his first 20/20 game to his resume.

While on the floor, he is the giant pick setting, devastating rim running, offensive board gobbling, shot altering, floor running, athletic big man that the Hornets have needed since…Alonzo Mouring?? Mark’s offensive rebounding is elite (96th percentile) and would help get the team easy baskets when the threes aren’t hitting. The Hornets’ offensive efficiency finished at an ugly 28th last season, which would have been aided by a clean up big like Williams. Sorry for the word, but it felt appropriate: the offense looked constipated last year. The basketball laxatives for struggling offenses are close, high percentage shots from offensive boards and pick and roll dunks. Mark is an intelligent pick and roll player who can get easy dunks and he’s a far better rebounder and defensive player than Nick Richards. The 21pt/24reb game against the Wizards included FIFTEEN offensive rebounds.

Mark is a walking double double. We need that.

Quick notes on areas of improvement for Mark:

His defensive positioning needs to improve, as well as his strength. I do think there is room for Mark to get stronger, which will help, but I certainly do not see him ever becoming a very physical player. Mark has great touch, finesse, and footwork. He’s not an insider banger; however, I’ve noticed that his positioning can be poor at times. Defensively, he will routinely allow players to set up too deep into the paint before he engages.

Lastly, I believe we saw Mark out of position, picking up too many fouls, and bad decisions on when to challenge shots often because his teammates in front of him allow opposing players easy access to the rim. It’s no mystery that the Charlotte perimeter defense was a huge joke and Hornets defenders were mostly human turnstiles. I think of the matadors of Spain who demonstrate their skill by allowing the bull to pass by their capes and then shouting during a bullfight:, “Olé!”. The Charlotte perimeter defense is the Olé! of NBA defenses, and this put too much emphasis on Mark Williams trying to clean up constant errors.This essentially forces Mark to constantly out of position in an attempt to anticipate the perimeter breakdown and try to erase the mistake.

Final Thoughts:

The over under for the Hornet’s record is 29.5, odds to win the division at +5500, and odds to win the NBA Finals at +100000. A $20 bet to make a cool $20,000 is a pretty tempting possibility…if you have a ton of disposable income that you’re desperately wanting to throw away. Despite not taking that finals bet at +100000 odds, I will take the over on 29.5 games and maybe toss a few dollars down for fun on the +5500 winning the division odds.

If we get the true breakthrough, breakout Mark Williams season? I’ll take a 44 win season. He’s that important.

-Until next time. Be safe, wear your ankle braces, and pretend Mark Williams wasn’t injured a few weeks ago.

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Good stuff. I agree with pretty much everything tho for me the jury is out on helping to facilitate the Wolves/Knicks trade. That seemed a shallow return for our space and could possibly have been way more valuable at the deadline.

Keep it up!

Well, at least Mark Williams is back. With him playing more minutes and playing pretty well, it’s not surprising to see the Hornets achieve their first three game winning streak of the season…

Powell’s “Old Man Yelling at Purple and Teal Clouds”: 1/24/2025

The Glaring Disconnect Between the NBA and Its Fans

The more I wrote about this, the more I felt like Dr. Gregory House from the overrated 2004 television drama, “House”. No, not the addicted to painkillers part, or being a rude, egotistical, and obnoxious person part (well, that’s up for debate), but the trying to identify and solve some arbitrary infection disease part. The bottom line is that the NBA is sick and there is no clear and easy solution. Anyone that says it’s Adam Silver’s fault or they have a clear solution is dead-ass wrong. Yeah, I could have phrased that last sentence differently, but maybe I am also a rude, obnoxious, egotistical person like Dr. House. Maybe.

To quote one of the great philosophers of our time, Charles Barkley: “I may be wrong, but I doubt it”

Part One:

The media has their minds made up about Melo and the Hornets organization, which is incredible because I highly highly doubt they’ve actually watched any hornets games. Other than the box score or clips of a dunk or highlight play.

One thing I cannot stand is when the media members put out some opinion or statement about the hornets and it’s clear that they don’t watch the games and know very little about the charlotte hornets. It happens all the time. All of us know an uninformed Hornets opinion the moment we read or listen.

Yet, these self righteous nimrods are allowed to extricate Lamelo Ball from the all star roster despite him winning the fan vote. And the media members do this based on an opinion of a guy/team that they in reality know very little about…because they don’t watch any Hornets basketball. Yet despite this, they still have the power. First off, it’s just journalistically lazy. Second, it’s downright irresponsible. I get that it’s not possible to watch every second of every game. It is media members’ jobs to watch and cover basketball from the Association, but 30 teams is a ton of basketball. At the same time, if a media member excludes Lamelo Ball from the All Star team, that tells me that they have not watched any Hornets basketball, at all.

