The Jazz beat the Hornets behind a balanced attack that saw all five starters score in double figures. The Hornets loss came despite Chris Paul scoring basketball points (incredible, I know) and…
and………..
Oh, that was it. Nobody else really showed up. Even Paul’s game was subpar.
After a first half that saw the Hornets settle for jumper after jumper, the second half started with 6 minutes of nearly jumpshot-free ball, which resulted in 6 Hornets free throws in the process. It was clear that Monty had said something during halftime about being aggressive, and the guys listened. On the other end the Hornets picked up their intensity and stopped allowing so many easy buckets inside.
Yet the deficit kept growing. The Jazz were making their jumpers, contested or not, and they started getting to the line as well after a first half in which they attempted only two free throws. On the other end, the Hornets didn’t convert enough of their easy shots inside. If you can’t make layups, you aren’t going to win games. It’s as simple as that.
At the end of three, the score stood 70-57 Jazz.
The fourth quarter was mostly a return to the first half, when the Hornets settled for jumpers, played bad defense inside, and seemed strangely apathetic in a game of such importance.
Chris Paul
In the pre-game, Monty said “I wouldn’t want to play against him tonight.†referring to fire Paul would likely feel after the scoreless performance Paul put forth last night against Memphis. In a sense, he was right. Although Paul’s performance was far from what was needed for a W, he did out-play the rest of his lowly teammates.
It’s sad in some ways, watching him play his heart out to no avail. You can see the frustration on his face in the fourth has he got way up to grab a defensive rebound, without another Hornets player in sight. He slammed the ball to the floor repeatedly throughout the game, generally after making a play that he shouldn’t have had to make. That stuff wears on guys, and the rest of the Hornets had better dammed well be giving it their all if they don’t want Paul to eat their souls.
I will say, however, that it is oddly satisfying to watch the most talented player on the floor also be the one with the most heart. That’s something that you don’t see often enough in sports.
Again Paul didn’t play most of the fourth quarter, and he finished with 15 points on 13 shots, 5 assists vs 2 turnovers, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals. If anyone saw a better stat line than that from the Hornets, let me know.
Other Player Notes
- Willie Green was adequate. I contemplated putting his name in bold, but an average performance that is better than your teammates is still just average in my book. That’s not worth bold. He finished with 12 points on 10 shots, to go with 2 steals and 2 boards.
- Jason Smith had a decent game, but hitting a few jumpers and grabbing a couple boards wasn’t enough to turn this one around. 12 points on 10 shots and 6 boards. he was also probably deserving of a bold mention, but again- nobody really was tonight. He had two turnovers and a lot of dumb mistakes on defense that resulted in unnecessary Utah points.
- Ariza remained aggressive, but nothing he put up went in. It’s ok. I much prefer this Ariza to the one from the first 8/9ths of the season.
- Aaron Gray got rejected three times within two feet of the hoop by players noticeably smaller than he. What is with the Hornets having centers recently who rarely slam it home? On the boards he was sort of great (9 boards in 16 minutes), but they were mostly meaningless. Defensively it wasn’t his night- too many cutters got easy buckets as a result of his poor positioning inside.
- As usual, Monty played Marco Belinelli just enough to find out which Marco he had tonight. I can’t blame him for keeping Marco on a short leash, since he is either very hot or very cold, and tonight was obviously the latter. Monty gave him another chance in the fourth quarter since nobody was making anything anyway, and despite nailing a long jumper on his first attempt, he missed an open three pointer on the next possession that would have sent momentum back in the Hornets favor. That was the last real chance I saw for the Hornets to stage a comeback.
- Okafor is giving it his all to make up for the absence of West inside, but just like last year, he seems much less effective when he doesn’t have someone to help him inside. Landry just isn’t the ideal guy to pair with the undersized Okafor.
- Swingmen Gordon Hayward and CJ Miles torched the Hornets for 32 points on 17 shots. It didn’t seem to matter who was covering them.
- Nobody guessed the final score right, not surprisingly.
Game Notes
- Hornets shot 38%
- Jazz shot 55%
- Nobody on either side had double digits in either rebounds or assists.
Quotes from Monty’s Postgame Press Conference
- “Some of it was indescribable”- on tonight’s game
- “Give credit to Utah.”
