I am honestly excited about watching Dennis Smith Jr. Eric Collins will definitely lose his mind at some point with a dunk of his. I read some articles that Dennis has refocused himself into a more complete player especially on the defensive side. He has a youtube channel where he has posted essentially what he has been doing over the summer. The most recent episode is fairly funny and includes some summer gym runs with various NBA players ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4\_AEliIxbq4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_AEliIxbq4)).
I really hope Jalen McDaniels takes advantage of Bridges’ court case being kicked down the road. The whole Miles situation is a separate issue, but I would even go as far to say that I hope Jalen somehow usurps Kelly’s minutes as well (or Bouknight). I would say Jalen was probably our second best perimeter defender (if that means anything), but I think he truly has the ability to be even more of a nuisance on that side of the ball with Clifford. If he can make quicker decisions with the ball, he would be a truly complete role player in my opinion.
After reading snippets from the Charlotte Observer article regarding James Bouknight’s new outlook with Steve Clifford was very inspiring. I really like Bouknight’s game, it almost looks effortless. He even said he is trying to become better at passing and essentially making quicker reads which is exciting. In the media day tweets the Hornets were posting, he almost looked taller as well.
Overall, I am just excited to have Hornets basketball back and I am hoping the best for Eric in terms of keeping his voice with all of these athletic guys on the roster.
by pbryantson
