LaMelo Ball’s debut was VERY interesting and PJ Washington makes his case to remain a starter

On this episode of Locked On Hornets we continue to recap a big Hornets’ opening night win against the Atlanta Hawks. They discuss LaMelo Ball’s season debut performance after recovering from an injury, analyzing what changed and didn’t change from last season. Plus, Clifford reveals something we didn’t know about LaMelo’s injury timeline. We also talk about the front court depth, including promising rookie Brandon Miller, PJ Washington’s potential starting role, and how the team can manage if and until Miles Bridges returns from suspension

Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
????

Become an official member of the Locked On Hornets Sicko Brigade and get Hornets news, rumors and pictures of Byron Mullens sent directly to your phone via Subtext (14 Day Free Trial):

Locked On NBA League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, WNBA & More
????

Get Doug’s gamenotes, special articles and a podcast on Hornets history at the Every Hornets Boxscore substack: everyhornetsboxscore.com

Get more Walker on Wes and Walker 12-3pm on WFNZ 92.7 FM

???? Follow Locked On Hornets on Twitter
Locked On Hornets
Walker Mehl
Doug Branson

???? Follow Locked On NBA:

???? Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!

Ibotta
Right now, Ibotta is offering our listeners $5 just for trying Ibotta by using the code locked when you register. Just go to the App Store or Google Play store and download the FREE Ibotta app and use code LOCKED.

Birddogs
Go to birddogs.com/LOCKEDONNBA or enter promo code LOCKEDONNBA for a free white tech hat with any purchase. You won’t want to take your birddogs off we promise you.

FanDuel
Make Every Moment More. Right now, when you bet on a Super Bowl Winner, you can GET BONUS BETS EVERY TIME THEY WIN IN THE REGULAR SEASON! FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.
FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

#Hornets #LaMelo #LaMeloBall


We dive deeper into lamelo balls season Debut plus we learned some more Information on his previous injury then It's time for a little front Court Fodder all today on locked on Hornets You are locked on Hornets your daily Charlotte Hornets podcast part of the Locked on podcast Network your team Every day in a minute cuz we [Music] Live it's lock on hornets part of the Lock 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 and that Includes YouTube just like always Today's episode is brought to you by Dave not Dave hoppen or Dave hoopin but Dave it's an app where you can download And you can go to dave.com logdon NBA You could get up to $500 in five minutes Or less no credit check no late fees Thanks to Dave for bringing you you Today's episode that's Doug Branson he's Also bringing the heat for today's Episode find him on his substack every Hornet spox score.com and then you can Listen to me on WFNZ every weekday from 12:00 to 3M sports radio 927 FM so we Didn't talk about it in the episode Yesterday following the victory against The Hawks in the season debut it was Glorious wanted to focus on the Positives there and there were certainly

Some positives to talk about with lamelo But not the greatest game I don't think Even the lamelo stands would tell you That this was his greatest game goes 0 For eight in the first half and I Thought all right I remember two years Ago against the Indiana Pacers in that Season opener it wasn't an oer Performance in the first half but lamelo Exploded in the third and fourth quarter Scored 30 LED them to a win a tightly Tight tight win against the Pacers Didn't really happen against the Hawks Third quarter went on a little mini run Helped them get back into the game until The fourth quarter they separated Themselves with the help of Brandon Miller just hit me with your thoughts on Lamelo ball Doug what did you think of His performance overall I think he's Obviously not fully back I mean he might Be fully healthy uh the things might be Fully healed uh but it he didn't look Right in the preseason just in terms of His ability to get to the rim his Comfort level I mean he just didn't look Like he was having a lot of fun out There I mean we've we've watched lamelo Ball a long time a long enough time to Know when when he's really feeling it And when he's not and I would say you Know we were getting 75 to 80% lamelo Ball and Clifford had kind Of mentioned that hey he's he's getting

