EP 167: Are These the Best Hornets Vibes Ever?

Mark and Tim are back to talk about one of the most fun stretches of Hornets basketball in years, opening with Charlotte blowing out the Kings. They get into the Hornets’ recent surge, the standings-watch angle with teams around them slipping, and discuss realistic outcomes for the last ten games. 

Later, they dive into the main segment by ranking the best late-March vibes teams in Hornets history, comparing this current squad to some of the franchise’s most beloved teams, including the 2021-2022 LaMelo Ball all-star team, the 2013-14 Al Jefferson run and the 2015-16 Kemba Walker-led team. They also talk through just how impressive Charlotte’s point differential has been and what makes this group feel worthy of being mentioned alongside some of the best-feeling Hornets teams ever.

To close the show, Mark and Tim hit a handful of Hornets notes and side topics, including LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller making team history with Player of the Week honors in the same season, a look back at past Hornets weekly award winners, thoughts on Liam McNeeley and Sion James, and one more confused discussion about the Xavier Tillman move.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hello and welcome to the Hornets and Heartbreak Podcast. My name is Mark Bernacke, and I'm here with my co-host Tim Rogers. What's up, man? What'd it do? Liquor Mark. I'm doing pretty well, man. It's uh it's good to have you back, Tim. Uh the Hornets have won like how many games in a row? I don't I can't even count anymore. Uh beating the Kings by like 25 at halftime, winning by 40 something at the end. Um yeah, the team is is back to being super fun, and it's good to have you back, Tim. It's good to be back, Mark. I missed you, buddy. Uh I I gotta give you some props here at the top of the pod because uh you're still sick. Um it is 7:30 in the morning in the US, and you're waking up to record this podcast. Uh so massive, massively appreciate the dedication, Tim. Uh, we haven't gotten into love of the week yet, but yeah, that that's one of one of my loves of the week.

SPEAKER_00 0:52

Ah, I appreciate you, Bark. Well, you know, I figured I've been complaining my entire life about the Hornets being so bad. I can't really miss any opportunity to talk about a team that just won by 40 points.

SPEAKER_01 1:06

Yeah, I mean, so you have you have some thoughts on on the Kings game. I I like don't have really anything other than that was awesome. Uh the Hornets made 26 three-pointers. The Kings are absolutely horrible at basketball. Um and yeah, everybody looked really everybody looked really good. Not anything bad to say about the Hornets.

SPEAKER_00 1:27

Yeah, no, nothing, nothing bad to say. I think at one point our when our starters came out, they were like 24-50 from three or something insane. Um no, my my real takeaway was, you know, we talked about it after the Mavs game, where I was like, huh, take that, PJ Washington. How dare you besmirch the Hornets? Like, glad you're on a terrible team. Watching Malik Monk last night was like visiting my best friend in prison. I was like, you deserve so much better than that. And I was sitting there just laughing at the Kings, and then it dawned on me. I was like, the Hornets have rolled out worse teams than this in March recently. I should not, you know, I should just be happy about this. And I realized I was like, the Kings kind of had a run like this a couple years ago. It's like just enjoy every moment, enjoy every game.

SPEAKER_01 2:19

Yeah, for sure. The light the beam kings uh were us now. Like we just kind of flip places with them, right? Uh over the past few seasons. Um, but man, they are depressing. I mean, the like they don't even have a single young player to be remotely like I mean, remotely excited, maybe a stretch, but that could be like a star player. They don't have anybody that to be really excited about at all. It's dark. I I think I think we might have had worse teams than the Kings, but I don't know if we've had as dark of teams as the Kings in the past few seasons. Well, at least we had LaMelo and Brandon.

SPEAKER_00 2:58

Yeah, Lamello, Brandon, and then even the year, you know, between Kemba, like people really like Devontae Graham. Like, I would say that PJ Washington would be the best prospect on this Kings team.

SPEAKER_01 3:12

Yeah, yeah, no, for sure. They don't have anybody. They don't have anybody. Um yeah, so just a depressing watch. Uh, so I mean, we're on this seven-game homestand, uh, and we're four and oh so far. Going into it, I was thinking like, okay, five and two would be a good outcome. Uh well, we're off to a pretty good start. Four uh four-no in this homestead. Uh and we got three more games at home. It's about to get harder. Nick's Nick's 76ers, Celtics, but uh pretty good start to it, Tim. I would say.

