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We had a rookie Takeover in Summer League last night how about Brandon Miller and Nick Smith Jr they had Excellent performances we'll also give You a Last Dance report all today I'm Locked on Hornets we were locked on Hornets part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day in America We live [Music] It's locked on hornets part of the Locked on podcast Network it's your team Every day thanks for making us your First listen we're free and available Anywhere you get your podcast that Includes YouTube where Doug is silently Screaming it's almost like the camera's Focusing on him but it can't pick up on His volume that's Doug Branson every Hornetsboxcore.com you can check the sub Stack out uh Doug why are you excited About Brandon Miller and Nick Smith Jr's Performance where you're doing the whole You can't hear me but you can see me Screaming thing oh yeah I'm so excited I'm so excited I don't want to break my Microphone I feel like if I were to Scream for real at the level that I want To scream after watching Brandon Miller And Nick Smith Jr take off takeover do All of the things that we've wanted to See first round rookies on this team do In summer league four years I would Break this microphone I would have to
Get a new microphone and I don't want to Get a new microphone I just want to get Into my you know what I say all the time Summers for feelings preseason is for Reason I just want to get all the way Down to my feelings and and just Revel In what Brandon Miller and Nick Smith Jr Did to the Portland Trailblazers I'm Walker Bale you can catch me on WFNZ From 12 to 3 P.M every weekday and yes We are about to dive deep into what Brandon Miller and Nick Smith Jr did Last night let's start with Brandon Miller because the game started with Brandon Miller right off the bat Doug it Looked like this is going to be a Takeover game for him and he certainly Took control we got to see the alley-oop Very early the athleticism yes we are The podcast that did not think Brandon Miller was athletic enough really it was More so in the blow-by speed to the rim But if you give them a Runway man he'll Catch a body we saw against South Carolina we saw it last night in this Game where he had a fantastic dog taken Off from a pretty deep part on the court We got to see the three-point shot go in Three of six finishing with 26 points we Got to see him get to the free throw Line he made all seven of his free Throws Um the one hand push shot man like it's That's what's working for him he got he
Got a couple of Van one opportunities so He finished in the two-point range and It's just the the one-handed Al Jefferson you called it kind of push Shot from the perimeter he had it all Working for him and this was by far by Far his best performance uh somebody Called that shot we were trying to Figure out a clever name for it it's Kind of a hook shot it's kind of a Floater someone on uh the comments Called it a Hooter which I think that's Charlotte Sports despair our guy called It that I believe I believe that's right Oh that's great um I love it I I think It'll stick so he hits the Hooter um and It was a high Hooter I mean it was a sky It was this guy Um and he was just on fire and it didn't Start well though it like it very early In the game he goes Baseline gets Stopped turns it over trying to kick it Back out to Nick Smith Jr didn't look Like he exactly knew what he wanted to Do there then like just a possession or So later he dribbles into traffic got Double team forces up a shot I really Thought oh no I mean here we go for uh Or fifth game of seeing this from Brandon Miller struggling to figure out What he wants to do dribbling into Traffic turning it over but then he Rebounded and boy did he rebound the Shot was pure his aggressiveness his his
Decision making all of a sudden flip the Switch after those first couple of Possessions it's like he shook it off And said all right I got to figure this Thing out he hits a couple of really Tough buckets in that first quarter and Then things got less tough because you Could just see like the confidence Building and he started to understand And take over and the guards actually Let him initiate some of the offense let Him get into you know a little bit of a Rhythm so that was nice to see and then Miller returned the favor to Nick Smith Jr later in the game basically saying Look I got my 25 plus here you go Nick Smith you can take over now in the Fourth quarter it was it was just Beautiful to watch well yeah and and Even it was the first half that he Really exploited for a ton of points had A the summer league high with like seven Minutes left to go in the third quarter And then he was able to finish with a 26 Point total Um still the fouls there one doesn't Count because he fought at the end Trying to get the the basketball back But had a couple blocks only one Turnover too Doug I thought that was Nice and what you're seeing him do it's When he drives into the lane one he's Rejecting the screen a decent amount on Some of the successful paint Touches for
