WEBVTT - Mac & Bone Hour 2: Hornets Expectations 0:00:04.350 --> 0:00:04.590 Thank you. 0:00:21.360 --> 0:00:27.840 Sports Radio 92.7 WFNZ. Mack Embone with you. Charlotte Hornets 0:00:27.980 --> 0:00:33.260 talk coming up at 7.25 and throughout the show. We 0:00:33.280 --> 0:00:35.240 got Jermaine Buckner, one of their assistant coaches, going to 0:00:35.260 --> 0:00:38.300 join us here on game day at 7.45. Hornets at 0:00:38.340 --> 0:00:41.360 the Nets tonight. The season is on, and we got 0:00:41.380 --> 0:00:44.560 to talk through our expectations. We got to talk through 0:00:45.060 --> 0:00:48.080 all the lamello is gone, angst that is still out there. 0:00:48.460 --> 0:00:50.620 And unfortunately, we got to talk about con canipple. 0:00:51.060 --> 0:00:55.020 Kobe White and Grant Williams not playing in tonight's game. 0:00:55.410 --> 0:00:56.350 So that is coming up. 0:00:56.380 --> 0:00:58.670 That's going to be a huge part of this radio 0:00:58.710 --> 0:01:01.130 show here in the seven and eight o'clock hours. But 0:01:01.210 --> 0:01:04.190 right now, though, we got to reminisce still. I know 0:01:04.209 --> 0:01:05.950 we got to look forward a little bit, but we 0:01:05.970 --> 0:01:10.250 got to reminisce. about one of the greatest college football Saturdays, Bone, 0:01:10.290 --> 0:01:13.110 I have ever witnessed in my life with five of 0:01:13.130 --> 0:01:17.300 the top seven teams, an all-time record, losing so much drama. 0:01:17.780 --> 0:01:19.940 And much of it was in the SEC. And our 0:01:19.980 --> 0:01:23.419 next guest can talk about the drama. He works for 0:01:23.440 --> 0:01:28.400 the SEC Network. He is former Gator stud wide receiver, 0:01:28.760 --> 0:01:31.059 Chris Doering, who joins us here on the Mac and 0:01:31.080 --> 0:01:31.619 Bone Show. 0:01:31.680 --> 0:01:33.339 Chris, how you been, man? What's going on? 0:01:33.810 --> 0:01:34.170 Good morning. 0:01:34.190 --> 0:01:35.700 It's good to be back with you guys. Thanks for 0:01:35.720 --> 0:01:36.050 having me. 0:01:36.080 --> 0:01:37.810 What's up, CD? How you doing? 0:01:37.930 --> 0:01:40.190 So the first question is, and I guess we've got 0:01:40.230 --> 0:01:41.910 to try to figure out all these teams in the 0:01:42.110 --> 0:01:44.690 SEC with the ups and downs, but how do you 0:01:44.750 --> 0:01:50.130 explain your Florida Gators to me after that performance against Texas? 0:01:50.630 --> 0:01:52.930 They are a tough one to get a read on 0:01:52.970 --> 0:01:53.350 right now. 0:01:53.870 --> 0:01:55.710 Yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head. 0:01:55.870 --> 0:02:00.310 The conference, the only thing that's consistent is the inconsistency, 0:02:00.410 --> 0:02:03.470 and Florida was one of those first teams involved. in 0:02:03.490 --> 0:02:06.490 the inconsistencies. Remember back to the big win they had 0:02:06.510 --> 0:02:11.560 in Gainesville over Ole Miss and everybody having plans for 0:02:11.620 --> 0:02:15.739 college football playoff appearances and going to the SEC championship game, 0:02:15.760 --> 0:02:18.500 and then you lay two eggs against Missouri and South Carolina, 0:02:18.520 --> 0:02:21.700 and everybody kind of wrote them off for the rest 0:02:21.760 --> 0:02:23.580 of the year, and then they find a way to 0:02:23.600 --> 0:02:27.000 go on the road with a backup quarterback without Vernell 0:02:27.030 --> 0:02:30.430 Brown III, without Duke Clark III, a defense that had 0:02:30.470 --> 0:02:33.510 been getting torched by Missouri and South Carolina and put 0:02:33.560 --> 0:02:37.320 together a masterful performance. I thought the defense was maybe 0:02:37.360 --> 0:02:39.079 one of the most surprising things to be able to 0:02:39.120 --> 0:02:41.620 see them have the success they did against Arch Manning 0:02:42.020 --> 0:02:45.040 in that offense. But it was a little more aggressive