At The Hive

Game 64: Hive Live

2010-03-09T04:55:43Z

More photos » Patrick Semansky - AP

Golden State 131 (17–42) | New Orleans 134 (32–32)

Yay! We're not reeling anymore!

Barely coming up for air in an unreasonably fast-paced game (we hit the 100-points-equals-free-chicken-from-Popeyes plateau by the end of the third quarter), the Hornets held on to win despite Anthony Morrow's best efforts. The Bees got solid-to-great performances by Dimes, Buckets, DX, Mekatron, and Peja. (Sorry Peja, no nickname for you.) Even Mo Pete showed up with some solid contributions, as the Bees improved to .500.

But how do you account for a Hornet W when both teams shoot over 58% from the floor and and 45% from deep? By owning the paint. When teams play the type of basketball where they're constantly firing up shots, it quickly becomes a game of runs and droughts. So, if you can rebound well and make plays in the paint when your 17 and 20 footers aren't dropping, you'll probably do alright.

Tonight, the Hornets did just this, owning a huge margin in offensive rebounds (15 to 4), defensive rebounds (44 to 23), second chance points (I forgot this one, but we lead by double digits), and points in the paint (68 to 44). Yes, you read that correctly: the Hornets finished with 68 points in the paint. Sheesh.

Bullets after the jump.

David West was filthy. 28 points (11 for 16), 13 boards, 3 assists, and 2 steals in 41 minutes. The Warriors had no answer for him.
Emeka Oakafor also turned a hell of a performance. 22 points (10 for 12), 11 boards, 2 assists, and 1 block in 33 minutes. Probably could have played more time, but Bower tried to load the court with jump shooters to keep up with the Warriors from downtown.
Darren Collison: 16 points (7 of 12), 20 assists, 1 rebound, and 3 steals in 46 minutes. Those 20 assists are good for a Hornet Rookie Record and they match Steve Nash for an NBA game high this season. (Yes, I glazed over the 7 turnovers, but the kid played a gazillion possessions in 46 minutes of action, so I'll cut him a little slack tonight.)
Marcus Thornton: 28 points (11 of 19), 6 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals in 33 minutes. The dude was everywhere (as per usual). It's amazing. Gerry V talked about Marcus' strengths on the post game radio show, saying that shooters who move well when they don't have the ball are extremely dangerous. He even likened him to (a younger) Rip Hamilton. Not bad, kid. Not bad.
The game was hyped up around the match-up of DC and Stephen Curry. Curry gets a lot of press as a potential ROY, and rightfully so. After all, his per game line of 16 points, 5.4 assists, 1.8 steals, and 4.2 turnovers is pretty good for a rookie. DC has some ground to make up in that particular race, as he's only showing 10.9 points, 4.8 assists, 1 steal, and 2.4 turnovers per game. But... but, but, but... check out his numbers as a starter (over the last 18 games): 20.7 points, 9.8 assists, 1.8 steals, and 3.7 turnovers. Hmmmm... that reminds me of another point guard who wears ~~teal~~ creole blue...
Anyway, Curry had a pretty poor showing, only racking up 12 points (on 5 of 13 shooting... yuck), 6 assists, and 4 turnovers. Credit Collison for matching Curry's speed and playing him close all night. The effort really shows in the final line.
Holy bejeezum, Anthony Morrow. 28 points. 11 of 13 from the field. 6 of 6 from deep, most of which came in a row (and it felt like it would never end). This guy couldn't miss from anywhere. Every time the Hornets went up by a decent margin, there was Morrow to bring it back within the Warriors' reach. And if it wasn't Morrow, it was...
Reggie Williams. Though less prolific from deep, he also contributed 28 points on 10 of 16 shooting. Our D broke down more and more as the game wore on (not surprising, give the amount of possessions) and these two guys were the ones taking the most advantage of us.
Peja had a nice night (16 points, 3 assists, 1 board), but left the game early with a strained groin. Hornets fans (and fantasy basketball-ers) stay posted for an update on his status.

Opponent's Take: Golden State Of Mind

Warriors vs Hornets boxscore

Poll

Who do you think is the better rookie point guard?

The Perfect Game

2010-03-08T20:06:27Z

I enjoyed John Reid's article that ran in yesterday's Times Picayune, so I figured I'd link it for anyone that hasn't had a chance to read it.

Reid focused on Emeka Okafor, his gameday routines, and their reflection on his personality -- on and off the court.

A snippet of the piece:

No Hornets player goes through a routine like Okafor, and none has matched Okafor's 238 consecutive games played streak going into Monday's game against Golden State at the New Orleans Arena.

Okafor's pregame routine is just one aspect exemplifying his intense drive for perfection. During his rookie season in 2004-05 with the Charlotte Bobcats, Okafor said he researched and wanted to know how former NBA centers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Hakeem Olajuwon and power forward Karl Malone were able to extend their careers beyond 17 years.

"With yoga, I heard Kareem used to do it, '' Okafor said. "Pilates, Hakeem said he did it. The stretching thing, I heard Karl did it. So I said those dudes played a long time and did those things, why not me.''