SPEAKER_00 3:46

Yeah, you know, Mark, I gotta be honest, I don't think it could have gone any better. Four-no. I don't know about you in my head. We'll we'll get into standing squatch. Never mind. No, it's okay.

SPEAKER_01 3:58

Uh, I mean, we could we can we can start it now. I mean, the Hornets now have the let me do some counting real quick, sixth best point differential in the entire NBA, which like is just crazy to say out loud. Uh, we have the Thunder, the Spurs, Pistons, Celtics, Knicks, and then the Hornets. Uh, and then it goes Cavs, Nuggets, T-Wolves, Rockets, like, then those other teams. The Hornets have a better point differential than the Nikola Jokic led Denver Nuggets. Like, can you believe that this is our life?

SPEAKER_00 4:34

Uh, no, I cannot. My dog obviously cannot either. Um, but no, I mean, like, even I don't know when I started to believe, but I don't know. It's still kind of like a pinch me feeling every day. And like, I just want to take it, you know, not take it for granted because we don't know what's gonna how we're gonna feel about things like a month from now. But I know today, it's amazing.

SPEAKER_01 5:00

Yeah, I I mean I relate to you. I am also trying to like not take it for granted and savor every single game like like uh this Kings game is on at midnight here, and I I watched uh every second of it. Um stayed up stayed up for it like like a maniac, but I'm just like I gotta I gotta enjoy this while it lasts. Um because you know we've been hurt so many times, Tim Hornets and Heartbreak, uh, that that uh we we know that we need to save her the good times. And from there, let's get into loves of the week, Tim. Um for me, I have the heat and the magic losing uh five games in a row. I guess the magic have lost six games in a row now. So the Hornets actually uh have climbed up in the standings. We're tied for eighth place right now, um, and just a game back from seventh, two games back from uh sixth place in the Hawks. Um and you know, last week on the podcast I said that it was unlikely for us to really have a chance at moving up in the standings. And thanks to some Hornets' good games and horrible play from the Magic and the Heat, uh we've moved up. And now it's really looking possible that we could climb. I mean, realistically, we can climb as high as the five seed. Uh that's getting pretty optimistic, but um, you know, the Hornets have it have a decent chance here at even dodging the play in.

SPEAKER_00 6:20

I mean, it's one of those things that I would jokingly say on the podcast, well, yeah, let's just avoid like you know, playing all together. But I mean, if it actually happens, uh, it would be so beautiful. Watching and also watching the magic collapse, I get such Schadenfreud from it. I don't know why, but I really just dislike this magic team. And the fact that they're the ones blowing it makes it a little sweeter. I don't know if you feel that way at all.

SPEAKER_01 6:51

Yeah, no, uh, I I do. Um, and I'm enjoying that the heat are losing also. I mean, it's it's both of those teams, right? Like the magic, magic again, were us like two years ago. Uh, the heat are just not actually a good team. That the heater fake. Um, so yeah, it's I'm happy that we're not like the national media was starting to lump us in with like this group of teams that are doing well in the east. And I mean, we can talk about the Hawks, I think the Hawks are fake too, but uh I don't I don't want to be lumped in with this southeast division uh hype. I I want some separation.

SPEAKER_00 7:28

Isn't it isn't it so nice? It's almost like when you get your first adult paycheck and then you like I don't know, start looking around, you're just like, yeah, I mean that job, no way would I do that. And it's like looking at teams that have consistently been better than us our entire lives, and now I'm just like, fake, fake.

SPEAKER_02 7:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:52

But yeah, the he like obviously the heat must be a good team. Like, I I don't know where it stands, but I really my takeaway every time they come up is like, I think Eric Spolster's the best coach of all time.

SPEAKER_01 8:08

Yeah, nah, I mean, I think I don't know how he how this team with this roster is where they are, and obviously there's the BAM 83 points, which is just um an atrocity on the NBA. Uh, but what do you have for love of the week, Tim?

SPEAKER_00 8:23

Alright. We gotta we gotta give it up for our guy, Kobe White.

SPEAKER_01 8:31

Ah, is this a little spiteful love of the week, Tim?

SPEAKER_00 8:37

No, but it's still a semi-conflicted love of the week. So his his last five games, 18 points, four rebounds, three and a half assists, 46% from the field overall, 40 from three, 90 from the line, and a team best. Four and a half free throws per game since he's been on the Hornets, uh, his four free throws lead us. And like some of it is just clearly unsustainable, but like I know Colin Sexton and his stats are like still not far apart. The eye test, he just he's just better. Like, he's a real m like a true like lead point guard or like guard. Um and I don't know. So some of it's unsustainable. So in his career, he's never shot more than 15% of his shots from floater range, three to ten feet. It's up to 22% this year, and with the Hornets, and never shot above 45%, shooting 55%, and like those are normally just like bailout, bailout shots, yeah. Like, you know, break in case of emergency shots. And even though I have conflicting feelings, I just feel like I have to say, like, I appreciate Kobe White. And like when he's hot, I do really love it and enjoy it.

