Fear does not exist in this dojo, does it?
Pain does not exist in this dojo, does it?
Defeat does not exist in this dojo, does it?
Strike first, strike hard, no Mercy!
Mercy is for the weak, we do not train to be merciful here. A man faces you he is enemy, enemy deserves no mercy!
I’m sure I’m not the only one that grew up on that movie. However it seemed a fitting theme to what I’ve been thinking about since our first loss of the season. Numerous reports are coming out calling the Hornets weak. Aside from a few players I’d say I’d have to agree.
We’ve seen the Chris Paul rage, when he’s in that zone you know it, and you’re glad he’s on your team. To steal my favorite DeShazier quote from last year, Chris Paul is “like a cherub-faced schoolyard bully” at times.
We’ve recently added Posey who in a few games has probably shown more aggressiveness than we had all of last season. David West has had his moments, but it’s a very inconsistent rage.
Outside of that, our team as a whole seems to lack that killer instinct. An instinct that appears in more champions than it doesn’t.
Remember the whole drama last year about the Patriot’s piling on the points? Remember Kobe’s year where he was scoring in buckets, even with the game in hand (although some of that was greed, we’ll let it slide), seen the way the Celtics smother teams into submission, or how the Spurs continue to haunt teams in the playoffs.
The Hornets don’t have that and that needs to be what is really developed this year.
Last year, we worked on improving as a team, now we have that team and need to work on adding winning characteristics to it.
Back to my Karate Kid quotes, they seem really applicable to where we are here in New Orleans. We’ve been through a lot of crap here, we’ve had Katrina, recently dealt with Gustav, we have idiots in charge who have squandered the many opportunities for us to better this city. I think the Hornets need to become our fist. Absorb the anger and frustration of all these issues, absorb that feeling in the pit of every New Orleans sports fan’s stomach built up from decades of mediocrity. Take all of these emotions and learn to channel them. Channel them into execution. Use them when facing a tough opponent as the energy to push you past the enemy and use it even more to beat weaker teams into the submission of 30-40 point blowouts.
Everyone you meet on that basketball court is a professional athlete, being paid as much if not more than you to play the game. If they refuse to stop you that’s their problem. If not stopping you leads to their fans leaving at half time, that’s their problem.
You’re not out there to make friends, you’re out there to play basketball, and the whole point of the game is to win. This isn’t the politically correct kiddie system of “everyone is a winner”. There is only one ultimate winner, and they’re the ones with the shiny basketball and massive rings.
This team is your family, this city has adopted you as part of their family, and these opposing teams, these enemies of the city want to hurt your family.
It’s time for the Hornets to become one of the most feared teams in basketball. A team that is relentless, swarms, attacks until the threat is eliminated, essentially it’s time for the Hornets to act like Hornets!
Get mad, get out there, and make them pay!