plan. 0:02:45.080 --> 0:02:49.660 They decided to pressure Arch, blitzed him 10 of 13 0:02:49.660 --> 0:02:51.770 dropbacks alone in the second half. They were able to 0:02:51.810 --> 0:02:55.250 get home five times, including a strip sack that they 0:02:55.310 --> 0:02:58.489 kind of finished the game off with. And then a 0:02:58.550 --> 0:03:01.470 really good performance from Tramell Jones in his first start 0:03:01.530 --> 0:03:05.250 as the quarterback there in Florida. Just really impressed with 0:03:05.310 --> 0:03:07.580 what they showed in terms of heart. And on the 0:03:07.620 --> 0:03:11.079 other side, Texas was kind of the opposite, man. Just 0:03:11.300 --> 0:03:14.850 really very little fight from them after going up 17-3, 0:03:15.380 --> 0:03:18.739 dominated the rest of the game. And obviously we're here 0:03:18.780 --> 0:03:21.470 talking about what the future for Arch Manning looks like, 0:03:21.510 --> 0:03:23.950 what the future for Sark looks like there in Austin. 0:03:23.970 --> 0:03:24.050 Yeah. 0:03:25.290 --> 0:03:27.109 Speaking of that, why do you think it's been so 0:03:27.210 --> 0:03:30.419 up and down for Arch Manning based off what we 0:03:30.460 --> 0:03:33.239 thought he was going to be? Good moments, but bad moments. 0:03:33.300 --> 0:03:36.660 Why have they not found consistency with him at Texas? 0:03:37.260 --> 0:03:40.580 I think he's first a victim of everybody else's expectation 0:03:40.620 --> 0:03:43.070 level just because he had the name Manning and came 0:03:43.150 --> 0:03:45.900 out as a... such a highly recruited player. You know, 0:03:45.940 --> 0:03:51.220 everybody expected him to be the same guys as Eli 0:03:51.240 --> 0:03:53.600 and Peyton and those folks. But I think at the 0:03:53.620 --> 0:03:55.440 end of the day, there's a lot of blame to 0:03:55.490 --> 0:03:57.750 go around probably. You know, when you look at the tape, 0:03:58.050 --> 0:04:00.910 the offensive line hasn't been very good. They didn't do 0:04:00.950 --> 0:04:03.490 a great job of picking up those blitzes. Haven't been 0:04:03.530 --> 0:04:06.010 able to run the ball very consistently. You know, I 0:04:06.050 --> 0:04:08.310 think you look at receivers, you've had drops from those 0:04:08.370 --> 0:04:11.440 guys and dating back to the Ohio State game with 0:04:11.700 --> 0:04:14.120 Cam Coleman let one bounce off of him and Ryan 0:04:14.160 --> 0:04:18.680 Wingo dropping a touchdown. The defense has been largely pretty 0:04:18.700 --> 0:04:22.950 good for the most part, but again gave up some 0:04:22.950 --> 0:04:26.950 24 straight points to Florida late in the second quarter 0:04:27.010 --> 0:04:29.010 on through the end of the game. So I think 0:04:29.029 --> 0:04:30.490 there's a lot of blame to go around, but the 0:04:30.529 --> 0:04:33.050 biggest thing for me, I just don't think Arch understands 0:04:33.130 --> 0:04:36.969 the the concepts of what they're trying to accomplish. Multiple 0:04:37.010 --> 0:04:38.930 times you've got plays that are wide open to be 0:04:38.970 --> 0:04:41.349 made that he either chooses not to make the throws, 0:04:41.550 --> 0:04:45.049 holds it too long and gets sacked, or throws it errantly. 0:04:45.130 --> 0:04:48.880 So I do think the development has not been there 0:04:48.920 --> 0:04:50.820 from what we expected. But, again, I think there's a 0:04:50.860 --> 0:04:52.880 lot of guys on that team that were four- and 0:04:52.900 --> 0:04:55.479 five-star recruits that haven't developed the way that you expected 0:04:55.520 --> 0:04:55.820 them to. 0:04:56.310 --> 0:04:56.690 All right. 