Him I think that's interesting just Trying to all right so they've run him Off a ton of screens maybe the defense Is ready for him to come off of those Screens but then he'll jab step towards The screen go the other way that's one Way to manufacture a paint touch the Other is Brandon Miller not only just Finishing at The Rim a little bit more So but I I think you're seeing him kind Of get to his spots a little bit better But for me people were talking about how Comfortable he was yes he was Comfortable but hasn't that been his Saving Grace the entire time the fact That he had been making better decisions I think clearly he looked more Comfortable in this game but I don't Think the Gap is as big as everybody was Talking about oh my God it's it's Clicking it's night and day I think the Shots were falling and I think he's Putting guys on his back when he's Getting into the paint like once he gets That Advantage so some of it yes he Looked more comfortable but another Reason I just think some of the shots Were falling with the Hooters with the Uh athleticism he got some free run to The to the rim and made him pay yeah I Just think he took he did a great job of Taking advantage of what the defense was Giving him and even forcing himself into Some favorable matchups yeah and making
Quick decisions right I mean he was Using that crossover he was using the Hesitation dribble like he was doing all The things that you know again we're Going to question the handle we're going To question the blow by speed that's Gonna that's gonna develop over the Course of his career but he was making Quick decisions here and he has this Like smooth stop and start change of Speed that I think lamello is trying to Figure out how to do when he drives but Miller already has it and that's how Tatum and all of these like you know What what Miller's high ceiling is the Guys that dropped 40 and 50 burgers that That's what they have that's what they Have to draw contact and you saw Miller Do that a few times in this game I know it's early but this is what I was Waiting for and I'd seen flashes of it In the previous games he put it all Together had the Takeover you know I I Think we're close let's get into Preseason get a couple of regular season Games under his belt but I'm I'm more Comfortable today than I am than I have Been this whole process that he will Achieve the escape Velocity that is the Adam Morrison mkg worst case two pick Scenario like I think we're already Pretty close to that at this point Because I just don't see all the tools That I've seen if he puts it all
Together like I can't see him being Worse than a third option Oh yeah and I I think we've always been There right I mean with Brandon Miller The bar is real low to ask him to escape Adam Morrison bus level and even mkg as Much as but not again but not a give you Know and not for anybody I guess you Know if you've continued to struggle Like he did to shoot against the Lakers And and the turnovers and the fouls had Returned like we saw in the California Classic if that stuff would have Happened in these final Summer League Games then I would have some serious Questions at that point but that that Didn't happen he said you know every Game is an opportunity to reset the Narrative and give yourself a new path And that's what this game did 26 points He looked like hey this is my summer League team I'm gonna you know and then Nick Smith Jr stepped up as well but he Said you know this is this is my time I'm going to take advantage of it and That's what you love to see yeah he did He looked very good and you wonder just How much he'll be able to help this Season off the ball because he did hit a Couple of shots where he relocated there Was one three-pointer where he passed it Back out located out there on the Perimeter looked good looked good um do You want to get into Nick Smith Jr in
This first segment before we do last Dance report and talk about his 33 Points and take over at the end of the Game Yeah you want to do it all right Nick Smith Jr Nick Smith Jr looked fantastic With just incredible shot making a lot Of iso ball said everybody just get on My back and I'm gonna take us into a Winning territory even if they did lose This game yeah a winning territory where He hit three pointers he was four to Five from Beyond The Arc you saw him get To his spots really well there was the One handle off of the elbow where he had That floater as the big man steps up for Portland just that's the Highlight Everybody is choosing to roll with this Morning if you missed the Nick Smith Jr Performance last night and you only get To see one play go to the end of the Game I think it's the third straight Possession he scores where he puts the Handles on spin move Baseline Postman Comes up to meet him in the short Corner Doesn't matter float just straight Butter and that's how he ends with 33. Yeah you know you want to hear what I or Hear or read what I wrote in my notebook I want to read here I'm going to taste It I want to smell it 38 seconds left in the game I wrote Crossover spin Chris Murray Keegan Murray Andy Murray Bill Murray I don't
