Charles Lee on his Hornets closing out a win, LaMelo Ball's two-way impact, Brandon Millers rough night, and more

Matt Alquiza | 3 Hours Ago

Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Charles Lee took to the podium to discuss the Charlotte Hornets 111-108 win over the Miami Heat in preseason action. Here's what coach Lee had to say.

On pulling out a close win tonight

“I think it’s huge for our group. Aytime you can win and you beat a good team no matter how many minutes play, it feels good. You’re building some winning habits. We lost this game last time, a couple nights ago. We challenged a couple of guys in that group that played late in the game, and I thought they did a heck of a job responding, and playing together. 

On turning the tide after halftime

“I think that it was a mindset shift. Again like I said in the pregame presser they force you to be a little more competitive, a little more physical, a little more together. I thought after we got a feel for how they were playing defensively, how they were playing offensively, we kind of settled in. I think we got into the ball a little bit more, we finished possessions as a group and forced them into some tougher shots. I also just really thought that everyone chipped in. Everybody did their job in the second half. We valued the ball a little bit more. Even at the end of the game, we watched that clip again as a team, and the bench is up the whole time supporting the guys on the court. It was a great collective victory.”

On Moussa Diabiate, Tidjane Salaün’s, and the bench players impact down the stretch

Their energy and effort. Their length, their versatility, they helped us in a lot of different ways. I thought they came up with some winning plays, but I also think Charlie Brown came up with some big plays and a big offensive rebound. I thought DJ (Duane Washington Jr.) got in there and did some things. So again, just a really good team win. 

On contesting without fouling when playing defense

“We want to contest without fouling. You mentioned (Jimmy) Butler being one of the best in the league at drawing fouls, I thought our guys showed great discipline tonight. You have Brunson a couple of nights ago, you have Butler tonight, and they test you. They test your discipline to just do it over, and over, and over again. I thought our guys did a really good job.”

On LaMelo Ball’s impressive night

“On top of being a two-way player I love how he’s been able to play with the ball in his hands and also off the ball. His improved running habits off the ball, getting some more catch and shoot threes, and trusting his teammates. We talked about some of our pick and rolls and can we hit the seam a little bit more? Can we let our bigs create an advantage and hit them in the seam? And I think tonight we hit them in the seam a couple of times tonight and the defense collapsed and we had some kickoff threes. His overall growth and development and his trust in all of the guys is just continuing to grow. And tonight is just another night that he you see some good reps and some chemistry offensively.”

On Tidjane Salaün’s two-way performance

“He’s making plays on both sides. He’s asking me to guard every position on the floor. He has that competitiveness to him that I really enjoy, that I think his teammates really enjoy. Again, just trying to get him to use his voice a little bit more on the court. Yelling out, and communicating directions to our guys. What are the coverages? Whatever you do, just be assertive with it. He’s getting a little bit better every game.”

On Brandon Miller's off-night and how his teammates lifted him up

"I thought that Brandon got some great looks tonight. Unfortunately missed some of them. I have total faith and confidence that he'll make those next game. He's been working on them obviously. Some of the offensive concepts are different so he's been getting his shots in different places. But, as you talked about, we had great balance. So Brandon isn't always worried about scoring a bunch of points because I think his playmaking skills are so good as well. And if he's going to draw double coverages or he's going to draw a big to come up I think he's a good passer too. There are so many layers to Brandon's game. He's more than just a shooter. He's going to come back the next game and get those same looks and I think they're all going down."

On Miller's two-way impact

Tidjane is asking (to guard specific matchups), Brandon is asking. One time Tidjane and Brandon were trying to fight for the same guy. I love it.

On players helping each other off the floor

"I think it goes to our competitiveness. If someone is going to take a charge, if someone's going to hit the floor, we're all there to pick each other up. I talked about before that's one of the areas that as a group we want to embrace...Up, down, whatever, we want to stay together."

MORE STORIES FROM HORNETS ON SI

Charles Lee explains why he's fired up by Hornets performance despite loss to Knicks

NBA GMs predict a breakout season for these two Hornets

What Cody Martin's injury means for the Hornets' preseason plans

Evaluating LaMelo Ball's first game back with Hornets since injury