- “It’s not an 80-game season. You have to get yourself ready to play 118 games. It’s an art, and men have to do it, and tonight I didn’t see the focus and tenacity that we needed.”
- Look, all those teams are probably going to finish with 55 plus win. San Antonio is at 61 right now, so you’re not gong to play against a JV team” – referring to the top four teams in the Western Conference Playoff race.
- “This was disappointing tonight, to say the least.”
- “When we’re defending it makes the offense much easier, and we didn’t defend tonight.”
- Listen to it here- WS600005
It’s so weird ( I’ve been told we are the only team in the league that does this) that Gerry V (who asks pretty good questions) gets 6 questions in the postgame, and then everyone else gets 1 or 2 total, and then it’s done. I really did have a question tonight about what Monty said at halftime to get the guys playing so aggressively after the break. Had I known, I would have used that knowledge to be more aggressive in my question asking in the future. Now, I am stuck not knowing how to be aggressive, and lack the aggressiveness to learn how to be aggressive! It’s a hard life.
And cheer up, Hornets nation. We still made the playoffs, and we still have a chance to see whoever it is that you want to face in round one.
91 responses to “Jazz Shut Down the Hornets”
I think we should start Jason Smith and play him about 15 minutes a game, and let Landry dominate the second unit, since Jason can hit some Js, pick n pop works better with CP…
Am I crazy about making this comment????
I wouldn’t mind Monty giving that a shot. A start plus more PT should definitely help Smith’s confidence.
Okafor should start at PF with Gray at center. Set the tone defensively and let the offense sort itself out.
Are those thumb-ups mean that I’m crazy?
We played as if we wanted to lose. I’m sure that wasn’t there intention going in, but how many guys on the team showed some effort tonight??
I am glad I am not the only one who felt like we lost this game on purpose. Coach sits the starters in a playoff seeding determining game with 6 minutes on the clock with only 14 pt difference? I call that “giving up”. We were on fire between 2 Memphis games and now we are in a bad streak entering the playoffs! 🙁
I agree 100%!
Landry was brought in for the 2nd unit.
He is not a starter! Great back-up
F-Smith, F-Ariza, C-Okafor, G-Belinelli, G-Paul
F-Landry, G-Green, G-Jack, C-Gray
L_REAZY
What an odd, you’ve-entered-the-twilight-zone team this is. I feel like a big dummy worrying about who we’re going to play the first round after watching the last two games. What a joke … Dallas or anyone else will wipe the floor with us if we play anything like we have since the Suns game. I think we lead the NBA in guys over 6 10 missing layups and shots within two feet as well. I know Emeka Okafor is stout on defense but he has no business missing the shots he misses and receiving the pay checks he receives. That’s tonight and most games this season.
Monty took Marco out after five or six minutes in the first quarter, as usual. He was one for three at the time…hardly “cold.” He ended up five for eight, certainly not cold–in fact, best shooting percentage for anybody on the Hornets. Cold is Jarret Jack…luke warm is Willie Green.
No starter in the league gets the kind of insulting treatment Marco does.
You prefer this Ariza? Really? Landry/Ariza/Okafor: horrible, and not just on offense. Look where the points came from.
The Arena looked dead again. Who’s going to invest in this project?
What’s your take on Marco’s D versus Jack and Willie’s?
I don’t want to answer your last question. As for Bellinelli .. I’ve always wondered this year why the Hornets don’t use him like the Warriors used him at the start of the career. Slashing through lanes and attacking the rim, not unlike Ariza is when he’s most effective. Using his inside game to set up his jump shots and square ups. I think in general, and for whatever reasons, Coach Williams has never felt comfortable with his player rotations the entire season. Let’s hope this is a rookie coaching process he’ll improve on next year … which brings me back to that last question of yours ….
It’s typical Monday attendance.
The average for the season is 14,710 about, 25 less average than the 3 years the team was here prior to Katrina. Make of it what you will.
I’m wondering what the lease does if there is no season before January 31 . . . does the clause kick in? Will there be a buyer? Will there be enough games to pick up the average if we combine the total from the end of last season and the start of this coming one?
Lots of questions, James, for sure. But someone will invest, if they don’t contract it. Will they be local? Will they be interested in keeping the team here?
Stay tuned.
Were you in the arena? The main people complaining about attendance are ones that aren’t even there.
