Latest news with #Offense
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Hornets Can't Rely on LaMelo Ball's Inconsistency Next Season
Hornets Can't Rely on LaMelo Ball's Inconsistency Next Season originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Hornets were bad at a lot of things last season. Defense, shooting, availability, vibes, but nothing crashed harder than the offense. Charlotte finished 29th in offensive efficiency, and the assist-to-turnover ratio wasn't far behind, settling at 28th. They couldn't score. They couldn't pass. And they couldn't do either without giving the ball away. Advertisement Sure, LaMelo Ball missing half the season didn't help. But even when he was available, the impact was more erratic than anything. Ball posted career worsts in both field-goal percentage (40.5) and three-point shooting (33.9), and his 4.0 turnovers per 36 minutes marked the second-worst rate of his career. The highlight passes and logo threes are still there, but so is the chaos. At his best, Ball remains the Hornets' only true offensive engine. At his worst, he's a volume shooter without a governor. Charlotte doesn't just need LaMelo back. They need a sharper, steadier, and more available version of him. To be fair, the 2024–25 season marked Year 1 of the Charles Lee experiment. It was also the first-year offensive installs rarely ran like clockwork, especially when injuries hijacked the depth chart. Still, even with some expected growing pains, this was rough. Related: Two NBA Draft Night Trade Partners Emerge for Hornets in Latest Rumors The roster around Ball didn't offer much help. No other Hornet averaged even four assists per game. Of the five players who took double-digit shots a night, only Mark Williams shot better than 44 percent from the field. And he's a big. When your only efficient scorer is a vertical spacer who needs someone to set him up, and no one else can pass, it's a problem. Advertisement All of this raises a bigger question. Is the offense too Ball-centric for its own good? Could this team benefit from a little more movement, a little more cutting, and a little less standing around while LaMelo plays high-stakes improv? Related: Max Contract Player Linked to Hornets in NBA Trade Rumors These are the kinds of structural questions Charlotte's front office has to confront this offseason. What kind of team are they building around Ball? What kind of players best compliment him? And what happens if this version of him with the flashes of brilliance wrapped in unpredictability is just who he is? For now, the scoreboard told the story. The Hornets' games averaged 223.8 combined points, and only 39 of 82 contests cleared the 226.5 mark. Translation is even the betting markets gave up on seeing fireworks in Charlotte. Let's see if the front office can spark something new before the upcoming season. This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 9, 2025, where it first appeared.
Miami Herald
07-06-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Illinois Defense Preview 2025: The Fighting Illini D Will Be One of the Big Ten's Best
The defense finished 14th in the Big Ten, was miserable at generating third down stops, and didn't do much at coming up with any tackles for loss. But outside of a few weird performances - like, allowing 49 points to Purdue, 31 to Rutgers, and 28 to Northwestern, all wins - it found ways to bend hard without a ton of breaking. 2025 Illinois Preview Illinois Offense BreakdownSeason Prediction, Win Total, Keys to Season- The secondary is loaded. Almost all of the stars are back, starting with All-Big Ten safety Xavier Scott and fourth-leading tackler Miles Scott. These two are all over the field - Scott is one of the conference's best ball-hawkers - and junior Matthew Bailey is getting to everything else. The team's leading tackler with 94 stops and seven broken up passes, Bailey is about to get a whole lot more corners aren't as strong as the safeties, but they're good. Kaleb Patterson, Jameim Clarke, and Torrie Cox Jr. weren't always air-tight, but they're veterans who know what they're doing. - The linebackers will push the safeties for the star power. Gabe Jacas is a game-wrecking pass rusher, earning All-Big Ten honors, making 74 tackles, eight sacks, and 13 tackles for loss. Fifth-year senior Leon Lowery comes in from Wisconsin - he was great at Syracuse for two years before going to Madison - to work on the other side. Dylan Rosiek eats up tackles in the middle, but he got knocked out with a broken leg. He's expected to be back and fine, and Kenenna Odeluga should step up after getting his feet wet last year. They'll do the dirty work to let the outside guys shine. - The Illini might be loaded with experience across the board, but the defensive front will be all about the transfer portal. Former Wisconsin Badger James Thompson was one of the biggest and best gets in the portal - more on him in a bit - and Tomiwa Durojaiye has a world of upside, but without a ton of stats at West Virginia and then Florida State. 6-0, 300-pound Curt Neal (Wisconsin) is a bowling ball who can hold up on the nose. Season Prediction, Win Total, Keys to Season2025 Illinois PreviewIllinois Offense Breakdown © 2025 The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
NFL Network's Colleen Wolfe Predicts the Eagles' 2025 Record Will Be…?
Rams LB Jared Verse Tells Rich Eisen He REALLY Wants to Play Offense Rams OLB Jared Verse joins Rich Eisen in-studio where he explains how he went from a high school TE to winning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors as an OLB, and reveals his desire to play some offense for L.A. 4:37 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Yahoo
Illinois man allegedly driving stolen vehicle arrested in Wisconsin for OWI
VERONA, Wis. (WFRV) – An Illinois man was arrested in southern Wisconsin for OWI, and shortly after, officers learned that the vehicle had been reported stolen out of Madison. A release from the Verona Police Department states that an officer initiated a traffic stop for a vehicle driving without headlights in the 500 block of Half Mile Road around 1:25 a.m. on February 4. Police in Wisconsin give update on missing pregnant teenager, vehicle using multiple license plates Officers say the driver, later identified as 37-year-old Miguel Olivas from Sterling, Illinois, showed signs of impairment and after Standardized Field Sobriety Tests and Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement tests, he was arrested for OWI – First Offense. Olivas reportedly refused to submit an evidentiary chemical breath test, leading to a search warrant being obtained for a blood sample, it is pending analysis. Around 6:05 a.m., the Madison Police Department took a report of a stolen vehicle from the 3100 block of Maple Grove Drive. The report came from a person whose vehicle was allegedly stolen while they were at work. Victim identified after driver flips vehicle amidst high-speed Wisconsin police pursuit Authorities worked to determine that the vehicle Olivas was pulled over in was reportedly the stolen vehicle out of Madison. Olivas was booked into jail for Operating a Motor Vehicle without Owner's Consent and was also cited for Operating after Revocation and for driving at night without lights. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