Give a damn Nick Smith Jr is gonna score Yeah lots of Murrays and it doesn't Matter what Murray's in front of him and And he and he and Supernova he was using All of the tools in his tool belt it was Beautiful to see okay and I'm not I Don't want to pour cold water on it he's Got but he has a lot to work on in terms Of handling the basketball in terms of Making plays for others if he's going to Reach his ceiling because if he just Look if he's not going to be asked to Handle the ball a ton and make plays for Others a ton I don't think at the in his Rookie season so really what you want to Be excited about is the things that he Was doing well making plays for himself Uh you know pouring it on the Hornets Need more scoring and and that's what Nick Smith Jr provides but if he's going To sort of reach his ceiling you know a Lot of those turnovers that we saw I Think he ended on six or seven turnovers They were really bad turnovers like he's Just not see you know when he's trying To make plays for others he's just not Seeing the floor particularly well so That's got to improve but man I mean That scoring oh it's going to be tough To stop I mean I know this is summer League but I think he's going to be Tough to stop even even when we get into The regular season depending on how many Minutes he gets yeah if he goes to
Greensboro is he going to be a 25 or 20 Or 25 a game type of guy I mean it's High in summer league then you think the Usage is going to be big time in Greensboro too oh he's going to be a Swarm star and yeah I mean that's a good Point you know it may take an injury or Two before he gets an opportunity uh to To really get some legitimate minutes in In the NBA Um but you know he's he's showing why The Hornets were super high on him and He had you know we talked we've talked a Ton about Brandon Miller's struggles but Nick Smith Jr has also not had like a Particularly great game so far in summer League and they both decided to have it At the same time Well and you talk about the rotation I Was talking about Greensboro because the The most opportunistic minutes to be had Right now are at point guard and Nick Smith Jr clearly has not demonstrated Inability to play point guard very well Of all of the praise we're going to give Him and he deserves all of it and what He did yesterday because the shot making Was crazy yeah he's not a point guard He's a combo and this is someone all Right so if that's the case then you're Gonna have to beat Bryce mcgowans who Did not have a good summer league Session by the way so that's that's Somebody that you could possibly pass I
Mean it's feasible for sure so Bryce McGowan's Cody Martin coming back you Might hate Cody Martin it all depends on What Steve Clifford thinks about Cody And whether he's healthy Brandon Miller Does he play some too Terry Roger is Still on this team so point guard is the Only real way to me that he can get a Decent amount of minutes and that's the Problem because Nick Smith Jr is not a Point guard Uh Bryce MC I laughed at the Bryce McGowan thing because he looks like a Guy that really didn't want to be here At all I mean you know what I'm saying Like it just doesn't look like he was Totally settled on on being at this Summer league and um yeah he hasn't shot The ball well I would love to see him Shoot the ball a little bit better but I Don't think this summer league Performance is really going to affect uh His his standing within the rotation but He still has some you know he's gonna Have to fight it out with Miller and Martin they're gonna be a lot of M's Floating around that Wing rotation and He's gonna have to figure out you know How to get some minutes All right uh let's move on and talk About instead of the rookie takeover Some of the Vets on the summer league Roster coming up next on the lockdown Hornets podcast don't go to sleep on
We'll give you a Last Dance report what Do we think of Kai Jones as the summer League went on and James book night this Performance that he had last night and Even before that we'll get to it in just A moment but not before I talk about Bird dogs this episode is brought to you By bird dogs that make you look good They are stretch khaki shorts are Designed to fit Slimmer through the Thigh and the leg giving you a truly Sculpted look burdog shorts do the exact Same thing as Lululemon but fit way Better and they fit way better than Regular shorts that are made of a stiff Restricting cotton that bird dogs don't Have a part of them and uh they fix this Issue by inventing Cloud knit fabric That looks just like khaki but stretches So you get away Slimmer fit without Having to sacrifice movement what you Can do is you can go to birddogs.com Lockdown NBA to enter promo code locked On NBA for a free Yeti style tumbler That's birddogs.com lockdown MBA or Promo code locked on NBA for a free Yeti Style tumbler you won't uh want to take Your bird dogs off I promise you that We've seen from Doug you don't want to Take his bird dogs off either all right Coming up next Last Dance report locked On Hornets is locked on Hornets Are we sure that like everyone Interprets a handful as five I think so
