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The Hornets beat the Clippers

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:06:05 -0000

Just what the doctor ordered.

The Hornets finally looked like a professional basketball team tonight, as they took apart the Clippers at the Staples Center. Our guys had it clicking on both sides of the ball, as evidenced by the 112-84 final score ( box | recap ).

Skipping the bullets and doing this recap ClipperBlog style...

Three-point barrage

After being burned repeatedly by the three ball in recent games, tonight it was the Hornets making it rain from downtown. Devin Brown and Peja Stojakovic got nice open looks in the first quarter and kept knocking them down. The Hornets would finish the quarter shooting 7-of-9 from deep, and all those buckets seemed to give everyone a little more energy on the defensive end.

Devin Brown

Where to begin? This guy was thrust into the starting lineup yesterday against the Lakers and instantly proved to be an offensive upgrade over Morris Peterson. Tonight against the Clippers, Devin took it to a whole new level. He was everywhere in this one: knocking down threes, playing great help defense, coming up with steals, running and finishing the break. I can only assume he stole some of Kobe's talent yesterday, Space Jam style.

Devin's final line: 30 minutes, 25 points, 8-14 FGs, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals.

History proves that DB can't be counted on to play like this night in and night out, and so he's obviously not the long-term answer at shooting guard. But savor his performance tonight for what it was: outstanding.

The rookies

Another bump in playing time for Collison and Thornton; 17 and 18 minutes respectively. They did a great job pushing the tempo and keeping the Hornets' energy high in the second quarter, and both guys showed flashes of brilliance for the second straight game. They also showed plenty of room for improvement though, with Collison's jumper looking shaky and Thornton forcing the issue too much when his jumper wouldn't fall.

Gotta love seeing the young guys out there making those mistakes though. Reminds me of that Ben Franklin quote: "Tell me and I'll forget. Teach me and I'll remember. Involve me and I'll learn." Hopefully Byron took note that the sky didn't fall when Collison turned the ball over, and the ground didn't open up when Thornton charged into Ricky Davis.

Hornets' defense

I'm not going to get too high on the Hornets D after this one. The rotations and switches did look sharp, but those were the Clippers on offense, minus Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon. Plus, the Clips botched multiple easy looks that they should have put away.

I will single out Emeka Okafor though for the stellar job he did on newly anointed Western Conference Player of the Week Chris Kaman. Kaman started hot with 10 of his 14 points coming mostly from jumpers in the first 13 minutes. He didn't get many open looks beyond that though, and Okafor refused to give up anything easy when the Clippers repeatedly went to Kaman with his back to the basket. Not that Okafor did it all by his lonesome; consistent help D from his teammates forced Kaman into some tough spots.

Chris Paul

Finally: a great game by Chris doesn't go to waste. He was doing the same things in this one that he'd been doing all season, only difference being that his teammates were matching his energy and knocking down open looks. Scary moment before halftime when Chris twisted his ankle. I thought maybe he would have been better off sitting out the rest of the game, but then remembered that he's made of invincible.

David West

No secret that he'd been struggling so far this season, but he looked more like a two-time All-Star tonight. He got some jumpers falling early and mixed it up inside later, getting after rebounds and playing physical. It helped that Marcus Camby played terrible. West finished with 17 points (8-14 FGs) and 9 boards in 29 minutes of action.

Easy to understate this win since it came against a short-handed Clippers team, but the Hornets desperately needed a W. It stops the tailspin and gives them something positive to build on as they head into a stretch of three tough games: at Phoenix Wednesday, hosting the Blazers Friday, and at Atlanta on Saturday.

Finishing it out with some Hornets-Clippers video highlights, and be sure to check out Mr. Kennedy's post-game Journal report.

Game On: Hornets @ Clippers

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:13:26 -0000

Posted by Niall Doherty

The Hornets got blown out of the Staples Center last night by the Lakers, and tonight they're back in the same building to play the Clippers. Game tips at 9:30 p.m. Central.

After starting the season 0-4, thems Clips have won three straight games, though their opponents in those three have been the T-Wolves, Warriors and Grizzlies. Those teams currently have a combined record of 3-16.

L.A. will of course be without Blake Griffin tonight, and Eric Gordon is doubtful with a sore left groin. Gordon's absence should mean our old friend Rasual Butler will be in the starting lineup for the Clippers.

