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Mac & Bone Show - Sam Farber Interview · Mac & Bone Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: We need a little sunshine.
• 0:01
  Speaker 2: We need someone to make us happy, to tell us,
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: keep calm, my babies. It's going to be all right.
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: And we call in Sam Farber, the voice of the Hornets.
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: Mac is in a bad mood today. He's grumpy. Can
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: the farm dog uplift the Mac man in this city today?
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: We'll find out next.
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: Sam talks about last night's result and where we're going
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: from here with Boston and Cleveland. Next up, Sports Radio
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: 92.7 WFNZ.
• 0:46
  Speaker 3: Sports Radio 92.7 WFNZ. It's a fiery, feisty, mac and
• 0:51
  Speaker 3: bone show right here on WFNZ. Feel free to go back,
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: listen to the podcast of the time you missed. If
• 0:59
  Speaker 3: you've got some feistiness in you as a Charlotte sports
• 1:01
  Speaker 3: fan right now, feel free to go back, listen to
• 1:06
  Speaker 3: the podcast, wherever you get your podcasts, WFNZ.com, Apple, Spotify,
• 1:10
  Speaker 3: and commiserate with us. We are all going through it
• 1:13
  Speaker 3: together here in Charlotte, in the world of Charlotte sports. Boney,
• 1:18
  Speaker 3: we have the man though. We have the man for
• 1:21
  Speaker 3: the job, right? People getting down and out. People getting
• 1:26
  Speaker 3: bummed out, worried about the Panthers, and now worried about
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: the Hornets after last night. The man is here. The
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: man is not called Sunshine Sam for no reason. Sam Farber,
• 1:36
  Speaker 3: the voice of the Hornets, is going to calm the masses,
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: I have a feeling, here. And Sammy is with us
• 1:42
  Speaker 3: for his weekly spot on Thursday. Sam, what's going on, brother?
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: How you doing?
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: Hi, Mack.
• 1:49
  Speaker 4: I'm kidding. I'm kidding.
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: Oh my God.
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: Oh my God.
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: That scared me so much.
• 1:54
  Speaker 3: I know. I thought we lost Sammy too, man. I
• 1:57
  Speaker 3: thought it was a cloudy day in his world.
• 2:01
  Speaker 4: It might be raining, but it, but you know, there's
• 2:03
  Speaker 4: still sunshine.
• 2:04
  Speaker 3: Oh my goodness. Um, uh, What did you think of
• 2:08
  Speaker 3: last night? I mean, six minutes in, Khan gets hurt again,
• 2:13
  Speaker 3: and now we're worried about that.
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: I mean, I guess you got to start with the injuries.
• 2:17
  Speaker 3: Heck, even during game, Nas Reid's playing great, but he's
• 2:20
  Speaker 3: playing through a back situation.
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: Schroeder's playing through an injury.
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: Grayson Allen at one point got gimpy there on a
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: collision on his three-point attempt. Kobe White gets poked in
• 2:31
  Speaker 3: the eye, no foul call. The luck isn't on our side, Sam,
• 2:36
  Speaker 3: so far this year.
• 2:38
  Speaker 4: Yeah, it wasn't just raining here this morning or last night.
• 2:41
  Speaker 4: It was kind of storming around the Hornets in terms
• 2:45
  Speaker 4: of injuries. It happens. It's a physical game, and I
• 2:49
  Speaker 4: think the Hornets play with a certain level of physicality
• 2:52
  Speaker 4: that sometimes it's going to result in collisions. It's going
• 2:56
  Speaker 4: to result And players getting nicked up. A lot of
• 2:59
  Speaker 4: credit to Nas Reed. I mean, he was getting beaten
• 3:01
  Speaker 4: up bad. You know, it felt like, you know, for
• 3:04
  Speaker 4: the entirety of the second quarter, like every time he
• 3:07
  Speaker 4: took a bump, he'd hit his back on the floor
• 3:09
  Speaker 4: and then he'd will himself back up and get right
• 3:12
  Speaker 4: back out there to it and ends up with a
• 3:14
  Speaker 4: season high. So a lot of credit to him and
• 3:15
  Speaker 4: all the Hornets. for gritting it out if they were
• 3:19
  Speaker 4: at all capable of doing so. And some of the injuries,
• 3:22
  Speaker 4: you know, clearly more extensive to the point that, you know,
• 3:26
  Speaker 4: Conor Kniepel was not able to get back out there
• 3:28
  Speaker 4: on the floor. But as I said, it's part of
• 3:30
  Speaker 4: the game. It's something the Hornets are going to have
• 3:32
  Speaker 4: to deal with. They've got an A-plus medical team that
• 3:36
  Speaker 4: really just does a tremendous job. And if there is
• 3:38
  Speaker 4: a way to get them on the floor safely, you
• 3:40
  Speaker 4: know that they're going to do it.