Here's the entire article. Hope y'all enjoy it.

Game 62: Hive Live

2010-03-04T04:52:48Z

More photos » Bill Haber - AP

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Dear James Posey,

I hate you.

Sincerely,
Lee

(Postscript after the jump)

What a waste. After a slow (and off-kilter) start, the Bees roared back to take the lead and the momentum for most of the second half. But even after they gave away a 9 point lead in the final 5 minutes, they still had a chance to win or tie on the final possession. At least before Posey touched the ball...
James Posey: 10 minutes, 0 points (0 for 1), 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 (dumb) turnover. All for the low, low price of 6 million.
Ok, it may be unfair to scrutinize Posey's contract against such a small sample size, but this kind of performance has been par for the course lately. Dumb fouls instead of defense, an inability to make most shots, and a severe lack of the-glue-that-holds-us-together-ness have been his calling cards of late. And it's really starting to wear thin.
Once again, our rookies continue to shine. Darren put up 17 points, 1 rebound, 14 assists, and 5 steals, and Marcus added 24 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal. Can't praise these guys enough, really. Yes, they're still making mistakes and turning the ball over more than you'd like, but they're also athletic, aggressive, and quick. And they're getting better.
By the by, the Hornets are a paltry 2–11 when Marcus scores 20 or more. I doubt there's any meaningful correlation (causation?... I don't know, I barely passed Micro), but Curry pointed it out and it seemed like it was worth mentioning. Please stop banging your heads against the wall.
DX did his best Josh Smith impersonation tonight: 15 points, 6 boards, 5 assists, 5 blocks, and 2 steals. It was nice to see him put forth so much effort on D.
Aaron Gray was unusually productive tonight: 7 points, 8 boards, a steal and a block. I mean, he still can't handle the ball at all (4 turnovers in 20 minutes), but that's probably not going to ever get any better. You kind of get what you pay for when you sign The White Panther (go look it up, that's actually his nickname).
Bower continues to confuse me. He only played Emeka for 17 minutes. Yes, he accumulated 4 fouls, but he was also 5 of 6 from the court and could have easily continued to out-muscle Marc Gasol. Just because Gray had a decent night doesn't mean you bench your center for so long. And I'm not even going to talk about benching Thornton with less than 5 to play (and a 5 point lead) for Posey. I refuse to...
The Grizz got a great (if not unusually productive) performance from Mike Conley, who contributed 26 points, 7 assists, and 5 steals. Randolph also impressed with a 23/11 performance and a few clutch FTs near the end of the game. They played us well and deserve credit for doing so. Mayo's poor percentage from the floor was just about the only blemish on their game.
Dammit, Posey.

Opponent's Take: Straight Outta Vancouver

Grizzlies vs Hornets boxscore

Game 61: Hive Live

2010-03-02T05:08:53Z

More photos » Bill Haber - AP

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San Antonio 106 (34–24) | New Orleans 92 (31–30)

"Hill scores 23 as Spurs beat reeling Hornets." There's your AP headline. Not pretty.

I don't know that I'd say the Hornets are currently "reeling." Yes, they're 1–4 over their last 5, but they're also 5–5 over their last 10 and 6–9 without CP. I mean, I would say that tonight they looked terribly off (and perhaps a bit sluggish), but not quite "reeling."

Sure, the Bees shot 45%, but the Spurs managed 50%. Add that to their advantages in turnovers, blocks, and steals, and you've got a pretty good idea about how this game went down. Credit the Spurs for their strong D in the paint, uncanny ability to fluster us with physical play, and general make-us-look-silly-ness when we try to "rotate" around the perimeter.

The Hornets tried to put together a comeback—closing the gap to 6 or less several times—but it never really felt like we were going to take home the W. Perhaps it was the away-home back to back, but the Bees seemed slow on D and couldn't really nail a rhythm down on offense.

Here's to hoping they pull something useful from this loss and move along. Not the kind of game you want to dwell on.

Bullets after the jump.

