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Game On: Hornets at Suns

Before we get to the game, Michael wanted to try something new on our Podcast this weekend and has talked me into it.  So we’re going to be taping the first part of the podcast while watching the fourth quarter of the game.  If you are recording the game and want to hear us talking through it, keep it on your DVR and listen along later.

Matchup: Hornets(31-17) @ Suns(21-24)

Off Efficiency: Hornets 103.2(16th), Suns 107.5(5th)
Def Efficiency: Hornets 98.9(3rd), Suns 108.7(27th)

The Hornets franchise-record 10-game winning streak came to an end last night in Sacramento, and tonight they get  to try and prevent what happened earlier this year – a great streak followed by a terrible one that had us all wanting half the team traded.

As much as it might be nice to assume the Hornets will get back to their winning ways, considering that the Hornets are only 12-12 on the road this season and add in the fact the Hornets played last night and the Suns didn’t, this may be a tall order.  In the podcast, of course, I predicted the Hornets would win their first two this week and lose both games this weekend, so if they do drop the game to Phoenix, be sure to riddle me with nasty complaints because clearly I caused this.

Phoenix is playing a little better recently, going 6-4 over the last ten, and beating Boston on Friday in a contentious game.  They are slowly figuring out how to use Marcin Gortat and suffering through the fact that Vince Carter is an empty jersey that contains an engaged mind in about one out of every five games.

As usual, a prime thing to worry about is Channing Frye.  West and Okafor will be reluctant to step out on him on the three point line, so if he’s hitting off the shots Nash creates, he could be Matt Bonner-esque in his ability to hurt us.   In addition, Jared Dudley remains a nice piece off the bench for the Suns, hitting his long shots and working hard, and Marcin Gortat is playing strong and should be starting games instead of the ineffective Robin Lopez.

That all said, this team has some gaps.  Goran Dragic, who is desperately over-rated after that one scoring explosion in last year’s playoffs, is ineffective, and although Warrick will probably drop a thunderous dunk on us at least once, he’s not been effective overall.  If the Hornets concentrate their efforts on harassing Vince physically to make him want to check out of the game, stay home on the shooters, and let West punish the sad defensive tandem of Frye-Warrick in the post, the Hornets should take the game.

Injuries:

Suns: None
Hornets: Gray is out

Enjoy the game!

Joe will be on the Daily Dime Chat throughout the game, so stop by if you have a minute and say hello!

Ryan Schwan

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260 responses to “Game On: Hornets at Suns”

  2. There is a place called Alice Cooperstown behind the Arena de los Suns there in Phoenix. They have a 2 foot hot dog called the big unit. They ring a bell can yell “Big unit” when they bring it to you. I ate one. It was very good.

    Also, I saw Jesse, of WWE’s Jesse and Festus there.

    For the In n Out burger curious: try a double double animal style with a neapolitain shake.

    I feel pretty good about our chances tonight. We usually keep Nash under control, but they love their Dragic and Frye there, at least they did when I saw them host the last-laugh-Knicks. I’m not sure why, but they love them.

    Reply

  5. Hornets will need to protect the 3 point line. I can see Frye, Dudley and Pietrus hitting a couple from there.

    Also, Hornets will need to rebound the ball. Don’t let Lopez and Gortat grab all the balls!

    And please Hornets, find your defense. Because last night you were the team that looked like you were on a tail end of a back-to-back.

    Reply

    • I misread some glass as a glass. Still messed up.

      I think a glass is a likely candidate as well, along with a plate for gibanica and getting generally rowdy rowdy the night before.

      Reply

    • Personally I never do head to head in the preview because it never matters come game time. Defense is all about team defense and lineups are so fluid that I don’t think Paul vs. Nash matters because those guys will be guarded by switching big men as often as they will be guarded by each other.

      If anything, I would do match-ups based on the roles guys play. For instance:

      Lead Scorer: David West vs. Vince Carter
      West is more efficient, but Carter can create for himself…

      X Factor: Marcus Thornton vs. Marcin Gortat

      Defensive stopper: Willie Green vs. Grant Hill

      and so on and so on. I am watching the Lakers/Celtics game right now and it would be a joke to have a Rondo vs. Fisher match-up analysis because those guys never cover each other.

      Reply

  8. co-sign who ever mentioned that NOH need to get back to winning ways right now, instead of taking what seemed like a month+ off after their last win streak.
    The more games NO win, the higher CP’s MVP chances.