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: What do you equate Brandon Miller's struggles to here early
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: this season?
• 3:46
  Speaker 4: I think some of it is the focus of the
• 3:49
  Speaker 4: defense on him, and that's been the case. since day
• 3:53
  Speaker 4: one of the season. I think another part is, you know,
• 3:56
  Speaker 4: he's just in the shooting slump right now. You know,
• 3:58
  Speaker 4: we see it with great hitters in baseball. We see
• 4:01
  Speaker 4: it with, you know, great players across the board in
• 4:03
  Speaker 4: all sports. Sometimes you just don't have the ball going
• 4:07
  Speaker 4: through the cylinder. And it was uncanny, like the first quarter,
• 4:10
  Speaker 4: not just Brandon, but it felt like the entire team,
• 4:13
  Speaker 4: not just shots missing, but missing from the interior of
• 4:16
  Speaker 4: the rim. Like these were, you know, halfway down the
• 4:19
  Speaker 4: cylinder and, And they just, you know, I don't know
• 4:21
  Speaker 4: if they tightened it on that side of the floor
• 4:22
  Speaker 4: in Brooklyn before the game started or what, but the
• 4:25
  Speaker 4: Hornets just were not getting the bounces. So I think,
• 4:28
  Speaker 4: you know, talking to Brandon in the past, talking to
• 4:30
  Speaker 4: shooters like Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neal, the only way
• 4:33
  Speaker 4: through it is to keep shooting. And the worst thing
• 4:36
  Speaker 4: Brandon could do would be to turn off the green
• 4:39
  Speaker 4: light that he's had since entering the league, because he's
• 4:41
  Speaker 4: one of the most proficient three-point shooters we have in
• 4:44
  Speaker 4: the game. And so, you know, I firmly believe this
• 4:48
  Speaker 4: is going to even out by season's end. It's just
• 4:51
  Speaker 4: a matter of time.
• 4:52
  Speaker 3: We're talking with Sam Farber, voice of the Hornets. Hornets
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: on a five-game losing streak right now, and we're trying
• 4:59
  Speaker 3: to talk through this here with our guy Sammy. Sam,
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: what do you think about where Kobe White is right now?
• 5:05
  Speaker 3: He goes two of nine last night. It feels like
• 5:08
  Speaker 3: he's not quite fully up to speed coming off the
• 5:11
  Speaker 3: calf injury, but also the minutes restriction feels so severe.
• 5:16
  Speaker 3: He plays 18 minutes after 16 the first game. He
• 5:19
  Speaker 3: only was able to play three games.
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: In the fourth quarter. What are your thoughts on that?
• 5:25
  Speaker 3: That's like a heavy, like Lamello's restriction of like under
• 5:29
  Speaker 3: 30 minutes was one thing.
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: This is a heavy restriction.
• 5:33
  Speaker 4: Well, I think there is a difference here. I think
• 5:35
  Speaker 4: with Lamello, the restriction was to keep him healthy. And
• 5:38
  Speaker 4: I think with Kobe, it might be in some small
• 5:41
  Speaker 4: part to continue to get him healthier or get him
• 5:44
  Speaker 4: ramped up to full minutes. You know, Kobe went through
• 5:48
  Speaker 4: a calf strain, and it's an injury he has had
• 5:50
  Speaker 4: experience with and was able to navigate last year. which
• 5:57
  Speaker 4: I believe was a career low for him. But, you know,
• 6:00
  Speaker 4: some of it was minutes. Some of it was the
• 6:01
  Speaker 4: fact that he was coming off the bench, but the
• 6:03
  Speaker 4: Hornets were able to put him in a position to
• 6:05
  Speaker 4: be really, really explosive at the end of seasons and
• 6:08
  Speaker 4: obviously make one of the most consequential shots in franchise history.
• 6:11
  Speaker 4: Right now they're asking, they're going to be asking more
• 6:14
  Speaker 4: of him when he's back to, you know, full strength, 100%.
• 6:17
  Speaker 4: And I'm not suggesting he's not healthy enough to be playing.
• 6:20
  Speaker 4: That's not what I'm saying. I'm suggesting that with this
• 6:24
  Speaker 4: kind of injury, it's not you're back on the floor
• 6:28
  Speaker 4: and let's go 1,000% immediately out of the gate. I
• 6:32
  Speaker 4: think there is some ramp-up time, and the Hornets are
• 6:34
  Speaker 4: benefiting from the minutes they have him on the floor
• 6:37
  Speaker 4: and Other players are being put in more their normal
• 6:40
  Speaker 4: roles alongside of it. But clearly he's not 100% just yet.