Honestly I would say a handful is Normally five but I would agree four is Acceptable what's the whole five things In my head look one this is a pin a book I got a phone yeah you guys are actually Right it's getting pretty fun there's a Cable okay that's five that's five Here's a coffee It's time for more of the locked on Hornets podcast [Music] All right Doug James book night let's Start with him the old vet the Wiley vet The third session for James on this Summer league roster um he went up two Last night only two field goal attempts Uh 15 minutes played that's it 14 49 to Be exact he missed both of the Three-point attempts that he had they Were both from Beyond The Arc only one Rebound one steal didn't have any Turnovers did have a couple fouls Um man he started to come out of the Rotation a little bit as the summer League went on bad showing and Steve Clifford told you James book Night we All knew it right Steve Clover didn't Have to tell us but we all knew how Important this off season was for book Night and Kai Jones who we'll get to in A moment but this was not a summer League that makes you think all right Maybe there's something book Night can Build off of after the tiny little shine
He had at the end of the regular season Last year there's been nothing to show You that okay yeah this is someone that Is 100 going going to be a part of the Future yeah not a great start and you Call them the Wily vet I call him the While evet like Wiley Coyote because he Is careening off his career is careening Off of a cliff he is standing with the Umbrella as the Anvil uh crushes he's The road runner in this Involved Kai Jones I mean if we're we're Sticking with the two guys that are that Are fighting for their careers because I Mean the energy you know that Kai shows Uh every I mean these these Euro steps Oh my God I know we're so supposed to be Talking about Jake's book night here but I Kai Jones I wrote dirty Euro and then Seconds later I wrote another dirty Euro He's on a Euro trip I mean he was going To France Spain he was taking the train To Italy Um it was amazing he was on a Euro trip It was crazy Kai Jones the energy yes he Is definitely the Roadrunner but James Book Knight is in trouble folks Um and and you know it doesn't take a Basketball genius to understand what's Going on here he doesn't look confident Um he he he's he's lost it whatever it Is he's lost it tried to hit that jump Shot in the corner when they were trying To deal with that Blazer Zone it was an
Air ball uh you know defensively we're Just seeing the same things over and Over again Blow by after Blow by I can't Keep anyone in front uh you know we'll Make an occasional steal here or there But I don't know what more we can say at This point like it just doesn't look Like there's a future for James Booknight and it couldn't have happened On a worse night when you have You've got this situation where you've Got James book Knight and Kai Jones both First round draft picks and they are They're they're struggling to really Find a place on this roster meanwhile Brandon Miller and Nick Smith Jr Nick Smith Jr by the way showed you Everything we've wanted from James Booknight look you can be a defensive Disaster you can turn it over a little Bit too but if you're knocking down Three point shot after three-point shot And you're just Unstoppable offensively Then we're gonna let it all go that Covers a lot of sins and that's book Night has never been able to do that Offensively and thus everything else Stands out Yeah it's not been great for book night This entire summer league there wasn't a Speaking of takeover games we wanted to See it from Brandon Miller what we got a Quarter in the fourth quarter but they
Were against some guys that weren't even Starting in that first game in Sacramento and then he took care you Know he scored both points but still you Gotta you got that quarter at least Played decently well against the Spurs Didn't shoot well but you know did some Nice things enough and then this last Game clearly Brandon Miller had the best Contest we haven't had anything like That from book night I mean even the First game for book Night the efficiency Was better if I'm not mistaken it was Fine but yeah there was no there's been Nothing from him that shows okay he's Ready to take over minutes from Bryce McGowan's or even Nick Smith Jr who you Know outside of a really uncomfortable First game for nsj man he got better as The summer league session got uh went Along and it's not like he hasn't had an Opportunity right you know to me this Would be totally different if Brandon Miller and Nick Smith Jr just off gate First game in the California classic had Just come out on fire and and were Earning more and more possessions and Then you go well you know book night was Just you feeding the hot hand there was A priority to see what these first round Rookies could do it's a long summer James book night uh says he's gotten Bigger you know let's look at preseason But no that didn't happen he had an
Opportunity to say all right I'm I am The veteran here I can do something with This team until Brandon Miller and Nick Smith Jr get up to speed and didn't do It And so here we are I mean I I just again I'm running out of things to say at this Point I don't see all of the flashes That I saw from Nick Smith Jr and Brandon Smith Brandon Miller before we Got to this point I just don't see any Of those flashes with James booknight All right Doug tell me what you saw with Kai Jones and let's finish out this last Dance report A lot of the same you know I mean it's a Lot of these beautiful highlight plays That I know we're all still going to get Excited about because you don't you just Don't expect a guy of of his uh size of His length to be making the the athletic Plays that he's making the Euro steps You know flying high for the the Alley-oops I mean yeah you expect a guy That tall to be able to do something Like that but it just the energy that he Plays with the intensity that he plays With it's all familiar though to people That have watched a lot of Kai Jones I Know the summer league announcers are Going to be like it's going to open Their eyes but the coaching staff knows That Kai Jones can do all of that stuff You heard Ty Corbin uh one of the
