Hornets Collapse vs Wizards Again | Brandon Miller’s Return | LaMelo’s Leadership Challenge
The Charlotte Hornets face another frustrating defeat at the hands of the Washington Wizards, marking their sixth straight loss and continuing a disappointing 14-loss stretch out of 15 games. Doug Branson dives into the disaster that was the first half, discussing the sloppy turnovers, lack of energy, and missed opportunities that defined this game. Brandon Miller’s return brought some hope, as he notched a career-high nine assists and had a shot at a game-winner, but his and LaMelo Ball’s shooting struggles proved costly.
In this episode, we examine the adjustments made by Charles Lee, including a savvy switch involving Mark Williams and Miles Bridges, that helped the Hornets claw back into the game late. Despite these adjustments, a critical defensive lapse in the final moments allowed Jordan Poole to seal the Wizards’ win. Doug also shares silver linings, including standout performances from Miles Bridges and LaMelo Ball, who each showed flashes of what the Hornets could be when firing on all cylinders.
What’s next for Charlotte as they face a daunting schedule? Can they regain the principles that led to their early-season success? Tune in for analysis, frustration, and a glimpse of what could be if the Hornets can right the ship.
Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://linktr.ee/lockedonhornets
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): https://joinsubtext.com/lockedonhornets
Locked On NBA League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, WNBA & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNBA
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
Top 35 Hornets Nicknames of All-Time According to Doug Branson: https://hornets.substack.com/p/the-top-35-nicknames-in-hornets-franchise
Top 35 Hornets of All-Time According to Walker Mehl: https://hornets.substack.com/p/the-top-35-players-in-hornets-history
📲 Follow Locked On Hornets on Twitter
Locked On Hornets https://twitter.com/LockedOnHornets
Walker Mehl https://twitter.com/WalkerMehl
Doug Branson https://twitter.com/DougBransonLOH
For your next listen, check out the Locked On NBA podcast, where the season never ends providing national expertise with a local perspective. Click HERE to listen now. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your Team. Every Day.
Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!
BetterHelp
This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Rediscover your curiosity with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDONNBA today to get 10% off your first month.
eBay Motors
From brakes to exhaust kits and beyond, eBay Motors has over 122 million parts to keep your ride-or-die alive. With all the parts you need at the prices you want, it’s easy to bring home that big win. Keep your ride-or-die alive at EbayMotors.com. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers.
Gametime
Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.
FanDuel
Now through September 22nd, ALL FanDuel customers can bet FIVE DOLLARS and get a THREE WEEK free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV. Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started.
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 #CharlotteHornets
28 Comments
Hello, my name is redacted and I am a fan of the worst team in basketball.
Our bench sucked and Josh Green is not a reliably good player. His defense is suspect and his offense is sporadic at best. Why is he even a starter?
I have been defending coach Lee, and the players are always my first to be acrutinized, but there are some decisions I do not like lately.
It’s time to tear it down “Again” . Lamelo is an amazing talent but he’s not a leader and not a true franchise player . Sell high and get what you can for him before he gets hurt which he eventually will . Everyone but Brandon is expendable. Burn it down .
Mark Williams dominated by saar?? by a rookie
Piston fan here. I love locked on Pistons but Locked on Hornets is my second home! I really hate that y'all lost like this because I really like this team. Not sure what the issue is, maybe it's Coach lee's schemes and the amount of 3's they shoot with such a young team. Maybe it's the players not gelling together with the injuries. But some difficult questions definitely need to be answered before and after the trade deadline.
Guys, I'm starting to think we may not win the super bowl this year…
Yet another season of seeing no progress by the team overall. Been bad and still bad.
Still love listening every day. Have a good break Doug. Look forward to Walker's takes next wek.
Officially time to start considering shipping LaMelo to a contender & get back players who can actually contribute to getting us better
Or draft picks, draft picks, Draft picks! Im sick of this experiment of hopefully, they'll play well.
I think they should trade Lamelo and start over. The timelines just don’t align. They should have went the Rockets/Pistons route but it’s too late.