Back he's getting his rhythm back and I Just don't think he's all the way there But we've also witnessed this with Lamelo ball where he can go two quarters And just not hit anything and then all Of a sudden explode I mean had he played A few more minutes he could have had a Triple double I mean he was four Rebounds away from a trip triple double In this game he hit four threes and Those four threes were uh crucial to Getting the Hornets uh back in uh to This game against the Hawks uh so you Know yeah he's he's not all the way There it's a little it's a little Interesting that the Hornets can win a Game without him being all the way there I think that could be a positive to take Away oh yeah big time especially with so The turnovers having as many as you did Not shooting well think about that if You were to tell me that lamelo ball had This kind of performance they shot under 30% from three on still pretty good Volume and they had a bunch of turnovers That's a recipe for disaster uh even if It is against the Atlanta Hawks who Weren't very good at defense last year One thing about the Atlanta Hawks they Were good at offense they were scoring a Lot of points and it was a trash Shooting night from Trey young and Dejonte Murray partly because I think The half court defense was good Mark

Williams in particular but also just Yeah I think that's always going to help Them and I think some of that was Because of the Hornets doing with Lamelo you look at him too did you find He averaged 35 minutes a game last year Doug and he only played 31 in the season Opener it it's not enough to sound the Alarms but it's definitely enough to get My attention especially when there are a Few other players that played more than Him last night and then Doug Steve Clifford tells us about how long he's Been cleared to play only like six weeks That was not that was not available at The beginning of the Season Nor at the beginning of the preseason It's total Shenanigans but that's what We've come to expect from this team they Just wait till the last possible second To reveal information and and they must Think that that gives them a strategic Advantage because they do this often They they really flirt I think with the The spirit of the rules around what what Everyone has to know about these Injuries um but yeah I'm I mean I but You know we could have I think if we had Really thought about it gleaned that Information from what we saw and didn't See I mean we saw a lot of Lelo ball in Nice clothes and doing a lot of fun Stuff off the core but we didn't see in The offseason even after they said hey

He's 100% healthy we didn't see a lot of Him like doing any drills playing any Pickup you know it doesn't necessarily Mean uh that he wasn't but I think now That we know this information it makes a Lot of sense that we didn't see that and So now he's getting back in the lamelo Is he actually does have to take the Picture of him working out in order to Really have worked out that's what You're saying because now now if he Doesn't take the picture we're gonna ask Is he healthy did he really work out did He really play that's what you're saying Yeah if a lefron doesn't fall in the Woods does it really make a sound that's What I'm trying to say here's here's What I would like to know Walker did you Notice from lamelo that in the first Part of this game really throughout the First half when he was struggling he was Focused almost singularly on putting the Ball on the floor and driving and trying To draw fouls and the referees were not Giving him the whistle and a lot of Those turnovers resulted in him looking For fouls on the drive and it wasn't Going well and it's like he came out of The locker room and said Beall that I'm Not doing that anymore and you you saw The four threes but a lot of it was on Either pull up because he was open he Got the one off the pin down from Mark And so that was catch and shoot so I

Mean you know it didn't look like in the Second half he was trying to do that Anymore youve talked a lot about in the Past that lamelo doesn't have like that Straight line speed like Terry does you Know Terry can just so easily get by Defenders because he's just so he has That like you know whatever that fast Twitch uh situation going on where he Can he can put the he can put the Accelerator down and and get to the rim Lamelo has to use craftiness and I'm Just thinking like maybe the Rhythm Isn't back maybe the craftiness isn't All the way there at least I hope that It's like injury related because or at Least Groove related because if it's Something physical then I get a little Bit worried so let's talk about what Changed from game one to what we wanted To see change what we saw from him last Year he shot 10.6 three-pointers per game last year He shot 11 in this one he didn't shoot Many free throws last season only 3.4 Well he shot four free throws in this Game Um while he was trying to be a little More aggressive I didn't see him take The ball up strong with two hands think There were some hip shots from lamelo Especially the one that I can think of With his left hand where he just didn't I don't think he welcomed the contact as

Much and so this is both true right and Maybe this is chicken or the egg but I Think both are true are the refs looking For lamelo to take it up stronger in Order to give him that call and are the Refs just you know completely they're Just not blowing the whistle which we Argued too when lamelo got the tech last Year we were fans of it we just thought It was ridiculous that he wasn't getting Any calls and that still needs to be Fixed I also don't think lamelo is Helping himself as much I mean Doug Bottom line he shot 15 shots last uh in This game against Atlanta 11 of them Were threes so there were only four Field goal attempts at the actual rim And I know you're saying yeah there was This concerted effort at the beginning But man if it was there at the beginning He certainly abandoned it pretty quickly And maybe that is because of the injury It would make total sense that he Abandoned that because of the injury all The sense in the world but it it's what Happened again still an effective Basketball player I mean that's kind of The guy he is he can affect the game in A lot of ways and you saw that even Still last night 10 assists goes on that Mini run in the third quarter but yeah These are the things that we've been Asking for these are the things we've Been wanting to see change for him to

