00:00:00
Speaker 1: He might not be in our hometown, but he still is from the hometown. He's in Nashville giving you great Hornets analysis on the critically acclaimed Locked On Hornets podcast. It's Doug Branson. He now joins us on the Wes and Walker show. You can find him on Twitter at Doug Branson, L-O-H. He's kind of a Hornets Renaissance man. He also is the curator of everyhornetsboxscore.com. You should check that out. He's also producing Yahoo Sports Daily. What doesn't he do? Doug, we appreciate the time, my man. How are you doing?
00:00:27
Speaker 2: I'm just trying to rep the Queen City and the Music City, my friend, and a Hornets win.
00:00:32
Speaker 1: How about that? Well on their way to hitting the over of that 37 and a half mark that was given to us by Vegas. What were some of your main takeaways from the victory that the Hornets were able to get last night?
00:00:45
Speaker 2: Well, the Hornets look different. That's not a major take. You know, it's not a hot take. They don't have LaMelo Ball anymore. You know, you've got the injuries to Khan and Kobe. So I expected it to look different. But I thought there were some bright spots for a team that struggled to shoot the three. And that was supposed to be a major strength for them this season. And I still think it will be. But on a night when the three ball wasn't going in, they were able to really lock down on defense, not let the struggles on offense continue. dictate their defense? How many times do we see that happen to them last season? So gone were the lapses in defense, gone were the lapses in judgment. You know, when you're playing a bad team and when you have some injuries, you can by just bad judgment calls, getting frustrated. And boy, I mean, did some of those players for the Brooklyn Nets, Mo Wagner, Clowney, really try to get into the heads of the Hornets. And they did not allow themselves to be frustrated, at least enough by those moments, to take them out of their game. So it looked different. They won differently. But it was a win nonetheless.
00:01:49
Speaker 1: I think one of the bigger takeaways from Hornets fans, at least as the text line tells us here on a Thursday, I would say both People were disappointed in Brandon Miller's performance, especially in the second half. Despite going on an absolute tear after the first five minutes of this game, the rest of the first half was excellent from Brandon, fresh off of that $ 200 million contract. How would you evaluate Brandon's performance last night?
00:02:13
Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, obviously you would want a better performance of that than that after signing the contract, but it is one game. You know, we put a lot of emphasis on it because it is the season opener, but it is one of 82. And we've seen enough of a sample size of Brandon Miller, absolutely being a game changing offensive player that, that I think we can put it into a little bit of context. I was concerned that, that he wasn't very aggressive early on. It seemed like in the first five to seven minutes of the game that it was Nas Reed's offense and not Brandon Miller's offense. But I thought Brandon got into a groove and really impacted that first half in a significant way. And yeah, did quiet down in the second half. But I thought if you go back and look at that game, defensively, he was a difference maker in that second half. There were things that he was doing. I obviously would love to see more rebounding numbers, more assist numbers. Finding ways for him to impact the game when his scoring isn't where it needs to be, when his three-point shot, he was three of 14 from the field from beyond the arc. When that isn't going, you'd love to see him impact the games in different ways. But he had that one amazing chase-down block that had to be reviewed, but ultimately he got his fingertips on it before the ball hit the backboard. So he was doing good things. I'm not concerned about Brandon Miller's offense because of one game, 3-14 from three. That doesn't concern me. He's a fantastic offensive player. It's the other areas of his game that I think, you know, that'll be something to monitor throughout this season.
00:03:46
Speaker 1: Dougie B.
00:03:47
Speaker 3: I know a lot of people may not have been able to hear your preseason predictions for this Hornets team. So I just wanted to start the conversation there. What are your expectations of this team? We talked about the over-under yesterday being 37.5. Do you think they go over that? If so, by how much? Or under? What are your thoughts on just this team this year?