0:04:56.710 --> 0:04:59.210 We're talking Chris Doering, SEC Network, here on the Mac 0:04:59.250 --> 0:05:02.240 and Bone Show. I want to jump ahead now to 0:05:02.380 --> 0:05:08.600 this week because this South Carolina-Tennessee game is so fascinating 0:05:08.640 --> 0:05:11.690 now after what Tennessee just did to Bama. I mean, 0:05:11.750 --> 0:05:15.610 what a performance. in the trenches on both sides of 0:05:15.630 --> 0:05:18.270 the ball but now they go on the road and 0:05:18.310 --> 0:05:21.460 it's almost like the folks at vegas like know what 0:05:21.500 --> 0:05:24.280 this sec is all about this year during because they've 0:05:24.300 --> 0:05:27.300 got the gamecocks as a favorite yeah what do you 0:05:27.380 --> 0:05:29.970 like it kind of feels like if i'm trying to 0:05:30.010 --> 0:05:31.950 get a read on this conference it kind of feels 0:05:32.010 --> 0:05:34.350 like south carolina might win this game how do you 0:05:34.370 --> 0:05:35.529 feel about that matchup. 0:05:35.550 --> 0:05:37.810 Have we not seen it five or six times already, 0:05:37.830 --> 0:05:40.339 the big game hangover the following week? I mean, we 0:05:40.380 --> 0:05:43.300 saw it last week from Georgia and Alabama. Both of 0:05:43.320 --> 0:05:47.500 them looked completely juiced and not really dialed in. I 0:05:47.540 --> 0:05:50.560 mentioned earlier the Ole Miss-Florida game. That was probably the 0:05:50.600 --> 0:05:53.000 first one where we had one of those head-scratching lines 0:05:53.089 --> 0:05:56.989 where a highly rated team is going on the road 0:05:57.029 --> 0:06:01.130 and they're an underdog to an unranked team. So this 0:06:01.310 --> 0:06:03.729 is one of those that plays along with the rest 0:06:03.790 --> 0:06:07.370 of the season so far. With that being said, I 0:06:07.430 --> 0:06:10.630 also believe that South Carolina, at least for one game, 0:06:10.710 --> 0:06:13.860 figured things out. They stopped shooting themselves in the foot. 0:06:13.900 --> 0:06:16.120 They were able to finish drives. They didn't turn the 0:06:16.140 --> 0:06:19.560 football over. Lenora Sellers spread the ball around to a 0:06:19.800 --> 0:06:23.099 bunch of different receivers. I thought the defense has been 0:06:23.120 --> 0:06:26.510 one of the more consistent parts of the team this year, 0:06:26.650 --> 0:06:29.820 but at the end of the day, Tennessee has got 0:06:29.839 --> 0:06:31.800 to show that they can come up and back up 0:06:31.820 --> 0:06:34.580 a great performance with another great performance in a very 0:06:34.620 --> 0:06:37.770 hostile environment. The defensive line was tremendous in that game 0:06:37.790 --> 0:06:41.589 against Alabama, completely neutralized any of the explosiveness that we 0:06:41.630 --> 0:06:45.170 had seen from the tide. So I think it's going 0:06:45.190 --> 0:06:47.370 to be interesting to see if we can find a 0:06:47.410 --> 0:06:50.250 team that can show that they're consistent from one week 0:06:50.290 --> 0:06:52.849 to the next. Vegas right now looks at least like 0:06:52.890 --> 0:06:54.450 they don't believe that's the case for the Vols. 0:06:55.589 --> 0:06:58.650 Chris, I thought Georgia might be above the chaos, but 0:06:58.730 --> 0:07:02.310 obviously I was wrong for that. What did Auburn do 0:07:03.029 --> 0:07:08.219 to mess up Georgia, and does that change your view 0:07:08.460 --> 0:07:10.340 on what Georgia could be the rest of the way, 0:07:10.360 --> 0:07:13.100 or was that just another example of that's just the 0:07:13.140 --> 0:07:13.860 nature of the SEC? 0:07:14.510 --> 0:07:17.330 I thought coming off of that game between Georgia and 0:07:17.390 --> 0:07:20.950 Alabama that even though Alabama lost, we had two consistent teams, 0:07:21.000 --> 0:07:24.320 two complete teams in the conference in Georgia and Alabama. 