Get to consistent All-Star no-brainer to All NBA and he didn't do it last night He didn't show that well it's not just Us asking for it I mean Steve Clifford Has mentioned his Rim efficiency has to Get better he's uh two seasons ago he Said he's got to get more uh free throw Attempts because those are the things When you look at your all-nba level Players guards or forwards that's what They do they get to the free throw line A ton Shay gilis Alexander Jason Tatum These guys that score 40 burgers on the Reg they're not doing it because they're Just great jump Shooters they're doing It because they can score wa did you Laugh me on the Is like top tier that's like our our old Buddy Dan lebard if if you say 40 Burgers on the reg are you a jackass or Are you an irredeemable jackass put it On the Pole 40 burgers on the R so to do that We know what he needs to do and so the Question is Walker and I don't have an Answer for this and it's game one people Could listen to this or watch this and Fairly say guys hold on it's game one There are 81 more of these things to go He was just cleared a month and a half Ago let's everyone relax I hear you all I'm saying is that if this Continues then it's going to put a Serious cap on the guy that they just

Gave a Max Level all NBA level MVP level Contract too like if he can't get to the Rim and he can't get fouled it's not That he can't impact winning because Like I said he almost had a triple Double there's a lot of things he can do But if he can't do that one thing that He tried and failed to do On in the first game then you know it Does put a ceiling on what he can become Well and we've talked about Steve Clifford Big Rhythm guy you will hear it In almost every press conference on the Especially talking about on the reg You're You're Gonna Hear Steve Clifford Discuss Rhythm on the reg for sure and Here he is talking about it with lamelo Especially after an injury it it it Takes time and so you just you hate to Have that caveat constantly because we Had to speak with lamelo lamelo goodness Gracious lamelo under that caveat Constantly last year I you just hope to Avoid it this season it look it's not Like he suffered another injury I I'll Be honest I just didn't expect it to Have affected him up until really Training camp preseason started but That's my own ignorance I just didn't Know and the Hornets didn't let us know They just said he's 100% cleared to play He's good and they didn't say and he was Just cleared a week ago they didn't give Us that info so we learned after the

First game when Steve Clifford came to Lamelo's defense on some of that stuff All right let's move on let's move on to A little front Court fodder shall we Coming up next on the lockdown Hornets Podcast don't go to sleep on the Hornets Just yet Brandon Miller's in the front Court PJ Washington a couple of guys That deserved some game balls yesterday What about miles Bridges is there Anything to take away from the first Game and how they can tread water until He comes back if he comes back we'll Talk about the front Court in a moment Now before we talk about Dave this Episode is brought to you by Dave and we All know at one time or another we all Need a little financial help that's why Dave is great Dave can get you cash when You need a hand between paychecks and Can help you build credit by settling Extra cash advances on time so what you Can do is go to Dave Dave is the banking App that's leveling the financial Playing field when you download Dave you Could get up to $500 in five minutes or Less no credit check no late fees it's Part of Dave's extra cash account Advance the money you need with no Interest and then settle up later extra Cash gives you uh more money to buy Groceries fill your tank finally get Your car repaired or catch up on bills Without having to wait for your next

Paycheck you can even build credit when You settle up on time millions of people Have already downloaded the Dave app to Make their finances easier so if you're In a pinch get the help you need by Downloading Dave download Dave today at Dave.com lockon NBA that's Dave.com lockon NBA you could get up to $500 in five minutes or less no credit Check no late fees download the Dave app Now or go to dave.com lockdown MBA for Terms and conditions go to dave.com Legal eligibility criteria and instant Transfer fees apply banking services Provided by evolve member FDIC this episode is also brought to you By Jace medical Jace medical does Provide the Jace case they now offer Customizability for your Jace case with Dozens of add-on medications and you can Choose the medications that best fit you And your family's unique needs go to Jal.com and enter code locked on at Checkout for a $20 discount on your Order that's promo code locked on at JJ medal. They can help you out again jal.com Visit them promo code locked on all Right more locked on Hornets Ahead one thing we didn't really focus On with lamelo we did offensively some Of the stuff that changed right did you See anything that changed defensively With Melo Doug What were what was your