I was at Capital One Arena last night. It was a nightmare in the first half. We couldn't defend. We kept turning it over. It was a mess. 🙈🙉🙊
Hornets are playing Flagg Basketball
Hornets have the worst depth in the league and it shows. Losing Tre and Grant have affected the win totals more than anything. It's the biggest issue.
The starters were solid in this one. Just ko bench help. Mark had 5 assist and 0 turnovers. Not too shabby. He is coming along. The top 4 guys need more than 4 games all playing together to get it right IMO before being judged super harshly.
This team has lost their edge. It has become so asinine to the point they keep on digging themselves in a hole. Time After Time. I strongly believe we need to go ahead by making some trades to accommodate the Big Four Brandon, Melo, Miles and Mark. The offensive schemes and rotation from Coach Lee is trash
CODY MARTIN n JOSH GREEN it cant work with those 2
both cant score 15pts 🙅🏾♂️
Bright Side! This was the first game of the season where the projected Hornets starting 5 started and ended the game. This team is playing like they've never played together, just a thought.
I get on hornets media every now and then to see the comments. The hornets have been trash for 20 years. I live in Charlotte and I honestly dont think outside of maybe 500 ppl no one cares. They could move the team and the rest of the city would not even know they are gone. They are trash, have been trash and will continue to be trash.
To me, the most frustrating part of watching this team recently is knowing they’re capable of better. The team has lost faith and trust in one another. I think the indecisiveness Doug mentioned is a reflection of guys not trusting one another, and knowing that they aren’t trusted by their teammates. Also every negative thing that people have said about LaMelo (e.g, shot chucker, bad defense, not a winning player, plays street-ball) was true last night. But it’s frustrating having watched him in seasons past and earlier this season, and knowing he’s capable of playing good basketball and putting up meaningful stats. These guys look mentally broken.
We got LaMelo, B Mill backcourt with Grant W, Salaun. Trade Green for Robert W? Trade Bridges, etc for a Superstar?
Honestly if it’s not a top two pick for Flagg or Dylan Harper I’d trade that along with more draft assets to finally go for some bonafide two way star/fringe star. I’m willing to throw all the chips on the table at this point, might not be the smartest route but the worst case scenario (I hope to god) likely won’t be as frustrating as what’s happened since getting busted in the play-in
Leave fixing the bench to FA because I don’t want to get swindled/hurt from the new bodies at the trade deadline again (excluding Grant & Tre). Just acquire as many picks and expiring contracts as possible with the current bench + probably Miles
I don’t think LaMelo is 100% recovered from his injury, he doesn’t push the ball no more and he can’t shake anybody, even though he had 30 points. He’s playing a lot slower than when he was on that hot streak other than that Trade Miles, Cody, and green 100%
Trade for @jimmybuttler i think hornets lack the most is mindset
At one point in the first half our bench was outscored 25-5 by their bench.. that’s why we lost the game
Charles lee and his assistants needs to improve in a hurry if they don't wanna get fired.
We have no offensive schemes , except going in a one screen into a quick three action. Lamelo is going to the basket with ease, run some horns action to involve miles, mark or nick. Try to draw plays like the last Melo to mark play that we ran in this washington game. Stop with the freestyle offense, we don't have the talent. Let brandon go to his mid range, he know how to get to this spot and he was shooting at a high level last year. A three is better than a two but this year its more of a zero, so lets take some two instead.
On defense , start playing Diabaté more, he is our best defender, he can guard 3 to 5. Bring in role players like DSJ that can defend instead of keeping 5 roster spots with bench warmers.
Sad times hugs all round ❤
It's at the point where they could trade the whole team apart from lamelo they all suck apart from 1 guy they waived bertans cause he wasn't shooting as good as they wanted apart from melo who else is putting up 30 a night brandon every now and then and that's it
The way this team is constructed needs to be looked at. Depth and key injuries it seems like every yr, we need new med staff at this point
We were pretty much better across all stats except for turnovers. Which was a big discrepancy. I'd say that's why we lost