SPEAKER_01 10:01

Yeah, no, he's been awesome. He's been awesome. Basically, since I said he was not good, uh he's been he's been really good for the past two weeks. Uh, that was two weeks ago that I said that. Um, and he's he's been on a tear. Um and playing playing better than Colin Sexton ever did. Like, I don't think Colin Sexton had two weeks stretch like this uh on the Hornets. So um, yeah, he's he's proven not necessarily what I said wrong. Um, you know, I think I basically I was pretty measured in saying that this is a small sample size, but he's not been good so far. He was not good at the start of the of his time with the Hornets, and he's been awesome since. So um yeah, I'm I'm excited that Kobe White is there. Uh I still I still also have some hesitation though, Tim. Like you're talking about for me, it's when he doesn't pass the ball uh on like a drive that where it's like clear that Khan or somebody else is just open. Um that that ticks me off. But that that's that's the only thing about his game that I don't like.

SPEAKER_00 11:01

Yeah, he's definitely not afraid to look off the top three players. Um yeah, he he has a 30 almost a 32% usage rate when he's on the floor, uh, just straight up running an offense. Um I don't know. I guess I guess part of it, you know, because obviously I still love Malik Monk, as I was talking about earlier. Um I think the coolest job in the NBA, like obviously outside of being like uh MVP, being the best guard on a bench unit just seems like a blast. Because if you have a good game, everyone talks about it. When Kobe White has eight points, no hard feelings.

SPEAKER_01 11:50

Yeah, no, that's that's a fact. That's a fact. I mean, yeah, Colin Sexton had had a similar similar story going uh with this team as well. Um, no nobody really talked about Secton's bad games, but but he was all when he was awesome, it was fun. Um, so yeah, good valid point. Uh maybe he's getting more love on this Hornets team now than he did for the Bulls for the past like two seasons. Just taking another shot at another team that has been around uh and us for many years.

SPEAKER_00 12:18

What a sad franchise. Take your six championships, losers.

SPEAKER_01 12:25

Um yeah, okay. So uh what do you have for Heartbreak of the Week?

SPEAKER_00 12:30

So this is this is kind of corny, but uh kind of like what we talked about. The season's almost over. Again, like playoffs as great as we're feeling right now, playoffs not guaranteed. And the vibe of a team, like the ending matters. And like I would I would cite uh the 21 team is an example where like it was a really fun team, but the way that they lost in the play-in kind of is all you remember about it. And like right now, like I'm just sad that you know, as stressful as the end of this stretch is, that like not getting to watch us beat the breaks off the kings a month from now, you know? Or like talk myself into a loss against the Pistons. Like, I've loved this team and like loved every second of it, and I'm like genuinely sad that it's almost over.

SPEAKER_01 13:25

That is, I'm about to cry. That's beautiful, Tim. Um, yeah, I didn't I hadn't thought of that. Yeah, there's only 10 games left in the season. Um and it's been it's been so much fun, and we're about to get into this. We're we're gonna talk in a little bit about the most fun uh we've had watching teams in in in our lives uh and ranking them. Um but spoiler alert, this is the most fun I've ever had in my life watching watching an NBA team. Um, it's just not even close. Uh this this team is amazing. And well, you're right that it can all change very quickly. Um, knock on wood, you know, one one injury in this team is is a lot a lot different, a lot less fun. Um, so hopefully that doesn't happen. Same thing happened with that 2020 team, also, by the way, the the Lamellos rookie year. Like that team was really fun, and then we lost like a lot of games at the end of the year. I think we lost like five games in a row at the end of the season, and then we got blown out by the Pacers. Like that team was like kind of good for a while. Uh hitting around 500, and and yeah, that team, I mean, we never talk about that team anymore.

SPEAKER_00 14:32

No, no, this is all all in the way that it ends. But yeah, that's uh that's my schmalty answer. What uh what's breaking your heart this week, Mark?

