The New Orleans Hornets shot a pitiful 2-19 from behind the arc and again came up just short of a win, this time against the Mavs.
How it ended: Delonte West stepped to the line with 14.7 seconds left and a one point lead. He calmly knocked down both. Jack then took the ball for the Hornets, losing his footing which resulted in a jump ball. It was knocked out of bounds by Dallas, and the Hornets took possession. Ariza inbounded to Landry for a layup, cutting the lead to one. On the next Dallas possession Jason Terry was fouled. He made both, bringing the lead back to three. With the Hornets out of timeouts, Jack took the ball up the court and was fouled before shooting. He made one and deliberately missed the second. After Jason Smith flew into the box, getting a piece of the ball in the process, Jack got up a last second attempt, but it wasn’t successful. The resuly was another disappointing Hornets loss. Eric Gordon, where art thou?
 |
Trevor Ariza, SF 37 MIN | 5-15 FG | 1-3 FT | 6 REB | 2 AST | 12 PTS | -11Playoff Trevor was back in action tonight aside from the 2-9 shooting outside the paint. I really don’t think most of those were bad shots though. He went to the rim whenever he got the opportunity, and played the aggressive style of defense that the Hornets need from him. Overall I was pleased with what we saw from him in his third game back from injury. |  |
 |
Jason Smith, PF 21 MIN | 2-6 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 4 PTS | -8He wasn’t effective tonight on either end of the floor. Running him out there as a starter makes life incredibly hard for him on a night to night basis, even if Dirk did sit this one out. |  |
 |
Emeka Okafor, C 37 MIN | 7-13 FG | 2-3 FT | 17 REB | 1 AST | 16 PTS | +2Despite playing only 16 minutes in the first half, Emeka Okafor had 11 of the Hornets 23 rebounds (48%). He added 10 points in the half, including two nice jumpers from 15 feet. He continued his nice play in the second half. He again seemed to be a real option on offense, and I’m happy to report I no longer cringe when he gets the rock inside. In fact, I look forward to it. He had a bunch of key baskets for the Hornets tonight. Without his rebounding this game is a slaughter. |  |
 |
Jarrett Jack, PG 40 MIN | 3-12 FG | 5-7 FT | 4 REB | 6 AST | 12 PTS | -5Jack got a HUGE round of applause when he went for a ball and wound up about 6 rows deep in the stands which led to shot clock violation. Guy is the leader of this team and with that hustle play he single handedly brought the crowd to their feet for the remainder of the game. That play, as irrelevant as it was in terms of actual value on the court, was one of the most memorable of the year at the Hive. Losing the ball with 14 seconds left was unfortunately all too predictable. | |
 |
Marco Belinelli, SG 25 MIN | 1-7 FG | 2-2 FT | 3 REB | 2 AST | 4 PTS | -7Our three point specialist went 0-6 from behind the arc. I watch him drain threes in practice, and the pace at which he shoots is noticeably faster during games. I know he needs to hurry sometimes, but even when he’s wide open you can tell his tempo is off. Take it from a golfer– slow down, Belli. |  |
 |
Chris Kaman, C 7 MIN | 1-2 FG | 1-1 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 3 PTS | -3Who? Kaman barely saw the floor, playing seven quiet minutes in the first half. |  |
 |
Carldell Johnson, G 5 MIN | 0-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 1 AST | 0 PTS | +5Squeaky had a nice pass in the second quarter to Ariza for an open three, but then missed two of his own shortly after. Monty yanked him as soon as the second one missed. I hate, HATE, when coaches pull players immediately after they miss a shot they should be taking. That’s what happened with Squeaky tonight, even if the missed three did barely catch rim. |  |
 |
Carl Landry, PF 27 MIN | 5-8 FG | 9-13 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 19 PTS | +6Carl got the tough buckets throughout the late third and fourth quarter for the Hornets, but it was two missed free throws when the Hornets were down two with about 3:30 to go, and a missed box-out immediately following that led to an easy Mavs basket that is what stuck in my mind, as well as making only one of two free throws with a minute left. It’s too bad, because those mental errors sort of overshadowed a nice comeback game of sorts in my mind. I liked his aggressiveness a lot though. Getting to the line is and should be a key part of his game. As a result of drawing contact when he attacked, he wound up with a very efficient game on offense. I’ll mostly ignore his deficiencies on the glass, but one rebound in 27 minutes from your power forward is something that I have to mention. |  |
 |
DaJuan Summers, F 10 MIN | 2-5 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 4 PTS | -2Summers had back to back steals in the third along with a thunderous dunk. He’s really a multi-dimensional player. It will be exciting to watch him grow if he can get some time in the lineup. Otherwise it will be disappointing to watch him ride the pine for most of every game. | |
 |
Greivis Vasquez, PG 16 MIN | 2-5 FG | 1-1 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 5 PTS | +5Greivis has a Mohawk now. So… Anyway, he played some solid ball in the fourth when the Hornets really needed some spark from him. He’s also one of the first guys off the bench when things go well, which gets him bonus points from me. Unfortunately those points are more than negated by the assist to turnover ratio of 1:2 . | |
 |
Gustavo Ayon, PF 4 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-2 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 PTS | -1Didn’t see any time in the first half. The most memorable moments from the four minutes he played in the third quarter were when he was posterized by Ian Mahinmi and the two missed free throws with .6 seconds left on the clock in the quarter. Can’t win ‘em all! |  |
 |
Al-Farouq Aminu, SF 11 MIN | 1-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 2 AST | 2 PTS | +9He played a few good minutes with the team (best +/-), but struggles with keeping his hands to himself. He rebounded well, as usual. |  |
Five Things We Saw
- The Hornets trailed by 11 entering the fourth, but started out hot. They outscored the Mavs 9-2 to start the quarter the quarter thanks to strong drives by Greivis and Vazquez, and Emeka Okafor’s third jumper of the game, this time fading away from just inside the free throw line as the shot clock was winding down. The Mavs called timeout as the crowd came to their feet, their double digit lead reduced to four in just 146 seconds. Coming into the quarter I thought the game was going to get away from the Hornets. It was nice to be wrong, even if they lost in the end.