Evaluation there I thought he started The game really well defensively I think They're always going to be good and bad Moments with lamelo defensively because I don't expect him to ever become like a Consistent good great defender Elite Defender like I just think there's too Much that is going to be asked of him Offensively to also expect him to be Someone uh that just never makes a Mistake on the defensive end and is Somebody that's going to compete for Like a defensive player of the year Award that's just never going to be him So you're going to be looking for hey Can he give you some good moments on a Defense especially to start a game to Set the tone and his matchup was dejon Murray I mean look the Hawks are going To Present maybe one of the top three Toughest matchups for the Hornets in Terms of backcourt offensive Firepower Going up against two guys in lamelo ball And Terry Rosier that have had their Past issues with keeping guards in front This is going to be one of the tougher Matchups and I thought both Terry and Lamelo uh purported themselves well Especially early in the game I mean Lamela was Downing those uh dejonte Murray screens keeping him on the Keeping him out of the middle keeping up Towards the the right side of the floor

And uh was effective there were moments When uh he fell asleep when he just let A guy Blow by him I just think those are Always going to exist is it balanced by Moments where you go hey you know he was Able to shut that guy down at least for A possession or two yeah I mean the the One moment I got pretty mad at with Lamelo or frustrated with the defensive Possession was the time where sadique Bay was able to get into the lane and Almost draw a flagrant foul on Nick Richards there so at that time you know Lamelo it seems like he could recover Pretty easily and sadique Bay I I don't Feel like he had the advantage there but Lamelo it feels like he's afraid to foul Doug like that it's so in his mind well That he doesn't want to foul and that Has been a problem that all of the fouls Especially early on it's been a problem With lamelo the last couple of Seasons what I would hate to see happen Is that he's so wary of fouling that he Just plays Olay defense and allow Sadique Bay to to get into the paint and So it it's like all right even if you Don't let's say you're in the third Quarter you only have two you can go Ahead and be physical and and take that Chance especially if you're in an Advantageous spot but even still it just Might be so in your brain because you've Been preaching it and preaching it and

Preaching it don't foul it felt like he Did a little of the hands up thing hey I'm not you know putting my hand in the Cookie jar I'm not fouling him here do You see me ref do you see me that's what I noticed on that possession yeah I it's Just you know this is never going to be A strength at least at this rate and Hopefully Steve Clifford can either do a Good job hiding them at times getting The best out of them lamelo does have Nice anticipation on steals especially On passes but it's all about the the Discipline and and staying home on some Of that stuff you know we'll see if uh If he can ever body up a guy at the Point of attack and really be average to Above average to take his game to a Different level it's a deal with the Devil that you have to make I would rather him in that situation Play Olay defense honestly because he Took himself out of so many games last Season in a season in which he only Played 36 he fouled out or took himself Out of games because he fouled too early And too often and he did it from a place Of I think laziness on the defensive end Of the floor or trying to recover Because he made a mistake or sometimes Just out of frustration because he made A turnover and then you know slapped Someone 80t from the basket so like I Honestly that's a deal I'm willing to

Make if it means you get lamelo who can You know have a double double on a night When he can't hit the broadside of a Barn and almost have a triple double if He had played a few more minutes and Snatched a few more Rebounds I'm honestly like I just think You have to take that deal hope that Mark can make up for some of that hope That some of your other Wing Defenders Get healthy again and can make up for Some of that I just I don't know I think There are more there there are going to Be things that I think we should talk About more with lamelo this season than His defense because honestly I saw a Little bit more effort than I saw last Season out there on the floor even if he Even if those mistakes are going to be There every once in a while yeah and I I Don't want to knock effort by any means Like I I certainly want that there and You're right you do have Mark Williams Who took a big old leap and we've seen Him improve quite a bit and maybe that's Just the defensive mistake eraser it's Nice having him back there especially if You don't have a strong defensive Backourt this is where Mark comes in now When you become an elite defensive team And then you can deploy some nice Defensive backourt players then yeah What we'll see whatever that looks like But I never want to see what it looks

