Hornets vs Hawks (10/30/2015)

Another day! Another game. Tonight the Hornets visited the Atlanta Hawks, the so-called “Spurs East” and their all powerful coach Mike Budenholzer. What transpired, my bullet points shall tell. With Jeremy Lamb returning to a usable level of ankle stability, the Hornets saw some small changes in the lineup when compared with Game 1. Through the course of the game, the Hornets did show some solid fight as they struggled through and made it a game late in the 4th quarter, with a last second three just missing. Assorted thoughts:

• It was great listening to the Hornet’s new television broadcast crew. I had zero problems with last year’s play by play man Steve Martin, but Eric Collins did what a play by play guys is supposed to: act excited, and ask leading questions for the color analysts. Certainly acceptable. Stephanie Ready was due for a more important role with the team, and she really showed solid knowledge and timing. She and Dell Curry will have to work on their rapport with each other, but they should be solid together, both bringing a unique perspective.
• Shooting: This may be a subject that we talk about 82 times this season. I WILL be keeping an eye on the 3pt percentage throughout the year, and the number of threes that we are shooting. For the game, the Hornets shot 30 threes, and hit 12 of them. That is a totally acceptable number!
• As much as there are arguments against Marvin Williams playing minutes at the four, you can see why he is on the floor. He gets a lot of open looks in the Hornets offense by sliding out to the perimeter around pick and rolls, and he rewarded Coach Clifford tonight with 13 pts (3 3’s) and 11 rebounds.
• Batum: He looked awesome early in this game. He stole the opening tip for a bucket plus the foul, then continued to play aggressively in the first quarter. He did not look great for much of the rest of the game, and finished with 7 turnovers.
• Lamb: Jeremy Lamb was the 2nd quarter Batum. 8 points on three straight possessions! he scored once in the 4th, but I am sure he will be worked more regularly into the rotation as his ankle gets healthier.
• Zeller: He was bad tonight. When Cody isn’t effective on the boards, and when his jumper isn’t falling...
• TURNOVERS! The Hawks some some excellent defenders, and they were aggressive in this game. Additionally, the Hornets kept getting trapped in corners, or stuck without a dribble in poor spots, it was really an ugly passing game. The team finished with 18 total turnovers.
• BIG OPINION: This is game 2 of 82. Lets all calm down a little bit. The Hawks and Heat are top 4 teams in the East this year, so we can't freak out when we lose to teams like that. We have mistakes to fix, but this isn't hair-pulling bad yet.

This game was in reach until the end of the 3rd quarter. The Hornets of last year were a team who went through large scoring slumps, and they fell into that trap tonight. Coach Cliff will have to keep finding a way to manufacture offense in those periods. On the other end, our defense is hopefully still in the throes of birth. These guys should work better together as the season goes on, and can be a little more prompt on rotations. On to the Home Opener on Sunday!

Hornets vs Heat (10/28/2015)

There is something inviting about fall. Consider the forest. In the spring and the summer, the forest is full of life and growth and noise. There are brambles and nettles and hordes of mosquitoes, squirrels and birds make their raucous calls to their brethren, and the heat of the day pounds through the canopy above you. Then comes the fall and all of those things still. The forest becomes a place of peace. The brambles and nettles are dead, the animals are retreating towards their winter homes, and the sun has released the world into a gentle cool. You can walk unmolested in the woods (Unless you look like a deer. Wear some orange) and simply exist without interruption.

Then the peace of fall is startled by the full throated call of the NBA! It appears, running through the shadows like Cody Zeller on a full court break to the rim!

Game one of an NBA season is such an exciting time. The players are new, the fans feel renewed, and the record is pristine. No heartbreak has happened (cough MKG cough) and we can imagine our Hornets slipping into the #7 or #8 spot in the playoffs. It may unfold!

