GT: Hornets @ Rockets, Wed 10/23 8:00

[Liver_Pooty]

Ugly Ugly win. Outside of not having Miller, I thought the biggest issue was we played way too slow all night, especially in the half court. I want to see us get down hill and swing ball more. Instead felt like a lot pointless screening up top that really didn't put pressure on the defense.

Melo saved us, but that type of offensive flow isn't going to work with this team. Hopefully Lee gets this figured out in the next few games.

Always will take a W though.

I'll disagree. Down 2. 3 starters if you count miller out. Down 18 on the road to a solid Houston team. No, this was a great win my man.

[doogie_hauser]

What a **** game. That was incredible.

Love Lee so much.

Very happy for Charles and you long suffering Hornets fans.p

Was also delighted to see LaMelo shine, I have no idea why so many neutral fans dislike him (his pompous dad aside) but he played like a true leader and franchise player like he did.

Tre Mann was also terrific and may well be a mucb6 better player than I thought (didn't watch many Hornets game previously, but that will change)

And dear old Grant Williams, the best and worst of him in the last 90 seconds or so, made a dagger three, only to follow it up with a foolish 3 point foul moments later, he is a very likeable and fun guy to root for, but also has moments where he absolutely wants to tear your hear out.

It's a very long season but I was impressed by your gritty comeback from 18 points down and the fact your mostly young kids led by LaMelo had the stones to pull off a very impressive road win away on the road in Texas.

Fingers crossed Lamelo stays healthy and in prime form for the rest of the reason, he and you Hornets fans deserve some much needed luck on his injury front.

Best of luck for the rest of the season folks

[MPM]

First season opener I've missed in forever (was on a redeye flight) - hate to have missed it even if it sounds like it was a mix of awful with a couple of individual standout performances. W.

[Braggins]

Mann could be a nice boost for this team playing the Malik Monk role.

[MasterIchiro]

I think if you swapped draft slots in the 2021 draft between Tre Mann & Josh Giddey, nobody would make a fuss over it.

[KembaWalker]

Ugly Ugly win. Outside of not having Miller, I thought the biggest issue was we played way too slow all night, especially in the half court. I want to see us get down hill and swing ball more. Instead felt like a lot pointless screening up top that really didn't put pressure on the defense.

Melo saved us, but that type of offensive flow isn't going to work with this team. Hopefully Lee gets this figured out in the next few games.

Always will take a W though.

Might take a few games to figure out how Miles fits in with Melo/Miller/Mann. Seems like it would be better to run something quickly to get Miles going downhill playing with the second unit versus whatever the hell Micic thinks he's doing out there dribbling and navigating screens at 2mph

but even with the main guys i think it'll look smoother when teams realize they are gonna have to dedicate some more defensive resources to Melo and Mann than they think they should have to

[JMAC3]

Ugly Ugly win. Outside of not having Miller, I thought the biggest issue was we played way too slow all night, especially in the half court. I want to see us get down hill and swing ball more. Instead felt like a lot pointless screening up top that really didn't put pressure on the defense.

Melo saved us, but that type of offensive flow isn't going to work with this team. Hopefully Lee gets this figured out in the next few games.

Always will take a W though.

Might take a few games to figure out how Miles fits in with Melo/Miller/Mann. Seems like it would be better to run something quickly to get Miles going downhill playing with the second unit versus whatever the hell Micic thinks he's doing out there dribbling and navigating screens at 2mph

but even with the main guys i think it'll look smoother when teams realize they are gonna have to dedicate some more defensive resources to Melo and Mann than they think they should have to

I thought even Miller was struggling to get into the flow of the offense before he left the game. I am sure it will be fine moving forward, but that was my big takeaway on that end. Speed into our actions more, we were getting bullied, and it was turning into a slog on that end most of the game until Melo said F it and put his head down.

[MasterIchiro]

Ugly Ugly win. Outside of not having Miller, I thought the biggest issue was we played way too slow all night, especially in the half court. I want to see us get down hill and swing ball more. Instead felt like a lot pointless screening up top that really didn't put pressure on the defense.

Melo saved us, but that type of offensive flow isn't going to work with this team. Hopefully Lee gets this figured out in the next few games.

Always will take a W though.

Might take a few games to figure out how Miles fits in with Melo/Miller/Mann. Seems like it would be better to run something quickly to get Miles going downhill playing with the second unit versus whatever the hell Micic thinks he's doing out there dribbling and navigating screens at 2mph

but even with the main guys i think it'll look smoother when teams realize they are gonna have to dedicate some more defensive resources to Melo and Mann than they think they should have to

I thought even Miller was struggling to get into the flow of the offense before he left the game. I am sure it will be fine moving forward, but that was my big takeaway on that end. Speed into our actions more, we were getting bullied, and it was turning into a slog on that end most of the game until Melo said F it and put his head down.

I agree the offense lacked flow / ball movement. JB's offense looked superior but it took a couple years.

The offense looked best when LaMelo could play off Tre Mann pressuring the rim. Miller & Miles lack the speed, crafty moves required to generate the gravity towards the paint.

Our closing offense will be fine running through LaMelo & Mann as primary handlers, making Brandon more lethal in space and Miles better driving/slashing open lanes, both serving as secondary/tertiary playmakers.