Like too much because I never want to See lamelo ball leave this franchise and So we'll see whatever happens once you Move on from Terry and then you put that Guy next to lamelo ball nothing better Than a good eraser by the way you know One of those like big pink ones I don't Use them very much anymore so they're Such like a nostalgic thing I'm always Typing on my computer but you get the Big pink erasers and you you know Scribble it on your paper and then all That little dust and it's so satisfying All that dust sitting on your paper and You go and it all flies in the air it's A beautiful thing it went down at the Book fair in elementary school now the Problem is when you had the different Characters there was just like those Erasers sucked when you had the animals And stuff that you tried to erase with You can get couldn't get too crazy but You're right the big pink erasers or the Ones where you could flip you know you Could just slide out of the case that it Was in oh yeah that was real good that Was real good so yeah nice eraser talk Mark Williams big time let's do a little More front cord fod shall we um sure Miller we love what we saw from him Right especially in the fourth quarter Hit big time shots isn't going to do Anything too crazy I think that's why a Little bit of the reason players love

Having him on the team because he's not Looking to get his as much maybe we even Want more aggression from him that could Be a storyline as the season goes on for Sure but I thought he played you know Very well last night didn't make any Mistakes and that's what you want from Your rookie oftentimes you don't get it Now the question is this is a team at Least for the first 10 games that's for Sure that is not going to be at full Depth because miles Bridges isn't Playing right now he's still serving his 10 game suspension for felony domestic Violence and that was implemented over The off season so with Miles Bridges only eligible to come back at The first game of the mid-season Tournament November 17th from what I Think I remember from the schedule That's correct against Milwaukee so you Know one we so right right exactly we Don't even know for sure that it will Return so you can feel comfortable Treading water with Brandon Miller and That's one thing all right so that That's a question within itself can you Feel comfortable without miles bridges On the Court now do we take it a step further Do we take it to a point Where all right Brandon Miller played Well PJ Washington played three and a Pinch Steve Clifford told us in the

Postgame press conference and liked what They did despite not even practicing it So now you're talking about Brandon Gordon who played well enough had six Turnovers my question is you know does This change things in how you see miles Bridges integrated back into the offense And the rotation when he's eligible well If Washington continues the play from That first game and you look over the 10 Games and like seven of those 10 games He's giving you similar production not 25 points a game but if he's giving you Similar efficient production he doesn't Do the thing that he's done really his Entire career which is give you 25 Points one night and then give you three The next night on four of 12 shooting You know like if we don't see roller Coaster PJ you get three points on four Of 12 shooting that's bad I don't even Know how you do that that's uh that's Can't do it on the r I'll tell you that Much you can't I was told there would be No math it's specifically why I started Podcasting um but if you get that kind Of performance from PJ Washington then He's going to make enough of a case to Remain starter especially if they win Ball games and there's a very real Realistic chance that they have a Winning record coming out of these uh 10 Games because they play Detroit tonight They play Houston Indiana Washington

Twice New York and Miami who they've Traditionally competed well against and So really the only the games that you're I I would say significantly worried About her against Dallas uh Milwaukee And and maybe Brooklyn but you what's Brooklyn we don't know yet so a lot of Opportunities to win basketball games if They do I just don't see Steve Clifford Making a drastic change to put in Miles Bridges in the starting lineup he he Could work his way back in there based On his performances Off the Bench but I I just don't see it if PJ's uh you know Cons because again PJ gives you stuff on Both sides of the floor if he's Rebounding better then I think yeah Absolutely you're comfortable with that Rotation but I'll say they don't have Depth issues right now they have it's Depth apocalypse like they are one Injury away it it won't matter how well PJ plays they are one injury away from Having some serious problems that will Cost them basketball games they have to Everyone has to stay healthy or that Chance to win those games goes out the Window yeah where it goes too far is at Least from a basketball standpoint Nobody needs miles anymore because Brandon is here well the depth it would Certainly help to have Brandon Miller Come off of the bench whenever you want Him to and be a six seventh man instead