12 thousand 500 and tons of empty seats so actual attendance was less than that. I’ve been to four games at the Arena this year. The atmosphere just isn’t there. Makes me sad to say that because I’d love to see the Hornets stay in New Orleans.
As for Marco’s defense tonight: I think it was Gordon Hayward’s explosiveness and a TO that bothered Monty. But when the Hornets play well, they are playing team defense effectively. The Hornets need to switch and help out more effectively than they have been lately.
When Willie and Jarret came in, the Jazz continued to torch the Hornets. They both failed to close out often on jumpers and threes. Also, Chris Paul’s defense tonight was miserable. Nobody ever mentions that. His toughness and quickness don’t help when opposing guards shoot over him at will. Paul is an overrated defender. Steals are not a good indication of overall defense.
Can’t wait to see how the team responds in the playoffs. And hopefully they’ll be able to sell out the Arena. If the opponent is the Lakers, there will be just as many Kobe Freaks there as Hornet fans, I fear, so a sell-out would be misleading…
Although I want to see the Hornets play well to finish out the season, I do not want them to end up getting the 7th seed and go against the Lakers. And the Hornets pretty much secured the 8th seed, unless Memphis decides lose the last two games. I HOPE they do spank Dallas in the last game of the season. Oh, how that team annoys me to death! ……whatever, I’ll try to keep being excited for the playoffs to start.
One more thing. Seems like CP3’s frustrating is growing rapidly, if his teammates play like this in the playoffs, I would be scared for them.
i guess the team likes the “Gec Plan”. Imho the Spurs are what they showed in the RS, they can’t turn it on like the Lakers will because that’s what they are. It’ll be a big test for Monty, because we have our weapons against the Spurs and i think the hornets can win their home games.
Anyway Landry must defend much better if we want to win those home games, put a body on the way of their dribble-penetrations gonna be key
I took the Jazz w/ the spread in this game and the Jazz over. That idiot Earl Watson cost me the latter. I was sitting at the game mulling it over and the Hornets O/U for the game was 100. I could have kicked myself in the teeth for not taking that under. Anytime the Hornets over/under is 100 it’s a fantastic bet to take the under.
Anyways. Can’t really be pissed about a loss that gets us 1stp Klosr to not having to face the Lakers until the WCF in the playoffs. And I know alot of you are enthused about playing the Mavs but I really don’t want to see Dirk/Tyson without West. I’d much rather Landry get to guard the likes of Blair/Bonner/McDyess personally.
It would be so satisfying if the Hornets beat the Mavs in the playoffs! But I’m going to have to agree with you. Enth E Nd I think the Hornets match up better with the Spurs than the Mavs.
Right now I too, think the Hornets match up better with the Spurs. With West, they may match up better with the Mavs but without West, I think they should match up better with the Spurs.
I agree Go Blue. I’d like to beat the Mavs, Spurs AND Lakers but I would never put money on the Hornets beating the Lakers. The most satisfaction out of beating the Mavs for me would be to stick it to Mark Cuban. LOL! And I would want Landry to have a GRRRRREAT series. LOL!
Dallas won tonight.
tomorrow MEM@POR. If Portland loses they’ll lose the 6th place because the game is also good for the tiebraker. But the Mavs may be 2nd tomorrow night.
Next game we’ll face the mavs, they want a win and we don’t want them to lose to give them a chance to finish 2nd if the hornets end 7th.
I hope Memphis’s gonna win and the lakers’ll lose to the Spurs or to Thornton
Just got back home from the game and I hate to say this, but this team is so hard to watch sometimes. If I didn’t live in NOLA, they’d be in my category with TOR, CLE, etc….the category of “who cares.” Looks like whoever we play in the playoffs will have brooms awaiting.
Before tonights game and the Memphis game the Hornets had won 3 in a row. Would you have said that after those 3 games whoever we play in the playoffs will have brooms waiting?
I was at the game tonight and wasn’t really mad because like I had been saying last night, I think they want the 8th seed. It’s all about matchups. They’d rather the Spurs than the Lakers. They’ll most likely lose on Wednesday as well. And then they’ll go from there. I’d rather see what will likely be a more entertaining series against the Spurs than a sweep by the Lakers. Yes, the Lakers have lost 5 in a row but I still wouldn’t want to take my chances in a playoff series.
