frankw

LaMelo has had to do a lot of maturing brother. He's had to progress from class clown laughing on the sidelines with bums like James Bouknight to taking on a more assertive leadership role in bringing along the rooks into the lineup. But I wholeheartedly agree these guys are playing overall excellent team basketball. And I hope to continue to see more of it.

Yeah I've got the Boston crew on my feed too but I've been mostly tuning it out. They actually haven't been egregiously insufferable though.

He's been learning to play team basketball and that in itself is a massive improvement so we'll allow the occasional goofs.

Coby White saving our asses.

I like LaMelo a great deal but when he plays manic panic basketball it usually ends badly.

Ugly ugly basketball currently. Hopefully they have something in the tank for the fourth quarter.

Hornets offense is ice cold currently.

Come on back and wax poetic to us how important Pro Bowl votes are bud.

Looks like Miller is definitely grabbing his wrist out there.

Miller is putting in work. Impressive.

I love the physical basketball the Hornets are playing.

Absolutely filthy dunk by Miller just now wow

Boys came to play in Boston so far.

Didn't we just have a thread pretty much unanimously declaring the Pro Bowl to be a complete and utter joke? Either way doesn't make him worth top 3 corner money.

Not surprised they targeted McDuffie. Outside of the Carolinas Jaycee Horn is a fringe top 10 corner and even that's being kind.

Sobering truth.

I like Horn a great deal from a personal standpoint. But multiple things can be true at one time. While he is indeed talented. He is in no way shape or form worth top 3 corner money. And he got absolutely abused by our divisional arch rival last season. Just unacceptable. Then there is the reality that the 2025 Panthers were bottom of the league in pass rush win rate last season. How did a dominant pass rush work out for the last few Super Bowl champions? Honestly I would much rather see us direct our resources there. I'm not saying I would run to accept this offer but it would 1000% be under serious consideration and that should always be the case if we want to be a serious franchise.

.500 basketball in March is a beautiful sight.

I am willing to accept pushing the salary cap to it's limits if we are improving the defense as much as possible. Because being balanced along the roster like that will allow us to plug in another QB down the line if need be. But I am not in favor of it if we are once again cutting off our nose financially and neglecting other positions just to try and put elite offensive pieces around the smallest starting QB in the league. Balance is the key.

We are in agreement that there should be enough on offense for us to compete in the division and snag a playoff spot. Especially if we continue to build up this defense which honestly should be the priority. We need to get back to that brand of Panthers football. Physically Bryce has been quite durable on the whole which is obviously a pleasant surprise. The issue is and always has been he just is not and never will be that guy who can often make something out of nothing with his arm which is what you need in a modern franchise QB. In this league margins are razor thin and you see guys like Stafford pushing 40 out there throwing lasers. With Bryce when you add in the height there is just no other way to look at it but working from a disadvantage in more ways than one. I just cannot fathom how people who are paid for their knowledge and ability to build and to lead a sports franchise to not just success but sustained success and a Super Bowl would willingly want to limit themselves like this. That's why it is crucial to have a fallback plan in some capacity this year. We'll see.

I think we're largely speaking the same language. It's put up or shut up for Bryce Young this year.

The cap can be manipulated yes but it's always a matter of time before you have to eat a shīt sandwich. And the perception of that hinges on how well you are doing. When things are going good and your team is winning it's more palatable. But that has not always been the case with our Panthers at all. I do not think we should be "all in" by any means at this juncture. How we do this season will determine that down the line. As of right now we should not be looking to mortgage the future for one of the worst passing offenses in the league.

Kind of important yes.

His two best career games as a Panther were both in a dome in Georgia. I mean credit where it's due let's hang the banner. But what's his record everywhere else? What's his record against the Saints?

If Morgan starts getting trade up happy his keys need to be taken away.