Rapid Reaction: Hornets lose to the Kings

By:
Published: January 1, 2012
New Orleans Hornets 80 Final
Recap | Box Score
96 Sacramento Kings
Trevor Ariza, SF
8-14 FG | 1-2 FT | 5 REB | 3 AST | 17 PTS | -18Trevor did everything he could in that game to keep the Hornets in it, leaving it all out on the floor on both ends. He was still going to the floor for steals in the last four minutes.
Carl Landry, PF
6-11 FG | 0-0 FT | 5 REB | 0 AST | 12 PTS | -6

Carl was very effective in his limited minutes and worked hard. I can also ignore the fact he didn’t grab a single defensive rebound, since he was working so hard offensively. As always, his size makes him foul too much, and that kept him unusable for too long.

Emeka Okafor, C
5-7 FG | 3-6 FT | 12 REB | 1 AST | 13 PTS | -8

Mek did everything we could ask of him, including hit a pair of jumpers.

Jarrett Jack, PG
3-11 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 8 AST | 6 PTS | -20

This is where things turn sour. 8 turnovers, lots of missed open looks. 6 points. I think the scorekeeper has to be lying about the 8 assists too. He was awful.

Marco Belinelli, SG
3-12 FG | 0-0 FT | 6 REB | 3 AST | 6 PTS | -13

And other than a 3 minute stretch in the third, Belinelli kept Jack good company, missing every three he took. If they were contested, I’d be fine, but at least five of the seven missed threes were open.

Chris Kaman, C
5-13 FG | 4-4 FT | 15 REB | 1 AST | 14 PTS | -6

Kaman struggled to start the game and is awful defensively, but he rebounded well and for a while kept the Hornets afloat while the guards were finding new ways to lose the game.

Jason Smith, PF
1-5 FG | 0-4 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 2 PTS | -8

Paging Gustavo Ayon. Maybe he won’t miss four straight free throws and 80% of his shots. I can’t fault Jason’s energy, but eesh.

Greivis Vasquez, G
3-9 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 8 AST | 6 PTS | -1

Vasquez was the most stable of the Hornets guards out there, but when he checked in, the defense lowered enough for the Hornets to give up little runs. Offensively he also wasn’t anything to write home about.

Al-Farouq Aminu, SF
0-5 FG | 0-0 FT | 6 REB | 0 AST | 0 PTS | 0

Aminu does fine defensively, but he is a man without a position offensively – and he looks brutal.

Three Things We Saw

  1. About six minutes into the second quarter I wrote down, “Some of the worst offensive basketball I’ve seen.” That carried over to the third quarter. For the Hornets.
  2. The Hornets frontcourt came to play. Kaman, Okafor, Ariza, Landry – those guys gave the Hornets everything they needed to win that game. It makes me appreciate Paul so much more – and wish for Gordon that much more desperately.
  3. No Ayon tonight. The Hornets might need to move one of their bigs to get another guard. Which do you think they should move – and what do you think they could get for him?

46 Comments

  1. Pingback: ANO NOVO, VELHAS DEFICIÊNCIAS | Brazilian Hornet

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.