When the Hornets were down 12 with 5 minutes left, Monty took out the starters. It wasn’t too late for them to lock down on defense and hit a few shots if they really wanted to win that game. Or, maybe they wanted to win really badly and just couldn’t do it and like you said whoever we play will have brooms waiting. I’ll be watching either way.
Hey Queen. In my comment I used the word “sometimes.” Tonight is one of those nights where I feel negatively about the team, but like you said, last week after 3 wins in a row it was the opposite. Thats the thing I hate about the team…no consistency, great wins, ugly losses. Those aren’t the type of teams I like to be a fan of, but being in NOLA, its hard not to go for the home team. But just keeping things real, we are aggravating to watch by the way we show up some nights and its hard to watch.
But every team goes through ups and downs, the part that left a bad taste in my mouth is the way we lost tonight, and to who. It’s the last home game of the year, you go out with a bang and have your fans excited. We didn’t do that…the people in my immediate proximity all were in disgust, boo-ing the team, talking bad about them, and hitting the exits early. Didnt CP3 say they didnt wanna back into the playoffs but go in full steam ahead??
I understand they might want a particular matchup but you cant go out like this. What if DAL moves to #2 and you had a chance to be #7 but you blew that tonight? I am just disappointed I guess in the effort.
Ed, we were upset up in 303 as well. It just wasn’t good ball.
The Jazz weren’t playing all that great, we just out-not-played them, I think.
But you gotta know: You can’t mess with the Queen!
We just have to hold out hope the we bow out with some dignity, not like with the Nuggets.
I know ed. You know this team has been inconsistant all. season. long.
Thing is, we keep hollering for Dallas but I don’t even think there’s a guarantee that we beat Dallas. Just because Dallas hasn’t won a game in the NO Arena in quite sometime that doesn’t mean it won’t happen this playoffs.
LOL 42! You’re too much.
Queen tries to keep it real too. I don’t know how anyone can honestly say right now that they know what to expect from this team. I sure don’t. LOL! I’m just watching.
Harrah’s is the perfect sponsor?
But at the same time, theres also no garauntee we beat SAS either. I dont understand why everyone wants to see them. Coach Pop will have that team ready and we are already easy to gameplan against without D West. Just because we beat them in the regular season doesn’t mean that happens in the playoffs, esp against a well run team like SAS. They won’t make mental mistakes, they are vets and will pick us apart IMO. Atleast DAL can beat themselves, but SAS will be ready. And with LAL, atleast LAL brings fans to the hive and we will matter whether we win or lose.
I have a friend that came with me to the game tonight, he’s from out of town and he told me that if we play DAL or LAL he will get tix and be there but he refuses to watch the “boring Spurs.” I think the Spurs are a good watch, but the casual fan won’t show. I hope I am wrong but I am just calling it like I see it.
True. No guarantees whatsoever. But which team would you rather take your chances with, the Spurs or the Lakers?
We want the Lakers because they’ll bring fans to the arena but at the same time we’re more likely to get swept? Are we THAT desperate for fans in the arena?
In 2 games this season against the Spurs the attend. was 12K+ and the other was 18K+ so there’s really no telling.
I would take the Spurs, but another thing people fail to mention is that if MEM loses to POR tomorrow (which they SHOULD given the game being played in POR and the necessity to win if you are POR), then MEM is actually in the drivers seat for 7th or 8th, whichever they feel benefits them more. We play 1st on Wed, and MEM can win or lose as a result of our outcome to determine their outcome. We beat DAL and MEM will obviously lose to stay tied with us and give us 7th…or we lose to DAL (like we likely will), now MEM can win the final game and be 7 or lose the final game and be 8. POR can also play the same card with us in the even MEM wins tomorrow. They are at an advantage b/c we play the 7pm game, they both play at 9:30pm on Wed.
Least to say, things will be very interesting over the next 48 hours in the Association.
I was saying something like this in the chat. You know how we don’t want the Lakers? They want us just as bad, right? And they can control what they do in response to what we do, right?
Any argument that the team is playing less aggressively now because it might help sort things better for the playoffs reveals a very weak basis for having any optimism about this team for the rest of this year or next.
You play hard to win every game.
I get the feeling Chris Paul is just playing out the year trying to maintain his overall image with no burning desire to win.
