A Hornets-Magic February game right before the All-Star break doesn’t exactly scream must-see TV, but you can always count on Hornets announcer Eric Collins to provide some magic in the broadcast booth… especially when things get, in his words, “kooky.”
It all broke down with just seconds to go in the first half of Wednesday night’s game. Orlando’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope got into it with Charlotte’s Nick Smith Jr. Both received a technical foul, but KCP went a little overboard with whatever he was saying to Smith. And for his demonstrations, he earned a second technical and a quick ejection.
And the fun was just getting started.
As the buzzer sounded for halftime, Smith then grabbed a rebound and tossed the ball towards Orlando’s Goga Bitadze. That act earned him his second technical and an ejection as well.
And Eric Collins exploded, as he is known to do sometimes, like he was Kevin Harlan caling Kawhi Leonard’s buzzer beater for the Raptors against the Sixers years ago.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope gets ejected and Nick Smith Jr. follow suit shortly after to end the 1st half.
Eric Collins, the Hornets’ commentator, is getting really excited. pic.twitter.com/xLaBnfVSJu— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) February 13, 2025
“OH! Another ejection! Who got ejected now?!? Nick Smith Jr. got ejected! Oh my goodness, this is getting kooky,” Collins exclaimed.
If you look at it closely, Smith doesn’t really throw the ball at Bitadze, it’s more in his general direction. But clearly there was some residual hangover from the previous incident with Caldwell-Pope and he was on an incredibly short leash.
Can you imagine Eric Collins calling the era of the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons? It would be absolutely incredible theater.
At least the drama gave him something worth getting excited about as the Magic easily rolled past a Lamelo Ball-less Hornets to a 102-86 victory.
