Subscribe
Follow Us
The Charlotte Hornets suffered their second straight loss by losing to the Miami Heat on Saturday, 114-106. First-year head coach Charles Lee kept it real about how he'd grade himself on his coaching performance after his first set of back-to-back losses.
“Average,” the Hornets coach told reporters after the game. “I think that I keep learning about myself every game. I tell the guys I'm not perfect either. I have to continue to get better. I'm getting more comfortable in a lot of different ways. My staff has been absolutely phenomenal in terms of communicating and helping me organize my thoughts. So, average, but I'm gonna get better. Check in with me at the end of the year.”
It's not Charles Lee's fault
In Charles Lee's defense, he has been short-handed already. Brandon Miller and Josh Green have both missed two games already, and Mark Williams has yet to play one of the three games at this point in the season. Heck, even LaMelo Ball, Cody Martin, and Seth Curry were all questionable to play against the Heat. Health has not been on the Hornets' side early on this season. Until those cards fall into place, it's hard to accurately grade where this team is by their record through three games of the season.
Hornets hanging tough despite injuries
The Hornets have found themselves in double-digit deficits in all their games. They found a way to make all three games competitive by clawing their way back. While only managing to complete one of those comebacks, which was against the Houston Rockets, the fight is there for this team to get back into these games.
Whatever Lee is doing from a cultural standpoint with this team seems to be working. As animated as he is on the sideline, it's clear the team has responded well to his energy and his style of coaching. Eventually, it'll result in more wins down the road.
The way the crowd was rocking at Spectrum Center, it seemed like they knew that their team had matured and could be ready to take a leap to the next level by cheering on the home team, giving MVP chants, and drowning out the opposing Heat fans' chants. It's a new culture that's brewing in Charlotte, and Hornets fans are realizing the players are sure to feel the new injection of energy that Lee has provided.
LaMelo Ball was a difference-maker again
LaMelo Ball failed to topple over 30 points in his third outing, but still performed well as he continues his hot start to the season. Ball finished with 27 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists, and Lee gave Ball and the others their props with how they played.
“Phenomenal. The whole group — proud of the whole group, ‘Melo included,” Charles Lee said. “Guys didn’t make any excuses for anything and they just wanted to ball. They love competing, they love ball, they love to do it together. It’s a great group. We’ll just continue to learn and grow. We just had three great games that were close game situations that we can learn from. That’s what we’ve talked a ton about with our team, that last year a ton of games came down to one to three possessions. This is just what you have to be able to do to win those games. We’ll continue to study and learn and grow, and I’m freaking excited about it. This team, they come in every day with the right mindset.”
Coach Lee should be excited. The growth of his team so far is evident. Hopefully for his sake it continues to trend that way.