So Dallas won and is now is the 2 seed, still with 3 games left to play between them and the Lakers.
How do we feel about the 7 seed now? Or should be just wait it out?
Ed, I couldn’t get that calc I promised you in 5 minutes and decided it wasn’t worth doing. Sorry about that, buddy. I’ll buy you a beer in the playoffs . . . sounds like you might need it.
42 how do YOU feel about a 7th seed? Which team would you rather the Hornets face?
I don’t care, really.
I don’t think we can win a series as we are. If we lost West early and had time to adjust . . . maybe. Not today.
I hope I’m wrong, but the product before me causes my pea brain to dash my hopes like a tomato off an overpass.
You want to know the current thought/? Gimme the Lakers. People will be excited and we’ll sell tickets. I’ll blow my brains from 303 to 305, but whatever, right?
Yeah, whatever. No matter who we play I’ll still be there hoping for the best. Whatever that is. LOL!
It is all over except for the pride. And that is something.
I never really cared about who plays who myself.
Just bring it on and go to work. It’s what they get paid for.
But last night, they did not play with heart. OK…refs were poor. Gray mentioned above was hacked going to the dunk and still no calls.
A blcoking call against …I think Ariza…was really CLEARLY a charge.
And they continued all night.
But still a professional should not hang his head and instead get angry and play harder.
At least they didn’t have thet 7th Calvary look in their eyes in the Black Hills that I saw the night before.
Its all good 42, and thanks for the drink offer, but I will be fine. Just alil upset I wasted 2.5 hours of my day at the game tonight. But all is well…lol.
Jeo why can’t you win all the recaps. wtf
And now that I look at the boxscore, I can’t believe it’s right. I can’t believe the Hornets had 26 free throws. Sure didn’t seem like it. And it sure didn’t seem like the personal fouls were even. All night long in that arena it seemed like all I heard was … foul on the Hornets….. foul on the Hornets…… foul on the Hornets ….. foul on the Hornets …… foul on the Hornets ….. foul on the Hornets. SMH.
Hurry up Wednesday night so this regular season can be DONE WITH! LOL! What a long and tumultuous season we’ve had.
Preach!
Oh and Used Da Bees FTW!!!! I love them!
Hell Yea. They light up the crowd like no other timeout performers. Keep em close for the playoffs please. Using them right before the start of the 4th instead of stupid pump up music would be PERFECT.
sad that the used to bees were the highlight of the night.
It was impossible to be at that game and not feel like they were laying down.
I don’t think monty would shoot for 8th only to have to face friends and mentors in the first round, but the players seem to have that preference. total lack of desire out there that should have been present if in their hearts they wanted to move up. somewhat understandable but real painful for the fans who paid to be in attendance- also the play on the court could not have clashed more with the constant fanale videos of the players talking about how much they love playing in the hive.
Whether the Hornets are up by 20 or down by 20, the Used Da Bees are fun to watch.
I’d prefer the Hornets to win everytime (as we all probably do) I go to a game and while I know that won’t happen everytime, truthfully, I enjoy the games everytime I go. Everytime. It’s fun. Probably because I just love basketball though.
not me, I’m miserable when they lose, especially when the play so flat with so little energy and desire.
Oh bee dat believe me, I absolutely HATE for them to lose and I’m usually in a bad mood afterwards. People I live with can usually tell by my mood when the Hornets have lost a game. LOL! That’s how I am. But I won’t stop watching because I’m a lover of basketball. And no, I won’t go jump on another teams bandwagon just because my team is p*ssing me off. We all want our teams to do well. It just doesn’t happen all the time unfortunately.
What’s the best source someone knows of for accurate tracking of attendance numbers per game, averaged, etc?
ESPN.com maybe?
When the day began the Hornets were averaging 14,763 (25th in the league) and 86.4% (18th in the league).
http://espn.go.com/nba/attendance
Use google to search for NBA attendance. There is an espn link that is helpful for the averages up to this point. I tell you this rather than give you the link because it works for NHL etc.
Per game, I think you have to go to the box scores . . .