GAME 1 Notes

• Al Jefferson can still score. He had 13 in the 1st quarter, and finished the game with 17 after a very slow second half. In fact, as the Hornets went into catch up mode in the 4th quarter, Marvin Williams and Cody Zeller shared the floor for much of that time.
• Shooting: Not as good as we had hoped...The Hornets shot 6 for 24 from three point range. That percentage is not going to cut it, especially when the opposition hit twice as many threes at a 60% clip.
• Defensively, the Hornets were kind of terrible, but not wretched. They definitely miss a rim protector. There is not intimidating presence at the rim, and the Heat scored inside quite a bit. 40 of their 104 points were scored inside the paint. While this is less than the Hornets, the Heat do not have a post up threat like big Al. Their paint points came from penetration and lobs.
• The Heat have a great bench. Gerald Green is the perfect 6th man, and Josh McRoberts only makes that second unit hum smoother. They will win a lot of games in the East, and in the league as a whole.
• Nic Batum guarded Dwayne Wade for the majority of the 2nd half, and did a reasonable job. It is excellent to see Batum already assuming that responsibility.

As the season goes on, I will do my best to incorporate some advanced statistics, perhaps some more storytelling techniques, and of course some gimmicks to keep you internet wolves satisfied.

Forest at Twilight.

Rustling was not a word that could describe the noises that the intricate forest made, instead a better word might have been rushing. The wind made a rushing through the leaves of the sinister trees, a million flailing hands brushing against each on and on into the infinite forest. The might and canopy of the trees kept the underbrush from growing, and the forest floor was barely covered by anything but the long dead rustlers of previous seasons; the leaves sitting heavy and wet on the ground.
When the wind died down, the depth of the forest began to show her face, as a silence that only nature can supply grew in the twilight hours as the sun began to fall. No noise, no movement, only the heavy silence of greenery and stone and soil.

What should enter here? Who would dare intrude upon the slumber of mother earth in this sacred place? No one but a faun, not breaking the silence but merely bending it as his small feet daintily and cautiously led him through the leaves and into the picture painted there in the woods.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist Resigning!

As a Hornets fan, there has always been an appreciation for MKG in my soul. There has also been a large amount of sadness, since he should be Anthony Davis, and the Pelicans should have signed MKG to this contract, but that is beside the point.

On Monday, the Charlotte Hornets brass gave Kidd-Gilchrist a 4 year, 54 million dollar contract extension, which will make him the highest paid player on the team next year (hopefully that doesn't happen, and the Hornets spend a huge chunk of change and attract a star to the Queen City...). I am not going to get into all of the advanced statistics that show why this is a good idea. You can read the ESPN posts, or the At The Hive posts, or really anything. I just want to show you why this was a good idea:

We love you in Charlotte, MKG. Keep being an upstanding citizen, excellent role model and teammate, and, if you get some time, keep putting up some jumpers this offseason. Keep hustling your heart out, and keep having zero control over your limbs as you jog down the court. Keep inspiring kids everywhere by overcoming your speech obstacles. You are the man!

Why people write

I had an interesting conversation with a young man a few weeks back. He was headed off to college, and he was going to be a writing major. So exciting! The thing that stuck out to me though, was his admission that he needed to write to keep his mind at a functional level. He struggles with depression, and writing was a way for him to get thoughts and ideas out of his head, keeping it clear enough to deal with the day ahead of him.

I have run into creators with this problem before, and it seems like one of the biggest 3-5 reasons why people make art/new things. They create because there is no other way for them to express themselves. Many humans can get by with texting their best friend, or screaming into a pillow once in a while, but not these people. Their brains are so close to exploding with a profusion of thoughts and ideas that they must simply spew them out before the person is driven mad.

There is a very large part of me that wished I was one of those people. I have always been interested in writing, in creating new things, but I have also always struggled with the ability to produce. My brain simply does not have the ability to create new and valuable thoughts on a regular basis. At least not new and valuable thoughts that can be extrapolated into readable work.

I think this is another reason why I read, and why I teach. The old adage that "those who cannot do, teach" hold very true for me. I simply cannot write the types of stories that I wish I were capable of. However, I can perhaps teach my students how to better approach their passion/need to write. Perhaps I can unlock a conduit in a young person's head that will allow their thoughts to spill out continually as they create something needed.

No real conclusion for this post, more of a wondering and an admittance.

Why I read fantasy

Today, I just finished reading a blog post by Patrick Rothfuss (one of my favorite authors) about Terry Pratchett (one of his favorite authors). Pat spent a little bit of time talking about the stigma that is often attached to the fantasy genre, basically the stigma that fantasy is trivial writing, about imaginary subjects, and shouldn't be held up as something young people should read. I have a couple of responses to this close minded approach to the genre.