SPEAKER_01 14:40

Okay, so yeah, 10 more games. Um the Hornets have the second hardest uh schedule remaining of any team, um, based off strength of schedule, uh, which uh according to Tankathon, I should say, um, which is not great. We got the Celtics twice, we got the Knicks twice, um, Pistons, Timberwolves, Suns, uh, Pacers, Nets, and I'm forgetting somebody else. But that's yeah, not an easy schedule remaining. Um, so like, you know, realistically, like five and five is a is a pretty good outcome um from those teams. Six and four is probably what we need to to get up to the eighth seed or something like that, but it's gonna be tough um with these last ten.

SPEAKER_00 15:29

Yeah, and that's why, you know, we just take it treat it like we're an AA, we take it one day at a time.

SPEAKER_01 15:37

Um, okay. So main segment here, I kind of kind of teased it earlier, ranking the five best vibes of a uh Horncats team in late March. So so this is the best vibe um of any Hornets team in my sentience. So I was born in '97. I don't really remember the uh early Hornets teams um because I was I wasn't very young. Um but since the Bobcats came to Charlotte, I've been watching every season, and uh yeah, this is the most fun I've ever had. This team has the best um SRS simple rating system, basically point differential of any team ever uh in Charlotte. So any Charlotte team ever. Number one is this team with a SRS of plus four. Uh the 94-95 team is 2.87, 9798 is 2.45, and then the 15-16 team at 2.3. So yeah, I mean, I'm assuming you had the same, Tim, right?

SPEAKER_00 16:38

Yeah, I mean, definitely like with you know, with a bullet. Um other teams for just like you know, age and stuff, but yeah, like by far. Like I wake up and I'm like excited for every Hornets game. Like, have a bad day. It's all right. The Hornets are playing the pacers.

SPEAKER_01 17:00

We're gonna win by 40 points, and it's gonna be amazing.

SPEAKER_00 17:05

Yeah, it's so cool to just be like, uh, yes, up by 25 and a half, as things should be.

SPEAKER_01 17:13

Oh, yeah. What a life we're living. Um, okay, Tim, do you want do you want to take the I guess the second pick, the next team that you think is the best vibes? And this is an exercise to really show just how amazing this season is because it gets depressing very quickly. Um, what's the what's the second best vibes you've ever had in late March, Tim?

SPEAKER_00 17:34

So I think the correct answer is a different team, but we'll get into that, which what I think will be your next answer. I'm gonna go with LaMelo's rookie season or second second season, the 2021 um Hornets, even though like we were a little faulty, but I just love that team so much. It was also the first year we were doing the pod and was just like living and breathing it. But that team really was just like being with like a toxic partner where like the highs were so high and the lows were so low. You never knew what you were gonna get with the Barrego Hornets. But like, I definitely just remember being like, There's no chance we lose in the play-in. Like, this is awesome, and also this is just the beginning. Like, this is the worst we're gonna be for the next five years. Like being my feeling, just like all-time good vibes.

SPEAKER_01 18:39

Yeah, uh, I remember I remember you're talking about the Lamella's all-star season, right? His second season, yeah, yeah. Um I did not I did not have that one even in my in my top top four. Oh, really? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I had it further down the list for sure. Um, and I think it's because I kind of cling to the fact. Do you remember we had the long losing streak that season? Yeah. Yeah, so we were 2 and 11 in I mean in like February. So that like put such a damper on the season. Um like that I don't think the vibes in late March, I think the vibes in like January were the were the best, like maybe ever. Um but by the after that losing streak, and then plus like what you're saying, um, of the season being tainted by the um by the loss in the plane, which I guess I shouldn't be counting in this, but I don't think I was as excited about that team in late March um as maybe maybe some of these other teams.

SPEAKER_00 19:44

Oh, really? Because I part of it is definitely just like looking forward. And after after that February stretch, like once we had started to turn around, I don't know, I was just uh I there was some there was an amount of like an odd amount of firepower with that team where it was just like I and again, I do think it gets washed away with the with the play-in, but it was like, I don't know, like you know, we could score 130 points tonight, or we could just score like 96. Yeah, and uh, I don't know. And it's like, well, again, it's all uphill from here. So I personally associate, and I again I acknowledge at the beginning when I answered this, not like factually the correct answer, but in my heart, I'll explain why I'm I'm assuming coming up.