I know one thing for sure: tonight's loss was not Marcus Thornton's fault. The man was on fire. Seriously, I thought we'd see smoke coming from his hands at some point. In 27 minutes off the bench, Marcus added 30 points, 7 boards, and 2 assists. And (before he clanked 2 dumb, stat-padding shots near the end of the game) he shot 12 for 17 (70.5%) from the floor, including a perfect 6 for 6 from downtown. On top of all of that: he was fearless. He'd take 2 or 3 guys to the rack with him and then lay in one of his patented over-and-unders. Or, he'd quick fire a trey with a man right in his face. And on a night when everyone seemed cautious of the open shot, the basketball gods awarded Thornton for his aggression. Hopefully, the rest of the squad was watching.
Good night from Mek... for the most part (he blew too many defensive schemes, but whatever). 18 points, 7 boards, 2 blocks, and a steal ain't too shabby when you're assignment for the night is Timmy D. He could have been even better, actually, but Bower sat him due to foul trouble... a tactic I do not agree with. (Why limit a player's minutes if he's fouling? Let him play it out. He'll likely end up with more time on the court by the end of the night and, when you consider Mek's replacement is either not a center or Aaron Gray, that's probably for the better).
DC, who was named the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for February, had a decent showing. For those of you currently screaming, "How is a 15/2 assist/turnover ratio against one of the league's best defenses considered only 'decent'?" Well, I hear you. Those numbers mark a huge improvement from the buttered-finger performances of late; however, Collison hesitated on far too many open looks.
As a follow up to the above, we were never really able to sustain any momentum all night. When we started to get rolling, we'd make mistakes like passing up open looks which led to either one too many passes, bad shots to beat the shot-clock, or both. Everyone did it all night (except for Thornton). DX and Collison were the biggest offenders. If I'm Jeff Bower, I'm looking for my scorers to get that confidence back... and fast.
Defense collapsed waaaaay too many times tonight. It's like our collective defensive awareness was less than 60. (Real life is just like Madden, right?) Lazy rotations (lots of finger pointing instead of, you know, moving in to cover a wide open look) and lackadaisical rebounding efforts were nearly the death of us. I don't think I've ever heard our home crowd groan so much.
Kind of cherry-picking here, but DX, Peja, and Posey combined for a paltry 11 of 34 from the field (comes to about 32%). Not that we lost because of them, it just would have been nice if someone (other than Marcus) could have knocked down some shots.
DX got blocked by Manu. Ouch.
The Spurs got great nights out of Duncan (22/9/1), Hill (23/5/2), and Parker (18/2/6), not to mention 3 guys on their bench contributed 10 or more points. Oh, and DeJuan "knee problems mon derriere" Blair and Matt Bonner played DX like a harp (what?). Messed with his head all night when they weren't busy contributing elsewhere. Heck, other than Manu's 4 turnovers and a handful of errant treys, the Spurs had a near-perfect evening. Just like always. Damn it all.

Opponent's Take: Pounding The Rock

Spurs vs Hornets boxscore

Game 59: Well, That Felt Like a Throwback

2010-02-27T16:23:19Z

New Orleans Hornets (31-28) 100 | Magic (39-20) 93

Wow. What a great game. And Aaron Gray just cemented himself as a fan favorite. Yeah, you read that right. David West's 40-10 is the story of the night, but Gray's defense, rebounding, and six points in the fourth quarter helped the Hornets to victory as much as anything.

The Hornets trailed 46-56 at the half. Instead of watching the team climb back from the deficit, we initially saw the Magic's guards get into the paint to score easy layups or dump off the ball to Dwight Howard for a dunk. After falling back by 18 points, the Hornets stormed back and absolutely dominated the Magic in the fourth quarter.

Following a late push, our boys were trailing 72-80 at the end of three quarters. And that set up the comeback. The Hornets scored the first nine points of the fourth to re-take the lead and provide fans with one hell of an exciting finish. Down by four and with the shot clock winding down, the Hornets were playing hot potato with the basketball. James Posey eventually tossed the ball to West who was at the top of the key. At that point, DX had scored 33 points in a variety of ways. Add a three pointer to the list. Nailed it with two seconds left on the shot clock. Hornets within one.

They stopped the Magic on the next possession, and Gray came up with the rebound. A fast break layup for West off a nice dish from Darren Collison, and we're up 81-80, with Orlando calling a timeout. And the crowd... goes... wild.

The Magic showed signs of life over the next few minutes, scoring their first points of the quarter four minutes into it. But the Hornets buckled down on defense, and the Magic started settling for (and, more importantly, missing) outside shots. Our boys built the lead up to ten, the Magic went into foul mode, and the fans went home happy.

More thoughts (and some interesting stats) after the jump.

Looking at the fourth quarter comeback, that felt like a "vintage" 07-08 performance. On defense, the Hornets swarmed the Magic every trip down the court, contesting shots and forcing turnovers. And play like that, boys and girls, leads to easy offense. Everything seemed to be flowing for the home team. Really great to see the fans really getting into it, too. A nice "Let's Go Hornets" chant started in the section next to mine and spread throughout the Arena over the next 30-40 seconds. Awesome.
By the numbers: through the first 11:09 of the fourth, the Hornets outscored the Magic 24-6. Absolutely dominant. The rest of the way, the Hornets scored 4 (on 4/6 free throw shooting from our rookies), the Magic scored 7 (in a rushed, last-ditch effort to save the game).
During that same 11-minute stretch (you know, when the Magic scored only 6 points), Aaron Gray scored... wait for it... 6 points.
I know I focused on the second half in the recap, but I really can't praise West enough for the overall game. He carried this team through two quarters (scoring 22 of the team's 46 first points) and kept things going in the second half. The man scored in every way he knows how: his bread-and-butter mid-range jumpers, driving layups, strong post moves, muscling through two defenders for short-range shots, and one HUGE three pointer.
As mentioned above, DX finished with 40 points and 10 rebounds, plus 2 blocks and 1 assist. In franchise history, the Hornets have three 40-pt/10-reb games; all three belong to Mr. West.
Aaron Gray. Go 'head, son. Great play from the Teddy Bear (tentative nickname... sorry, bud). When Okafor picked up his fourth foul, earning himself a trip to the bench, Gray subbed in... and I cringed at the thought of a Superman/Gray matchup, but he held his own -- and held Howard to 5 points and 2 rebounds over the final 19 minutes of action. He finished with 6 points and 7 rebounds of his own; all the scoring and most of the boards came in crucial second half minutes.
Thanks to great efforts from Gray, West, and "Big Game" James Posey, the Bees actually outrebounded the Magic, 43-38. Much of that work was done in the fourth quarter.
It's almost funny that I haven't even mentioned him until this point, but Marcus Thornton gave us a beautiful performance: 18 points on 14 shots, with 7 rebounds, an assist, and a steal.
At the halftime shootaround, Howard launched a halfcourt hook shot. Immediately after that, Mickael Pietrus attempted a routine three pointer. Howard's heave came closer than Pietrus's shot. In the second half, Orlando's swingman took two shots: both three pointers, both bad misses. I actually like him a lot as a player. That's just not his game.