00:04:07
Speaker 2: I think my realistic expectations for the team is a lower-end play-in appearance. Because this is still a team without overwhelming all-star, all-NBA level talent, or at least it's unproven. It's got some projections of that, but it's unproven to this point. And so whenever you're dealing with a team like that, it's going to be more susceptible to to one or two injuries to key rotation players that can throw the whole thing amiss. I mean, I think it's fortunate for the Hornets that they were able to draw the Brooklyn Nets, a team that does have scoring talent in Randall and MPJ, but that's a bad basketball team. So the Hornets were fortunate in that, but they're going to have a tougher time dealing with even some of the middle-of-the-road Eastern Conference and Western Conference teams if they don't get Khan and Kobe back So I think you have to temper your expectations a little bit there. But here's what I love. I love seeing quotes from Conn Knipple and Brandon Miller. setting their own team expectations for playoffs, because I think them setting the expectations is way more important than me coming that the blowhard coming here and below the aiding and saying, well, I think they got, I think they got 40 wins in them or not. It's more important that con and Brandon and the whole team set expectations and say, yeah, we, we expect ourselves to make the playoffs and, And then you can take from that. If they don't, then that signals that it was a little bit disappointing for them. And I think that's been missing from the team the past few years as they have been in this rebuild mode. It's a sign to me that they're coming out of that and setting realistic playoff expectations for themselves.
00:05:48
Speaker 3: And then how did you feel about Nasri's performance? As we said, we know it's game one, but just how did you feel about the way that he played and what he can bring to this team as the guy that was traded for the guy?
00:06:00
Speaker 2: Oh, listen, yeah. However disappointed that fans were in Brandon Miller's performance, I think they have to be equally ecstatic about the way that Nas Reed debuted for the team. 20 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists. The things that I knew we're going to surprise some Hornets fans. He showcased them right away. His ball handling ability, his ability to navigate and traffic and lead a fast break is only going to help a team that constantly says it wants to play faster but has been unable to. I think they'll be able to consistently play faster because they'll have more and more players up and down the roster that can handle that ball in transition, Nas being one of them, and how quickly he gets his shot up from three, there was a little handoff play between cock printer and, and Nas. And I mean, it was just blinking. You would miss him getting that three ball up and that affects the defense. The Hornets are going to have to find advantage creators all over the roster. You know, when Melo, that was his main source of chaos, his main source of energy, his main source of driving that plus minus into the positive for the Charlotte Hornets is that he could create advantages with his deep three point shot, his incredible vision, his playmaking ability. And they're going to have to find replacements from that, from multiple players. Nas is going to be one of those players because of his versatility that so many different things he can do offensively that a defense has to account for.
00:07:29
Speaker 1: Yeah i think probably a greater percentage of the ball handling responsibilities will go to nas more than i thought coming in doug was all over it backyard legend says i knew nas was nice but i didn't know he had handles quite like that nas reed showing you the handles there doug branson joining us his handle is doug branson loh at doug branson loh on twitter Also, go check out his sub stack, everyhornetsboxscore.com. Doing a great job hosting also Locked On Hornets. Doug, who do you think they missed most last night? Was it Kobe White or Conn Knipple?
00:08:01
Speaker 2: Oh, man. You know, that's a really difficult question because... Kobe, they need it. They still need table setting. I mean, I thought you saw several instances. Nas wasn't one of them, but we just talked about his ball handling and play initiation. But I thought, you know, Christian Anderson, Jr. Being a rookie, he had a really good preseason or at least back into the preseason. But in that, in that debut, he looked like a rookie. He was a little hesitant to drive and then we'll bring it back out defenses in the NBA. They're so quick. If they can sense, If they can smell that hesitation on you, they are going to collapse on you, particularly Brooklyn, because they love to pressure you and trap you. And so turned him over a few times. I thought Brandon, you know, was a little bit hesitant at times, but then finally got into a groove, got to his mid range. But so there was just these moments, these hiccups. that are, they're kind of, sometimes they're subtle and sometimes they're really noticeable and the offense kind of falls apart and it takes a Grayson Allen heaving one up or, or Royce O'Neal getting open or Musa Diabate and Ryan Cochran are cleaning it up around the rim. Those can cover, you know, some of the sins. But unless you have a table setter like Kobe that, that can help you in that way, it's going to be tough. But I talked about advantage creation and that's, I mean, that is what con can it believe. I mean, with his ability to shoot three point shots and, you know, I think underrated ability to take the ball off the dribble, he said that, you know, his off season was focused on scoring more effectively inside the arc around the rim. You know, I just think both of those guys, it's really difficult to choose. But I would say I would lean a little bit more just based on that game. I think for a full season, it's kind. But just based on that game, man, they could have used Kobe White shepherding that offense. Yeah, Doug.