    Reply

    • The more divisional wins, the higher his chances. Until then, Rose, Lebron, and Diggler will be the candidates of discussion.

      Reply

  9. This will be a tough game coming off a game last night. We’ve recently fared well against the Suns, but last night proved that we can’t take any team lightly. This should hopefully be a confidence builder for our mediocre bigs (Smith, MBenga), because Phoenix is a little soft down low. Phoenix likes to shoot the three, so be prepared for lots of LONG rebounds!
    Lakers lost again. Call me crazy, but I think there’s a chance we wind up with a better regular season record than the Lakers. They don’t have the greatest record, and that’s with a fairly soft schedule during the first half of the season. They just don’t look as dominant this year. Maybe I’m just smoking crack, but we’ll see.

    Reply

  11. Mek and David playing for coaches’ all-star votes. I know those guys could care less and only want to win, but the two are really one and the same. They play hard, dominate and lead us to victory, coaches will notice.

    Reply

  13. Where the pinoy bros at? nikko wrote a trade stimulus package in the forum involving Robin Lopez as a back up 5, Hakim Warrick as a 4, and Jarred Dudley as a 3. Anybody down with that?

    Reply

  16. I don’t know why Vince seems to find the fountain of youth when he plays the Hornets. Kind of like that big game he had for Orlando IN Orlando but when they got to NOLA, he couldn’t do sh*t. Well make it so that he can’t do sh*t tonight Hornets.

    Hornets shooting 29% and has more turnovers as well.

    And here comes Willie Green. First guard off the bench.

    West with 2 fouls.

    SMH.

    Reply

  17. So wait, both West and Mek are sitting and the Gortat beast is on the court? We will get killed for sure now.

    Reply

  43. Should’ve kept Andersen in until at least the 4 minute mark. West better not pick up any more fouls in this half.

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  46. Thornton straight balling. 2-5-3 in just seven minutes. And of all those numbers, you know the shots will fall. Plus, his penetration on two of his three missed shots drew so much attention, Mek had easy open lay-ins.

    Reply

  59. Tough it out? Are these announcers serious? Lipping the shit out of Okafor? Dude hasn’t missed a game like ever! Do your god damn research or stfu!!

    Reply

  64. Now it’s like starting the game all over again. Tied at halftime.

    And I’m not quite liking how things are looking.

    Reply

  70. Belinelli needs to get a clue.

    Is he not being utilized properly or something? He shouldn’t be creating. If he could just knock down open shots spoon fed to him it would probably be enough to keep me at least satisfied but he doesn’t even really do that.

    Reply

      • I agree. Commentators said something about a muscle strain so I hope that’s all it is. And I know he takes really good care of his body so I hope it’s nothing too serious. Goodness.

        Thanks for cleaning that up West. Let’s get it going guy.

  74. Without Mek the Suns will try to live in the paint and if they live in the paint, they’ll live on the free throw line. F***************!!!!!!!

    Reply

  77. Does West feel like playing tonight? He looks sluggish and the refs look like they’re trying to keep him on the bench. He just looks like he’s half assing it up there.

    And why wasn’t that a foul on Lopez just now?

    Look at West. Just half assing it around the rim.

    Reply

  84. Thornton should be playing the rest of this game over Belli, just not Marco’s night once again.

    And oh hey this just in: THE SUNS LIKE SHOOTING THE THREE BALL!!!!

    Reply

  92. If we lose this game tonight, I think the Wizards are on their way to their first road win. It’s just the way I feel right now. Right now.

    Reply

  93. Lots of simple mistakes in the third. Jason Smith with that incredible goal-tending, late rotation on Marcin, and now the late 3-point foul by DX. This could go down the wire and hurt us.

    Reply

    • Suns announcer said they didn’t report what’s up, just that he won’t be back tonight.

      We could really use him.

      Reply

  97. god damnit i never thought I’d be relieved to see Mbenga come in. Smith and Anderson SUUUUUCKKKK SUUUUCK SUUUUUCK

    say Dell, isn’t it time we make a move for that big man? Our backup bigs can’t get a stop for their lives.

    Reply

  99. I’ll repeat it until the problem is solved;

    The Hornets need a STARTING 2-GUARD & BACK-UP CENTER … like… NOW!!!

    Belinelli & Mbenga won’t cut it.

    L_REAZY

    Reply

  105. how the fuck is that a jump ball when Gortat when mugging CP from behind? Apparently Gortat is a superstar because he’s getting the star treatment tonight.