The sad part/worst part? If we’re being honest with ourselves…I can’t really blame them for not watching Hornets basketball. It’s hard enough for fans to watch the Hornets sometimes. It’s rough in Charlotte. Regardless, Melo has been sensational this season. I truly do not understand what else he has to do to make an All Star team. Until the Hornets start winning at least…When the Hornets do start winning, prepare yourself for the narratives about Melo “maturing” and being a “team first player who has taken the next step”. Nothing will have changed, other than the team winning more games.

The bottom line: Lamelo Ball garnered 2,421,385 votes from fans, which leads all Eastern Conference guards (by 300k to the second place Brunson). Including the frontcourt, Ball came in fourth overall in the East behind: Giannis (4.4m), Tatum (3.6m), Kat (3.2). So #1 voted by fans and #7 voted by the media. Now with a very real possibility of not making the All Star team, I could not possibly think of a better example of the disconnect between the league and the fans who consume their product.

That’s alienating for fans and unfortunately a great snapshot of how the league has been operating. Not giving fans what they want and taking the people who consume their product for granted. Sure, Melo could still make the team, but don’t hold your breath. I sure won’t.

Part Two:

Oh what the hell, I’ll keep rambling. The possibility of Melo going from leading the fan vote for all star guard/up for all star starter…to the real possibility of not making the team other than a reserve has struck a nerve.

What I mentioned above, I believe, highlights the disconnect between the league and the fans. It has been a growing issue in terms of the league’s attitude towards fans. While I don’t think it is necessarily Adam Silver to blame, there has been a sea change in the overall NBA product over the last 20+ years that does not resonate with fans. I don’t think it’s fair to try to pinpoint one person (Adam Silver) or a few particular reasons why the league has shifted in a way that does not resonate with fans the same way in times past. The argument tends to become myopic when too narrow, as it feels like more of a long time culmination of factors over the last 20+ years. The league needs a significant shakeup, but I just don’t know what that is.

Most mornings I watch clips posted in the r/nba subreddit to see the highlights of the previous night’s action. It’s a nice insight into key plays, important moments, player spotlights, humorous anecdotes, etc. One thing that has significantly increased over the last few years is the increasing frequency of which officiating “lowlights” clips are posted. And I have to say, these tend to get the most traction. NBA officiating has devolved into an absurdist satire of itself over the years. I’ve watched enough games and these “officiating lowlight” clips over the years to reach this conclusion: I sometimes wonder if I know what the rules of the game are anymore. I’ve begun to question my reality of what fouls are and are not. When a play/foul call is being reviewed-I can honestly say that I have no idea how the refs will call it. Even if there seems to be clear video evidence of something, I find myself often wrong.

I’ve reached the conclusion that a) I am no longer sure what the rules of the game are b) I don’t think NBA officials have a shared consensus of what the rules of game are c) Foul calls feel random and inconsistent, and the refs have somehow even more power to influence the game than ever before.

To reiterate, it would be shortsided to state “the refs and officiating” are the main problem with the game. However, I do believe this issue is a part of the puzzle. As a long time basketball fan who grew up playing, it’s incredibly disconcerting to watch the NBA and give up on understanding the how and why of foul calls/officiating. Again, there is no clear answer on how to “fix” this, as it would require a review of how the rules have evolved (or devolved) over the last 20-30 years to get here. And no, I’m not the old guy who is suggesting going back to the 80’s/90’s when shoving a guy to the ground mid layup was just a “good, hard foul”.

It’s a complicated journey of growth in the NBA that has led to a vastly different stylistic type of play when compared to other eras. And officiating has evolved in tandem with that. Again, it’s nuanced and complicated to tease apart. Maybe the game was always going to evolve in this direction we’re in now-regardless of who made what decisions. Data is data, it’s objective: 1) Scoring more points wins games. 2) Playing faster means the opportunity to score more points. 3) Three pointers are more valuable than two point mid range shots. 4) Fans like fast paced action and watching players score more points. Therefore…Refs have to adjust how they call the game. Players adjust and try to bait refs into calling “fouls”. The league prioritizes protecting players and becoming more strict.

I’m not sure what it is yet, but there needs to be a corrective action(s) put in place to help guide the league back towards the intended spirit of the game of basketball. The sport itself may need to shift, but also the league’s appeal to fans as a product they want to consume. After all, I think this predicament the league in was a natural evolution that would happen over time anyways.

……Next time (whenever I feel like sitting down and writing) I’ll continue to delve into the disconnect between the NBA and the fans. I think there’s a lot to unpack there. I just found myself caught up with the reality that I’m not sure I understand the rules of basketball and legitimately do not know how or why referee’s make their decisions anymore.