The Charlotte Hornets snapped their three-game losing skid at home with a 111-100 upset of the Milwaukee Bucks yesterday, as six players notched double-digit points.
Credit: Melissa Melvin-Rodriguez/The Charlotte Observer
One of them is rookie center Ryan Kalkbrenner, who had 17 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks on a perfect 8-for-8 shooting from the field. During the postgame interview, he revealed that his wife had given birth to their daughter a day before, which inspired his performance.
“I’m glad I was able to be there and support her. She loves watching games, so she was like, ‘I think you should play (Wednesday night). Could be a good distraction to watch the games.’ It’s been a crazy 24, 30 hours, whatever it’s been, but definitely the best couple days of my life,” Kalkbrenner explained via Shane Connuck of The Charlotte Observer.
Credit: Jeff Siner of The Charlotte Observer
“The speed is definitely different,” he continued. “That shorter shot clock makes it to where, in college, you sometimes can catch a break because you walk it up, take a few seconds before getting into a play, and there’s not enough time to do that here in the NBA… It’s definitely been a little bit of an adjustment, but it’s been good. I feel like I’m getting more comfortable very game.”
Charlotte Hornets News: Charles Lee dishes on Ryan Kalkbrenner’s “perfect” performance
Ryan Kalkbrenner became the fourth rookie in Charlotte Hornets history to score at least 15 points on 100% shooting, alongside Mark Williams, Brad Miller, and Cody Zeller, and head coach Charles Lee heaped praise on him yesterday.
“He is not trying to do too much. He understands what his role is and where he needs to be on the floor, his screening, his ability to roll. He’s got great hands, so our players trust throwing it up to lobs or on the glass. He’s able to come up with some offensive rebounds,” Lee said of Kalkbrenner.
“The fact he’s shooting such a great percentage is a testament to him, but also his teammates trusting him down there and finding him. And I’m glad we found a way to get him here (Wednesday). Because he definitely helped and impacted the game,” he concluded.