    Reply

  107. I know he’s not the sole factor in this loss, but it’s official…Beli is NOT an NBA starter.

    He’s had enough time to prove himself, and has failed. Time to move on, coach.

    Reply

  109. I knew this would happen when David Aldridge mentioned something about the Hornets getting favorable calls because they’re owned by the league. And now, they are making it a point to not give the Hornets anything. 😕

    Reply

    • It is exactly what every coach does, but usually in the Playoffs. You know, oh wah, Kobe gets all the calls, wah, Pierce gets all the calls. Throughout a season, sometimes calls flip. But, now, we’re at a huge disadvantage, because EVERY team can call us out.

      That said, it’s not the calls that are making us lose this game…

      Reply

  112. This is why I said last night after someone said something about the Hornets starting another streak, you must say ‘a winning streak’.

    Reply

  121. WOW Monty. Pull CP3 wit 3 minutes to go and wait until 3 min to put Buckets in. Just when u thought he was improving on his rotations smh

    Reply

  123. Dear Monty, once again your rotations have killed us. You take CP out with 4 minutes left in a winnable game (only down 10) and leave Jack in. I don’t get it.

    Reply

  124. Mbenga might suck like Smith and Anderson, but at least he’s big enough to bother Gortat. Why are we not doing anything on Gortat? We’re letting the offense flow through him.

    Reply

  137. Anderson for a center isn’t bad and his perimeter D is decent for a big man. These rotation from Monty are a straight joke Belinilli and Jack are not very good. I wonder why it seems like every other teams has some good players on there bench but the hornets really done..(except for Thorton) I wish they would give him one game with 35 + minutes. Oh and done play Marco any more.:(worst starter in the NBA.

    Reply

  139. ‘QueenBee’ has a point about the David Aldridge point.

    I was sitting there listening to Aldridge go on-and-on about how other teams wonder about the callls the Hornets get since the NBA owns the team, and what may start to happen with the officiating to prove a level playing field.

    As if the refereeing was bad enough to start the season … it’s definitely gotten worse!

    Where’s Gary Chouset when ya need em’! Pleasse buy the team and stop the team from bleedin’!!! The refs are killin’ us!!!

    L_REAZY

    Reply

    • Apparantly you aren’t watching the same game everyone else is watching! ‘Thornton blew an open lay up which in turn blew the game’, you’ve gotta be kidding! Normally I wouldn’t have responded to such nonsense, but I just couldn’t resist! Perhaps you should have watched the rest of the ‘entire’ game to know what actually happened!

      Reply

  151. A hit on the backboard with a ball in the air no call….geeze. So much for the conspiracy theory that the NBA is favoring the Hornets.

    Reply

  153. ouch i dont know what happened there but unless there was a goaltending marcus needs to finish that… and d west was open when chris tried forcing that one

    Reply

    • West sucked ass for most of the night though. He’s usually good in the clutch but I don’t even know if I would’ve taken a chance on him for that.

      Reply

      • I feel the same…QueenBee! West hurt us by his pure lack of effort! An ALLSTAR brings it EVERYNIGHT! That’s my problem with West (at times)… when things aren’t going ‘his’ way, he pouts, walks up/down the court and he doesn’t realize that he’s killing his team…he’s a professional…c’mon West! The other guys deserve more than that…You’ve gotta think so too!

  154. NBA TV JUST SHOWED THE REPLAY AND GRANT HILL FUCKING GOALTENDED MARCUS SHOT FUCK THE REFS FOR THAT GAME THATS SOME BULLSHIT I FUCKING PISSED OFF. GEAUX HORNETS

    Reply

  157. All you MT5 Stans moan about him not getting PT. Well, he got it tonight, built a brick house, and missed an open lay up to save the game. I’m not happy at all with this.

    Reply

    • yea Mt blew the shot but at the end of the day he still is the best player we have on the bench would you have Marco take that shot

      Reply

      • Thanks Stew…finally, a voice of reason!!!!! I’m thankful that someone else was actually watching the game rather than jumping on 24/7 with bullshi#t!

    • I remain adamant that Thornton needs more playing time. There was a clear goaltend on the last shot that you can’t blame Marcus for. Also I’d like to see Belinelli power us to wins the way Marcus has.

      Reply

      • “Also I’d like to see Belinelli power us to wins the way Marcus has.”

        Don’t hold your breath. Otherwise you will be DEAD. LMAO!!!

  160. Yeah i was pissed at Marcus, he needs to finish that bucket STRONG. But Hill got a piece of it and there should have been a call somewhere.