Assistant coaches for the Charlotte Hornets given a sideline interview to Shout out Ashley shahamadi who was uh Doing summer league Duty sideline Duty She interviewed Brandon Miller as well Um so that'll be probably the first Interview of many But you heard Ty Corbin in the interview Say look We want to see there there's things that They want to see Kai Jones do set good Screens operate well in the pick and Roll defensively operate well on the Pick and roll Rebound the basketball those are still Things that I'm not seeing You know defensively I thought he he got Hurt a few times they were dominating Especially like and both defensively and Then offensively when the Portland Trailblazers were going to the Zone Kai Jones was nowhere to be found in the Middle of the floor that's to me that's The centers like get to the middle of Floor bust that zone up and Kai Jones Was sitting underneath the rim where he Was couldn't do anything but finally Amari Bailey stepped up to the middle of Florida caught it right at the Free-throw line and hit a layup but like There's just stuff that I'm like this is I I just I can't I can't rationalize how His role expands when there are so many Of these little things that you expect
Your Center to do that he's just Incapable or unwilling or both to do Yeah I wonder how much coaching the kai Jones stuff you know how much of the Problems you can point to coaching there Because Kai I wonder if they still just Need to simplify the game even more for Him right I mean as much as we joke About nausea on offense only setting Screens that's part of the Allure is Like this dude's not trying to do too Much I mean we don't we he doesn't need To with Kai we're tantalized by the Ability where he hits a three-pointer Where he has these crazy Rim running Slams where his chin is Above the Rim But is the game simplified enough for Him and if you think it's simplified Enough then maybe even go further right It doesn't mean that this is going to be Oh hmm the coaching staff may have never Thought about this but I'm not watching It out there I'm not watching Kai Jones Just be asked to set screens and roll And that really be the only Responsibility that he has you're right There are look there's only a couple Rebounds in this game I believe him I Think it was two exactly that he had in This game against Portland yeah he had Eight against the Lakers I think he had 10 and against San Antonio so those Numbers did go up after the first two Games with Kai Kai is the one that I
Would be fine holding on to you know you Still hold on to him whatever you're not He's not Untouchable by any means James booknight is the guy that I would Imagine is gone from this roster before Kai Jones is I think there's enough Still where we always knew this could be A three-year away thing from Kai even as Long as this has been this was never out Of the realm of possibility that it Would take this long for Kai to be close To a rotation and he's not close right Now for sure but it was never out of the Realm of possibility that it would take Three years with book night yeah I'm Surprised that it still isn't clicking Here in the third summer league session Well I I have no problem with it taking Three years I have a problem that we're Seeing so many of the same things that We thought he needed to work on in year One we're still continuing to see those Things and then when you if if the Franchise also sees that they eventually Have to make a decision but both from a Financial picture if they're really Getting close up to the luxury tax then The decisions get more difficult not Just for the guys that you're paying a Lot of money to but the guys that you're Not paying a lot of money too that's That could be the difference how many of Those guys are paying could be the Difference whether you're in the luxury
Tax or not okay that's where Kai Jones Is and James book Knights of the world Get let go also roster spots I mean this Team as I said in the last show they've Drafted a lot of players over the past Couple of years and some of those Players especially second round players That were drafted at a lower position Than kai Jones and James book Knight Have shown more in less time than either Of those players and so that's where you Know I I mean I get the sentiment that People have about like well you just see The hope you see the Promise let's hold On to them I don't care if it takes six Seven years that's fine the idea of that Is fine but the reality is there are a Limited number of roster spots the Reality is there's a limited number of Resources that you can spend both from a Money perspective and from a coaching Perspective there's no point there's no Point in keeping Akai Jones or a James Book Knight and an investing coaching Resources and Player Development Resources in those players if you don't Believe that they are going to get it Now next year the year after that or the Year after that it's better to just take All those resources and move them into Amari Bailey or James Naji or whatever Or or or the players that are going to Be drafted in the next couple of years It just doesn't make any sense I I agree