The opponent's take.

Game 58: Hornets vs. Bucks

2010-02-25T01:42:12Z

A bunch of really good rookies.

Game 57: Hive Five

2010-02-24T21:41:57Z

More photos » Tony Dejak - AP

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Yes, it was a loss that pushes us further down the standings. But it was a game many of us will long remember.

So let's start with the player of the game, Marcus Thornton. 37 points on 22 shots. I know it took much of the NBA by surprise, but honestly, how many of us didn't expect this to happen sooner or later? We knew he could finish with either hand, we knew he could drive past most players with ease, we knew he excels at coming off screens, and we knew he could shoot. A lot of things we already knew about simply came together in one, ridiculous quarter.

After Julian Wright scored the opening field goal of the second quarter, Thornton proceeded to score the Hornets' next 16 points. Among other things, he hit jumpers off curls, driving layups, and floaters. The Cavaliers simply had no answer for him. In the third quarter, the Cavs' commentators made a huge deal about how LeBron was about to switch onto MT, and how LBJ likes the challenge of guarding good players. The switch is made, Thornton immediately burns him for 5 points on back to back possessions. Mysteriously, James switches off Thornton a few minutes later (of course, this goes completely unnoticed by the commentators). Sure, Thornton didn't score for the last seven minutes, but in his defense, (a) Collison took over a large part of the offense at that point, meaning (b) Thornton attempted just one shot the rest of the game, and (c) Thornton already had 37 points in 24 minutes (!!!) till that point. So it's a largely pointless criticism.

On to the bullets:

I didn't notice LeBron was on the floor until 8:50 in the 1st quarter. All in all, that's incredible. In fact, at the 6 minute mark, he'd touched the ball just two times. He didn't attempt a field goal till 4:00. Of course, at that point he proceeded to score twice in under 20 seconds.
I normally find the Cavs' color guy over the top (this should serve as ample evidence). But I enjoyed him appointing Chris Paul "the baddest point guard in the league."
Okafor played an entirely anonymous game. 4 points on 5 shots in 30 minutes? His 8 rebounds didn't help offset David West's nightly pathetic rebounding efforts.
Peja Stojakovic continued his recent string of very good on-court activity, but it didn't translate into production tonight. His nine misses in 12 tries really sealed the deal towards the end of the game.
Ultimately, it was a close game. The Cavs barely outshot the Hornets from the floor, but the eventual deciders were a slight turnover edge for Cleveland and equally slight leads in rebounding and getting to the line. Essentially, the Cavs outplayed the Hornets in all four major factors by very marginal amounts.

@tH Talks to Marcus Thornton

2010-02-23T06:38:28Z

More photos » Layne Murdoch - NBAE/Getty Images

3 months ago: NEW ORLEANS - NOVEMBER 21: Marcus Thornton #5 of the New Orleans Hornets shoots over Joe Johnson #2 and Josh Smith #5 of the Atlanta Hawks on November 21, 2009 at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images)

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I had a chance to have a quick talk with Marcus Thornton the other day. Of course, my interviewing instruments had to fail midway through, but the Hornets were kind enough to finish it up for us.

At the Hive: First of all, thanks for taking the time to talk to us at At the Hive. I understand you had a pretty busy practice this morning.. could you take us through what happens at an average practice?

Marcus Thornton: We get there about 9:30, 9:45, we do a couple drills, everybody gets stretched, taped up. We call it in, [coaches] take us through a couple drills. On game day, we practice for about an hour. Usually practice lasts about an hour, forty five, two hours.

@tH: A lot of your fans have nicknamed you "Li'l Buckets" and it seems to be sticking. How do you like that nickname, and do you have any others?

Marcus Thornton: I think the nickname is cool. If the fans like it, I like it. Never had any other nicknames, that I knew of anyways.

@tH: Coach Jeff Bower took over a little bit into the season. How was that transition for the team, and did you notice any specific changes between him and Coach Scott, maybe in practice or other places?