0:07:24.340 --> 0:07:26.140 To see both of them come back the very next 0:07:26.200 --> 0:07:29.020 week and lose was pretty surprising to me. The biggest 0:07:29.180 --> 0:07:34.250 head-scratcher was Georgia not playing typically like we see Georgia play. 0:07:34.270 --> 0:07:36.370 They turned the football over three times. They were minus 0:07:36.410 --> 0:07:40.490 three in the turnover margin. Inopportune times to have penalties 0:07:40.530 --> 0:07:44.010 that cost them The lack of ball security from Gunnar 0:07:44.030 --> 0:07:46.810 Stockton turning it over three times himself with two picks 0:07:46.870 --> 0:07:48.670 and a fumble there that cost him at the end. 0:07:49.290 --> 0:07:54.690 Very uncharacteristic performance from Georgia, but also an uncharacteristic performance 0:07:54.710 --> 0:07:57.990 from Auburn. We hadn't seen them play that way. Their 0:07:58.010 --> 0:08:00.330 offensive line had been pretty bad for the majority of 0:08:00.390 --> 0:08:02.710 the season. They were able to go out and run 0:08:02.750 --> 0:08:04.800 for 192 yards with over 100 of those coming from 0:08:04.830 --> 0:08:07.850 Byron Brown. I thought they used him really well, and 0:08:07.890 --> 0:08:11.210 that mobile quarterback, if there's ever anything that's given Georgia 0:08:11.230 --> 0:08:15.030 a hard time defensively, it is the mobile quarterback involved 0:08:15.090 --> 0:08:17.780 in the quarterback run game. I think they had 13 0:08:17.780 --> 0:08:22.560 plays that were designed quarterback runs for him for about 0:08:22.560 --> 0:08:26.540 92 yards and rushing production for him. So, yeah, I 0:08:26.580 --> 0:08:28.600 thought that's what they did. They did a really nice 0:08:28.640 --> 0:08:31.590 job of going in and playing smart football. I was 0:08:31.690 --> 0:08:34.490 shocked when they were down 14-0 that they actually came back. 0:08:34.530 --> 0:08:37.550 I was shocked. when they were up by 10 in 0:08:37.570 --> 0:08:39.689 the fourth quarter and they let that lead evaporate and 0:08:39.730 --> 0:08:42.309 they were able to actually put a play together to 0:08:42.710 --> 0:08:45.000 get down in field goal range. So, yeah, I don't 0:08:45.040 --> 0:08:47.660 know if Alex Golish's team can carry that over, but 0:08:47.700 --> 0:08:50.240 it looked very much what I expected them to look 0:08:50.260 --> 0:08:52.760 like in the preseason that had been kind of elusive. 0:08:52.400 --> 0:08:52.900 To this point. 0:08:54.860 --> 0:08:57.040 Doring, last quick thing I need to ask you. The 0:08:57.860 --> 0:09:02.100 Tennessee Vols fans set an all-time college football decibel level 0:09:02.160 --> 0:09:07.280 record of 130.3 in Neyland Stadium at one point in 0:09:07.320 --> 0:09:11.040 that game against Alabama. When you went to Tennessee, was 0:09:11.090 --> 0:09:14.030 that the loudest, or was it maybe LSU? 0:09:14.370 --> 0:09:17.550 What was the place you played at in the SEC 0:09:17.610 --> 0:09:18.690 that was ridiculous? 0:09:19.150 --> 0:09:21.250 LSU stunk when I was in the league. So when 0:09:21.270 --> 0:09:23.550 we played them, I think we put 52 on them 0:09:23.590 --> 0:09:26.290 my sophomore year and then went there at like 11 a.m. 0:09:26.330 --> 0:09:28.450 It was like a morgue. And I think we won 0:09:28.470 --> 0:09:33.070 24-10 or something. But yeah, Neyland's always one of the 0:09:33.570 --> 0:09:36.250 loudest places to play. It's a great environment. Really enjoyed 0:09:36.320 --> 0:09:40.040 playing them, especially as an arch rival coming into Knoxville. 0:09:40.520 --> 0:09:44.120 The other one, my favorite road stadium, though, is still Jordan-Hare. 0:09:44.160 --> 0:09:47.130 Going to play Auburn in that kind of environment, they're 0:09:47.510 --> 0:09:50.650 rocking your bus when you're driving into the stadium. They're 0:09:50.670 --> 0:09:53.570 incredibly loud from start to finish, very knowledgeable fans that 0:09:53.610 --> 0:09:56.210 show up whether their team's good or not. We lost 0:09:56.230 --> 0:09:58.950 to them my sophomore year and then came back and 0:09:58.970 --> 0:10:02.890 beat them there my senior year. year, but very difficult 0:10:02.929 --> 0:10:06.050 place to play just from a noise and communication standpoint. 