With you book Night first but I just I'm Sorry I love all the highlight plays but I just don't see the game coming Together for Kai I forgive you you don't Have to be sorry it's okay you get a Body not a body that's all I'm asking I Wrote that down in my notebook get a Body on a body he has this amazing play At the end of the game steals it streaks Slams it on the break again you don't Expect your Center to do that that's Something that's it that could be an Advantage that could get him minutes but Then literally seconds later he gets Absolutely eviscerated by Shaden sharp 1v1 which look Sharp's a really good Player but he didn't have to get beat That badly he got yammed on got Posterized and then a few plays later uh Wreath who's a big boy that's a that's a Meaty boy and he he absolutely dominated Kai inside so I just don't know what to Tell you all right let's go to the last Segment here coming up next on the Locked on Hornets podcast don't go to Sleep on the Hornets just yet we have Sicko Satchel questions to get to Doug Opened it up you guys poured your Questions in so we'll get to those in Just a moment but of course not before We talk about better help if you're Interested in getting started in therapy Maybe you should give better help a try They've been helping us out for quite a
Bit we really appreciate their Sponsorship and it's entirely online It's designed to be convenient flexible And suited to your schedule and all you Have to do is fill out a brief Questionnaire to get matched with a Licensed therapist and switch therapist Anytime for no additional charge let Therapy be your map with better help Visit betterhelp.com Lock.nba today to get 10 off your first Month that's better help H-e-l-petterhelp.com locked on NBA one More segment to go locked on Hornets is Locked on Hornets Adam Silver had a Moderate shot up on stage and he used His phone to like body scan a mod Rashad And then they like inserted a like a Digital version of a mod Rashad into the Highlight and so I'm looking at this and Going just fixed by league pass I don't Want to be in a highlight I would just Like to actually watch the Highlight Without my application logging me out Freezing dropping all of the time fix my League pass before you insert me in the Game please and thank you it's time for More of the locked on Hornets podcast [Music] All right Doug you have the Satchel what Are some of the questions in there that You wanted to answer first I just had to Take a big deep breath because I really Got into my feelings in the last segment
It's a lot of built up emotion from this Off season Summers for feelings I was Weighing my feelings Just had to take a deep breath before we Get into this Satchel okay yeah we got To the beginning of the segment before I Even brought you in you were silently Yelling like you were a mime in a YouTube box and then here we are going Into the third segment and now you're Apologizing for getting too emotional About Kai Jones man it has been a roller Coaster we've been waiting I mean we Have been waiting and and no offense to Mark Williams but he didn't put on he Showed his flashes but he did not put on The kind of performance that we saw from Brandon Miller and Nick Smith Jr so I Mean we've been waiting multiple seasons For and you've got you've had guys miss Summer leagues of course lamello ball Didn't even get to do summer league Because of kovid like it just feels like This has been almost half a decade in The making I mean I you know I can just I could feel the Elation coming from Twitter saying finally the Hornets Drafted some players that put on a show At Summer League I mean well it's not 40 Burger or anything but it was a show it Was the NBA was putting up highlights of Players from Summer League that's that's Pretty exciting okay yeah all right go Ahead what's the Satchel Satchel do you
Want I've got a number of questions on Terry Rozier that I could kind of all Bundle into one or we could do one on Brandon Miller and uh Nick Smith Jr Which do you want do you want Terry or What uh let's let's continue with the Rookie talk let's keep that Vibe up well Here's the question it's going to be the Question we're probably going to be Asking a lot on this show for many years To come This is from Tr33013 based on performance of the Lottery picks in summer league do you Believe the Hornets made the right pick And Brandon Miller and and Nick Smith Jr Yes Well we'll just say Brandon Miller based On the performance of the lottery picks In summer league so all the lottery Picks you know 1 through 14. Oh I'm pleased you think I'm a rookie I'm not answering that five games in What are you talking about You think oh yeah do you want me to you Want me to go ahead and dance for you I'm not a puppet all right I'm not Saying that one of these guys is the Right pick after five Summer League Games for Brandon Miller one for Scoot And then whoever you have after that Ahmed Thompson we've seen how many times Like a couple Brynn Miller has looked Good especially in this game against