SPEAKER_01 20:35

You might have to wait another pick because I I have a heart answer also. Um, but uh yeah, I think I think that that team, I think I probably am incorrectly rating them. They should be so we have this this team was first, this year's team. I think for me that they're probably realistically third, and I was underrating them just because of the play and loss, and I, you know, like like you said, kind of think of that team in a in a bad light because of that. Um, but it was, I mean, so much fun at the time with with Lamello and Miles, uh, the ceiling was the roof. Um, okay. So third the uh third pick in this draft, I'm actually I'm actually going with the uh the 13-14 team, Tim, uh, that uh that made the seven seed. And for me, the reason why I'm saying that is that's after uh these tanking years um where the Bobcats had the the worst team uh in NBA history by winning percentage. And it was so gratifying to watch meaningful basketball in in February and in March. And from February 1st to the end of the season, the Bobcats were 21 and 10. Uh Al Jefferson averaged 24 and 11, finishing eighth in MVP voting that year. Um, and like that team watching Al Jefferson just demolish teams and like single handedly beat. Teams. I don't know if I've ever had a feeling quite like that, where I was like, this guy might be like a top five NBA player right now on the Hornets. I've never had that experience since then with just a dominant force like that. And it was extremely short-lived. But we also had Kemba coming up, and you could see a picture where that team, you know, we got Lance the next offseason. We could see a picture where that team was going to be uh it's kind of the earlier version of the 21 uh 22 team that you just described.

SPEAKER_00 22:33

Yeah, and I I figured I I thought that that would be your pick or or one other team would be coming up here. Um you're right about Al, where he did not make the all-star game because we were putrid. It's so funny to look through all like all of these teams and be like, oh yeah, every single one of them had a terrible start. Um just just like this team. But yeah, like so Al Jefferson went from not making the all-star game to making an all-NBA team and was just absolutely obliterating people until he messed up uh and got injured. Was it game one against the Heat? And was essentially just like never the same. Like, never he went from like, yeah, again, eighth in MVP voting, which is just crazy, but like, you know, team was good enough. Like, I don't think it was the most insane thing in the world to just like being shorthand for a player that can't play in the NBA. But you're right, in the moment, it was awesome, and he was torching everyone. I remember a game where he just demolished the Knicks and like bullied Amari Studdemaier, and was probably my happiest moment watching the Horncats, Bobcats, um outside of Steven Jackson in my life up to that point.

SPEAKER_01 23:58

Yeah, for sure. Um yeah, it was also such a different time in in the NBA because the Heat were just so dominant that like as soon as we knew we were playing the Heat in the first round, I was like, ah, it was a good run. Like, yeah, like nowadays, if we like play the Celtics, like like I mean, I'm gonna assume that we're gonna lose, but like it might be a six-game series, you know. Back then when you play the Heat, it's like oh, that's that's a four-game sweep.

SPEAKER_00 24:27

And there will be some people that will still look you in the eye to this day and be like, foul didn't get hurt, we take him to six. That that first quarter of game three, man. Yeah, man, it's like, you know, and then I mean, again, this is just snapshot of March, so we don't know what's gonna happen. But like, we did a podcast, I don't know if it's available, maybe it's on the other feed of just a time machine of the day we signed Lance Stevenson. And that was like one of the happiest days of my life.

SPEAKER_01 25:03

Um, okay, what do you have for your next pick, Tim? I'm surprised you haven't you didn't pick this team first, to be honest.

SPEAKER_00 25:11

Oh, the big al team?

SPEAKER_01 25:13

No, no, you're a Steven Jackson team.

SPEAKER_00 25:17

No, no, and I'm not, you know, I I wanted to justify it, but like I was actually like trying to like go back in my mental Rolodex. Um I'm gonna take another Kemba team, and I'm gonna go with the 15-16 team. Uh because they went 13-3 uh for stretch after just like a kind of a brutal January, surprisingly. Um and then they got Courtney Lee, and like things were just kind of clicking, and like could have been the third seed, like there was a lot of hope. And I I just have to say, I just was never, I was just never a huge Kemba Walker. I never liked Steve Clifford, so like I just didn't have much love for these teams. Like, I watched them, but like they they were just never, I don't know, they they were always just paper tigers on a good day.