0:10:06.070 --> 0:10:06.510 All right. 0:10:06.550 --> 0:10:09.450 I'm sure none of them are really libraries too often 0:10:09.470 --> 0:10:12.670 in that conference, brother. Hey, man, always love chatting with you. 0:10:12.690 --> 0:10:12.950 Thanks. 0:10:13.030 --> 0:10:15.410 I know you're busy this morning. Thanks for making some 0:10:15.429 --> 0:10:16.830 time for us. Appreciate you. 0:10:17.010 --> 0:10:17.770 We'll do it again, man. 0:10:17.809 --> 0:10:18.500 Thanks for having us. 0:10:18.790 --> 0:10:19.030 All right. 0:10:19.050 --> 0:10:19.430 Be good. 0:10:19.480 --> 0:10:23.460 That is Chris Doering from the SEC Network. Yeah, Jordan, 0:10:23.500 --> 0:10:25.900 did you see Lane Kiffin? Lane Kiffin and LSU are 0:10:25.920 --> 0:10:29.580 going to Jordan-Hare to take on Auburn this week. And 0:10:29.679 --> 0:10:32.920 he was asked about the theory that it is haunted 0:10:33.840 --> 0:10:37.140 at Jordan Hare. And Lane Kiffin told a story of 0:10:37.230 --> 0:10:43.229 Bruce Pearl telling him that it is that it is haunted. 0:10:43.270 --> 0:10:46.050 And when you go there, be very aware that it 0:10:46.110 --> 0:10:48.430 is a haunted stadium. So add that to the list 0:10:48.470 --> 0:10:49.720 of SEC storylines. 0:10:49.750 --> 0:10:52.160 Will the ghosts get Lane Kiffin on Saturday? 0:10:52.200 --> 0:10:55.420 Scariest thing I saw there just from a distance was 0:10:55.460 --> 0:10:57.080 when Bruce Pearl had his shirt off in the crowd. 0:10:58.650 --> 0:11:01.449 I would take Ghost over shirtless Bruce Pearl. Ghost by 0:11:01.470 --> 0:11:07.100 a million. Oh, man, this conference. And it's interesting. We're 0:11:07.120 --> 0:11:10.280 getting a couple of SEC haters checking in here, including 0:11:10.320 --> 0:11:12.640 Husker Mike. That is like no one's great in the 0:11:12.860 --> 0:11:16.179 SEC and they don't have any national championship teams, which 0:11:16.300 --> 0:11:19.370 actually could bring you then responded by saying, hey, who 0:11:19.420 --> 0:11:21.610 are the national who's the national championship team in your 0:11:21.630 --> 0:11:24.670 Big Ten? Especially with Julian saying possibly being out. 0:11:24.630 --> 0:11:25.040 For the season now. 0:11:25.050 --> 0:11:28.770 Obviously they were before that news. Maybe Indiana, but y'all 0:11:28.809 --> 0:11:30.569 just made me think of something. I think that's a 0:11:30.590 --> 0:11:33.570 good conversation here to have at some point, which is 0:11:34.010 --> 0:11:36.010 some of the top Big Ten teams have lost. SEC 0:11:36.030 --> 0:11:39.590 teams are beating each other. Is it Miami? Notre Dame lost? 0:11:39.670 --> 0:11:42.610 Is Miami the favorite? We've got to talk about title favorites. 0:11:43.230 --> 0:11:45.650 I will say this about the SEC. As much as 0:11:46.050 --> 0:11:50.630 I am just turned off by the arrogance, the overall 0:11:50.710 --> 0:11:54.460 arrogance from the conference, I it is must see TV. 0:11:55.080 --> 0:11:57.660 And this year it might be the most entertaining I've 0:11:57.700 --> 0:12:00.219 ever seen it because you don't know what's going to 0:12:00.280 --> 0:12:03.010 happen because of the oh, my God, look how good 0:12:03.030 --> 0:12:05.090 they played last week. What just happened to him this week? 0:12:05.130 --> 0:12:09.610 Like I just it's a get your popcorn situation like constantly, man. 0:12:09.690 --> 0:12:11.700 It's amazing. Unbelievable. 0:12:11.720 --> 0:12:13.940 When we come back back, we're going to talk about. 