Portland and that's by far his best Performance there's no way I'm gonna say I mean I love what we got from Nick Smith Jr now once you get further in the Draft it's like yeah I'll you know I Wasn't asking for anybody else in in Nick Smith Jr right once you get to that Point it's okay you know who knows let's Go ahead and try to figure this thing Out what do you think Doug do you think The Hornets made the right decision After five games of Summer League Watching Brandon Miller this is me being A puppet I'll absolutely be your puppet I'll be your puppet and say yes they Absolutely made It's not happened every single game okay But he has shown us all of the tools That that are necessary for being the Jason Tatum super Wing that the Hornets Will need at some point if they didn't Draft it in this previous draft they Were going to have to draft it at some Point in order to contend for a Championship it seems like it's not Going to happen this season not going to Be a rookie season probably not a rookie Of the year season okay so if you're Asking me did they make the right pick To find a rookie of the year probably Not but did they make the right pick Long term I think I think they might Have all right well oh no no no no no no No no no no no no
That is that is weak that Dismount you Buckled you look like Rick Ross jumping Off a diving board that was uh I think They might have after being oh I gotta Get my you know you look I got to give Myself room to wiggle Yeah but yeah but see this is that's the Problem right like I'm Brandon I'm Taking the question the question was Based on the performance I'm taking the Question the question was based on Performance of the lottery picks in Summer league okay based on I haven't Seen enough of scoot he got injured I I Didn't see enough of women the squirters Were too scared the Spurs were too Scared Portland's too scared based on The performance and amen gets hurt I Mean that's a tough Break Um but you know based on what I've seen From Brandon I think they made the right Pick I think he's gonna go okay all Right you think I think maybe he might Be maybe maybe he is I don't know all Right here's another question here's Another question on Brandon what points Per game average would you be happy with For Brandon Miller in his rookie season PPG yeah that one Um I really don't know here I mean so what are the points per game Taken away from the team right now Because Everybody you're at it you're adding
Miles Bridges who is your leading scorer Two years ago and romelo is going to Want to score more and you still have Terry Rozier who likes to score Do we want do we want 10 do we want Double digits from Brandon Miller a game As soon as year one I think that's Probably fair I mean 10 here I'll look Up what the rookie scored last year but 10 is the number that's speaking to me Right now what what say you I'm looking Up Adam Morrison n0607 now he averaged All almost 30 minutes per game in his Rookie season played 78 games started 23 Of those but he did average 11.8 points per game on 29.8 minutes Let's see what is like per 36 per 36 was 14.2 so I would say 14.3 per 36 or 11.9 Per season that's all I want just just a Little bit more than Adam Morrison I'd Be okay that's that's all you want okay Um yeah I mean I'm not always going to Be asked to do I think is I mean he'll He'll he'll be competent defensively Um and he'll he'll make some mistakes There he'll get bodied occasionally on The defensive end when he's when he's Playing the three mostly Um or or hearing back get taken to the Rim if he's playing a quicker two I mean They're gonna be some match-up issues But he's not gonna be asked to do a lot More than just stand in the corner and Hit threes so if he hits two of those a
Game uh two to three of those a game Plus gets fouled a few times I mean I Don't think it's crazy to say 12 points Per game no it's not and and so maybe I Mean maybe I'm a little low but with Some of these rookies all right so let's Go to Jabari Smith Jabari Smith last Year had 12.8 points per game that's What he was scoring and by a lot of Accounts people thought he was very Disappointing in his first season he Didn't shoot well from three that was About 31 he shot 41 overall from the Field but you're also getting a ton of Minutes you're getting 31 minutes a game Because you're on the Rockets roster Where with the Charlotte Hornets team I Mean if if PJ comes back depending on How you feel on him he's still going to Come back and get minutes so PJ getting Minutes miles Gordon Hayward is he going To get traded there's a lot of things to Get over to get to anywhere close to What even 28. so yeah I think probably Around 10 but it doesn't mean that it Doesn't mean if he doesn't get to Jabari Smith level he's going to be bad or Anything there's going to be a lot of Other factors that we're using to Measure just how good of a rookie season Brandon Miller had how efficient was he How much was he making the right play to Offensively he was able to hold his own Despite the thin frame right like and
