We get to watch our boys today!

Hornets Talk
101

Great reading through everyone’s takes. I’m only going off highlights, so not pretending to have a solid take, but … why let that stop me!

Bouknight & Kai look really good picks that showed more than I was anticipating (Bouknight’s early stepback 3, Kai driving and dishing/dunking). We already knew Bouknight was earmarked for the 8th man(ish) role but I can see Kai getting the 10th man mins ahead of Vernon (who needs to show more). I can’t see how they can justify Richards staying on the roster.

I liked what I saw from Arnolds. Good passing, shooting with confidence from 3, good size. He belongs on an NBA roster.

DJ Carton showed more than Riller. What contract is DJ on, as we announced his signing and he’s showing on our roster?

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My write up from another board on my impressions from yesterday…

Bouknight reminds me a bit of Jamal Crawford and a little James Harden. He has been incredible to watch - great control, feel, and athleticism.

Kai Jones is gonna be a great addition to this team. His athleticism and energy alone could have him average a double-double as a rookie if he gets the minutes. He’s even bringing the ball up… his game is just so versatile. And its only gonna get better… I love it.

I’m gonna call it right now, they are the two biggest steals and values of the draft.

Lewis is a great athlete and could be a chippy, “playing on the edge” defender to get under opponents’ skin.

We may need to sign Gelo. While I think his athleticism is subpar, that is an absolutely beautiful stroke.

Riller has been vastly disappointing. I watched him in college and loved the pick where we got him bc of how impressed I was with his game… he just looks hurried and not looking for his own offense at all. If this is how he plays the entire SL, I think he played himself out of a roster spot here.

I have been REALLY impressed by Richards. He had a few flubs, but overall he had played really well. Between he and Carey, I thought Carey was the better of the two from what I saw of them in college and last season in limited opportunities. Now I don’t know… Richards has looked better than Carey today. I’m surprised.

Sneed sucks.

I’ve liked Kulboka’s game since we first saw him 3 years ago. This game just didn’t play to his strengths, but I’m not discouraged… he’s gonna be a good spot player for us.

And finally, the Blazers should be embarrassed and should not even be allowed to play in the SL. Wtf??? Beasley, Faried, and Mudiay? That’s like a combined 15+ years of NBA experience and all 1st round picks. That’s complete trash.

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Also, I’d like to see Bouknight be more assertive with his own offense today. He showed great poise and playmaking, but he’s our best option to create his own shot that we have out there.

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i was just going to say that bouknight reminds me alot of harden. they move the same way. bouknight isn’t as big boned as harden but seems to have the same strength.

i think somehow houston is going to come away with the two draft night steals in jalen green and sengun. jalen green is going to be the best player from the draft

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105

Kai last night reminded me of Adonis . Him and Night need reserve mins first game . These two could be long term starters if not all stars and need fast tracked. 10 boards against Veteran bigs last night is big. How many players in the NBA can do that dunk he did last night.?

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106

Completely agreed… I walked away feeling both have perennial all-star potential.

And the thing I loved about Kai, is I remember reading Schmidt’s draft profile when we took him, and IIRC, he mentioned his ORB rate was really low… his biggest boards last night were offensive. He’s gonna be really good.

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He does not have the same build but he will become or at least has the opportunity to become a Giannis light

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Been saying the same, that was the comparison that was screaming at me during last nights game. Let’s see what he does against actual summer league competition tonight LOL.

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Agreed- I was so impressed with him that I started looking up Giannis draft measurements and rookie stats.

Giannis was drafted one year earlier (19 vs. 20) and was 6’9" and 190 pounds. Played on the worst team in the NBA his rookie year and avg’d 7 points, 4 reb, 2 asst, and 1 block. He took a nice leap the next season ( and most seasons since then).

my take away after one summer league game is I 100% love his potential and he flashed Greek Freak like skillset that its not hard to imagine him developing in that direction… Man it would be great if we just drafted Giannis-lite. I’m super excited about watching his development and really happy Mitch gave the Knicks a future pick for him.

also- I’m going to refer to him as Kiannis from here forward.

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110

KIANNIS! haha love it

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111

6.9 190 Giannis
6.11 221 Kai
Both can jump out the gym but i have to give Kai a slight advantage being a high jumper
Kai running track He might even be faster
Giannis is proven and had more early basketball experience. But if Kai has the work ethic , Killer instinct. And can develop his shots . He has a chance

All so i have to give props to Steph she did the best summer league job i have ever seen

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tragically under utilized. as an announcer period. as a woman announcer even more. how is it i have to listen to doris burke and all the other women on espn drone on an on when steph calls such a sharp game?

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113

Agreed. I love that Steph isn’t just another pretty face (although she’s obviously not hard to look at). She’s a true baller. Knows the game, played the game, coached the game and provides advanced level analysis. It’s a shame Fox wanted to relegate her to sideline duty. I miss her no longer being a part of the team.

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Stephanie Ready is the best female reporter/announcer in sports.

But ESPN only lets women with low tone on the broadcast. Not just an ESPN thing either.

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It’s not that Doris Burke doesn’t know basketball, she is just horrible at calling a game.

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My excitement for this team has to be at an all time high.

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117

Weird as hell that box score does not give the most basics of advanced analytics number +/-

Plus Minus winners and losers:

Winners
Everybody on the bench including Gelo

Losers
All the starters but especially Kai and Scottie.

Glad to Gelo gain confidence. I would love to see him make the team while putting up great summer league stats.

The starters got sucker punched by a bunch of has beens. Hilarious. So much for Boukight making people play for his drop on draft night - lol. This is a good lesson for the rookies - this sh!t ain’t gonna be easy.

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I used the NBA.com one - Portland Trail Blazers vs Charlotte Hornets Aug 8, 2021 Box Scores | NBA.com

Not sure I agree on the has-beens. More like guys that had more cumulative NBA games started than our guys had cumulative game minutes.

Bouk looked pretty good so not sure what the last reference is to.

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Faried and Beasley are trying to get back into the league. That is has been to me. Boukinght was not too bad but he did have a negative score and you can’t really skip that to be honest. He probably did great seeing how he went up against a bunch of NBA players in his first game. I don’t usually troll these board during actual games. Now I see that most people here rely on the “eye test” from about 30 years ago. Seems about right for the board.

120

Dude are you trashing Bouknight because of PLUS MINUS??? In a summer league game? Against NBA pro talent??? Did you watch the game? I mean you can trash eye test all you want, but real basketball purists can come to an accurate judgement via eye test.

Tell me more about using plus minus to judge a player in his first summer league game. SUMMER LEAGUE. Where winning matters little

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