[Braggins]

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[MasterIchiro]

We also have to figure out a way to get Micic off the floor. I'd rather watch NSJ spaz at this point. At least he's young and has room to grow.

Micic is a snail.

[JMAC3]

We also have to figure out a way to get Micic off the floor. I'd rather watch NSJ spaz at this point. At least he's young and has room to grow.

Micic is a snail.

I am willing to give Micic a bit more time to figure it out, he was terrible but he is still one of our better rim pressure players.

[Robot Rock]

Read on Twitter

They're a hell of a pair on MyTeam.

[KembaWalker]

Read on Twitter

The Reddit thread on this clip is so lame. there is so much insidiously veiled hatred in there thats exposed when they see a clip like this and use it as an opportunity to unmask themselves for a moment

[MasterIchiro]

We also have to figure out a way to get Micic off the floor. I'd rather watch NSJ spaz at this point. At least he's young and has room to grow.

Micic is a snail.

I am willing to give Micic a bit more time to figure it out, he was terrible but he is still one of our better rim pressure players.

I hope NSJ takes advantage of minutes in GB and that the team implements a solid development plan for him. If he can be viable in the rotation by the trade deadline, then move Micic and insert NSJ to play on the second unit between Tre Mann & Cody Martin.

[Braggins]

Did Micic never end his post Olympic alcohol binge or what? He looked so much better last season.

[Rich4114]

Ugly Ugly win. Outside of not having Miller, I thought the biggest issue was we played way too slow all night, especially in the half court. I want to see us get down hill and swing ball more. Instead felt like a lot pointless screening up top that really didn't put pressure on the defense.

Melo saved us, but that type of offensive flow isn't going to work with this team. Hopefully Lee gets this figured out in the next few games.

Always will take a W though.

I know you're going to have people disagreeing with you because you started this off with "Ugly win" but there's a lot of truth in it. It was a gritty win, but the first half was pretty ugly and the physicality and ball pressure Houston played with had us on our heels. But they adjusted after halftime and turned it completely around - something we almost never saw from a Clifford led team as he's too stubborn to make changes mid-game.

Overall, I think the rotation is in flux especially with some guys hurt but it was very clear who Lee trusted to close the game out.

We're screwed if Mark can't come back because Nick is just going to get eaten alive by like 38 other centers. Perhaps the most concerning issue of all is Micic. Our non LaMelo Ball mins makes us look non-competitive. What is the answer assuming Micic is going to look like this most nights? Is it stagger Mann as PG2? It surely won't be KJ and I don't think NSJ is good enough of a PG to step into that role. We really need to have a contingency plan for Micic especially.

But wow, refreshing to watch LaMelo play again. He's clearly our best player still. Miller was on his way to having an impressive game as well and hopefully the hip thing doesn't keep him out more games. Miles was most concerning to me as he was forcing a lot but many times the lanes were sealed off because Nick was once again clogging the paint. But I will say, Miles stepped it up on the rebounding side. He made a difference in the second half making sure we got boards. Also a shout out to Grant as he's the perfect neutralizer to Brooks. Seth gave us quality mins too and have a big time tip on an offensive board to help lock this win in.

[mattcampbell]

We out-rebounded them 33-12 in the second half. Pretty incredible turn around from the first half where they out-rebounded us 31-23. Sengun abused us early on so props to the fellas for digging in and competing in the paint the second half.

Really need to cut down on turnovers, hopefully that's just first game jitters in a new system and doesn't become a trend.

Was nice to see Melo getting some calls, would be a huge step forward in his game if he can get to the line more often. Mann was awesome! Hopefully Miller isn't out too long. We could be a competitive and fun team when everyone is healthy. Looking forward to seeing how this year plays out!

[LofJ]

If everyone is healthy this team is winning 40+ games. At full health I think they're better than every team in the East after Boston, Milwaukee, NYK, Cleveland, Philly, and Orlando.

[yosemiteben]

Did Micic never end his post Olympic alcohol binge or what? He looked so much better last season.

It's really shocking. I was so happy that we'd finally solved our backup PG issues, and I'm really struggling with wtf is going on. Maybe it's scheme stuff? I don't know, it's just weird. He's making objectively bad decisions out there, doesn't seem like it's scheme related.

Was really weird to see him hunt his 3s multiple times, really doesn't seem like that's what he's out there to do.

[KembaWalker]

Did Micic never end his post Olympic alcohol binge or what? He looked so much better last season.

It's really shocking. I was so happy that we'd finally solved our backup PG issues, and I'm really struggling with wtf is going on. Maybe it's scheme stuff? I don't know, it's just weird. He's making objectively bad decisions out there, doesn't seem like it's scheme related.

Was really weird to see him hunt his 3s multiple times, really doesn't seem like that's what he's out there to do.

i thought Smile 2 was the scariest thing I'd endure this month but then i realized we're a statistically near certain LaMelo injury away from being forced to play Micic 30+ minutes a night with literally no backup PG

just go pick up Pat Bev/DSJ/Devonte for real. our roster is not full. bare minimum this dude needs to be shown that he is not entitled to the backup PG spot