Of he's our source of offense and we Desperately need him with that second Group and that's what it looks like Right now unless JT Thor can hit some Threes and Teo can do a nice job Facilitating which he did the other Thing too man I hell you don't I'm not Trying to stop the Good Vibes at all Atlanta has been a horrific Defense that they're not good Offensively they are which is great to See from our defensive unit that's Fantastic but defensively they're not Very good and so you know do we get Another Brandon Miller performance like This it it's maybe even a little bit Unfair to ask him to continue to do what He did last night all the time and so if He does have a few more performances Like he did in the preseason good not Crazy missing a few more shots then you Know this miles Bridge's conversation About does it change anything with him In the rotation it could be off or not Just from a basketball perspective this Would have been an easy question to Answer two seasons ago because you would Look at Miles Bridges and PJ Washington And go Milbridge is way more athletic High flyer uh draws attention from Defenses and is a better ISO player like You give him the ball and he can create A shot for himself and that's something That the Hornets have traditionally and

Continue to be short on players that can Do that so easy question miles starts PJ Goes to the bench but after last season And the evolution that PJ had in his Game and he showcased it in this game Against Atlanta when the three wasn't Falling he could get the ball take a Couple of dribbles make a couple of Moves and get himself some space in the Mid-range or close to to the rim and Make a shot and that's not something That he could do two seasons ago now he Can and I think it it does make the Question of who do you want to go with There a lot more difficult for Steve Clifford yeah it feels like and it's Funny because I I don't think you're Wrong at all you're you're focusing more On PJ I'm focusing more on on Brandon Miller but both are here right both are You know going to be affected by this Rotation even Gordon maybe to a certain Degree it it did feel like that was the Exact right recipe of volume for PJ and And he got the ball in the right spots And it it just that's what it's supposed To look like and and you're not going to Go 12 of 18 every night you're hoping to Take a couple of those made two-pointers And apply them to Beyond The Arc but That's what it that's how it's supposed To look at least even if the shot Doesn't go in as much and you know we'll See if that continues moving on for a PJ

All right one more segment to go coming Up next on the lockon Hornets podcast Don't go to sleep on the Hornets just Yet we got a bet The Buzz again it Didn't go well for anybody not me bet The bus I was going to call for you to Do it I didn't know if you wanted to do It in the second segment or the third But you might just do it both times yeah It didn't go well for me Doug lost Immediately on his parlay David lost as Well but we come back for a second time We got 82 of these things to go through 81 more to go this episode is brought to You by prize pick prize picks is a daily Fantasy app and it's the most fun you Could have winning up to 25 times times Your money this football season you just Select two or more players you can pick More or less on their projected stats And then you can place your entry you Can test your skills on prize picks this Football season in the most exciting way They have quick withdrawals easy Gameplay an enormous selection of Players and Stat types that's what makes Prize pick the number one daily fantasy Sports app go to prize.com lockon NBA And use code locked on NBA for a first Deposit match up to 100 That's prize.com lockon NBA and use code Lockon NBA l c n NBA for a first deposit Match up to $100 more lockon Hornets Ahead before we bet the buzz and before

You give us your jingle again have you Seen the trophy that is all the rage That was I guess in you know the Hornets Are chipping away at retaining this Trophy for the year did you see this Doug I know I didn't and I'll tell you Why because as most uh listeners and Viewers of the podcast know I do not Live in Charlotte North Carolina I live In Nashville Tennessee and uh Nashville Tennessee is In the Atlanta market for some reason uh You know they according to the NBA and The blackout rules and so I couldn't Watch this game on league pass and Choose to watch the Hornets broadcast I Was once again subjected to the B plus App and the 7-Day free trial shouts to That and to hide my email on iCloud uh So I've got the s-day free trial I've Got to remember to cancel it but I do This uh what amounts to six or seven Times a year because I have to also have To do this for Memphis games it's Ridiculous I just you know Rest In Hell RSN that's all I have to say well yeah And by the way you've been catching a Lot more hell recently I had not seen Any hell for you for living in Nashville But like this past week you've gotten Called out like twice for that people Are angry at you yeah I just didn't I Didn't expect that but apparently that's Become a problem for people in the last