First, I read fantasy because it makes me happy. I firmly believe that reading is one of the most important and enjoyable things that a human can do for themselves, and fantasy literature gives me the greatest sense of joy out of any type of writing. As humans, we do so many things that we simply are required to do. Not everyone is an entrepreneur who loves their job 100% of the time. We need time to do things that we simply enjoy! For me, that means reading a fantasy novel while eating a snack at the dinner table, then moving that read fest to the couch, where things get a little more serious...or something like that.

Secondly, I read fantasy because it moves me. I agree with the trilobites that there was a dead time in fantasy, where the genre was completely overrun by poorly written Dungeons and Dragons themed writing, where the fighting was more important than the character. However, I think the 21st century fantasy writers have brought new life to the genre as a whole! There are fantasy novels that I read that make me tear up, novels that make me laugh out loud, novels that make me contemplate deeper issues concerning human choices and the future of the world, and the list goes on. Fantasy LITERATURE is being written in the world today, and it is worth being read because the writers are telling excellent stories about real fallible characters.

Thirdly, I read fantasy because it takes me back. I started reading fantasy without knowing that it was a genre that could be explored. I read the Chronicles of Narnia, A Wizard of Earthsea, and the Song of Albion series. Then, in my freshman year of high school, I saw my Latin teacher reading The Eye of the World...He let me borrow it, and I devoured it. I then devoured The Great Hunt, The Dragon Reborn, and every other novel in the series I could get my hands on. From that point on, I knew that fantasy novels could be both interesting and exciting, both emotional and full of muscle, both clever and blunt. The formative years of my life were filled with fantasy novels, and it helped me become a better person for the current world.

So, if this post has a point (besides being written in a 5 paragraph form, since that is what I am teaching my students currently), it is twofold. Humans should be reading. Words leaping from a page into your eyes, burrowing into your brain and settling against your emotional center. Reading should be happening in every classroom, bedroom, and boardroom in the world. Finally, don't be prejudiced against a genre until you have read it. Storytellers are not limited to one genre, or only to classics that were written 200 years ago. There are writers living among us, and they have words to share and lessons to relate. Read them.

Hornets Summer Recap and Depth Chart Preview

The 2014-2015 was supposed to be another step on the ladder to NBA relevancy for the Charlotte Hornets. The addition of Lance Stephenson, coupled with the previous seasons playoff berth and the re-rising name of “Hornets” were all supposed to collide together to create this shooting star season for the franchise. However, if you are a person who knows things that happened, you know that this didn’t exactly work as planned. The Hornets lost many games to injury, and never were able to create a sense of cohesion between new player, old players, and coaching style. Chalk up that season as a loss.

However, hope springs eternal in the NBA! The new season has seen Charlotte General Manager Rich Cho make a bevy of moves that he hopes will buy him more time as the GM (rumors) and keep the Hornets in contention for a playoff spot. Let’s review these moves one at a time and see how they could possibly impact this club.

First: Trade Lance Stephenson to the LA Clippers for C Spencer Hawes and SF Matt Barnes.

This is a trade that had to happen. Steve Clifford hadn’t found a way to use Lance Stephenson, or Lance hadn’t been able to duplicate his success with Indiana from the previous year. Either way, the relationship had soured. In my mind, this move didn’t do a ton to help the Hornets. Spencer Hawes is a journeyman center who has played with reasonable success in several situations. He does his best work as a stretch the floor center who can move a big man out from under the rim, then pass or shoot the ball from the perimeter. He is capable of hot stretches, but is also capable of sub-par defense. (Or maybe that is all he is capable of). Matt Barnes doesn’t get a mention, because he left the team in a matter of days. I give this trade a C. It was necessary for the team to move forward, but it didn’t do much to change the team’s fortunes in the upcoming season, especially when coupled with their draft pick.

Second: Traded Matt Barnes basically (there was a little movement involving Luke Ridnour), along with a 2nd round pick, to the OKC Thunder for SG Jeremy Lamb.