0:12:14.630 --> 0:12:17.510 The Hornets opening the season tonight in Brooklyn. How are 0:12:17.530 --> 0:12:21.650 we feeling? What is your expectation for this team? It's 0:12:21.720 --> 0:12:24.920 actually going to be back-to-back segments involving the Hornets on 0:12:24.940 --> 0:12:26.120 Sports Radio 92.7 WFNZ. 0:12:44.179 --> 0:12:46.160 At the end of the day, you know, we ain't 0:12:46.179 --> 0:12:48.099 going to find no excuses, right? At the end of 0:12:48.120 --> 0:12:50.060 the day, we all on the court. I trust the 0:12:50.080 --> 0:12:51.819 guys that we have. I think that we have a 0:12:51.860 --> 0:12:56.439 great team, regardless of who's hurt. And, yeah, I mean, 0:12:56.520 --> 0:12:59.280 obviously it's unfortunate, especially when you're missing some big pieces, 0:12:59.320 --> 0:13:00.660 but no excuses. 0:13:00.679 --> 0:13:04.339 That is Moussa Diabate. 0:13:04.480 --> 0:13:05.340 Diabate. 0:13:05.420 --> 0:13:06.719 Moussa! 0:13:09.450 --> 0:13:11.860 That felt good. That's the first one of the season, Bob. 0:13:11.880 --> 0:13:13.480 Do it one more time for the people in the back. 0:13:14.140 --> 0:13:20.179 Moose up. Got E.C. Many mooses. 0:13:20.240 --> 0:13:23.970 E.C., I wish you and Moose many mooses this season. 0:13:23.990 --> 0:13:27.050 Val, he's the best moose in league history. Yeah, he is. 0:13:28.190 --> 0:13:30.350 I think today we have to be on alert because 0:13:31.090 --> 0:13:34.620 Walker Mayle could walk in here today with no pants 0:13:34.720 --> 0:13:36.040 on and just moose antlers. 0:13:36.260 --> 0:13:36.980 I'm aroused. 0:13:39.330 --> 0:13:41.630 Yeah, Finney said it during the break. We heard the 0:13:41.670 --> 0:13:44.290 promo of Walker, and Finney's like, this is Walker's Christmas. 0:13:44.390 --> 0:13:47.740 It's no secret. He is a hoop head, and the 0:13:47.760 --> 0:13:50.679 Hornets are his absolute love. Not that he doesn't love all, 0:13:50.700 --> 0:13:53.260 you know, so many other things like the Panthers and sports, 0:13:53.660 --> 0:13:56.750 but yeah, he's going to have that George Jefferson strut in, 0:13:57.350 --> 0:13:59.550 or will he? And I guess that brings us to 0:13:59.570 --> 0:14:02.730 the conversation we got to have with fans. Like, how 0:14:02.850 --> 0:14:05.330 fired up are you? I feel like, and we'll deal 0:14:05.370 --> 0:14:07.000 with the, I mean, I'm sure we can talk about 0:14:07.010 --> 0:14:09.080 the Lamello portion. I'm sure Lamello's name will come up 0:14:09.100 --> 0:14:11.540 during this segment. But in the eight o'clock hour, I 0:14:11.580 --> 0:14:15.800 definitely want to kind of. revisit all the lamello angst 0:14:15.820 --> 0:14:18.059 that showed up bone yesterday when we were trying to 0:14:18.100 --> 0:14:21.180 kind of celebrate brandon miller and it all of a 0:14:21.220 --> 0:14:24.240 sudden it occurred to us holy crap people are still 0:14:24.280 --> 0:14:26.980 big mad about this lamello thing they are not y'all 0:14:27.000 --> 0:14:29.720 are not moving on so we'll talk about that i 0:14:29.780 --> 0:14:34.110 think the injuries are dampening the enthusiasm a little bit 0:14:34.490 --> 0:14:37.830 but i would caution it's an 82 game season It's 0:14:37.890 --> 0:14:38.670 in the NFL. 0:14:39.070 --> 0:14:39.990 It's a long season. 0:14:40.410 --> 0:14:42.810 So if you don't have Khan or Kobe or Grant 0:14:42.850 --> 0:14:46.200 for a few, I understand it's PTSD with. 0:14:46.100 --> 0:14:47.500 The Hornets, with us Hornets fans. 0:14:47.920 --> 0:14:49.860 I saw a lot of people when the Hornets announced 0:14:49.900 --> 0:14:53.760 that those three are out tonight that just went like 0:14:53.800 --> 0:14:56.230 went off the deep end on social media. I read 0:14:56.250 --> 0:14:58.630 the comments to that tweet. And it was just like, 0:14:58.770 --> 0:15:01.950 here we go again, season's over. So I would caution 0:15:02.010 --> 0:15:04.670 everybody to chill out a little bit. It is a bummer, 0:15:05.110 --> 0:15:08.910 but it's a Nets team. I think we're more than 0:15:08.950 --> 0:15:11.970 capable of beating them. They're no joke, but this year, 0:15:12.010 --> 0:15:14.530 like they were last year with all the rookies, but 0:15:14.570 --> 0:15:17.050 we're more than capable of beating them. I'll ask you 0:15:17.100 --> 0:15:21.740 to start this conversation off, Bone. Are you excited? Are 0:15:21.800 --> 0:15:26.560 you optimistic? Are you expecting a step back and just 0:15:26.580 --> 0:15:29.300 kind of chilling? Where are you at mentally about this 0:15:29.340 --> 0:15:30.480 Hornets season? 