As for the Hornets, Byron Scott has decided to shake things up even more, saying he'll slot Peja Stojakovic back into the starting lineup and hinting that he'll play the rookies more.

Linkage:

Journals: Hornets-Lakers Post-Game Report
Lagniappe: Adande, smiles and a T-P video report
Rival bloggers: ClipperBlog.com | Clips Nation

(Many thanks to Dariusz for the banner.)

40 super-fantastic comments

The Lakers Pounded the Hornets

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:52:20 -0000

Posted by Ryan Schwan

The Hornets lost again tonight in rather embarassing fashion as the Lakers took it to them early, and then never let them threaten again. Blowouts appear to be the norm this season for opponents of the Hornets. Good times. Good times. For them. Now, you can say "But it's the Lakers!" but both Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum were out and the Hornets still didn't look like they belonged on the court.

The first play of the game was indicative: Kobe Bryant strips Devin Brown and takes it in for a dunk. If any of you were surprised by that, you haven't watched the Hornets the last 12 months. Observations - such as they are:

Chris Paul didn't have an other-worldly shooting night for the first time this season, and it made it even more apparent how poorly the rest of this team is playing. Paul still did alright with 15 points and 9 dimes, but he rode the pine for a lot of the fourth as the game was over by halftime.
Devin Brown wasn't shy in creating contact with Kobe. Unfortunately, he didn't really make Kobe's life any harder - or deny him the shots he wanted. That's one thing you should take away from tonight. If you took a look at the tape and analyzed the plays, you will see the Hornets do a solid job of contesting shots. They are there, with a hand in the Laker's faces for a lot of the shots. The problem is that those are the shots the Lakers want. The Hornets don't take away offensive options - they merely contest shots when they are taken. That's a recipe for disaster.
The best part of the game tonight was the 4th quarter, when the team started running. If Byron wants his team to get out and run like he's claimed over and over and over, he needs to put in players who CAN run. Collison's speed and decision making on the break is in another league from Bobby Brown's - and he was great in the open floor with Thornton and Julian filling the wings in the last quarter.

David West has always been bothered by Lamar Odom. His best work against the Lakers has always been with Pau Gasol on him - but like I've said a thousand times before, he can't score on fast, long defenders. Tonight, he pretty much settled for the mid-range jumper all night. There's a reason why the mid-range jumper is a bit of a lost art. It ain't efficient. 4-11 for 11 points. And 4 rebounds.
Julian Wright had four layups that bounced off his fingers, and he was bailed out on one of his "fast breaks" where he continued to push one on two. I'm not sure which is worse for me right now - watching someone in a Hornet's uniform take a three point shot, or Julian trying to handle the ball. Both are more likely to end poorly than not.
Okafor had a nice game, including two vicious dunks on post moves. I'd like to be happy about that, but he was being guarded by DJ Mbenga and Josh Powell. Yeah, that does kinda take the shine off of things.

So . . . that's about it about the game. I do want to say one other thing before heading off to sleep. If you went back and looked at the past posts on this blog, you'll find me defending Byron Scott a lot. I like a lot of things Byron does, and I like a lot of his philosophies. Tonight, however, the scales tipped for me. My level of frustration about his decisions this season has passed "open-mouthed in disbelief" and reached "weeping blood". I don't even know what to say at this point.

Clippers are tomorrow night. Maybe our guys can avoid a blowout.

UPDATE: Video highlights from NBA.com:

Also be sure to check out Mr. Kennedy's Hornets-Lakers report in our Journals section.

28 glorious comments

Game On: Lakers @ Hornets

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:33:59 -0000

Posted by Niall Doherty

Fresh of their disappointing loss to the Raptors on Friday, the Hornets are in Los Angeles tonight to take on the defending champion Lakers. Game tips at 8:30 p.m. Central.

Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol are both injured and will sit this one out, but the Lakers did just fine without their star bigs on Friday, blowing out the Grizzlies to improve to 5-1 on the season.

Kobe Bryant has been on a tear, averaging 34.5ppg so far this season, including 41 in three of his last four games. He may be in for trouble tonight though, with the mighty Devin Brown due to start at shooting guard for the Hornets.