Marcus Thornton: Coach Bower wants to get in and get things done and get out of there. We’re playing a lot now, so he doesn’t want to hurt us too bad in practice knowing that we probably have to play the next day.

@tH: You've been really successful playing offense off-the-ball, coming off screens, and finding open space... how do you develop and practice that skill?

Marcus Thornton: When guys are healthy and we can play 5 on 5, coach Pack helps having us come off screens. Me and DC get there like an hour early to get our work in doing that.

@tH: Seems you've been wearing a shooting sleeve on your left arm at home, but not the road. Does the sleeve help in any sense?

Marcus Thornton: I don’t wear that anymore. It’s something I saw coming into the NBA and I thought it looked cool. I don’t even wear it anymore, home or away. It didn’t affect me anyway, it’s just something I saw.

@tH: We'll end with some quick hitters, so just a one or two word answer. Favorite food?

Marcus Thornton: Cornbread dressing.

@tH: Favorite Movie?

Marcus Thornton: Friday (ed. note: awesome movie, and also LBJ's favorite. So good choice)

@tH: Favorite Song?

Marcus Thornton: Bedrock (ed. note: J.R. Smith is in the music video for this song, apparently)

@tH: Favorite NBA City?

Marcus Thornton: Miami

@tH: Funniest Hornet?

Marcus Thornton: Peja Stojakovic

Thanks to Marcus and the Hornets (big shout to Travis at PR) for making this happen.

Game 56: Hive Live

2010-02-22T03:33:09Z

More photos » Layne Murdoch - NBAE/Getty Images

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Houston 94 (28–27) | New Orleans 102 (30–26)

Solid. Fast-paced and a little frustrating towards the end, but solid all the same.

The Hornets started strong through the first, nailing down a lead that the Rockets were never able to catch. Both teams went with a crazy pace, firing shots mere seconds after crossing half court. But the Rockets, despite a late push, were ultimately undone by a poor performance at the stripe and an even poor-er showing from deep.

Collison continued his strong play at the helm of the Bees. He did turn the ball over 5 times, but his shot selection was much better than it has been of late. The Hornets also had strong showings from Mo Pete (3 for 6 from deep with 2 steals) and The Big Oak (11 boards, 6 blocks), which was helpful due to poor outings from Peja and Marcus. Both guys had trouble locating the rim all night (I think Peja actually air-balled a few), and combined they only sunk 10 of their 29 shots.

The Rockets, on the other hand, were an odd bunch. No one played particularly poorly (though Ariza did try his best by bricking 8 of 10 shots), but at the same time no one stepped up and really took over. Aaron Brooks (the other one), who's speed is the first I've seen that can match Dimes' on the court, had a nice game, but 15 points, 8 assists, 1 rebound, and 2 steals isn't exactly legendary. I suppose Budinger had the strongest showing from the Houston side. In just 24 minutes off the bench he managed 18 points (including 3 treys), 5 boards, 2 blocks, 1 steal.

Ultimately, poor shooting caused the Rockets' undoing, proving that quantity (of possessions) does not equal quality (making shots). The Hornets were able to keep up with the pace–which was quite impressive considering that we played 7 guys for the vast majority of the game–and took home not only the W but also the series lead on the Rockets 2–1.

Have a fantastic evening (sorry no bullets) and I'll see you guys back Friday when the Magic come to town.

Opponent's Take: The Dream Shake

Rockets vs Hornets boxscore

Game 56: Hornets vs. Rockets

2010-02-22T00:21:09Z

Houston didn't look great against Indy, hopefully it continues against us.

Game 55: Super Bowl Rematch!

2010-02-20T04:57:46Z

More photos » Patrick Semansky - AP

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Indiana 101 (18–36) | New Orleans 107 (29–26)

Ok, fine. It's not really a rematch at all. Neither of these teams is currently championship bound, but regardless of that fact, tonight's game was pretty exciting. The pace was unbelievable, as both teams employed the popular "4 seconds or less" offensive scheme leading to something like 400 possessions (math team is still confirming that last figure).

En route to a win, Darren Collison became the first Hornet not named Chris Paul to log a triple-double since Baron Davis' performance against the Kings back in '05. Dimes (or the "Blur de Bee" as the jumbo-tron calls him) finished with 18 points, 12 assists, and 13 boards plus a block and 3 steals for good measure. DX wasn't far behind with 29 points, 7 assists, and 9 boards.

Despite strong showings from most of the team, the Pacers made a late push and, for a bit, looked poised to overtake the Bees. How, you might ask? Turnovers. We were giving the ball away. Like STDs from a hooker. Most of that came from Dimes (more on that later), but Mek and Peja found time to contribute as well. When you give 24 points off TOs and you only take 8, problems will likely occur.

But credit the Pacers: they played a real physical game all night. They got us off-balanced and forced us to make mistakes. And when we turned up the pace to try and side-step that tactic, the mistakes kept coming. Of course, so did some awesome plays (Dimes was breaking ankles all night), but still: it almost caught up to us.