00:09:45
Speaker 3: And they got some good performances from many role players and guys that are going to have massive roles on this team. Whether you talk about Dennis Schroeder or Grayson Allen or some of those guys. But who do you think is the most vital role player to this Hornets roster this year?
00:10:01
Speaker 2: For the full season, I'm going to go with, because I mean, Dennis Schroeder, depending on how long Kobe's out, I mean, they are going to have to rely on Dennis Schroeder a lot. And you saw how effective he can be driving the basketball, those, those scoop shots. And I know Walker loves so much and tweeted about the other night, like Dennis Cooper, I know. I mean, it was, it was so fun to watch, but you know, I think in that fourth quarter, you got a little bit of the shooter experience where like he, he can, he can save you. He can put you into a game. And then there's some, you know, situations, you know, his shooting wasn't completely locked in. Sometimes it can take you out, but I mean, I think shooter is going to be vital to this team, Grayson Allen. I mean, he led the team in scoring. in that debut with 21 points, his three-point shooting, may have to carry them. Again, depending on how long Kobe and Khan have to miss, they're going to need some guys that can come in and effectively shoot the basketball. Grayson Allen's that guy, but his defense also. I mean, Allen was... was so pesky defensively. And he's not only able to be a pest to his own guy, but he's able to quickly, you know, move off of his own guy and then, you know, adapt and get into passing lanes and just disrupt what an offense wants to do. And that's how the Hornets won that basketball game. I mean, you know, we can look at Brandon shooting and Nas's numbers, but I mean, they won that game on defense and Grayson Allen was a huge part of that.
00:11:23
Speaker 1: All right, I want to tease the Lockdown Hornets listeners because I think we planned on talking about it today. But I wanted to ask you just a little appetizer from you here, Doug. Does it say anything about Hannes Steinbach that he did not record any run in this season debut? Does it say anything at all?
00:11:43
Speaker 2: I mean, not ready for the Hornets rotation, according to Charles Lee. I mean, if that were the case, he would have played. I mean, it was a pretty high draft pick. And typically, if those guys are ready to play, unless the rotation is such that it's like, well, I can't, you know, who are they going to play him over? I'm not... not certain that the rotation, you know, with, with Grant Williams not playing, I'm not sure the rotation was such that you go, wow, you just absolutely couldn't play on a Steinbach. And, you know, Christian Anderson got minutes because, you know, they were missing Kobe White. I don't know. I just, just hearing what they, they said and watching him play in the preseason. I just got the sense that like, in terms of understanding where to be offensively and defensively speed of the game, processing the game. Cause there's no, I don't think there's much question that Hans Steinbach is a guy that, you know, exudes effort does, does the right things out on the floor. It goes after, goes after loose balls, wants to gobble up every rebound things that the Hornets certainly have espouses like values that they, that they enjoy. So then you go, okay, well, what's, what's missing. And I think, you know, when, when you did watch him play in a limited time, when I watched him play limited time in the preseason, yeah, there were moments where it's like, okay, he doesn't quite understand quite, not quite picking up at the speed that you would expect a rotation player. I think it also says to Walker that like the Hornets are going to have to lean on their defense. And we know that the toughest thing for rookies to adjust to coming from college, and now guys don't spend much time in college, but that adjustment from college to the NBA is all defense. A lot of times in college, you're standing in the corner guarding one guy and trying to follow that guy around. Defense in the NBA is just completely different. You've got to make multiple calculations, and you have to do it very quickly against the best players in the world. I'm not shocked that Steinbach didn't get any minutes based on what we saw in the preseason.
00:13:42
Speaker 1: Doug Branson, everyhornetsboxscore.com, also Locked on Hornets, the associate producer for Yahoo Sports Daily. He's doing a lot of stuff, and so we appreciate his time here. on Wes and Walker. Thanks for helping me out, man. We appreciate the time. I'll see you in about an hour or so.
00:13:57
Speaker 2: See you. All right. Sounds good. See you boys.