:-/

Linkage:

Video analysis: Hornets third quarter collapse vs. Toronto
But The Game Is On: Solving the Hornets Lack of Production
Rival bloggers: Forum Blue and Gold (great game preview there) | LA Times

(Many thanks to Dariusz for the banner.)

52 remarkable comments

Video analysis: Hornets-Raptors third quarter

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 11:15:52 -0000

Posted by Niall Doherty

The Hornets fell apart in the third quarter against the Raptors on Friday night. They gave up 34 points while only scoring 14, and the Raptors were able to cruise to victory in the fourth.

Here's video and commentary on the Hornets' offensive and defensive possessions in the third quarter:

2 intriguing comments

The Raptors beat the Hornets

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:40:38 -0000

Posted by Niall Doherty

The Hornets played the Raptors evenly for the first, second and fourth quarters tonight. It was the third quarter that killed them. Up 56-51 ninety seconds into the second half, the Hornets then could only watch as Toronto took off on a 32-7 run. The Raps dropped 8-of-10 triples during that stretch and never looked back. 107-90 was the final score ( box | recap ).

Chris Paul came through with another big game for the Hornets, finishing with 21 points (8-13 FGs), 18 assists, 7 boards, 2 steals and just one turnover. Big numbers like that from CP used to be a nice consolation in a loss, but these days it's just depressing. He's playing out of this world, and the Hornets are still getting spanked. Word is he didn't stick around to talk to the media after the game either. This woeful start to the season must be killing him.

Jumping into some bullets:

When the Raptors weren't lighting it up from deep in the third quarter, they were playing some zone defense that the Hornets had trouble cracking. And when they weren't in that zone, they did a nice job crowding the middle and recovering to challenge the Hornets shooters. There were holes there for our wings to drive off the catch, but alas, most of our wings can't drive.
The Raps also did a solid job defending the pick and roll, hedging hard with a big and having an extra man help enough to cover West fading or Okafor rolling.

Chris Bosh: 27 points (9-9 FGs) and 7 rebounds. He showed the entire offensive arsenal tonight. Post moves, fade-aways, hook shots, as well as a three pointer and plenty of hard drives that got him to the free throw line. I was impressed with his intensity and focus on the defensive end, too. Truly a great player.
Julian Wright, Morris Peterson, James Posey and Emeka Okafor were almost invisible out there tonight. JuJu got dunked on hard by Bosh at one point, which served him right for playing lazy help defense.
Silver lining: the rookies got some burn. Unfortunately it was only two minutes of garbage time, but it's progress. Collison looked nervous out there and made some mistakes on both ends, while Thornton missed a jumper but did score on an offensive rebound.
Rajon Rondo was right about one thing: Chris Paul does have the ball in his hands an awful lot. I'd be willing to bet that the Hornets make a lot more passes per offensive trip when Paul is out of the game. Not that they score more as a result, but I wonder if the offense would be more successful if the same type of ball movement happened when Chris was in the game.
The Hornets shot 14 free throws in the first half. The didn't make one trip to the line for the first 15 minutes of the second half.
Bobby Brown was back to his chucking ways in the fourth quarter. I like him much better when he's only shooting open, spot-up threes, or taking the ball hard to the rack.

Worth noting that Byron Scott was late to his usual post-game press conference. I can only assume he was chewing guys out in the locker room. With the media, he mainly spoke about the lack of energy and effort on display by the Hornets tonight, which he said was surprising to him since he only put the team through a light practice yesterday. He didn't seem too keen on accepting responsibility for the problem either: "Energy and effort is inside you. It's not something you can coach or teach."

I think it's time to seriously question whether the players have quit on Byron Scott. He wasn't wrong about the lack of energy and effort tonight. I didn't see any fire from our guys in the third quarter when the Raptors were busy stepping on their throats. That's a problem that has nothing to do with integrating six new players into the system. You can blame poor defensive rotations and mistimed passes on the summer shake-up, but it doesn't explain the players' lack of emotion when they were getting their asses handed to them after halftime. Even Chris Paul seemed unusually accepting of what was going on, almost like he was saying to himself "What's the point?" Not a good sign.

Lakers on Sunday.

UPDATE: Mr. Kennedy's post-game Journal report.