Week people move it's okay it's okay all Right I was born and raised in Gastonia North Carolina now you know you know It's near Charlotte but it's to say you Know it's the same thing I'm still a Little mad at you but I've gotten over It so this trophy it's a big old Pig Doug that the Hawks and the Hornets are Battling for it's a hog we can figure Out something man H can I stop you there I will note I will note that neither the Hornets or the Hawks are a pig I'll just Note that that's correct so in this Trophy Ashley Shamy did a story on this During the broadcast last night and Apparently it's in the NBA battle series The barbecue series the Atlanta Hawks Versus the Charlotte Hornets the battle Of the South and so if you look at this Clip I was at the game last night then Had to do postgame I didn't see the Original clip but from what I understand Ashley said whoever wins the series Between the Hawks and the Hornets they Get to keep the pig Trophy until the next year and so at Least we have it now I don't know what Happens if you tie I'm not sure instead Of splitting the baby you just split the Hog I don't know but we have a pig Trophy that we're fighting for now Doug And well I'm with it and I want to win It I don't know why but I want to well Anytime you give me anything I want to

Win it I mean that's you know it's Competition it's the NBA it's basketball It's Sports we want to win it you know Why that's cuz we got that hog in US hornets have that hog in them that's Uh this is another example of the NBA Begging fans to care about the regular Season this is right in line with all of The stuff that they're doing around the Inseason tournament and it go it's a Little bit of the soccer isation of NBA Because soccer does this all the time Where they will have trophies I know in MLS Nashville Charlotte Atlanta and DC All compete for the southern Championship and but they have like a Whole table where like it's all the Teams playing playing against each other And whoever wins the table wins this uh Uh like wrestling belt and it's super Cool and it gives you something to pay Attention to outside of just the regular Season standings I don't know that I'm Like totally in on just two teams and One series um and and there's not a real Rivalry here uh because the I need the Players to not like each other I need Somebody to say something U you know Mean about Trey young or Trey young to Say something mean about you know one of The Hornets there's not real rivalry Here and there won't be honestly until Charlotte gets into a seven game series With someone that's rivalries are

Created because you have to play the Same team for big Stakes over and over And the game gets more physical and the Game gets nastier and uglier that's when Rivalries are born the Hornets don't Have a rival because they haven't been To the playoffs in seven years and they Haven't won a playoff series in 21 years It's got the makings like it should be a Rivalry young point guards going at it They met in the playin they're Regionally very close to one another the NFL franchises in each of those cities Have a rivalry themselves being in the Same division we try but you're right You got blown out in the playin series And Atlanta already kind of made a rival With New York because of that Eastern Conference uh you know because of that Eastern Conference series they had to Get to the Conference Finals so yeah It's a little tough um hopefully both of These teams can be competitive and have Some you know fun fun balot with one Another that's what I would like to see Why are you giving me a sank face well Cuz like is Atlanta known for barbecue Like this is what this whole thing is About right the pig series is like Barbecue it's like no but but here's the Thing like the NBA I think it's HQ in New York this is like a total North Thing trying to be like uh the South uh What do they like those bunch of hicks

They like the barbecue so call it a pig Trophy like like none of it makes any Sense none of this makes any sense you Are so right this is so exactly what you Might ask a New Yorker to come up with If they were to come up with a Southern Trophy hey Charlotte and Atlanta what Should they be fighting for barbecue Right well Atlanta's known for it I mean Okay you know probably where are they on The list of barbecue like eastern North Carolina Texas Kansas City you know I Mean there's a few hornets and Mavericks You know the Hornets basically knock the Mavericks out of the playoffs now that Could have been a cool pig series and You know Luca little rotund Maybe somewhat resembles a swine I don't Know you know could done a lot with it All right that uh that got dark for Luca Donic um Luca Hog I tried let's move on let's bet the Buzz here Doug what you got for us today Yeah bet the bus we're gonna bet the bus Something new we're doing here on the Show we are uh partnering with our Friends at FanDuel we're looking at Lines we are betting the buzz we are Drawing pingpong balls out of an old dff Old smelly GR gross duffel bag and the Ping pong balls have something written On it and that something indicates Something that we have to do uh to bet The buzz we're playing for charity we're

Playing against each other Walker's in David Walker's in I'm going to have to Pull for him today and the we are Recording this a little early so the Odds aren't up so we're going to pull Some pingpong balls out of the duffel of Doom and it's going to tell us what to Do but you'll have to pay attention to Our Twitter feed at lockon Hornets to Find out what our actual bets are now to Recap what happened Uh the last time we did this for the Season opener we all lost we all lost Our dollar bets I did a parlay it was Immediately broken uh you took the over And both teams decided not to hit any Threes and uh David Walker unfortunately Was forced to bet on the Atlanta Hawks And fortunately he lost and the Hornets Won so that's where we stand we're all At $24 now as we lose money for Charity none of us are Sharps right I Mean we're not really great betting I Don't know how I don't know your history With sports betting uh but I've never I'm obviously podcasting every day so I'm not a millionaire from betting lots Of people seek advice from me um and I Don't myself partake because I just Don't want to lose the money I I just Don't want to be involved and i' well Now you're forced yeah I know I know now I am forced to do it so all right review Here we go here we go all right I'm