• 6:45
  Speaker 4: We're not quite seeing that same level of explosion consistently.
• 6:49
  Speaker 4: I'll tell you, maybe the most encouraging thing I saw
• 6:52
  Speaker 4: from Kobe is when he did sub out there in
• 6:54
  Speaker 4: that last time of the fourth quarter, he is sprinting
• 6:57
  Speaker 4: to the bench. He knows full well when his minutes
• 6:59
  Speaker 4: are up, but he looks pretty fresh at that stage
• 7:03
  Speaker 4: of the game, which to me says maybe there's a
• 7:05
  Speaker 4: chance that he can continue to stretch those myths and
• 7:08
  Speaker 4: continue to build up towards the normal Kobe White we
• 7:11
  Speaker 4: were accustomed to seeing.
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: Sam, what's your message to the fans right now that
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: we hear from and just hypothetically any radio hosts out
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: there that aren't freaking out but they might be panicking
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: to some degree right now? What's your message to that
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: group of folks about the start of the season?
• 7:29
  Speaker 4: My message would be that the world is a scary
• 7:32
  Speaker 4: and confusing and stressful and at times exhausting place. But
• 7:35
  Speaker 4: basketball is all of that, but in a good way.
• 7:38
  Speaker 4: And so while the Charlotte Hornets are dealing with some
• 7:41
  Speaker 4: things now between injuries and some poor shooting luck and
• 7:46
  Speaker 4: running into teams at inopportune times, players seem to be
• 7:50
  Speaker 4: getting hot just when the Hornets arrive, I think the
• 7:54
  Speaker 4: fundamentals of this team are still really, really sound. We're
• 7:57
  Speaker 4: seeing some improvement here in the turnover realm. We're still
• 8:02
  Speaker 4: seeing this team be dominant on the glass. And guys
• 8:05
  Speaker 4: that have been great shooters for two, three, four plus
• 8:08
  Speaker 4: years in the NBA, some of them way longer than that,
• 8:12
  Speaker 4: they don't suddenly turn it off. So the fact that
• 8:15
  Speaker 4: Brandon Miller is shooting, I think, in the low 30s
• 8:18
  Speaker 4: or high 20s from three mean that there's some weeks
• 8:21
  Speaker 4: coming up here where he's going to be shooting 50%
• 8:23
  Speaker 4: or better. The fact that Nas Reid is maybe a
• 8:27
  Speaker 4: little under his percentages right now and still being super productive,
• 8:30
  Speaker 4: I might add, he's capable of having a big jump here.
• 8:34
  Speaker 4: So I think the stars are going to align for
• 8:36
  Speaker 4: the Hornets. Obviously, injuries are something you've got to work through.
• 8:40
  Speaker 4: But there's plenty of room for optimism. And most importantly,
• 8:43
  Speaker 4: there's a lot of time in front of the Hornets.
• 8:46
  Speaker 4: You might recall from last season, they started the season
• 8:48
  Speaker 4: four and 14. I think there were 10 games under
• 8:50
  Speaker 4: 500 in late December. This team is way far away
• 8:56
  Speaker 4: from that. And I don't want them to touch it.
• 8:58
  Speaker 4: But I think they're in a much better situation and
• 9:01
  Speaker 4: position right now with a healthy Brandon Miller, with a
• 9:05
  Speaker 4: healthy Nas Reid, to start making that ascent hopefully sooner.
• 9:09
  Speaker 3: I will say this, and I'm getting ready to ask
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: you about LaMelo because you can only imagine how many
• 9:14
  Speaker 3: times he's getting mentioned in text today. But I will
• 9:17
  Speaker 3: say this. Last year in the slow start, when they
• 9:20
  Speaker 3: had LaMelo but didn't have Brandon and there were a
• 9:24
  Speaker 3: couple other injuries, We were 2-9 in the first 11
• 9:28
  Speaker 3: games Lomelo played last year.
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: So I will point that out.
• 9:32
  Speaker 3: But I will ask you the question, though, Sam, for
• 9:35
  Speaker 3: fans that are seeing the offense struggle like this and
• 9:39
  Speaker 3: are missing Lomelo Ball, who had such an effect on
• 9:42
  Speaker 3: the offense, what would you— I don't mean to keep putting
• 9:45
  Speaker 3: you on the spot, Bone and I asking you to
• 9:47
  Speaker 3: be the team spokesman.
