Charles Lee Thrilled with Fan Excitement, LaMelo Ball’s Progress + More

It’s easy to see that Charlotte Hornets fans aren’t the only ones feeding off the swell of excitement Charlotte’s last two months have provided.

Even head coach Charles Lee is catching the fever.

Our own Owen O’Conner of Hornets on SI asked a question that perfectly captured how Lee is seeing the fans' energy in real time.

Owen O. asked about the energy from the home crowd, and Lee answered with a smile on his face:

“It's very exciting. I love that you asked me that question too, because I've been wanting to actually give a shoutout to the crowd… Even the beginning of the game, like you said, you can feel it in the (player) intros. As soon as they announce our starters, the crowd starts to get buzzing a little bit. The energy is increasing.

“I’m really proud of our guys for how they’re making this a product that’s easy to cheer for, and root for. Also just making the fans proud to want to rally behind this group. We appreciate it, and the energy at home has really given us a boost."

Charlotte needed the home boost against Portland on Saturday, too. Both offenses struggled mightily, but these new and improved Hornets have learned to fight through that stagnation in ways we’ve never seen with LaMelo Ball on the roster until this season.

Lee spoke on his offense’s ability to remain afloat through poor shot-making, as well as Ball’s growth as a player following the TrailBlazers game:

"(Winning with bad shooting is a) sign of a good team, shows a sign of maturity to not be so dependent on making shots... between a great next-play mentality and controlling the controllables, our guys have shown great maturity to understand whatever the game is calling for. They're trying to impact winning as much as possible."

That has started with the buy in of max-contract star LaMelo Ball, whose habit-changes on offense and defense haven’t gone unnoticed by his head coach:

"He's just moving his feet more, moving his feet better. It's a testament to him, his offseason work, and our performance staff. He looks like he's just moving great on both ends of the floor… I'm really happy and proud with the progress he's made."

Charlotte gets two days of rest before another home game against the Dallas Mavericks, whose head coach, Jason Kidd, has stated it is unlikely that star rookie Cooper Flagg will be able to play.

A win over Dallas on Tuesday would put the Hornets on a five-game winning streak in the first half of a back-to-back.

Charlotte travels Tuesday night, after the conclusion of the Mavericks game, to Boston for a Wednesday night game against the Celtics with their nine-game road win streak at stake.