0:15:30.620 --> 0:15:33.760 It's a combination of excited and chilling because I'm not 0:15:34.440 --> 0:15:37.900 putting all my eggs in the basket for the present. 0:15:38.480 --> 0:15:41.260 I do understand there's going to be an adjustment. There's 0:15:41.300 --> 0:15:44.100 a step back. There's the unfortunate news of the guys 0:15:44.120 --> 0:15:46.300 that are injured, which I think kind of... It does 0:15:46.340 --> 0:15:49.220 kind of suck because we wanted to see them in 0:15:49.360 --> 0:15:52.350 full with Alamello right away. But I think the good 0:15:52.390 --> 0:15:55.350 news here is we've always wanted them to be good 0:15:55.410 --> 0:15:57.570 for the long term. And I think this is the 0:15:57.630 --> 0:16:00.540 most hope we have, maybe not for 26-27, but for 0:16:00.560 --> 0:16:06.390 the future. with Peterson in charge, with the trade ship, 0:16:06.810 --> 0:16:10.090 with the assets, with the money. This isn't, oh, my God, 0:16:10.330 --> 0:16:13.130 how many years back with Mitch and MJ or Cho 0:16:13.170 --> 0:16:16.190 and MJ did they, well, they better win now or 0:16:16.210 --> 0:16:18.710 they got to go tank for this draft choice or 0:16:18.730 --> 0:16:19.750 do this. They got to win now. 0:16:19.790 --> 0:16:20.190 They've got to. 0:16:20.690 --> 0:16:22.410 They've got to figure out how to get someone in here. Well, 0:16:22.430 --> 0:16:25.680 guess what? It's not necessarily about the now. It's great 0:16:25.720 --> 0:16:27.980 if they do win now, but it's about what they 0:16:28.020 --> 0:16:30.780 can be in the long term. So I expect a 0:16:30.800 --> 0:16:33.280 little step back, maybe not a whole lot, because the 0:16:33.340 --> 0:16:35.700 Eastern Conference is that loaded up. But I don't think 0:16:35.740 --> 0:16:40.580 they're going to shortchange you for entertaining style basketball. They're 0:16:40.620 --> 0:16:41.800 going to be a fun team to watch. And I 0:16:41.860 --> 0:16:44.700 think we're going to be competitive, man. I really do. 0:16:44.940 --> 0:16:49.300 The over-under is at 39.5%. What is your number? Like, 0:16:49.340 --> 0:16:51.520 what do you expect from this Hornets team this year? 0:16:51.540 --> 0:16:55.870 They won 44 last year, but that was with the. 0:16:55.650 --> 0:16:57.730 Four and 14 start or whatever it was. So you 0:16:57.770 --> 0:17:00.630 kind of they they were playing catch up all season 0:17:01.170 --> 0:17:04.730 this year. Hopefully, Bone, we can tread water until we 0:17:04.770 --> 0:17:06.730 get Kobe and Khan and Grant back. 0:17:07.590 --> 0:17:09.629 We do have the Nets and Washington. 0:17:10.190 --> 0:17:12.450 In our first four games not that they're chopped liver 0:17:12.470 --> 0:17:15.430 like they usually are this season can we tread water 0:17:15.490 --> 0:17:18.760 until they get back i like i if they're not 0:17:18.950 --> 0:17:23.359 right like my prediction is is 40 if we're not. 0:17:23.380 --> 0:17:25.540 Right around i have them at 39 and a half 0:17:25.600 --> 0:17:28.740 they're gonna win there's gonna be a flood on a 0:17:28.780 --> 0:17:30.419 court and they're gonna win half that game. 0:17:30.359 --> 0:17:32.800 And i guess my question is if they win 40 0:17:32.800 --> 0:17:35.740 games i don't know where that puts you in this 0:17:35.960 --> 0:17:41.400 in this suddenly extremely competitive conference. Maybe you get into 0:17:41.420 --> 0:17:43.450 the play-in or whatever, but I don't know if that's 0:17:43.510 --> 0:17:46.730 enough for people. The