SPEAKER_01 26:15

Damn, that is brutal towards Kemba. Um, but I think I share your sentiment in the sense that I knew that Kemba was so bad at defense that like our ceiling was always like a first-round exit. I mean, I mean, realistically, that team's ceiling. We almost won a playoff series, so it was a second round exit, right? Um and that that made watching the team like somewhat less exciting. Uh, but yeah, that year we had a real chance of winning a playoff series. Um, you know, it's a tie for third through sixth. Um, it's the closest we've ever come to win the division until now. Um and yeah, we took we took the heat to seven games, lost game seven in Miami, brutal game. Um, but that was like sort of Kemba's takeoff. So he didn't even make the All-Star team that year, which is kind of crazy because he then made the All-Star team like three years in a row uh after that. But on the team that was actually good, he didn't make it. Um, but yeah, that he started taking like seven threes per game. Um, just just barely missed out on the all-star team. But dude, that roster, it's like when you look back at it, it's like, how was this team winning 48 games? Because it was very much you had to be this. You know, like Kemba, Nick Batum, Al Jefferson was bad at that point. Jeremy Lynn, Marvin Williams, Courtney Lee, Jeremy Lamb, Cody Zeller, and like that's it. Like, like Spencer Hawes, PJ Harrison started 43 games.

SPEAKER_00 27:46

Like, like poor one out, poor one out for Harrison. Yeah, but like at the time, I was like, I don't know, like a lot of good shooters. Honestly, I did have the thought as well, where like was a guy that I loved to besmirch, maybe just because fans talked about him so much. Dude, I oh my god, I can't believe I'm about to say the words. Put Prime Marvin Williams on this year's Hornets team, and we're really cooking. I think he'd just be a perfect fit.

SPEAKER_01 28:17

Dude, um, yeah, filling the fill in the Grant Williams role. Um, by the way, also been been better since I said that he was not playing very well um three weeks ago. So I should keep on telling our players that they're not doing well because they seem to really turn it around.

SPEAKER_00 28:36

Yeah, question Lamello, Eastern Commerce Player of the Week. Um, so yeah, I have that. But again, just not not a big fan of those teams and just pretty much being like, oh, they don't turn the ball over and they rebound really well. They're a smart team. Boring.

SPEAKER_01 28:52

Okay, well, Tim, uh, the last pick is the is the 2009-2010 Bobcats, uh, led by your guy Captain Jack. 12th in MVP voting, Tim, that season. Steven Jackson. Uh hit the basketball reference page now. Uh, Gerald Wallace, Raymond Felton, Boris Dow. Um, just just what a squad. Uh, Tyson Chandler. Um, yeah. I love it. I'll let you take it from here. It's your your favorite team of all time.

SPEAKER_00 29:25

It uh it was. I can't remember if I said this on the pod. I got into such a vociferous debate about Steven Jackson that my co-worker in my office literally called his friend. It was like, listen to this person talk about Steven Jackson. And I was like, Yeah, it's Captain Jack. And they were like, What? No one called him that. And I was like, you weren't there. People were. Um, yeah, I I just lived and breathed this team, which now I think about, and I'm like, that is so unhealthy for someone my age at that time. Like, I I should have been doing any, I should have been playing Minecraft. Like, why was I upset that Tyson Chandler was not getting minutes? And like, oh, we made we made the trade for Theo Ratliff. And I was like, it's all coming together. We got Dwight Howard stoppers coming out. Uh, this young, this young DJ Augustine is about to take the lead by storm. Like, I just uh yeah, just irrationally love these guys. And I was like, we have Larry Brown as a coach. I was like, we might as well have Greg Popovich. I was just like indoctrinated into this. And definitely the first team that like I ever like truly loved.

SPEAKER_01 30:54

Well, uh yeah, that's that is something else lost in uh four games.

SPEAKER_00 31:00

Uh it was a close four games though. It was a close four games. We did we did kind of shut Dwight Howard down a little bit. It was mainly due to foul trouble. But yeah, you know, those were the good old days, man. Those are the good old days. Do you have any? No, yeah, that's I were there any honorable mentions, anything on our list that did not overlap?

SPEAKER_01 31:24

Um, no, those are those are the five teams. Uh, shout out to this team for being the top of the list already. Um but I mean the other one would be it that would even be in consideration would be Lomelo's rookie year, I think. Uh yeah, that's like, and then every uh every other team was somewhat depressing by late March, right?

SPEAKER_00 31:49

Yeah, yeah. It was I was doing this and I was like, when I first when I first like hit you with the prompt, I was like, Yeah, we can go five five and five. And then I was like, oh, what am I thinking?