Then we can move on from year one but With some of these other guys that you Could look at that scored 12 points a Game or got to double digits they were On teams that had a lot of opportunity Because they weren't very good and that Even came on low volume and still people Didn't think they had a great rookie Year Okay final one before we get out of here Uh because we had a couple questions That were basically like this uh should Brandon Miller play the final game of Summer League or do you say look we saw What we wanted to see you got the Takeover game let's not get this guy Hurt uh Willie Nash I'll call some folks Out here Willie Nash Amber also asked a Similar question Willie said in my Opinion after today's game against the Blazers Miller should be removed from Play before a freak injury occurs Summer league coach ain't coaching Anyway which could set him up to getting Her before the season even starts so Thank you Willie Nash you sicko for just Throwing that in there right at the end You had it there was a positive and then You're sicko so you had to throw the Negative I get it I'm a psycho too uh But there you go so uh Walker are you Sitting him for this final game Uh yes I think I am at first I didn't Think I was going to but also
Let's end on a good note why would we Trot him back out there just for the Chance for him to go Four of 12 4 of 15 and then end on a bad Note for us for us to remember and have The recency bias of him not playing well In his last summer league game plus You're owing four you don't have a Summer league title that you're playing For like you're not about to go on a run You lost to Portland it was a close Enough game I mean is there going to be A one game sample size here with him Playing this fifth contest That is going to help him learn that Much more before he gets to preseason Before he gets to the regular season I'm Holding him out I'm ending on a high Note I think the Spurs did that with Wimby he's like all right he gave us 27 He looked a lot better than he did in The first game cool we're done why are We what are we doing let's just end this Here this is what the Hornet should do No more Brandon Miller no more all right I'm going to take the other side and I'm Gonna say no they absolutely should play Him because the sample size of actual Games in the off season and I'm wrapping The preseason up in this too Um is small I mean you're only going to Get five or six preseason games you've Only had six Summer League games I mean These are all opportunities for him to
Tune up I would say if the Hornets Absolutely like the Spurs need Victor Webignyama this season they've got Nothing else essentially so that they Need him so shutting him down makes a Lot of sense Um but I don't think the Hornets don't Necessarily like need Brandon Miller to Accomplish all of the goals that they Want to accomplish he could be part of That and a huge rookie season would Would help to get to that place but There are a lot of other factors for the Charlotte Hornets as well so I think you Give him an opportunity to follow up a Game because that's what I want to see I Want to see consistency can he take this Performance because we saw what happened When he had the good game against wimby And Then followed it up with the you Know little poopy game against the Lakers so I want to see a little Something that is less poopy for this Final game and I'd like to see him I Think this coaching staff is going to Play him if I if I had to guess I think He's going to get yeah Um by the way I did want to go back to The points per game thing with Brandon Miller because we were going with the Jabari Smith example the other example To go with is Keegan Murray who got 20 Who got 30 minutes on a playoff team out In a tough Western Conference shot 45
From the field 41 from three on six Attempts per game in his rookie season And scored 12 points per game now Keegan Murray a an older player than Brandon Miller coming into this and coming into His rookie season so maybe that's Something that you account for Um but remember bran Miller's a little Bit of an older rookie too so maybe yeah Like that I don't know Keegan Murray or Jabari Smith I either way it I guess That that is the example that can show You it doesn't necessarily matter how Many points per game he scores because We're looking at both of those rookie Seasons very differently despite one Being a higher Prospect and yet still They average around 12. so you're right Doug 12 is certainly there to be had for Brandon if he gets enough minutes and if Gets 30 minutes per game Yeah I think that's the result of an Injury Or trades yeah for sure or trade if the Season goes wrong but if this team is Making the playoffs I think that Brandon Miller is like your First or second Reserve piece not a Starter But also All right that'll do it locked on Hornets over and done with after a Portland game that was exciting to see Brandon Miller and the junior take over
That was a lot of fun thanks for making Us your first listen now make your Second listen game to game NBA every Moment every top performance every Result locked on game to game covers Every game from across the league with Local analysis that only lockdown can Deliver follow game to game on lockdown NBA available on YouTube and wherever You get your podcast have a great rest Of your day we'll be back with you Tomorrow [Music]
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