Speaker 1: He might not be in our hometown, but he still is from the hometown. He's in Nashville giving you great Hornets analysis on the critically acclaimed Locked On Hornets podcast. It's Doug Branson. He now joins us on the Wes and Walker show. You can find him on Twitter at Doug Branson, L-O-H. He's kind of a Hornets Renaissance man. He also is the curator of everyhornetsboxscore.com. You should check that out. He's also producing Yahoo Sports Daily. What doesn't he do? Doug, we appreciate the time, my man. How are you doing?
00:00:27
Speaker 2: I'm just trying to rep the Queen City and the Music City, my friend, and a Hornets win.
00:00:32
Speaker 1: How about that? Well on their way to hitting the over of that 37 and a half mark that was given to us by Vegas. What were some of your main takeaways from the victory that the Hornets were able to get last night?
00:00:45
Speaker 2: Well, the Hornets look different. That's not a major take. You know, it's not a hot take. They don't have LaMelo Ball anymore. You know, you've got the injuries to Khan and Kobe. So I expected it to look different. But I thought there were some bright spots for a team that struggled to shoot the three. And that was supposed to be a major strength for them this season. And I still think it will be. But on a night when the three ball wasn't going in, they were able to really lock down on defense, not let the struggles on offense continue. dictate their defense? How many times do we see that happen to them last season? So gone were the lapses in defense, gone were the lapses in judgment. You know, when you're playing a bad team and when you have some injuries, you can by just bad judgment calls, getting frustrated. And boy, I mean, did some of those players for the Brooklyn Nets, Mo Wagner, Clowney, really try to get into the heads of the Hornets. And they did not allow themselves to be frustrated, at least enough by those moments, to take them out of their game. So it looked different. They won differently. But it was a win nonetheless.
00:01:49
Speaker 1: I think one of the bigger takeaways from Hornets fans, at least as the text line tells us here on a Thursday, I would say both People were disappointed in Brandon Miller's performance, especially in the second half. Despite going on an absolute tear after the first five minutes of this game, the rest of the first half was excellent from Brandon, fresh off of that $ 200 million contract. How would you evaluate Brandon's performance last night?
00:02:13
Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, obviously you would want a better performance of that than that after signing the contract, but it is one game. You know, we put a lot of emphasis on it because it is the season opener, but it is one of 82. And we've seen enough of a sample size of Brandon Miller, absolutely being a game changing offensive player that, that I think we can put it into a little bit of context. I was concerned that, that he wasn't very aggressive early on. It seemed like in the first five to seven minutes of the game that it was Nas Reed's offense and not Brandon Miller's offense. But I thought Brandon got into a groove and really impacted that first half in a significant way. And yeah, did quiet down in the second half. But I thought if you go back and look at that game, defensively, he was a difference maker in that second half. There were things that he was doing. I obviously would love to see more rebounding numbers, more assist numbers. Finding ways for him to impact the game when his scoring isn't where it needs to be, when his three-point shot, he was three of 14 from the field from beyond the arc. When that isn't going, you'd love to see him impact the games in different ways. But he had that one amazing chase-down block that had to be reviewed, but ultimately he got his fingertips on it before the ball hit the backboard. So he was doing good things. I'm not concerned about Brandon Miller's offense because of one game, 3-14 from three. That doesn't concern me. He's a fantastic offensive player. It's the other areas of his game that I think, you know, that'll be something to monitor throughout this season.
00:03:46
Speaker 1: Dougie B.
00:03:47
Speaker 3: I know a lot of people may not have been able to hear your preseason predictions for this Hornets team. So I just wanted to start the conversation there. What are your expectations of this team? We talked about the over-under yesterday being 37.5. Do you think they go over that? If so, by how much? Or under? What are your thoughts on just this team this year?