For some reason, Jeremy Lamb has been linked to the Hornets for several seasons. Perhaps it is his relationship with PG Kemba Walker, who he won a championship with at UCONN, or some other reason, but he finally ended up on the Hornets roster. Lamb is a lengthy shooter with some slashing ability. He has shown during his time with the Thunder that he is capable of knocking down shots. As is the theme with most of these offseason moves, his defense is suspect, though he has the arm-ness to be a disruption in the passing lanes. Lamb will be fighting for backup SG duties behind Nicolas Batum. He will be competing with PJ Hairston and Troy Daniels (Daniels had a great Summer League) I see Lamb as someone who will earn minutes simply because of his length on defense. Steve Clifford has shown that he can design a defense around worse than average defensive players, so Lamb has a possibility of being a small liability on one end, and being a positive on the offensive end.

Third: Traded SF Gerald Henderson and PF Noah Vonleh to Portland Trailblazers for SG Nicolas Batum.

This is the trade that Rich Cho thinks can have the most effect on the franchise. Batum is a very skilled player, capable of successfully doing every single basketball activity that you can think of. He is not a superstar because he can’t do any of these things at the highest possible level, but he can dribble, shoot, pass, rebound, defend, and lead a team. Having all of these characteristics makes him very valuable indeed. The one sticking point with Batum is that the only place where he has had to lead a team is at the international level with the French National Team. During the FIBA World Cup in 2014, Batum was excellent at filling whatever role his team needed, and it will be interesting to see him get an extended chance to be a featured player at the NBA level this coming season.

Fourth: Drafted PF Frank Kaminsky from the University of Wisconsin at #9 in the 2015 NBA Draft

Frank the Tank is a scorer. It is what he did in college, it is what he did at the Orlando Summer League, and it is what the Hornets see him doing this coming season. They can see him playing off of Al Jefferson, or simply stretching the floor with Jeremy Lin during pick and rolls in the halfcourt. Frank also passes the ball well, and even dribbles rather well for a player who is 7’1”, so the hope is that Clifford can use him creatively.

Fifth: Signed G Jeremy Lin

This was a surprise to this writer. The Hornets looked like they had a pretty complete roster before this signing. They weren’t going to win a ring, but the roster didn’t have any glaring holes that needed to be filled. Obviously, the Hornets management didn’t agree with me on that point. Jeremy Lin does three things: He makes plays out of the pick and roll, he shoots threes with decent accuracy, and he sells merchandise. As the only current Chinese American player in the NBA, Jeremy Lin is a huge marketing win for the Hornets. Now, he will sell some jerseys, but he will also be a step up from Brian Roberts at the backup point guard position. His ability to turn the corner and get to the basket, then finish or look for the next pass, is a skill that really lets the Hornet’s 2nd unit be dangerous on the offensive end. Again, his defense may be slightly suspect, but he is big enough to put a body on many point guards in the league.

Depth Chart: 

Here is my predicted depth chart, with a few words about each position:

PG: Kemba Walker, Jeremy Lin, Brian Roberts, Aaron Harrison

Not too much to say here, kind of what we all expect. If there is a healthy season, there will be a productive PG group

SG: Nicolas Batum, Jeremy Lamb, Troy Daniels

I would love to see Troy Daniels slide ahead of Jeremy Lamb here, simply because he could make 150 3’s in 50 games this season, no problem. He can light up the world.

SF: Michael Kidd Gilchrist, Pj Hairston

Honestly, I think that Batum will get a decent amount of the backup minutes at the three, especially when we need more shooters on the floor. MKG had a dramatic improvement last season as a jump shooter, but I don’t think he will suddenly be a 35% three point shooter.

PF: Cody Zeller, Marvin Williams, Frank Kaminsky

Unabashed love for: Cody Zeller. I hope that he can play at the highest level that he achieved last year, and keep it up for an entire season. I think that the Hornet’s fans will want to see Frank Kaminsky at the backup 4, but Marvin Williams has been in the league for a long time and will already be familiar with the system and what it means to be an NBA player. We shall see.

C: Al Jefferson, Spencer Hawes

It is upsetting how much this team needed Jefferson to be healthy last season. He is the hub of the offense, and the only player who can consistently score out of the low post. Hopefully surrounding him with some better shooters will keep the double teams away, and hopefully he will come into the season with some pep in his step.

Prediction:

I see the Hornets finishing 6th, 7th, or 8th in the Eastern Conference. I also see them winning 41+ games and finishing at or above .500.