If someone knows better, tell me, and I’ll be grateful. Really grateful.
that was just an ugly, ugly game. part of me hopes they were laying down, cause if that was them playing hard and trying to get to 6, i’m scared to watch the playoffs
CP3 came out looking good in the first quarter, but he was slowed down again later. He was the best Hornet tonight though. The rest of the team was terrible. I can’t agree more that it sucked for the fans in attendance, whether laying down or poor effort.
idk. that game was just painful for me. haha. hope we get it together for dallas wednesday…but then again, i don’t want to get a hard fought win so we can face the lakers in the first round if that is the situation
Did anyone notice that nice applause Mr. and Mrs. Shinn received tonight?
http://www.nba.com/2011/news/04/11/hornets.shinn.ap/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt2
Food for thought guys…
MEM is the team in the bottom 3 with the best position. Here’s why: Assuming LAL finish #2 theres no chance MEM will face them unless they want to.
1. MEM can give it their all and fight for #6 by winning tomorrow night in POR. No matter what else happens, if MEM wins out, they’ll keep the spot.
2. If MEM loses tomorrow to POR, they can choose 7th or 8th, no matter what NOH does vs. DAL in the final game. This might be the only case where owning a tie breaker is a disadvantage. To add insult to injury, the schedule on Wed doesn’t favor the Hornets. NOH vs DAL is 7pm, MEM vs LAC is 9:30pm. This means MEM can watch the outcome of the NOH game and win or lose their own game to get the seed they desire. NOH beats DAL, MEM can win or lose and still finish 8th. NOH lose to DAL, MEM can decide to win its last game to finish 7th, but it will lose as well to be tied with NOH and claim 8th.
I will be tuned into the MEM vs POR game tomorrow, it will be huge for the Hornets positioning. Good night!
what are people’s thoughts on what we should do against Dallas? With the games today dallas are now in 2nd spot 0.5 games ahead of lakers, so a win against dallas means we still have a shot at 6th or 7th seed, but beating dallas (assuming lakers win at least 1 of there last 2) will mean lakers go back ahead of dallas and get 2nd seed. So do we play for a win to get 7th (or if luck goes our way 6th) and most likely get Lakers 1st round or do we let dallas beat us and settle for spurs first round?
Tons of chat about this already above your post Max. Check it out. Lots of answers to your questions there.
sorry I really just skipped the comments
Cool vid. Click on the ‘Thank You Hornets Fans’ video.
http://www.nba.com/hornets/video/originals/
sorry joe, but how can you establish that marco was cold after 3 shots? the last match he missed his first shots and than scored 16 point in the quarter. he ended the game with 5/8. the best percentage of the team.
his defense was bad, but as we see, no one seemed better on that end, and the jazz made whatever they want all game long…
I think Jason Smith should start ahead of Landry. Depending on the series….he provides a lot of energy and if a team goes up on them you can pull him without upsetting him.
If you stick with Landry and the team digs a hole…we’re done for.
Let Landry come off the bench and either add on to the lead or reduce the lead…it let’s him play more minutes, too.
Screw it, I want the Lakers.
Go Hornets!!!
I think I fell asleep during the fourth quarter of this game. . . and I was at the Hive. Easily the worst “fan finale” night I’ve ever attended. They didn’t even do the fan prize giveaway with the players after the game. I thought that was incredibly weak, but part of me is glad it played out that way, because NO ONE would have been there to watch the ceremony after the game. Even though the score didn’t represent an epic blowout, it was one of the most painful games I’ve watched in recent memory. No adjustments for the Jazz’s game plan, and when role players were asked to make shots, they looked extremely out of sorts and blew numerous dunks/layups.
When is the last time you saw CP3 make a basket on a fast break?
I’m one of the most optimistic fans around, but it was hard for anyone to have actually attended this game and not feel that this team is in serious trouble. The podcast talked about how Ryan hates teams that back into the playoffs. Well, it’s official: We are that team.
The video retrospective was the weakest since the return.
My brother and I were joking because it seemed like it was supposed to be longer, but we thought someone up in the booth was like, “Just shut it off.”
“When is the last time you saw CP3 make a basket on a fast break?”
Against Houston or Phoenix. Like 2 or 3 games ago.