00:04:07
Speaker 2: I think my realistic expectations for the team is a lower-end play-in appearance. Because this is still a team without overwhelming all-star, all-NBA level talent, or at least it's unproven. It's got some projections of that, but it's unproven to this point. And so whenever you're dealing with a team like that, it's going to be more susceptible to to one or two injuries to key rotation players that can throw the whole thing amiss. I mean, I think it's fortunate for the Hornets that they were able to draw the Brooklyn Nets, a team that does have scoring talent in Randall and MPJ, but that's a bad basketball team. So the Hornets were fortunate in that, but they're going to have a tougher time dealing with even some of the middle-of-the-road Eastern Conference and Western Conference teams if they don't get Khan and Kobe back So I think you have to temper your expectations a little bit there. But here's what I love. I love seeing quotes from Conn Knipple and Brandon Miller. setting their own team expectations for playoffs, because I think them setting the expectations is way more important than me coming that the blowhard coming here and below the aiding and saying, well, I think they got, I think they got 40 wins in them or not. It's more important that con and Brandon and the whole team set expectations and say, yeah, we, we expect ourselves to make the playoffs and, And then you can take from that. If they don't, then that signals that it was a little bit disappointing for them. And I think that's been missing from the team the past few years as they have been in this rebuild mode. It's a sign to me that they're coming out of that and setting realistic playoff expectations for themselves.
00:05:48
Speaker 3: And then how did you feel about Nasri's performance? As we said, we know it's game one, but just how did you feel about the way that he played and what he can bring to this team as the guy that was traded for the guy?
00:06:00
Speaker 2: Oh, listen, yeah. However disappointed that fans were in Brandon Miller's performance, I think they have to be equally ecstatic about the way that Nas Reed debuted for the team. 20 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists. The things that I knew we're going to surprise some Hornets fans. He showcased them right away. His ball handling ability, his ability to navigate and traffic and lead a fast break is only going to help a team that constantly says it wants to play faster but has been unable to. I think they'll be able to consistently play faster because they'll have more and more players up and down the roster that can handle that ball in transition, Nas being one of them, and how quickly he gets his shot up from three, there was a little handoff play between cock printer and, and Nas. And I mean, it was just blinking. You would miss him getting that three ball up and that affects the defense. The Hornets are going to have to find advantage creators all over the roster. You know, when Melo, that was his main source of chaos, his main source of energy, his main source of driving that plus minus into the positive for the Charlotte Hornets is that he could create advantages with his deep three point shot, his incredible vision, his playmaking ability. And they're going to have to find replacements from that, from multiple players. Nas is going to be one of those players because of his versatility that so many different things he can do offensively that a defense has to account for.
00:07:29
Speaker 1: Yeah i think probably a greater percentage of the ball handling responsibilities will go to nas more than i thought coming in doug was all over it backyard legend says i knew nas was nice but i didn't know he had handles quite like that nas reed showing you the handles there doug branson joining us his handle is doug branson loh at doug branson loh on twitter Also, go check out his sub stack, everyhornetsboxscore.com. Doing a great job hosting also Locked On Hornets. Doug, who do you think they missed most last night? Was it Kobe White or Conn Knipple?
00:08:01
Speaker 2: Oh, man. You know, that's a really difficult question because... Kobe, they need it. They still need table setting. I mean, I thought you saw several instances. Nas wasn't one of them, but we just talked about his ball handling and play initiation. But I thought, you know, Christian Anderson, Jr. Being a rookie, he had a really good preseason or at least back into the preseason. But in that, in that debut, he looked like a rookie. He was a little hesitant to drive and then we'll bring it back out defenses in the NBA. They're so quick. If they can sense, If they can smell that hesitation on you, they are going to collapse on you, particularly Brooklyn, because they love to pressure you and trap you. And so turned him over a few times. I thought Brandon, you know, was a little bit hesitant at times, but then finally got into a groove, got to his mid range. But so there was just these moments, these hiccups. that are, they're kind of, sometimes they're subtle and sometimes they're really noticeable and the offense kind of falls apart and it takes a Grayson Allen heaving one up or, or Royce O'Neal getting open or Musa Diabate and Ryan Cochran are cleaning it up around the rim. Those can cover, you know, some of the sins. But unless you have a table setter like Kobe that, that can help you in that way, it's going to be tough. But I talked about advantage creation and that's, I mean, that is what con can it believe. I mean, with his ability to shoot three point shots and, you know, I think underrated ability to take the ball off the dribble, he said that, you know, his off season was focused on scoring more effectively inside the arc around the rim. You know, I just think both of those guys, it's really difficult to choose. But I would say I would lean a little bit more just based on that game. I think for a full season, it's kind. But just based on that game, man, they could have used Kobe White shepherding that offense. Yeah, Doug.