And video of Byron's post-game press conference:

29 magnificent comments

Game On: Raptors @ Hornets

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:27:00 -0000

Posted by Niall Doherty

Before we get started, join me in wishing Hornets' owner George Shinn well. The team announced today that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. I'm liking his attitude towards it: "This is not the first obstacle that I have had to overcome in life, but it will be another one that will be conquered."

Hornets hosting the Raptors tonight, with our guys still in search of a convincing victory this season. The Raps have started out 2-2, been busy scoring and allowing tons of points. They last played Wednesday in Toronto, beating the Pistons 110-99 behind 47 combined points from Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani.

Ike Diogu is likely to be inactive again, but keep your fingers crossed for a rookie sighting.

Game tips at 7 p.m. Central.

Linkage:

Ryan's game preview
Journals: Hornets coming together - hard/but can do
Rival bloggers: RaptorBlog.com | Raptors Republic | RaptorsHQ.com

(Many thanks to Dariusz for the banner.)

26 legendary comments

Game Preview: Raptors will Try to Make it Rain

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:42:21 -0000

Posted by Ryan Schwan

Matchup: Raptors(2-2) @ Hornets(2-3)

Off Efficiency: Raptors 114.0(3rd), Hornets 106.1(10th)
Def Efficiency: Raptors 111.2(28th), Hornets 108.1(25th)

The Raptors are explosive offensively. 114.0 efficiency so far is pretty crazy, and it's all being generated by the Raptor frontcourt of Bosh, Bargnani and Turkoglu. All three have been on a shooting tear, with Bargnani earning a blistering 1.6 points per shot, Hedo earning 1.48, and Chris Bosh putting down 1.64. To put that in perspective, all of those numbers would have led the Hornets last year.

Compound their crazy numbers and their perimeter shooting skill with the fact that the Hornets big men aren't good at getting to the perimeter, and things could get a little dicey tonight.

Fortunately for the Hornets, the Raptors are just as determined to give up points as they are at earning them, as they have been allowing 111.2 points per posession, good for 28th in the league. The Raptors starting five doesn't really have anyone who could be accused of playing tough defense, and other than Antoine Wright, their bench is much the same.

It'll be interesting to see how this game turns out. The Hornets are reliant on post scoring and Chris Paul, while the Raptors are reliant on perimeter scoring, and neither team is built to stop either of those attacks particularly well.

Injuries:

Raptors: None
Hornets: Diogu is practicing, but still no word if he's game-ready.

Positional Analysis

PG: Jose Calderon v Chris Paul
Advantage: Hornets
Jose Calderon had a magnificent season two years ago. He shot well, made less mistakes than Paul, and ran the offense perfectly. Sadly, he's fallen off the map last year and this year, slowed by injury. So far this season, he's done very little, shooting and assisting at a low rate, and defending poorly - something he did even during his good season. Chris Paul is due for a fall in his shooting numbers, but Jose Calderon is not the one who is going to make it happen.

SG: DeMar DeRozan v MoRris PeTerson
Advantage: Push
DeMar is a raw rookie, and he hasn't done much so far this season - hitting open shots, getting a dunk here and there, and that's about it. He is an exceptional athelete, and that may be enough to get him open against Peterson at this point - I'm just not sure if he'll be able to do anything once he shakes free. Not that Morris will be doing that much himself.

SF: Hedo Turkoglu v Julian Wright
Advantage: Raptors
Hedo is a nice all-around player. Julian should have little trouble contesting his drives, but I expect Turk to burn him on the perimeter several times. Happily, Julian should be able to control the boards against Turkoglu with little trouble, and will probably get at least one open alley-oop against the help-happy Hedo. Still, Hedo should win this battle.

PF: Chris Bosh v David West
Advantage: Raptors
Bosh has gone to the line an average of 16 times per game this season. 16 times. He's been more aggressive going to the hole after putting on some weight in the off-season, and has generally been a nightmare to defend. West already struggled defending Bosh enough that Chandler usually ended up on him. This could get ugly. On the reverse side, West has always scored well against Bosh as well - just not quite as prolifically as Bosh. On the boards, this is no contest. Bosh rebounds, West doesn't.