I know we havent even begun the Playoffs yet but I’m looking forward to the Offseason acquisitions. I hope Demps sees that we NEED a true big man and a true 2 guard. I’m looking at the free agents for next year and I see:
Tyson Chandler (Cuban will fight tooth an nail for him just because its the Hornets that want him, but it doesn’t hurt to make him an offer)
Nene Hilario
JR Smith (IMO he seems to understanding that this is a team sport now)
Tayshaun Prince
Shannon Brown (if the don’t win another ‘ship, and the price is right)
Zach Randolph (if the price is right)
Kris Humphries (though i doubt Reggie would like bumping into his ex all the time, he’ll have to suck it up. LOL)
And thats just the unristricted free agents that we could go after. I just hope that we find a owner soon or the NBA will let us conduct business that will better the team even if that means going over the luxury tax. Because we can’t have someone invest if we don’t have something good on the floor.
I’m happy that we got back to the playoffs. I hope we DON”T play the lakers and risk the chance of getting “Nuggeted” again. If we can at least take whoever we play to in the 1st rd 7 games, i think that would be a major acheivement for the team. especially with what we have on the floor and especially without West.
I was at the game and agree with all the comments above about how poor the attendance was and how flat the team was. All year long I have tried to believe that the “good Hornets” are the real team and the “bad Hornets” are just the abberation that you get over an 82 game season. However, every time I try to have that warm and fuzzy feeling the “bad Hornets” just reinforce my gut feeling that this is a very mediocre team.
As has been pointed out many times on this blog, the Hornets have perhaps the ugliest offense in the league. This teams seems to have no offensive identity. The stagnant slow down dribble at the top of the key and settling for a poor shot is infuriating. About a week or so ago there was a link to an article that detailed how the Hornets were the worst shooting team in the league based on shot selection and efficiency. It is painfully obvious watching this team that there is no real offensive identity. I strongly feel that Chris Paul’s best days are behind him. I also feel that you are not going to be a serious championship contender when your best player is 6 feet tall. A quality big man and an athletic wing player are the building blocks for a championship contender.
I hope that this season will not end as the 2008-2009 season ended with a playoff massacre. Unfortunately, I have the sense that we are heading to that inevitable conclusion. I don’t think it really matters whether we get the Lakers, Spurs, Mavericks or Thunder in the first round. This team is so offensively deficient that we will be hard pressed to take any series to 6 games. The reality is that in a 7 game playoff series the better team usually wins. I just don’t see this team as being capable of beating any of the top 4 teams 4 times.
Chris Paul will consider Bobcats in ’12
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=6336690
this better just be conjecture. i can see why its appealing playing for his mentor in his home state but come on. Its not like the Bobcats are that much of an upgrade of what we have…..honestly wondering if he’s going to stay gets really tiresome. Its to the point now, for me at least, where its like whatever man.
I just went to CP’s twitter page for the first time today and read his tweets. I was wondering what he was talking about when I saw this…
Come on now people, I did 3 different interviews about the Jordan Brand Classic this morning and was asked if Michael Jordan had influence
4 minutes ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®
on free agent signings and I said at the end of the day guys want to win…they askd would I want to return home and I told them I’m focused
3 minutes ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®
here in NO and that’s the future and anything can happen…Hate when people try to turn things around just to make it a story…#slowdown
2 minutes ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®
And then I knew exactly where to head to find out what in the world he was talking about. The Almighty World Wide Leader.
Yeah i didn’t think to check his twitter to see if he mentioned the article. My bad. Just got mad when I saw it on ESPN. LOL. I thought the rumors had finally stopped enough for it not to be a distraction during the playoffs.
Oh no NuNu, you know they’re likely to never stop as long as he’s in a Hornets uni. Even if under some circumstance he signed an extension with the Hornets there will still be rumors I think. Just wait until this postseason if over with. The talk will kick up even stronger.
The national media is going to print this stuff no matter what he says. I pay absolutely no attention to those articles any longer. I firmly believe that if we keep moving in the right direction, Paul will opt to stay here.
A franchise tag woukd make any plans that may or may not exist practically moot.
Pray for D-West as he goes in to have his surgery today.
Hmm just waiting for the playoffs. No matter who it is. Hornets put themselves in this situation. Us fans have nothing to do but hope for the best, but not expect the worst LOL.
If its the Lakers, so be it. Dallas or Spurs? so be it. Had this Ariza showed up for HALF the season, we could be looking at a date with OKC, which is what i would like in that case because Ariza can LOCK down Durant with this mentality.