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: Give us the answers and the truth!
• 9:51
  Speaker 3: But what would you say to fans that are just like, man,
• 9:54
  Speaker 3: that offense was so pretty with LaMelo?
• 9:57
  Speaker 4: It was, but.
• 9:59
  Speaker 4: As you recall and as you referenced there, it was
• 10:03
  Speaker 4: pretty with LaMelo and Brandon Miller. That was really the accelerant.
• 10:07
  Speaker 4: When Brandon Miller got back on the floor recovering from
• 10:10
  Speaker 4: that shoulder injury, or at least to the extent he
• 10:12
  Speaker 4: could play, he had off-season shoulder surgery, so I kind
• 10:16
  Speaker 4: of doubt that he was always 100% perfect health. He just,
• 10:21
  Speaker 4: you know, had that will and that drive to get
• 10:23
  Speaker 4: back up there on the floor and overcome the injury.
• 10:26
  Speaker 4: But getting back to the point, it's when he got
• 10:28
  Speaker 4: back on the floor that things really took off. And
• 10:31
  Speaker 4: so I see the potential for Brandon and Nas or
• 10:35
  Speaker 4: those two plus Kobe White or those three plus Khan Kanipal.
• 10:39
  Speaker 4: to be that accelerant and have things take off. There
• 10:43
  Speaker 4: is no denying LaMelo is a tremendous player, creative passer.
• 10:48
  Speaker 4: We love him. There's no ill will for him in
• 10:51
  Speaker 4: that building whatsoever. And he's doing a good job right
• 10:55
  Speaker 4: now without Anthony Edwards of continuing to keep that ship afloat.
• 11:00
  Speaker 4: But that doesn't mean that Charlotte didn't get a huge
• 11:04
  Speaker 4: haul here, an offer you can't refuse here. To make
• 11:08
  Speaker 4: the deal. And again, it doesn't mean that they're not
• 11:11
  Speaker 4: going to have their own assent here once they're able
• 11:14
  Speaker 4: to get their stars aligned and hopefully get out of
• 11:17
  Speaker 4: the shooting rut.
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: Sam, celebrity text for you here. It says, Sam, stay
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: strong in this weekly spot. Sincerely, Jim Zoki.
• 11:28
  Speaker 4: I love Jim. Jim knows tough times as well. Sometimes
• 11:32
  Speaker 4: it comes in sports. I think, again, the fundamentals of
• 11:38
  Speaker 4: this team are in a really, really good place. They
• 11:40
  Speaker 4: got veteran players with playoff experience who, frankly, have been
• 11:44
  Speaker 4: through worse than five-game losing streaks in the past. So,
• 11:47
  Speaker 4: It feels a little like the sky is falling because,
• 11:50
  Speaker 4: you know, five losses in a row doesn't feel great.
• 11:53
  Speaker 4: But it's a very small sample size in the grand
• 11:56
  Speaker 4: scheme of the season. And sometimes momentum is only as
• 12:00
  Speaker 4: good as the next day's starter. That's what they say
• 12:02
  Speaker 4: in baseball. And so in basketball, a chance to have
• 12:05
  Speaker 4: a good shooting night and a good performance in the
• 12:07
  Speaker 4: Emirates NBA Cup tomorrow against Boston might be just what
• 12:11
  Speaker 4: the doctor ordered. Some home cooking here for the Hornets.
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: All right, Sammy.
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: We appreciate you being here in the foxhole with us.
• 12:16
  Speaker 3: Zoki has been in many a foxhole. We appreciate you
• 12:19
  Speaker 3: being in a foxhole as well. So it's Boston tomorrow
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: night at home if you're out there and you want
• 12:28
  Speaker 3: a Friday night out. Appreciate you, Sam. Thanks so much, brother.
• 12:33
  Speaker 4: And look, last season, one of the big turning points
• 12:36
  Speaker 4: was the fans. It was the middle of that snowstorm
• 12:38
  Speaker 4: where every weatherman in the city said, don't get out
• 12:41
  Speaker 4: there on the roads, and everyone packed the place. And
• 12:43
  Speaker 4: Charlotte responded, the Hornets responded, and started putting together wins.
• 12:47
  Speaker 4: So let's do it again. We'll see everyone at the
• 12:49
  Speaker 4: Hive tomorrow night. Emirates NBA Cup action against Boston. Then
• 12:52
  Speaker 4: again on Monday when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers.
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: Awesome. Thank you, Sam. Appreciate you.
• 12:58
  Speaker 4: Thank you, guys.