Hornets vs Magic: Coach Charles Lee Postgame Media Availability | 10/30/2025

Hornets vs Magic: Coach Charles Lee Postgame Media Availability | 10/30/2025

Did you see some of the same defensive issues in Miami pop up again tonight? Uh, a little bit different, but I would just say in general, um, our defensive execution was not good enough, um, to come off of last game and, you know, start the game with a 38 point first quarter and a 33 second 33 point second quarter. um especially with the points of emphasis being, you know, taking care of the paint, defending without fouling, second chance points, and it felt like those re reared their heads um too much in that first half. Um and then I thought that we actually found a little bit of a groove defensively in some other areas and, you know, credit some of their guys that haven’t been shooting it well, shot it decently tonight. So, um we will definitely hit the drawing board and get back to practice and and keep working on our defensive intensity and purpose. cut the lead to three at the end of the third quarter and then you proceeded to turn the ball over on six of the next eight possessions. What went wrong in that stretch? Is there anything you could diagnose from that stretch of play? Yeah, good defensive stops, unfortunate um mishaps in transition, but things that hopefully we can convert better as we just keep going through the season. Going along with that, it seemed like the team was really out of sync. You weren’t moving the ball well tonight. Lots of turnovers. is that as uh was stated. What did you see from your team, especially on the offensive end tonight? Yeah, I I think that we definitely didn’t have that that uh extra gear that we had been playing with the last few games. I don’t know, coming off that road trip or what it is, but um you know, we got to be able to find that juice. And I think that high of it starts with being able to get stops. And when we get stops, we’re usually out in transition and playing with the pass and playing confidently. Um, so I think that again we got to get more stops to be able to play with the pace that we want to play play with. You think some players needed to get more shots? Tony LML I think got 19. Miles might have gotten 15. Most of the other guys didn’t get many shots. I mean, Kell Brener had nine, but most of them were put backs and stuff like that. Do you think the ball needed to get around other players more too, didn’t they? No. You know, I think that we got to some really good actions. You know, some of those turnovers, if you’re able to complete a pass, then one of those guys might get a different field goal attempt. So when you have 21 field uh turnovers and they score 29 points off your turnovers uh you know that’s 21 opportunities for somebody else to try to get another field goal attempt. So I think the ball moved a little bit. Um again just got to be a little bit sharper with our decision- making. Started Seion tonight obviously um plays a Colin I guess. What made you decide to do that and is that something that you do more in the future or just that game byame kind of thing? Yeah, I think that we’ve, you know, been switching up our lineup depending on uh some of the defensive matchups that we had or just trying to find that right balance with our team maybe to give us a little bit of pop off the bench or something. So, I think Sean’s been playing really well, earned an opportunity to start. His physicality defensively and then how we could match up everybody else thought made some sense for us. And so, um definitely don’t think that it was the starting lineup that hurt us tonight though. A couple rough games in a row for Ton. uh talk about kind of what you want from him in year two, whether that’s offensively and then on the defensive end as well. Yeah, his points of emphasis are defensively uh to just try to bring some type of impact there. I think uh you know the guy on the ball is always the most important thing that we talked about. Um understanding who you’re guarding and what your shift activity should look like. Am I on a guy that’s a hot shooter, normal closeout or a cold guy? Um and then rebounding. I think he’s had some really good, you know, physical defensive rebounds, but when he’s in there and he’s active, um, he his length and activity can really change our defense. So, defensive impact number one, and then offensively, catch and shoot threes. And then quick decisions. You know, if the the pass is if the play isn’t to shoot, the next decision should be how do I keep connecting the team and getting to some afteractions and his hit undersunders, I think, have been pretty good. So, um, I’ve seen some good strides there, but like you said, a little bit of a rough evening tonight for him. Can you talk about the importance of these natural growing pains for the rookies where Kulk is guarding Bam Adabio one game, then Joel Embiid, then Nick Claxton, and then you have Coniple guarding faster backcourt players and bigger backcourt players. How much does this kind of help their progression going forward? Yeah, I love it uh for these young guys to be able to get different experiences. Uh it’s going to help them down the road. Uh you’re not going to see the same matchup or the same style of play every night and so it’s going to ultimately benefit them. And I think that they’ve stepped up to the challenge in a really good way. And you see them competing and whether things are going well for them or not, uh there’s there’s like a never say die, a never quit uh attitude to them. They’re really trying to impact the game. So I love all the different looks that they’re able to uh get right now. Uh and I think they’re going to they’re going to continue to grow and they’re going to thrive in these environments as they keep growing. Miles Bridges shot over 50% on opening night. Hasn’t shot above 40 since including tonight where he shot 40%. Is that just because of being a make or miss league or is there something you’re seeing out there on the court that you feel like is attributing to the lack of efficiency? Yeah, I think that uh he he gets some decent looks in the paint. We got to figure out uh how to get him a couple more around the basket. I do think like a couple of those um empty corner picking roles have been good for him. Uh and then if we can find him in in those seams, it could really help. And then just some of the I think shot qual shot selection on some of his threes. Um, can we can we get some more catch and shoot? Um, can we get him less of the off the dribble ones and pick and roll? But I think that uh he’s gotten some decent looks and he’ll he’ll he’ll knock them down as he keeps kind of playing. So, it’s always interesting when you have to guard like the other teams um primary creator and he’s in a lot of actions and defensively that wears on you and that physicality and then so then trying to take it to the other end uh at times it can wear on you. And just thoughts on LaMelo’s offense and defensive game tonight. Yeah, I thought that, you know, he had some really good defensive plays, uh, where he’s in the passing lanes and he’s guarding the ball. Um, and then I think that there’s a couple where, you know, he could be a little bit better on the ball as our whole team can be and make sure our shift activity around him is good. And then offensively, I I actually feel like he played a a decent game. There’ll be some shot there’ll be some shots or some possessions where I think that maybe he overdribbled at times. Um, but that could also be a a cause of the lack of movement that we had around him. And so I I look forward to going back and watching some of the clips, but um I I think that he is actually adding value on both ends of the court for us.

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