More (fascinating observations!) after the jump.

The Hornets may have fatigue to thanks for their fading in the second half. Only 9 guys dressed and Aaron "I'm 7 feet tall and that's about it" Gray only played 2 minutes, presumably because every time he touched the ball, he put it on the floor. (When you're that tall and you get the ball under the rim, you just put the ball back in the hoop. Why are you dribbling? Why didn't you learn this in rec leagues at age 10 like the rest of us?)
Despite his fantastic showing, Collison was actually pretty close to a quad-double in a less than desirable way. His 8 turnovers on the night bring his average (as a starter) to 3.8/game. Seems like the Blur could use a little slowing down at times.
Mek had a solid night. 13 points, 13 boards, 1 assist, and 1 block. Of course, he went 1 for 5 from the stripe, so there's still room for improvement. Still, it was nice to see him play starters minutes. he's got some great post moves, and I still think we under-use him.
For the Pacers, Hibbert looked great. 13 points on 9 shots, 6 boards, 4 blocks, and 2 assists in only 31 minutes. By the by, when did that dude become a shell of his former self? Dude's been working out. He's going to be force when they let him play more than 30 minutes a contest.
Danny "Metrie, Brah" Granger finished the night with 29 points, 6 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. Thankfully, he practically punted the first quarter of the game, going 0 for 5 with 1 board.
I still don't like Dahntay Jones. And I probably never will.
With 2:47 to play, Dunleavy entered the game having scored only 7 points on the night. I chortled that he would be the savior of the game, and then he promptly score 8 points in 1 minute. Lesson: do not chortle at Mike Dunleavy.
This has nothing to do with the Hornets or tonight's game, but did anyone get a look at the Cavs game tonight? Jamison went for the wrong kind of "memorable" in his debut by going 0 for 12 in a loss to the Bobcats. Oh, but he did sink his only 2 FTs. So, that's good. I guess.
Sorry for dropping the ball some on recaps lately. The whole Super Bowl thing just crashed right into Mardi Gras and no one really came up for air until yesterday. So yeah, sorry about that. See you guys Sunday (tip is at 6:00pm central instead of 7:00, just FYI).

Composed to: The Who's Who's Next

Opponent's Take: Indy Cornrows

Pacers vs Hornets boxscore

The Slippery Slope of the Tax

2010-02-19T20:40:54Z

More photos » Patrick Semansky - AP

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Over the last two years, the Hornets have carefully treaded the "reload the roster without pissing off Chris Paul" line.

At times, they nearly made monumental errors that might have pushed Paul off the edge (see: the initial Tyson Chandler trade). To get under the tax line, it was imperative they made outright sales of certain players. Rasual Butler moved in the summer for no return. The Browns moved this year in similar deals, as did Better Than Wilt. But in the midst of that mass exodus of players, the Hornets also made fundamentally sound deals. Jeff Bower did eventually trade Chandler, but got a capable center in return. Then he improbably drafted two solid contributors with the 21st and 43rd picks of the '09 draft.

As often as the media bashed the Hornets for each of the four sales, even a casual observer could see the Hornets were still trying to compete and set themselves up for the future. And if a casual observer could see it, there's no doubt Chris Paul could see it too. By no means are the Hornets out of the woods. They'll be almost 20 million over the cap next season. Looking at Deron Williams' quote today, though, makes me appreciate the Hornets' balanced approach to getting under the tax line.

Williams, regarding the recent trade of Ronnie Brewer to the Grizzlies for a protected '11 first rounder:

"I think if we’d make a trade it would be something a little different than that. You look at all the teams that are getting better around the West and we essentially get worse, if you ask me."

"That’s why I signed a three-year deal."

Ouch. "That's why I signed a three-year deal"? I know stars probably think along these lines often, but to say it out loud? I'd feel bad for Utah if they didn't own us all the time.

Either way, Utah's situation is pretty similar to ours. The owner wants to get under the luxury line, and the team essentially sells its starting shooting guard. We sold Butler and Brown, both of whom were starting at SG at the time of their trades. Brewer has started 209 games since the start of the 2007 season. While he hasn't had a terrific 2009-2010, he's long been one of my favorite secondary scoring options in the league.

Utah and New Orleans will actually head into this offseason in similar situations: both will be over the cap, and unable to sign players outside of exceptions.

Perception is reality though, and by all indications, CP and Deron see NOLA and SLC quite differently.

Wright Guy; Wrong Place

2010-02-17T16:46:55Z

Julian Wright posted a few things on his Twitter yesterday and created drama in the twittersphere.

You can read the tweets below.

First:

"Off to practice, thinking bout how I'm jealous of all these players that managed to get traded before Thursday..."

Second:

"Just saying, might need a change of scenery, of course I love New Orleans! Bought a house here."

Third:

"Not bout blaming anyone. Just thinkin bout the C. Fryes, S. Browns, and the G. Wallaces, of the league who just needed a change of scenery."

----------------------------------------

He then proceeded to defend himself from all the Hornets fans that follow his feed. Well, all the fans not preoccupied with Mardi Gras parades.