SPEAKER_01 32:03

Yeah, that it has to be good vibes for it to be best vibes, like has to be remotely a good season for it to qualify. Um so on the same note of this team being uh the best team you know we we've ever ever had in late March, uh Lamello and Brandon Miller both won Eastern Conference Player of the Week uh this year. Lamello most recently. That was actually Lamello's first conference, Eastern Conference Player of the Week, which is kind of crazy. Um, but that's happened only once, and Brandon Miller beat him to one. That's that's kind of wild. But uh, do you know the last one that we had was it Terry Rozier? No, close. Miles Bridges got it in like the first week of the 21-22 season. Um when we went like 3-0 to start this start the season. Uh, but yeah, Terry Rozier before that in 2021. Uh, and and then like you gotta go back to Kemba. Uh Kemba did it a bunch of times, like twice in 1819, once in 1617, twice in 1516, etc. etc. Mo Williams randomly in 2015 did it as a Charlotte Hornet. Um, and uh Al Jefferson twice back in 1314. But yeah, man, we have not really been privy to this award um very much since we've been podcasting. So that's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_00 33:33

Yeah, definitely when I see like oh no, when it's normally announced, I'm just like big deal. And then when it happens with us, I'm like league recognizes greatness.

SPEAKER_01 33:45

Yeah, so I think the last time it happened where two different players got in the same year on the Hornets was uh 10 years ago. Um I mean, over 10 years ago, Mo Williams and in Kemba uh in the same season.

SPEAKER_00 34:02

Shout out, shout out Isaac Black, biggest, biggest Mo Williams fan there is.

SPEAKER_01 34:12

Yep, we will not we'll do a hundred episodes and never mention Mo Williams again. Uh I mean that is such a brief random moment in history that he got player. Um also. Yeah. Uh okay. Next topic, Tim. So you were not here to defend this player. Um last week I was asked, you know, like which what would you do if you could were coaching the team differently? And the only thing that I could really think of was I think Sion James gets too many minutes. Um Tim, you you disagree. Uh I know this because you texted me like in all caps that you disagree. So uh what share with the listeners your your thoughts.

SPEAKER_00 35:01

Uh yeah, I was I was pretty much just texting like I was on on Ambient last week. I was uh I was very sick and not sleeping. And uh yeah, I don't I don't know. I just um because I feel like early on in the year, it was kind of like just because second round pick and like primarily defensive player, it's like oh yeah, new Martin twin. But I don't know, man. I he just strikes me as like a real mark. Your favorite phrase, that guy's gonna play seven or eight years in the NBA. Like, I don't know. I just think he's incredibly stout. I don't know like what he really does on offense when he's not because like I don't know, skeptical, skeptical on on the shooting, but I just think there's a there's a place for him in the league, and give him minutes, give him a chance in Melbourne. Who are we missing out on? Huh? M McNeely, McNeely minutes exactly, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:01

So he scored 33 points uh in his most recent G League game. Um, I have his G Late G League stats pulled up. We don't need to get too deep into it, but but 20 points per game in the G League, pretty much. Um played for us last night, played some decent garbage time minutes. Um it's probably like too late in the season to really integrate him into the into the rotation. But yeah, if you ask me, I I think he should be playing some minutes, some Cion minutes. Um, because he's so much better offensively. I mean, he's lanky, like the size has to matter also. Um and you know, I think he's gonna be um maybe a more important part of our our future um if if he pans out. The upside on Liam McNeely's higher higher than Sion James. Um and you know, I do think that Sion is a big beneficiary of just how good this team is. Um, I hear you, Tim. He's gonna be in the league in eight years. Uh, I'm not completely sold on that. Um, I I think I think he's a good player, but I think he's very, very limited offensively.

SPEAKER_00 37:03

Yeah, I mean that's that's a fair point. Guys like that, it it can kind of be one injury away from being out of the league. Um, I don't know, but I I just watched him, I watched him switch at switch on to Bam Audibio. Like not great success or anything, but uh just came away incredibly impressed just with how like stout he was. Normally, like defense, like yeah, boring. I understand it's important. But uh, I mean, you know how I feel about Liam. Like, I think you can pencil him in for 20 minutes next year. Yeah, that's probably an overreaction, but yeah, I think 20 minutes is is a lot.

SPEAKER_01 37:44

Um, it's just kind of interesting to me that he's getting like the salon treatment, like in terms of minutes, and like he's definitely better than T John.

SPEAKER_00 37:53

Uh so I think I think it just he just could not hit a shot at the beginning of the year, yeah. But he was getting good looks and not to do the arbitrary first one in, last one out, gym rat, but he does just consistently make really smart plays.

