This team is hard to watch...and the NBA is a monopoly.

[TheMaulClaw]

     So the Hornets are really bad.  The FO decided to gamble on Howard but it's backfired.  Batum has an awful contract and he's nothing more then a good role player.  Clifford is a good guy, but at best an average coach who's been kept maybe a season too long. Clifford is also at the mercy of Cho...who is at the mercy of the Charlotte market. The Charlotte market is at the mercy of the NBA's god awful structure.  Thus no parody, and perpetual mediocrity for our Hornets.  

     I have no doubt that Jordan wants to win.  I'm sure he looks at how well the Panthers do and wonders how he can get the same type of passion and winning culture out of his team.  Problem is he can't, and it's not because he's incapable on an individual level.  The NFL is a beautiful league because any of the 32 teams can win the Superbowl any year if the FO is smart. Big market, small market...makes no difference in the NFL.  On the contrary, the system is rigged in the NBA.  The big markets own the National TV games, which ultimately mean more endorsement and exposure for the stars.  The NFL is different...just take a peak at all the Aaron Rodgers commercials.  When is the last time we've seen an active Hornet on a national ad?  Larry Johnson?

    So the Hornets need to tank, and shed all the bad contracts.  This team needs to develop talent and take the long term approach. Since the only way we'll ever be decent is if we get lucky in the draft and start collecting top 3 picks. At best we get the 7th or 8th seed and get bounced in the first round of the playoffs this season...and that would be overachieving for this team.  We have no real dominant inside presence.  MKG has always been fragile and when healthy....not good(except the one year with Mark Price).  Kaminsky and Zeller are clones and were redundant picks.  We've yet to find a big man that can consistently put up points since Big Al.  We rely on Williams way to much from the perimeter and I'm tired of seeing him brick threes. Cho has had his run, he's not the right guy for the job. We need a guy who can draft.  I know he's a rocket scientist and all of that, but that means nothing in the world of sports.  His calculations have been wrong.  If this was an Apollo mission, the spaceship would have crashed.  

Time for my turbopun.  With Cho, we'll never go where no man has gone before.

   

[OldNorthPowell]

Been saying this for a few years now, at least most of it. Dilly dilly. 

[bLACKpANTHER]

just trying to help you gals out..

 

[OldNorthPowell]

44 minutes ago, bLACKpANTHER said:

just trying to help you gals out..

 

All aboard the homer express, next stop denialville.

[bLACKpANTHER]

2 hours ago, TheMaulClaw said:

The FO decided to gamble on Howard but it's backfired - he's averaging a double-double.. 15.5 ppg, 13 rpg

Batum has an awful contract and he's nothing more then a good role player - awful contract, yep..

So the Hornets need to tank and shed all the bad contracts - we can shed bad contracts and win at the same time.. they aren't tired together

MKG has always been fragile and when healthy....not good - i have been on the MKG to the bench band wagon for awhile.. slide Batum to SF and Lamb to starting SG..

Kaminsky and Zeller are clones and were redundant picks - pfft... one is a prototypical stretch 4 with a decent midrange and 3pt shot the other is a good help-defender and great off the pick and roll.. HOWEVER - I'm all for seeing what we can get for Frank or Zeller.. I'm def not opposed to moving some pieces at the deadline..

We've yet to find a big man that can consistently put up points since Big Al - Al's best year was his 1st here where he had 22 ppg & 11 rpg.. the rest of his time here was injury riddled and under achieving (14ppg, 6rpg).. Dwight is averaging 15+ ppg and 13 rpg.. he's #7 in the league at the center position:

We rely on Williams way to much from the perimeter and I'm tired of seeing him brick threes - he's averaging a career high from 3pt range this year = .444%   

 

[Zaximus]

We really just need to see what we can trade Batum for, if anything.    

If you really want to figure out what is wrong with this team though, it's Clifford.     This team is a top 4 team in the East, or close to it, with a better coach, there's too much talent not to be.  

[Carl Spackler]

Zeller is actually pretty good. I'd rather we hang onto him. Frank's not very good and he has literally nothing in common with Cody other than the fact they're tall, white guys from the Midwest who play for the Hornets. 

Cody is a great second-team center who runs the P&R better than most and is statistically the fastest center, end-to-end, in the NBA. 

Also, anyone saying the Dwight trade has backfired knows nothing about basketball. He's having his best season in years, he's a hell of a rebounder and -- Oh, let's look what we gave up for him -- yeah, we really miss Marco Belinelli

[Carl Spackler]

People who compare Cody to Frank are making the same lazy comparisons people made from Cam to JaMarcus Russell.

[TheMaulClaw]

4 hours ago, bLACKpANTHER said:

 

Dwight Howard's numbers don't mean anything.  His FT% kills us, and defensively he's slow unless literally right underneath the basket.  He's a good role player, but  we've looked the worst we have defensively in years with him at the 5. 

Outside of Kaminsky taking 3s they serve a lot of the same purpose.  Only difference is Zeller drives a bit more. Overall they have similar body types and serve a lot of the same purposes especially on D.  We don't need both.  Whether it's a pick and roll for Zeller or a pick and pop for Kaminsky it's just nitpicking know what I'm saying. 

[TheMaulClaw]

4 hours ago, Carl Spackler said:

People who compare Cody to Frank are making the same lazy comparisons people made from Cam to JaMarcus Russell.

It's really not that lazy.  They have a few different skill sets.  Zeller is a little more fundamental and he does hustle his ass off.  He's bit better on the boards and appears slightly stronger with an ok short jumper game....nothing beyond the elbow.  Kaminsky is a little bit more finesse than Zeller, has a better outside jumper albeit still streaky.  Doesn't appear as strong on the block but still has some mild inside ability.  Defensively it seems Zeller has the edge.  He's stronger at holding ground.  Kaminsky is honestly to me a defensive liability in the post on the low block.  Those two draw a lot of the same matchups game to game.  Personally I think Zeller is a better player.  Kaminsky is decent depth, but he's nothing more then a McBob clone with McBob being a better defender and passer.

[ECUPantherFan]

Dwight Howard has been better than expected.  I think he's having a great year, and is a huge asset to the team.

I think the MKG experiment is over.  I also think the Batum experiment is over.

In my humble opinion, I think the only 5 guys on the team that we couldn't afford to lose would be Kemba, Dwight, Malik, Cody, and Jeremy.

[TheMaulClaw]

2 hours ago, ECUPantherFan said:

Dwight Howard has been better than expected.  I think he's having a great year, and is a huge asset to the team.

I think the MKG experiment is over.  I also think the Batum experiment is over.

In my humble opinion, I think the only 5 guys on the team that we couldn't afford to lose would be Kemba, Dwight, Malik, Cody, and Jeremy.

Dwight is a decent role player, but I'm telling you he's a liability on D.  Any smart offensive player is gonna know that 90 percent of the time Dwight is in the game they're gonna be running zone.

[bLACKpANTHER]

16 hours ago, TheMaulClaw said:

Dwight is a decent role player, but I'm telling you he's a liability on D.

 

Dude, not one person knows what the fug you are talking about.. seriously, gtfoh..

[VGcollector]

i think dwight is playing good this year. I also think that he has mental gaps that happen and when they do people just happen to see them in bigger lights compared to other players. I am not ready to give up on batum but i am on MKG. I wonder to myself why couldnt he just be a back up and take less. Thats whats gonna happen when he leaves. i can see him being on the blazers, bucks or celtics and being solid back up. I'm also ready to move on from clifford. like i said in the past i would love a young vibrant coach but have older position coaches to help guide him. Patrick also deserves a shot at head coaching somewhere as well.