C: Andrea Bargnani v Emeka Okafor
Advantage: Push
Raptors fans will trash me for this, but I'm really skeptical that Bargnani's shooting is going to continue at this rate, and that's really the only thing Andrea has going for him. He doesn't really defend, he's an AWFUL rebounder, he doesn't pass, he susceptible to turnovers. I'd rather have Okafor, who can score in the post at a decent clip and still provide excellent rebounding and defense. The only thing that makes this matchup a Push is the fact that Bargnani is on such a tear shooting. If he slips to anything closer to normal shooting during the game, this matchup swings strongly in the Hornets favor.

Bench
Advantage: Hornets
Jarrett Jack, Antoine Wright, Amir Johnson, Rasho Nesterovich, Marco Belinelli v Peja Stojakovic, Bobby Brown, Darius Songaila, James Posey, Hilton Armstrong

I like Jarrett Jack as a backup point guard. Amir and Rasho are a decent pair of backup bigs. Still, though we might complain about our bench's lack of offensive punch, the Raptors have us beat. Marco Bellineli can fill it up quick, but is so limited in other respects, that he gets less time than Jack and Antoine Wright. The Hornets can at least feel comfortable now that either Peja or Bobby is likely to contribute something offensively. Usually. Still, the advantage is a hairs breadth.

Enjoy the game.

21 super-fantastic comments

No playing time for Collison and Thornton: the exception or the norm?

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:30:35 -0000

Posted by Niall Doherty

The Hornets have played five games so far this season, amounting to 265 player minutes. Darren Collison, the Hornets' 2009 first-round draft pick, has played just three of those minutes. Marcus Thornton, the team's 2009 second-round pick, has been inactive for every game.

Many fans are upset with head coach Byron Scott for not giving the rookies a chance. But is Byron doing anything different from his peers in the NBA? Let's look at some comparable rookies and the playing time they've received so far. We'll take the five players drafted before and the five players drafted after both Collison and Thornton.

Collison Comparison

Pick	Player	Position	Team	Minutes (Tot)	Minutes (Avg)
16	James Johnson	PF	CHI	11	11.0
17	Jrue Holiday	PG	PHI	19	09.5
18	Ty Lawson	PG	DEN	106	21.2
19	Jeff Teague	PG	ATL	45	11.3
20	Eric Maynor	PG	UTA	13	04.3
21	Darren Collison	PG	NOH	3	03.0
22	Victor Claver	SF	POR	n/a	n/a
23	Omri Casspi	SF	SAC	99	19.8
24	B.J. Mullens	C	OKC	0	00.0
25	Rodrigue Beaubois	PG	DAL	16	08.0
26	Taj Gibson	PF	CHI	76	19.0

Notes:

Beaubois and Gibson have both started one game this season.
Victor Claver is playing overseas.

Thornton Comparison

Pick	Player	Position	Team	Minutes (Tot)	Minutes (Avg)
38	Jon Brockman	PF	SAC	43	08.6
39	Jonas Jerebko	SF	DET	57	19.0
40	Derrick Brown	PF	CHA	28	09.3
41	Jodie Meeks	SG	MIL	2	02.0
42	Patrick Beverley	PG	MIA	n/a	n/a
43	Marcus Thornton	SG	NOH	0	00.0
44	Chase Budinger	SG	HOU	64	16.0
45	Nick Calathes	PG	MIN	n/a	n/a
46	Daniel Green	SF	CLE	0	00.0
47	Henk Norel	PF	DAL	n/a	n/a
48	Taylor Griffin	SF	PHO	8	08.0

Notes:

Jonas Jerebko has started two games this season.
Patrick Beverley, Nick Calathes and Henk Norel are all playing overseas.

Disclaimer

Keep in mind that each team's situation is different. Some rookies might be seeing little PT because they have solid players ahead of them in the rotation, while others have been getting big minutes because they have little competition for the job.

Also, the minutes above are through games played November 4th. Some teams had played four games, some teams had played five.

Looking forward

This from NOLA.com today:

Rookie shooting guard Marcus Thornton was put on the inactive list Wednesday for the fifth consecutive game, but he may activated for Friday night's game against Toronto Raptors or for Sunday's road game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

And Scott said first-round draft pick Darren Collison could get more time on the floor after playing only three minutes in the regular-season opener against the San Antonio Spurs.

"I think both of those guys are kind of biting at the bits right now to get out there and play, " Scott said. "Hopefully next week, they will get the opportunity."

