Hornets vs Thunder: Coach Charles Lee Postgame Media Availability | 10/5/2025
Offensively, it seemed like you were doing some of the things to start this game that you were hoping to do. Pace, ball movement. What did you like in particular on that side of the ball to start this game? Yeah, offensively, I thought that our quick inbounds were so much better. Um, I feel like we were getting into a lot of three-man actions and getting into just um early pick and rolls or early actions in general, a lot faster than usual. I thought the ball was really like zipping around the horn. I think guys are making the hit under pass. They’re making the one more. They’re reading the shifts. Um, I think we got a lot of, excuse me, quality looks, uh, that I think that we will knock down. It’s been an intense week since we’ve been here in Charleston. Uh, but I actually think on that side of the ball, we did a really good job of like committing to who we are and continuing to trust what we did. Uh, the competitive spirit and joy and togetherness on that end of the floor was really good. Was there defensively anything that you were having uh, particularly difficult uh, consistent trouble with? Yeah, you know, uh I I would love to see our defensive focus, our defensive uh physicality, um our defensive mindset be just a little bit sharper and tighter to start the game. Um I don’t like looking down at the box score, whether it’s preseason, open gym, regular season when like you go the first three quarters or 36, 34, 37. Like that’s just not good enough. And I think that it starts with that first group. We talked about um having a little bit better discipline with our red execution. um not allowing them to slip or not having two on the ball and communicating better. Um our transition defense, making sure we’re stopping the ball and not giving up that layup um at the end of the quarter, too. And so, and then the fouling, you know, that’s just again just being solid. Um living with some of the highly contested threes without all the high fives at the end of the plays. And so, it’s really good for us to play a good team. Um I have a ton of respect for um Coach Dagnald and everything that those guys do with their team and I felt that they shot it really well. and they force you to really commit to your discipline in a lot of different ways. Start five, you went with Khan tonight. Um why decision to go with him there and what do you see from him um overall tonight? Yeah, I think that just overall all of our guys like I think I’ve hit you guys before. It’s been a really good competitive intense camp. And so I spoke with uh Trey and Khan and and and uh Colin and I said I think you guys need to be prepared uh to start start a lot of different ways and we’ll see how the season goes. I think that each one of them has had really high moments or really good bright spots and have shown that they earned to be out there and have a significant role. And all three I think will have a significant role and every night it might look a little bit different and they need to be open-minded to it. And so tonight trying to just get some data on what lineups I think work well defensively, what lineups work well offensively, and uh we’ll keep kind of carving out what we think makes the most sense for our team on a night nightight basis. Khan seemed like he had a very strong feel for the game just from the start. What were some of the biggest positives from him? Uh just his overall like competitiveness and I would say his IQ of of like understanding where to be. I saw um some gritty, some fight defensively, trying to guard some closeouts and using his physicality. Uh which I was really impressed with. Uh we got to get him talking a little bit more. He’s a quiet kid, but as this guy’s running into pick and roll, I need him yelling out the commands to make sure that the guy on the ball um can also understand what we’re going to do coverage-wise and we can be on the same page. But uh the the other side offensively, I think that he he runs the floor. He plays without it. He’s ready to catch and shoot. He drove it really well and made some great plays for himself and also on some kickouts. And so, um we’re going to continue to see a lot of growth from that young man as the season continues to go. rookies overall. How would you describe like, you know, Ryan, Liam, and how would you describe their play tonight? All the guys, the rookies. I think everyone got to see like what these kids are about. Um, our our young rookies, um, you know, they’re fearless. They don’t back down. They’re they’re competitive spirit. They’re winning spirit. Um, they’re coming up with offensive rebounds. They’re diving on the floor for loose balls. There’s a physicality. There’s a togetherness. And so they really just embodies so much of who we want to be about on both of those ends of the floor. With more and more reps, they just get more and more comfortable. And so I I was very impressed with all of them and their versatility and open-mindedness. There was one moment I saw you teaching out there um when you bought them all together. You think you bought Khan, Liam, Ryan together just after defensive laps. What about that? How do you try to show those guys I guess the importance of making sure they’re on the floor the right way you want, especially on defense? Yeah, just trying to value an opportunity. you know, I don’t want um to take I don’t want them to take any opportunity for granted. Um and so when they get to step on that floor, I want them to be locked in and engage or recognize that those moments can be taken from you. And so, um just trying to bring them in and let them understand what the moment is calling for them right now and uh where they can be better. Uh but that’s part of, you know, why they’re such good players. They want to be coached. They want to be pushed. Uh they want to be getting feedback, whether it’s positive and negative. And I think in that moment, it was just a good opportunity for them to realize like you’re you’re in game minutes. I need you guys to show up and be locked in and engaged and focused on what’s going on right now on the court to help our
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5 comments
glad to b there , our defense is looking way better .
another losing season incoming
The defense was an absolute embarrassment. Lamelo & Bridges should be ashamed. Yes it's preseason but you're against OKCs scrub unit & trying to make a good impression on your South Carolina fanbase.
That background did him dirty giving him devil horns 😈
It’s way early but this team is unbalanced. Center is a BIG problem as Moose is really an energy reserve at best, and Kalkbrenner contributes but gets burned on drop coverage a LOT. Melo still playing as Melo does, lots of circus shots but can he ever be a star to carry us? One day Miller will put it together but he’s rusty after such a long layoff. Our depth is better other than the 5 but will they really help us when their defense is so limited?