t96

After last night I’m 100% convinced that LaMelo will ultimately bring the Hornets their first championship and consistent playoff success for as long as he’s here and healthy. I trust Kupchak to continue building around him. We may need another year or 2 but this kid is so fuging good. Also he’ll help us get other veteran role players to want to come here and join forces, which is essential in this modern game. Despite the loss I couldn’t be more pumped about this team’s future.

Our D in 2013 was elite because of the front 7 for sure, but White I think started most of those games and was very solid. No idea why he couldn't even last as a backup after that but I think he was out of the league in like 2 years...

Remember Dan Connor? I used to have high hopes for him. Injuries ruined his first stint for us and then he randomly came back in like the middle of 2013 for a few games as a backup. Also, I still have random thoughts that Melvin White should've been our Malcolm Butler. Ron moved on from him too easily if you ask me.

Fixed

I think at this point any mock that has us taking a non-QB is coming from someone who hasn't done their homework. We either take a QB (trade up or not) or don't have a pick in the 1st round this year...

Was the huddle ever "normal" in its infant years? I was a bit late to the party

Players who played for multiple teams don't go in representing a certain team. We already have several Hall of Famers who have played for us.

I'd much rather have our coach yelling at assistants and holding them accountable than to have him sucking their dicks all the time like Ron did.

TT is signed on an extremely team friendly deal, there is no reason at all to trade him. He's a crucial part of the top line and very close with Aho and trading him could jeopardize Aho's future here too. We will easily be able to keep Svech completely independent of what we do with TT. I would bet TT and Aho are both here for another decade plus, as they should be.

I was never concerned about his defense. With his length at PG and his work ethic and love for the game of basketball I figured that he'd be at least consistently solid on D after a few years. But yeah I did not expect him to be this good defensively this soon in his career, especially after such a limited offseason due to COVID. He still gets lost a ton and gets too aggressive going for steals, but I think he has a realistic chance of becoming one of the top defensive guards in the league if he commits to learning and continues to grow at the pace he already has. As for rebounding I figured because of his size he'd contribute there but I agree I never thought he'd be this tenacious of a rebounder. He just attacked the damn ball whenever it's there, offensive end and defensive end. Huge positive so far and gotta think he'll only get better in this regard too as he adds some more weight and strength. The shot is still my biggest concern. He's shown he can finish at the rim and get to the basket and he'll only get better at that with added strength, but for him to really take that step forward into that elite tier in today's NBA he needs to really improve his shot. It's better than I thought it would be but it's still pretty ugly. If he can develop a consistent shot from deep and mid-range, he could be a top 5-10 player in the league easily. Everything so far has been extremely encouraging, we'll see how far he can take it.

LOL that is the most lopsided trade proposal I've seen yet. Is that CBS writer a Panthers fan?

It was confirmed that he had a lower body injury that game and that's why he sat, had nothing to do with discipline or being benched. The last two years Teuvo has arguably been our most consistent forward on the entire team. I don't see any reason that would change this year. I expect to see him back to his usual self sooner rather than later. We really need to just put the SAT line back together though. I know Svech did well with Staal last night but McGinn is just crushing that top line's potential and dragging Aho and TT/Svech down. With Nino and Necas fitting in well the last several games on Tro's wings, I don't see any reason not to stack the top line. Svech - Aho - TT Nino - Tro - Necas Dzingel/McLovin - Staal - Fast Dzingel/McLovin - Geekie - McGinn Martinook How we deal with Dzingel/McLovin/McGinn/Martinook/Geekie isn't as big of a deal and can be shifted around, but I really think that needs to be the top 6 indefinitely.

Maybe but that doesn't mean they'd necessarily want a rookie QB. Maybe they see Darnold and these rookies in a similar light -- young guys who have potential but are still big question marks. Stafford is a legit proven upper echelon franchise QB. Just because they were in on Stafford doesn't mean they're all in on trying to find a new QB. My guess is they'll take Fields and trade Darnold but nobody really has any clue. I think there's definitely a possibility they don't go QB in this draft.

So glad the Timberwolves and Warriors psyched themselves out of taking him, for whatever reason. On the court he was clearly the best player in the draft, and it wasn't even close.

When a U2 song was playing during a stoppage, Tripp was ranting about how Bono is such a huge Caniac

These are the type of games that the consistently great teams win. Ugly game against a bad opponent where we didn't play particularly well and probably should've lost, but came away with 2 points anyways. Almost prefer that to just dominating them; hopefully the boys won't get complacent and we can learn from this while still getting the win. Part of it though was probably just COVID related effects. Slavin and Teuvo looked terrible, and completely unlike their usual selves. It may take a few games for them to get up to speed and look back to normal again. Couldn't be more pumped about this team, just need Mrazek to come back soon as I don't think Reimer is as good as him and we'll need great goaltending down the stretch when fighting with Tampa/Dallas for the #1 seed.

Yeah we gotta just keep Malik. Hopefully he’ll be willing to stay. Guy is an absolute stud when he’s on, and I think he’ll be able to get that consistency at some point. Just give him the opportunity

Ramsey did it. Phantom "injury."

Huh? I have no idea what Rap is talking about...

Only 1 OT, the other one was against Tampa a few nights before... But yeah either way the guys were probably completely gassed.

Really nice job by the team pulling off the W. I thought we were done in the 3rd after we came out looking flat and Reims let in a few softies, but damn Nino wasn't going home a loser last night. What a snipe. We need him to keep up his play from so far this season, he's looking more like the Nino we traded for a few years ago than the struggling Nino of last year. Really liking that Trocheck/Necas/Nino line, I'd definitely keep them together and slot TT back in on the top line with Svech and Aho. Also, I think Lorentz has earned a spot in the bottom 6. Not sure who to replace when everyone's back healthy but he's shown much more than Marty, McGinn or Foegele have this year.

I can see both arguments. It may be better for him in the long run to not start this year, but if we are trying to win games and make the playoffs this year then we need to start him and have him playing 30-35+ minutes every night as he gives us our best chance to win.

Lol peak offseason this early in the year?

Gotta hope that it was a 2022 1st plus other stuff and Teddy and not 8 overall.

A deal that hurts wouldn’t necessarily include Burns. Burns is the most important player on the team, we are not giving him up. We have plenty of other pieces we could involve in a trade that could get us Watson.