    And what if Belli or Jack took that shot? They could have missed that as well. Rather have MT shoot that than Jack or someone else off the bench.

    Reply

      • Sometimes, no, actually most of the time, when you’re fouled, it can actually make you miss a shot. The refs could have gone with either a foul on Hill or a goaltending on Hill. They decided to not go with either. Hell even Russell Westbrook would’ve gotten a call on that ish.

      • He wasn’t talking about that. He was talking about Beli and Jack taking the shot instead of Marcus.

  161. lol @JCS. Did u see the replay. Apparently not. Look at the replay on the Marcus’s last shot and come back and comment

    Reply

  162. Yeah, all you Buckets haters can suck it. Just suck it. I have no idea why you are so quick to hate. There’s no reason to always look for the worst in a player on your own team. He makes that shot if Hill doesn’t CHEAT. The refs absolutely blew that call. Replays show an obvious goaltend, and even Vince Carter, post-game, laughs at the question (i.e., admitting it was a goaltend), and says, “well, it was close.”

    Right. Game tied. OT coming. Except for the refs. Good thing the NBA owns us, and as David Alridge’s “sources” say, we get ALL the calls.

    Reply

    • Agree with this with a little bit less hate haha Compared to Bellinelli I would pick Thornton to take that layup 10/10 times, without a doubt in my mind.

      Reply

    • seriously! All David Aldridge does is mention these “sources” that he has. He’s also a bonehead. The Hornets really get all of the calls? My ass. How about those 10 times CP is called for a charge when the defender’s feet weren’t set? Like last night. What a moron.

      Reply

  165. CST just slowed the replay in slow mo, EASY FUCKING CALL! Obviously goaltend, what the living FUCK. REVIEW THAT SHIT REFS!!!!

    REVIEW THAT SHIT!!

    Reply

    • Great Point… we were thinking the same thing! Why didn’t they review the last play? It was a game-changer…shouldn’t it have been reviewed?

      Reply

  166. wow i saw that replay…. un-f**king-believable marcus got cheated fellas the refs ruined this game im amazed i’ll take bs calls night in and night out but that call was absolute bulls**t wow…

    Reply

    • They need to send a tape in and have the league reprimand their incompetent ass officials. I’m getting sick of it. And it’s not just for my team either. Afterwhile watching the NBA will be like watching the WWF or WWE. Scripted.

      Reply

      • They need to do, and you know they’ll come out and say yeah we blew that call, which wont even really mean a thing. These plays need to be reviewable, all bball fans wouldn’t mind reviews of a goaltending with say less than two minutes in a half.

    • mt5 did nothing wrong don’t talk until you watch the slow mo replay everyone… that goaltend was awful. David Aldridge and his little we get all the calls arguments can go suck it now you already know he won’t say s**t now

      Reply

      • @jib-No Aldridge won’t say anything now. But you can best believe his ass is laughing because he done put it out there and it’s working.

  168. Don’t blame MT-5 when West was walking down the court all night long. This is why he doesn’t deserve to be on an Al-star team, he whines too much and doesn’t play defense when things don’t go his way. If he would have put any effort into this game we would have won. That is if Belly would not have played at all!!!

    Reply

    • West did suck for the most part tonight. But how are you going to take this one bad game that he’s had out of probably the last 10, and talk about how he isn’t an All Star and all that? Come on now. As much as West may have sucked tonight, he still did a whole damn lot better than the starting 2 guard. I’m starting to wonder if Belinelli should even be in the NBA let alone a damn starting guard on my favorite team.

      Reply

      • QueenBee, I believe ‘Just A Fan’ is right…it’s not about the fact that he had a bad game…hell, they all do (shit, they’re human). The problem for me is the obvious lack of effort. To me, an All Star encompasses so much more than the stats…it’s the fact that regardless of whether or not you get the calls you thought you should’ve gotten, you are willing to put it all out there for your team. That’s where West fell short… based upon what I saw! And believe me, I watched the ENTIRE game! Those other guys deserve more…win, lose or draw, they should know that West (and every other player on the court) is going to give it their best effort! It’s gotta start there! Don’t you think??

  169. Rubbish!!!..We got fucking robbed..You can’t touch the ball after it has hit the backboard..That’s Bullshit

    Reply

  171. The Only thing that could have made me feel better about this is if our coaching staff went all John McEnroe / Serena Williams on the refs

    Reply

  172. You guys are acting like your human rights were violated. This is not Egypt people, it’s just a NBA game. You can still go to work tomorrow, log on to facebook, and eat your bagel.