Add your two cents in the comments.

Game 53: Hornets vs. Celtics

2010-02-11T02:11:42Z

MT is back.

Who Dat!

2010-02-08T04:55:23Z

Champions.

Game 51: Hornets @ Bobcats

2010-02-07T01:09:39Z

The prodigal son returns. Sort of.

Hornets sign Jason Hart to 10-day contract

2010-02-05T18:22:33Z

It shouldn't come as a surprise that the Hornets have looked for some extra help at the guard position -- even though GM/Coach Jeff Bower recently said the team would not pursue an extra player to help with minutes at the point. After injuries to All-Star guard Chris Paul and rising star Marcus Thornton, Bower really didn't have much of a choice.

NOLA.com reports on the signing of Jason Hart.

For a backup point guard (who will be backing up a rookie that realistically should be a backup player right now), the team certainly could've done worse than snagging Hart. His career averages of 4.8 ppg and 2.3 apg aren't anything to write home about. But they'll keep Darren Collison from having to play 48 minutes a night.

According to the NOLA.com article, we should see Hart in action tonight against the 76ers. Any thoughts on Jason Hart from y'all? I'm only somewhat familiar with him from his days with Utah.

Either way, here's wishing a speedy recovery to Chef Paul... and Li'l Buckets... and the Hornets' chances to ever win at home again.

Game 49: Hive Live

2010-02-04T04:39:41Z

More photos » Bill Haber - AP

Browse more photos »

Oklahoma City 103 (28–21) | New Orleans 99 (26–23)

Deja vu, right? Hornets struggle to keep up all game, come back to take the lead late in the game, and then watch the game unravel as the game clock winds to a close. By the by, that's 3 straight home losses, which takes our record at the Hive from an awesome/intimidating 16–4 to good 16–7.

So what happened? The Hornets played catch-up most of the night, but hung in there due to an advantage in turnovers. In the end, though, it's tough to seal a W when you give up 50+ percent from the floor. Seriously, this is the same game we saw Monday, except instead of shooting 52% from the floor, the opponent dropped shots closer to 58.

To top it off, Marcus Thornton left the game in the fourth limping... oof, no good.

Let's not dwell too much here. We got great contributions from Marcus, Mekatron, and Posey, but OKC got monster performances from Westbrook and Durant. The Bees just couldn't seal the deal... again.

Allow me to elaborate (after the jump).

I don't want to start pointing fingers but Bower's got some splainin' to do. For instance, when you have a close game and are losing the defensive rebounding game pretty badly, how do you justify sitting DX for the entire fourth quarter in favor of... gulp... Darius Songaila. Even on a good night Songaila is nowhere near as good as David (I can't believe I felt the need to type that), but tonight Darius was awful. 2 for 9 from the field? Come on, Bower. DX is deadly from like 10 times as many places on the court as Darius. He can drive, he can rebound, and he doesn't get abused down low.
In other news, Emeka was in the game for most of the 4th. Ah, I see what happened here. After pleading for weeks to keep Mek in the game down the stretch, Bower (who obviously reads this blog) obliged. Of course, as we've mentioned, he sat DX instead. So, that was my fault for not being clear. You should keep your best rebounder and best scorer in the game for as much of the 4th quarter as is needed to seal the victory. My bad.
Stellar game from Marcus. The numbers will never do his aggression and grit justice. But here they are anyway: 22 points, 3 boards, 6 assists, 2 blocks, 1 steal, and zero turnovers in 33 minutes. Plus, he had this killer block/steal off Eric Maynor that he then turned into an assist on an Okafor dunk during the fastbreak. I seriously hope he's ready to go for Friday.
Posey and Oak combined for 22 points, 22 boards, 3 blocks, and 2 steals.
Peja had 4 steals. And I don't think any of them were the sort of "fall in your lap" gigs. He got abused some down low, but he made up for it by being pesky on D. And it paid off... I guess.
OKC, again, got great games out of their 2 sophomores. Westbrook finished with 26 points, 10 assists, and 8 boards, while Durant added 30 points, 3 assists, and 2 boards. He also had 8 turnovers, which is (obviously) high. I was shocked to discover that his season average is almost 3 and 3 quarters, though.
Our opponent's also got quietly solid performances from Green, Krstic, Ibaka, and Collison (Nick). Got to say, this team is built for success. A couple of stars, a handful of efficient players surrounding them, and everyone is young (read: inexpensive). Keep your eyes on these guys come playoff time.
There was a fantastic sign across the way from our seats tonight. A guy in a Sonics jersey was waving around a poster-board with a Sonic's logo and type that read: "Lost. If found, please return." Easy to forget what that fan base just went through. From a small/susceptible market fanbase like us, let me just say... respect. Respect.
Our in-game entertainment has always been lacking (if not unintentionally hilarious). But lately, we've been subjected to an unholy terror that I cannot even describe. Instead, I'll pass the ball to Ticktock6 down at Hornets Hype.
CP goes under the knife tomorrow. If anyone can spare any juju or grisgris from their efforts to help the Saints, it'd be appreciated. Every little bit helps.
Speaking of the Saints, Curry's got your recap on Friday, so I won't see you kids until after the Super Bowl. As such, here's your requisite WHO DAT!!!