00:09:45
Speaker 3: And they got some good performances from many role players and guys that are going to have massive roles on this team. Whether you talk about Dennis Schroeder or Grayson Allen or some of those guys. But who do you think is the most vital role player to this Hornets roster this year?
00:10:01
Speaker 2: For the full season, I'm going to go with, because I mean, Dennis Schroeder, depending on how long Kobe's out, I mean, they are going to have to rely on Dennis Schroeder a lot. And you saw how effective he can be driving the basketball, those, those scoop shots. And I know Walker loves so much and tweeted about the other night, like Dennis Cooper, I know. I mean, it was, it was so fun to watch, but you know, I think in that fourth quarter, you got a little bit of the shooter experience where like he, he can, he can save you. He can put you into a game. And then there's some, you know, situations, you know, his shooting wasn't completely locked in. Sometimes it can take you out, but I mean, I think shooter is going to be vital to this team, Grayson Allen. I mean, he led the team in scoring. in that debut with 21 points, his three-point shooting, may have to carry them. Again, depending on how long Kobe and Khan have to miss, they're going to need some guys that can come in and effectively shoot the basketball. Grayson Allen's that guy, but his defense also. I mean, Allen was... was so pesky defensively. And he's not only able to be a pest to his own guy, but he's able to quickly, you know, move off of his own guy and then, you know, adapt and get into passing lanes and just disrupt what an offense wants to do. And that's how the Hornets won that basketball game. I mean, you know, we can look at Brandon shooting and Nas's numbers, but I mean, they won that game on defense and Grayson Allen was a huge part of that.
00:11:23
Speaker 1: All right, I want to tease the Lockdown Hornets listeners because I think we planned on talking about it today. But I wanted to ask you just a little appetizer from you here, Doug. Does it say anything about Hannes Steinbach that he did not record any run in this season debut? Does it say anything at all?
00:11:43
Speaker 2: I mean, not ready for the Hornets rotation, according to Charles Lee. I mean, if that were the case, he would have played. I mean, it was a pretty high draft pick. And typically, if those guys are ready to play, unless the rotation is such that it's like, well, I can't, you know, who are they going to play him over? I'm not... not certain that the rotation, you know, with, with Grant Williams not playing, I'm not sure the rotation was such that you go, wow, you just absolutely couldn't play on a Steinbach. And, you know, Christian Anderson got minutes because, you know, they were missing Kobe White. I don't know. I just, just hearing what they, they said and watching him play in the preseason. I just got the sense that like, in terms of understanding where to be offensively and defensively speed of the game, processing the game. Cause there's no, I don't think there's much question that Hans Steinbach is a guy that, you know, exudes effort does, does the right things out on the floor. It goes after, goes after loose balls, wants to gobble up every rebound things that the Hornets certainly have espouses like values that they, that they enjoy. So then you go, okay, well, what's, what's missing. And I think, you know, when, when you did watch him play in a limited time, when I watched him play limited time in the preseason, yeah, there were moments where it's like, okay, he doesn't quite understand quite, not quite picking up at the speed that you would expect a rotation player. I think it also says to Walker that like the Hornets are going to have to lean on their defense. And we know that the toughest thing for rookies to adjust to coming from college, and now guys don't spend much time in college, but that adjustment from college to the NBA is all defense. A lot of times in college, you're standing in the corner guarding one guy and trying to follow that guy around. Defense in the NBA is just completely different. You've got to make multiple calculations, and you have to do it very quickly against the best players in the world. I'm not shocked that Steinbach didn't get any minutes based on what we saw in the preseason.
00:13:42
Speaker 1: Doug Branson, everyhornetsboxscore.com, also Locked on Hornets, the associate producer for Yahoo Sports Daily. He's doing a lot of stuff, and so we appreciate his time here. on Wes and Walker. Thanks for helping me out, man. We appreciate the time. I'll see you in about an hour or so.
00:13:57
Speaker 2: See you. All right. Sounds good. See you boys.