Still not looking at the offseason unlike last year, because i’m throwing out the hope that we get out of the 1st round. I consider this year a success, in and of itself, but to be able to get out of the 1st round will just be AWESOME. It’s a way of saying, FU NBA! Even with all this adversity, we still get to the 2nd round. FU!
Maaaaannnn if we can get out of the 1st rd that would make the season a great success. I think we can, especially against the Spurs. One observation I’ve looked at recently in these games is the ability we have to draw fouls. i think that will be critical to our offensive production in the playoffs. if we want to win, especially against teams with elite bigs, we need to get them in foul trouble. I noticed that during the Gizz and jazz games. We had got their bigs in foul trouble early where the had to sit with 2 fouls or getting their 3rd early in the 3rd and then after that we just forgot about it. Just kept focusing on jumpshots rather thatn driving to the basket and thats one of the most frustrating things to see. It does seem that we miss A LOT of free throws but it still gives us chances for points and puts the other team at a disadvantage because they either have to sit their players or become less agressive which also leads to points.
One observation I’ve looked at recently in these games is the ability we have to draw fouls.
Yeah, let’s just hope they actually USE that ability and even moreso, let’s hope the imcompetent zebras call the fouls for them. Like I said last night all I seemed to hear was … foul on the Hornets… foul on the Hornets …. foul on the Hornets. Utah aren’t a great defending team with their brand of hack, slap, grab defense and our guys got fouled on quite a few occasions but no call was made. That’s why I couldn’t believe the boxscore when it said the Hornets had 26 free throws. If they had 26 then they probably should’ve had about 30. LOL.
I meant, ‘incompetent’.
And we sure can’t win a championship without an owner. LOL! Can you imagine all the foul cries we’d hear from around the league with that one? Mark Cuban and Phil Jackson would lead the protest. LOL!
Yeah I was screaming at my Mac book screen because of the poor officiating. There were A LOT of calls left on the floor last night. Especially for Gray. The guy was getting hacked but no whistle. But when he slightly grazes a jazz player while trying to get position its a foul. Sucks. Hopefully that squad of refs will not be chosen for the playoffs.
I would not expect the Hornets to get the benefit of too many foul calls in the plaooffs. The zebras aren’t going to take Duncan, Dirk, Odom, Gasol, etc. out of a playoff game.
Good post Nikkoewan. Going into the season we didn’t know what to expect. Most ‘experts’ didn’t give the Hornets a near chance to even sniff the playoffs let alone make the playoffs. New coach, CP3 rumors, new GM, no owner mid-way thru the season. Sheesh!
We fans wracking our nerves/brains for nothing as far as which team we hope to play and hope to avoid. I’m just glad I’m able to watch my team in the post season. After all the ups and downs we fans went thru this season we deserve some post season play! LOL! We didn’t know what to expect coming into this season but I think we all pretty much knew that we wouldn’t be championship contenders this year so how about we all just sit back and watch.
Playing this poor basketball, do not go far in the playoffs …
Do we have a strength coach? I assume we do but Okafor and Gray repeatedly had the ball taken away from them last night. Weak or lack of effort and focus? Also, did anybody else see paul yelling at Okafor going into a timeout about a poor high screen that was set by the lifeless Okafor? My high school team runs better plays than the Hornets and I say that as a fan. If the first cutter isn’t open, the hornets stand around until someone takes a contested jump shot.
@johnhollinger Brave new world: @Oneandonlycp3 goes straight to Twitter to clarify comments. Meanwhile, @mcuban to ban AP from giving phone interviews. about 2 hours ago
Playoff success for the Hornets will depend on who shows up to play PG: CP3 or Christopher Paul.
If CP3 shows up, we have a chance.
If Christopher Paul shows up, we don’t.
Simple, isn’t it?
It’s very simple. Get ready for Christopher Paul. It’s been that way all season. Why are you guys looking for anything different is beyond me. 😕
I mean ask yourselves. How on earth did we get to this point while having Christopher Paul all season long?
Lose the game..The playoffs is about matchups..And with the slow tempo that the spurs Play..They will play right into our hands..We want the 8th seed..Besides a game and a miserable 2nd half..We’ve owned the spurs this season..The only team that can say so..The 8th spot is Golden for our team..I Believe..Hornets All Day Bitches!!