SPEAKER_01 38:12

Mm-hmm. Yeah, and I'm I'm like trying to find something to be negative about, and it's like so hard. But the only thing I can possibly be negative about is why is Sion playing over uh McNeely or even even Josh Green. Also, I mentioned that Josh Green has less minutes than Sion. Um, so that's that's just me picking it picking it straws here. Um, one other thing to be negative about, uh Xavier Tillman. Um, so we we traded for him in the deadline to get the Celtics needed to get under the luxury tax. Um and the Celtics basically gave us three and a half million dollars to take on Xavier Tillman's contract. Um, and I think we can see why. Uh not not a real NBA player. Slow, uh, you know, he's he's lanky, but not super tall. Um yeah, when he when he plays, it's an interesting experience. Uh by all accounts, super nice dude. Um, but yeah, I think his think his peak in Memphis might be behind him.

SPEAKER_00 39:12

Yeah, but I hate hate to beat up on the guy, but I mean, clearly has to be the nicest person of all time. Uh, because he is brutal. Even when we did the trade, I was like, yeah, Celtics like me. And then I was like, I could be be worse. And the guy I worked next to Brian was like, who the hell is Xavier Tillman? He's like, why do we trade for this guy? He was just looking at stats, and I was like, just give him a chance, man. Give him a chance. Now anytime he plays, I come in and be like, give him a chance, huh? How many more chances should we give him?

SPEAKER_01 39:47

Yeah, I mean, so I also kind of thought that until I realized that that the Celtics literally gave us the rest of his contract in money to take on his contract. So there's nothing really we lost here. Uh, and we in the second round pick we traded is top 55 protected. So it's a fake second round pick. I don't even understand why that was, I don't understand why that's involved in the trade, but anyways.

SPEAKER_00 40:15

Yes, just yeah, no, that doesn't make sense. Honestly, when you second round protections and everything, and really just protections in general, like explaining those to a non-MBA fan, it's just the stupidest thing in the world.

SPEAKER_01 40:28

Yeah, can we just get rid of the it's so stupid? What what the hell? So you're saying that like if the Hornets win the championship, then you get our second round pick. Otherwise, you don't get our second round pick. Like, I don't understand why that isn't in the trade.

SPEAKER_00 40:43

You know, just just to put it, just to put it, you know, and there's like, hey, we got a second round pick, and just assuming that 90% of fans won't actually take a deeper look, maybe.

SPEAKER_01 40:53

Yeah, I don't, I don't, I don't know. Um, like why did we give away Xavier Tillman for for nothing? Is that what you're saying from the PR move?

SPEAKER_00 41:01

Or yeah, I mean, but I guess then anyone that would know that a Tillman trade had happened would also be familiar with you know looking into pick protections. So it's like there's no overlap there for impression. I don't know. Yeah but you know, again, shout out to him, not trying to be mean to what clearly has to be the nicest man that's ever lived for him to be in the NBA.

SPEAKER_01 41:25

Uh Media Corner, then.

SPEAKER_00 41:28

Uh for Media Corner, I'm gonna go with uh personal fave, all of us strangers. Um honestly just a beautiful fugue state of a movie uh about a sad, semi-sad individual who's just a little lost in life. And um I can't really give anything away without just kind of kind of spoiling the movie, but you know, just about finding yourself, about thinking you're in love and wanting your parents to like you. So highly, highly recommend. What you got, Mark?

SPEAKER_01 42:03

Tim is a movie you put me on uh years ago, Gangs of New York. Uh I watched it on watched it on Saturday, uh, and I was just like hung over and didn't want to do anything like social. Um so I stayed, stayed in my Airbnb in uh in Budapest uh and and watched an American history movie Kings of New York. Uh yeah. Uh, you know, just just a tiny bit of homesickness was like, let me watch a let me watch an American ass movie, Kings of New York.

SPEAKER_00 42:40

That is a uh that's a 10 out of 10 hungover movie because it's long enough that you're like, I don't have to think about what's coming up next. Like, I'm good to go. I get to watch Daniel Day Lewis cook. Oh, man, what a what a shout out.

SPEAKER_01 42:57

Yeah, yeah, man. Great, great film. Um, all right, yeah. If you enjoyed listening, uh please uh rate, review, subscribe, write us a review. We appreciate seeing all the all the kind reviews. It really does make our day. Um, and also, yeah, follow us on social media at Hornets Podcast, uh, on Twitter and on Instagram. Shoot us a message, say what's up. Um, and yeah, that's it.

SPEAKER_00 43:27

All right. Well, it's uh it's a pleasure. You uh you be safe out there, liquor mark. Peace. Peace.