    Reply

    • If you don’t like the way we’re feeling, come back tomorrow. We’re fans and it’s the way we’re feeling right now. If that had been your boy Derrick Rose that Hill fouled/goaltended on I’d bet you’d be pissed too.

      Reply

      • I don’t like blown calls. I don’t like blown lay-ups. I don’t like MT5s shot selection. I don’t like complaining.
        I don’t like that my favorite player Chris Paul has not lead his team to the top of his division or top 3 in the Western Conference as my boy Derrick Rose has led his team to the top of his division whilst Boozer and Noah being on the sidelines.

        If you’re the most efficient guard, a captain, an all-star, and a gold medal athlete, then I expect you to take over games and not leave it up to an underdog like MT5.

      • Do me a favor and copy and paste the comment where someone wrote they don’t care about the games. Please.

  173. @Ryan, Michael, or Joe

    If possible maybe a video of that goaltending slow mo on the blog page to join the other videos is in order?

    Reply

  174. What are you talking about dude..We made a great comeback and had a chance to send the game into Ot..But the Refs just watched a clear goaltend..Nobody here is gonna wake up mad tomorrow..But if you’re not peeved about the outcome..Then your’re not a hornets fan

    Reply

    • Bob Licht:

      “CST replay clearly shows G.Hill goaltended Thornton’s gm-tying layup attempt at PHX tonite. No call. Hornets furious comebac falls 2pts shy.
      3 minutes ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®”

      Gerry V..

      “Ball hits glass on att and hill slaps ball on glass/ goal tending on last play vs suns/ can I get an amen? A witness? Hey! Listen to me!
      12 minutes ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®”

      Reply

    • Ur right… JaeAmazin…but JCS can’t see what actually happened. Those eyes are too blinded by hating on Thornton! I didn’t see his posts when he helped bring us back to one of the most amazing comebacks in franchise history. Nor does he talk about some of the other issues throughout the game which got us there:) We’re all a bit upset…but refs are professionals too, they can’t catch everything, but I would have expected a critical call such as that to be called!

      Reply

  175. ESPN recap of the game:

    “The Suns nearly blew an eight-point lead in the final 18 seconds, but Grant Hill BLOCKED Marcus Thornton’s inside attempt with 3.9 seconds left and Hornets guard Chris Paul’s desperation 3-point attempt missed the rim as time expired.”

    BLOCKED?!? More like “blocked the shot after it hitting the backboard”

    How was that not reviewable? Cause there was no initial call on the court?

    Reply

    • They were more concerned with helping the Suns improve to 11-0 in their last 11 Sunday home games. They’re also 3-0 on Sunday home games this season. The refs were ready to go home.

      Reply

    • wow…. they’re probably just covering for David Aldrige’s ass cus he looks pretty dumb now. For some reason ESPN wants to let this slide I just watched the highlight of the game on the espn halftime show they didn’t even show the goaltend… I don’t have nbatv right now if someone wouldn’t mind summing up what they said i’d appreciate it I’m pretty curious right now.

      Reply

  176. Where did you all get this article Aldridge wrote about the refs helping the Hornets. Can I get a link please? thanks

    Reply

  177. I really hope that the Hornets organization puts together a mix tape for the leauge of these B.S. plays. That’s TWICE now that we had a game decided by a goal tending violation that the refs didn’t even fairly review. That’s terrible. Especially in the West where 1 game can decide 3rd place, to 8th place come playoffs.

    Reply

  178. i heard the game can be reviewed since it happened on the final possession and the goaltend should have been reviewed after the fact anyways. I know rarely but in the past a few times final minutes of games have been replayed, is there any chance of that happening due to the fact the goaltending is so clear?

    Reply

    • Settle down.

      Take some deep breaths . . . Express your frustration (Hell, I do), but do it more creatively and stay on the peaceful side of things.

      Reply

    • they always do, i said yesterday that Willie green should be the starter and was met with rejection. its the best way to go, willies the better defender and as hard as it is for me to say because willie loves turrible shots hes smarter than marco. Marco shows his true colors more and more everyday. Leave marcus on the bench because otherwise when the starters leave we will have nobody else to give us some points. And i also think marcus should probably take the ball up court in the second unit too, he controls the offense off the bench because he is the offense and hes shown an ability to make some nice ass dimes, just a thought.

      Reply

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