reason it would be enough for me, Bone, 0:17:46.770 --> 0:17:49.450 is because of what you just said, is that whatever 0:17:49.490 --> 0:17:52.290 they do this year, I just feel like we've got 0:17:52.330 --> 0:17:55.310 the right management, we've got the right coaching staff, and 0:17:55.369 --> 0:17:58.689 I feel like we've got a ton of assets and 0:17:58.730 --> 0:18:01.450 we are loaded up that it's only a matter of time, Bone. 0:18:01.910 --> 0:18:05.990 before we really break through um but i think 40 0:18:05.990 --> 0:18:10.389 wins would be a a pretty damn good season with 0:18:10.410 --> 0:18:12.389 this group and i think they're more than capable of 0:18:12.430 --> 0:18:15.359 doing that this is the deepest hornets team that i 0:18:15.390 --> 0:18:17.600 think i've ever seen man and that's got to count 0:18:17.619 --> 0:18:19.879 for something including when your guys are injured because if they. 0:18:19.740 --> 0:18:21.560 Got to 40 mac and i think they're going to 0:18:21.580 --> 0:18:25.780 be right you know right around there 38 39 40 0:18:25.780 --> 0:18:28.260 in that neighborhood there but think about that i think 0:18:28.320 --> 0:18:29.720 if they win that that's they're going to be their 0:18:29.740 --> 0:18:32.359 lowest total for a while So if they win 40 0:18:32.359 --> 0:18:35.290 this year and these guys get more experience and they 0:18:35.369 --> 0:18:37.889 add more, this will be the lowest win total they 0:18:37.930 --> 0:18:39.510 have for a number of years, I think, this year. 0:18:40.150 --> 0:18:42.030 this is going to be the low, then they're going 0:18:42.050 --> 0:18:42.760 to keep going up. 0:18:42.930 --> 0:18:45.390 Yeah, it's just a matter of when you cash those 0:18:45.470 --> 0:18:48.840 chips in, how do you do it? What do you 0:18:48.880 --> 0:18:50.920 think of the guys that are so negative they think 0:18:50.960 --> 0:18:53.800 we're back to 20, 21 wins and 22 wins? 0:18:54.100 --> 0:18:54.820 I mean, I hope. 0:18:55.260 --> 0:18:56.800 I'm very curious to see what people say. Now, if 0:18:56.820 --> 0:18:58.900 Conn's hamstrings fall off, then that could be a problem. 0:18:59.240 --> 0:19:03.020 I'm very interested in seeing what people say about that. Like, 0:19:03.320 --> 0:19:05.920 hit us up on the text line with your Hornets expectations. 0:19:07.070 --> 0:19:09.170 And do you feel like, oh, my God, this team's 0:19:09.190 --> 0:19:11.730 falling off a cliff? I just would be utterly shocked 0:19:11.770 --> 0:19:14.170 if we do. I just think, first of all, look 0:19:14.210 --> 0:19:20.310 at Kobe's on-the-floor offensive efficiency numbers were better than Lomelo's. 0:19:20.790 --> 0:19:22.800 I've never seen anything like that in my life. 0:19:23.430 --> 0:19:26.240 Usually, Bone, without Lomelo, we turn into one of the 0:19:26.260 --> 0:19:29.100 worst offensive basketball teams you could ever lay your eyes on. 0:19:30.640 --> 0:19:33.320 And that didn't happen last year. Once we acquired Kobe 0:19:33.880 --> 0:19:36.200 and literally his number, the numbers with him on the 0:19:36.240 --> 0:19:38.740 floor were better than the lamellas. It's, it was absurd. 0:19:39.280 --> 0:19:42.190 And so I don't view this. If we can get 0:19:42.250 --> 0:19:46.689 Kobe healthy, I don't view it as some drop-off. Different 0:19:46.710 --> 0:19:49.420 style play, but yeah. Some huge drop-off as a team, 0:19:49.460 --> 0:19:52.260 I should say. It's different, but I just would like 0:19:52.320 --> 0:19:54.400 to point out how good we were with those guys. 0:19:54.700 --> 0:19:56.840 Nas Reid is an upgrade in the starting lineup over 0:19:56.880 --> 0:19:58.459 Miles Bridges. He's an upgrade. 0:19:58.740 --> 0:20:01.970 Way better shooter to me. You saw in the preseason. Oh, crap. 0:20:02.290 --> 0:20:04.350 We can attack mismatches with him in the post to 0:20:04.850 --> 0:20:07.250