23 jaw-dropping comments

The Hornets Beat the Mavericks

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:17:08 -0000

Posted by Ryan Schwan

Now THAT was a barnburner. When West got that technical in the fourth, with the Hornets down 3, I was certain that game was done. Then, Wow. Three missed Dallas free-throws later, Peja, drills a slightly off-balance three, his first and only made shot of the night, West moves his feet and gets a steal, and the Hornets do their usual unstoppable act in overtime. Lots to talk about in this one:

First the Chris Paul Insane Shooting Update: He went 14-23 tonight, and 3-4 from three. Incredibly, that lowers his shooting percentages for the season to 64% from the field and 75% from three.
Tonight we got to see the difference between Bobby Brown the point guard, and Bobby Brown the shooting guard. He had some of the best cuts I've seen by a Hornet player in years, and he's starting to get more comfortable with his teammates. He still has a too-quick trigger finger at times, but tonight something huge happened: Early in the second quarter, Bobby was getting out of control - he had already had two bad posessions dribbling the ball too much and was about to launch into another one when a piercing whistle cut the air. Bobby stopped, looked up, and Byron yelled out instructions, gesturing furiously. Moments later, the ball was in Songaila's hands, the play was being run, and Bobby never looked out of control again.
Byron also made some other important moves tonight. He had Posey on the floor to start the fourth - and when Posey couldn't even stay in the same area code with Jason Terry on two straight posessions, he put in Chris Paul, shifted Mo Pete to Terry and went with that. Now, that may seem like no big deal - but for Byron, that's a HUGE deal. He's always been one to settle on rotations, and try to stick with them, even when things start crapping out. Tonight, he yanked Posey quick. He yanked Armstrong quick after a couple bad offensive and defensive lapses, and went with Songaila. When Peterson couldn't harass Terry, he yanked him and went with Bobby, who could at least stay in front of him most of the time. Can we hope Byron is turning the corner?

Terry was crazy. Like I said in the game preview, he always kills the Hornets, and he was true to form, drilling everything he put up. 35 points on 18(!) shots. Crazy bastard.
David West was rolling tonight, like he always does against Nowitzki and company. West struggles against long, quick power forwards like Garnett, Odom, and Kenyon Martin. He typically punishes smaller players or guys who have no foot-speed. Nowitzki falls into that last category. West can handle him defensively because Nowitzki can't outmuscle him, and that leaves Nowitzki one remaining advantage - his height and unblockable jumper. So he unleashes it against West - but a contested mid-range jumper, no matter how unblockable, is infinitely less efficient than one going to the basket. It's why the Hornets are a tough matchup for the Mavericks.
The interior defense of the Hornets was much improved tonight. The problem, however, was they kept shifting to help each other on penetration so much that Dampier was an offensive rebounding and putback machine. Still, that is infinitely better than a lay-up line.
Julian missed all three of his shots - and none of them were good shots either. For all his potential, and the energy he showed grabbing rebounds, if I was a Hornets coach, I'd also have a hard time keeping Julian on the floor for more than 18 minutes. With Peja - or even Peterson to some extent, you at least make one of the defenders play honestly and stick with him - giving Paul more room to operate.
Okafor and West, aided by Peterson and Wright, won the battle of the boards for the Hornets for the first time this season.
Okafor was also huge defensively in the fourth with some wonderful putbacks and blocks. Like I said in the preview, he did struggle against Dampier's strength, making it hard for him to score in the post, but I'm still perfectly happy with 11 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks, 3 assists and a steal. He was also a good 70% of the reason why Marion could never finish when he got near the rim - the other part being Marion just can't finish that well anymore.
Speaking of finishing terribly, I'd like to thank Jason Kidd for driving to the hoop on two key posessions at the end of the game. Nothing speaks more to the deterioration of his skills than the fact that the Hornets played Stojakovic, Posey and Songaila on him defensively for a lot of the game, and Kidd was still not a threat except as a spot up shooter.
Songaila was nice. He quietly got free for a bunch of short jumpers, ran the offense intelligently and did a passable job on Marion and Nowitzki when filling in for West. If Diogu can come back and take Armstrong's minutes effectively, I think our frontcourt rotation could be solidified.

Next game is Friday, when the Raptors come calling.

UPDATE: Video highlights from NBA.com:

Also, in the Journals: Mr. Kennedy's Hornets-Mavericks report.

27 marvelous comments