Going to do uh a pull for you first Rumaging I'm rumaging And number 42 all right congratul okay Like that I believe uh I don't know who Is number 42 yeah who do you think as I Pull up my rundown here to make sure I Know what this number 42 actually means And what I know it's the answer to life The universe and everything nerds will Understand what I'm talking about there Uh but number four oh my God I love this We just we mentioned this guy earlier in The show number 42 was dawned by by the Great uh former guest on this show Dave Hoopen hoppen number 4 Dave hoppen Hoopin reference today excellent all Right so Dave hoppen is Dave proen Meaning you have to make a prop bet on Uh the game so again we don't know those Props haven't come out on FanDuel yet Because we were recording this in the Afternoon on Thursday so when those do Um Walker will give me his prop bet and I will post it on the Twitter feed here Go I'm pulling for me now give me a good One got truth of Daryl I could do house G money uh that means I get an extra Dollar just to bet on the Hornets it Could be number 24 brandom Miller That's Flip a coin heads Hornets Tails opponent Bet $1 never know let's see what we pull There's so many options oh look at this All right it's got to be a good one

Number 69 nice one that is number 69 means nice Free play I get to do whatever I want Want I can bet whatever I want I can bet On anyone I want 69 is the nicest ball We have all right it means you get to do Whatever you want it's free play it's Nice true it sounds nice okay so I'll Let you know what I end up doing um on The Twitter feed here we go pulling for David you never know what happens when You when you get the 69 no I had no clue Okay right what else is there number 20 Congratulations to David he just pulled Number 20 do you recall who dawned the 20 for the Charlotte Hornets it's it's My worst sports trivia category picking Who wore what number so no I don't Remember uh and I think he wore it best If I recall in our judgment and I'm Sorry it wasn't the Hornets he dawned it For the Bobcats those orange and blue Beauties that was Raymond Felton Ray Ray's blowout special is number 20 so David will bet on a Hornets blowout win That 20 or more so that's the bet that That the Hornets have to win by 20 or More and honestly as we kind of preview Tonight's game uh Detroit Pistons that's Not a Bad Bet Hornet's got a hornet's Got a shot this this is one of the games You would like to pull this basketball Out for for sure that's the one so we'll See what happens in bet the buzz That's

How we'll end Today's Show right here on Lock on Hornets thanks again for joining Us making us your first listen make your Second listen game to game NBA every Moment every top performance every Result locked on game to game NBA has You covered like only the lock on Podcast Network can have a great rest of Your weekend get ready for some Hornets Pistons basketball tonight check out Every Hornets boox score.com also listen To WFNZ every weekday from 12:00 to 3M You can find me there on Weston Walker We'll be back with you Monday have a Great rest of your day I listen to WFNZ On the Rig N

Charlotte North Carolina

Top Things to Do This Weekend in Charlotte, North Carolina

Events, Life, Sports, Weather, News

Whether you’re enjoying a swanky brunch, soaking up the sun on the beach or attending a heart-pumping NASCAR race, Charlotte’s temperate climate makes for a year-round calendar full of exciting events. From family-friendly fun to niche festivals, here are the top things to do this weekend in Charlotte!

The infamous Halloween Crawl comes back to Uptown with 25+ bars, specials, giveaways and a costume contest. A portion of proceeds will benefit Carolina Breast Friends.

Embrace the spirit of fall with the annual Springmaid Trail 5K & Dog Jog and 10K. The crisp morning air is the perfect backdrop for a quick workout.

The Levine Museum of the New South features States of Incarceration, a traveling exhibition that explores the impact of incarceration on families and communities across the country.

The popular German holiday market, Winter Wonderland SouthPark, is open in November and runs through January at the mall. Skate around the ice rink, sip hot chocolate or enjoy traditional German foods at this festive event.

Leave a Comment