Composed to: Elvis Costello's Get Happy!

Opponent's Take: Welcome to Loud City

Thunder vs Hornets boxscore

Game 48: Hive Live

2010-02-02T04:57:11Z

More photos » Patrick Semansky - AP

Browse more photos »

Phoenix 109 (29–21) | New Orleans 100 (26–22)

It was closer than the score looks thanks to a last minute push by the Bees, but I think this one would be easier to break down with some good old fashioned "pros" and "cons." Who's with me?

PROS

After defeating the Grizz on Saturday, the Hornets cam in today and almost upset one of the better Western Conference teams... without the help of CP.
DX battled hard all night versus Amare Stoudemire, which is no small task. He showed a little reticence to attack early on, but got comfortable pounding the rock in the second half. He finished with 20 points, 8 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 0 turnovers in 38 minutes.
Our rookies continue to shine despite the heavy burden placed on them by CP's injury. The two combined for 41 points, 18 assists, 8 boards, 2 steals, and 6 treys tonight.
The Bees won the turnover battle and held the Suns to a paltry 6 for 21 from beyond the arc.
CP has impeccable sartorial tastes.

CONS

We drew so much iron. So much. Yes, we shot 45% as a team, but I've never seen so many in-and-outs.
The Suns shot 51% from the field. This was partially due to the fact that the Suns can just plain shoot, but it didn't help that Robin Lopez, Amare Stoudemire, and Channing Frye exploited mismatches all night long.
Mekatron played 24 minutes. How are we sitting our (very good) center when we're getting out-rebounded in a tight game? Sure, he only had a few boards while he was on the court, but the Suns' big men were abusing Songaila all night. I mean, it's not like Mek's jumper was off. What gives, Bower?
Despite great performances (and steps forward) for the rookies, they still made quite a few mistakes. Both guys tried to do a little too much, which resulted in a handful of really poorly selected shots and 7 combined turnovers. They are making steps forward, but they've got to reign it in a bit. Remember the rules of teamwork: "Don't be a hero. You have teammates. And they love you... if your name isn't Mike James."

More (insightful!) thoughts after the jump.

Overall, we played this team close and closed the deficit to 3 in the closing minute. We just couldn't quite pull it off. Sure, CP probably could have helped close that gap and ice the game, but let me ask you a question: if we're headed to the lottery, is it so bad to let our rookies work out their big stage jitters a bit?*

*Sorry to sound a little fatalist, but even with a healthy CP this team didn't quite look like they were ready to compete with the likes of the Lakers or the Nuggets. I may be alone in this, but if we don't really have a shot at contending, I'd rather get a lottery pick than get embarrassed by a 1 or 2 seed.

Still (the point, I know), if we're looking towards the future, then maybe letting the rookies get some meaningful playing time (especially against good teams like the Suns) could really help down the road. I mean, think of what would've happened if we gave JuJu that chance. Or Hilton? Ok, maybe not Hilt, but you get the point.

One final thought for you: I brought my girlfriend to this game, and she remarked that, for someone who recently had surgery on his knee, CP sure was using it a whole hell of a lot. I mean, I love having CP on the bench during games (not the whole game). He'll direct guys, cheer them on, and basically run the time outs. He did all of that tonight, but all that standing, sitting, standing, etc. seems like it might be hurting more than it's helping. I'm not a doctor or anything, but maybe one of these would help. Just a thought.

See you guys Wednesday.

Composed to: ABC's The Lexicon of Love

Opponent's Take: Bright Side of the Sun

Suns vs Hornets boxscore

CP3 Out 1-2 Months

2010-02-01T04:31:43Z

Yahoo! Sports:

New Orleans Hornets All-Star point guard Chris Paul (notes) will undergo arthroscopic surgery for a cartilage tear in his left knee on Monday and could miss one to two months, sources close to Paul told Yahoo! Sports on Sunday night.

Paul injured the knee in the final moments of regulation in a loss to the Chicago Bulls on Friday. Paul was injured after he fell into a photographer on the baseline after trying to catch an errant inbounds pass from Hornets forward David West. Paul came up limping after the play, which led to the Bulls tying the game with .2 seconds left.

Paul also told reporters he had initially twisted the same knee in a win over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday.

Test results revealed a partial tear to Paul’s meniscus. There is still some doubt as to the extent of the injury, one source said, but it is not believed to be season-ending.

Paul is expected to miss the All-Star Game because of the injury. Once the NBA confirms Paul’s unavailability, commissioner David Stern will appoint a replacement to the Western Conference roster. Denver Nuggets point guard Chauncey Billups likely will be among the leading candidates to replace Paul.

The Hornets will lean on rookie point guard Darren Collison during Paul’s absence. Paul also missed eight games earlier this season because of a sprained left ankle.