- The Hornets hung tough despite struggling on offense in the first. They did it behind their solid defense, limiting Dallas to only 40 percent shooting. The Okafor-led squad entered halftime tied at 41, but in the third the Mavs found a number of easy baskets inside, and the Hornets remained cold offensively, at one point scoring only four points in a stretch of 16 offensive possessions.
- Attendance was 15,471. That’s just not very good for a beautiful Saturday evening against the defending champs.
- Morris Bart had the pleasure of sitting next to Zach Galifianakis tonight. I saw Mo make Zach laugh. Boom! He won tonight. Dylan McDermott was a few seats by sitting next to Hugh Weber.
- It’s much easier for me to watch blowout losses than to come up just short. You?
25 responses to “Hornets Struggle Again from Deep, Lose Tough One to Mavs”
three point shooting is killing us…particularly Belli – shooting 4/17 from 3 the last three games
This is ridiculous, why does Monty continue to play Ariza so much and give Aminu and Summers spot minutes? Is it NOT obvious that we’re not going to win with this lineup? Why wait til the trade deadline to start developing these players?
This, and it’s not just Monty it’s on Dell as well. We need to be looking to move Ariza and Okafor sooner than later. If Gordon really wants to be here and really wants to sign and extention get it done. Otherwise trade him ASAP. This season was over the minute we traded Chris Paul away. Everything we do now should be for 2012/13 and beyond.
I feel this way after every game…Aminu has talent. He is improving it seems. He needs minutes now. This is the time for him to develop
HUH? I don’t know about you but I thought Ariza played pretty damn well the past 2 games. If we can get this Ariza night in, night out, I want him on my team. Boxscores don’t tell the whole story. Trevor kept us in the game in the first half.
Our defense was lacking without him, and his groin injury should have showed fans exactly why Ariza is valued. Not that he’s untouchable, but it’s hard to assess his value when it never `goes’ away. He rarely has an off night when he’s in. He misses plays, but perfection is an insane expectation.
Our defense with Ariza is plenty good. It’s the offensive droughts that are the issue. Gordon may help that once he’s gets in sync on both ends, but I don’t expect magic from him. With the way this team is playing with 50 games left to play (wow!), we could win half our remaining games . . . making us average when we’re at full strength, a level many thought was unattainable, but with a below average final record.
Also, Monty has been taking it on the chin, and he may not be the answer, but he’s bought in to what the franchise wants to do and is putting forth what he sees as correct, something a man of his convictions will do or walk away. This guy made an offer to bring fans into his home as part of ane effort sell tickets, and he did this on the fly, in front of an open mic, without knowledge of the team’s higher ups who were standing right there. The dude is passionate and is getting this team, and last year’s, to play over its head. I’m not sure what he’s done to hurt people’s trust. The obvious response is Marcus. Well, we weren’t going to pay Marcus or ANYONE that kind of money, so lose Marcus after giving him minutes, or give those minutes to the guy we kept at a reasonable price (Marco, he’s worth what he’s being paid . . . take the good with the bad), and get a guy that would sign with us for a reasonable deal (Carl, 1y $9 the 1y being key). This is a Dell-Monty thing, true, but that just goes to show how this team is different than before, where Bower and Scott were at odds. The story, now written, vindicates Monty in my mind. I’m totally willing to listen to arguments to the contrary.
It’s a sad story that we couldn’t be in a postition to keep Marcus, though. Very sad. That, to me, was just part of the `rhythm’ of this team and it happened to him, just as it would have happend to anyone in that position.
If you are going to grade Belinelli simply on his absolutely atrocious shooting that’s one thing. But if you’re going to call a tiger by his stripes, then you need to stay consistent. I know how invaluable Jack is to this team: he hustles, he’s a team leader, and he comes up with some incredible clutch shots. But he is the Hornets’ starting point guard, and he’s terrible at it. I have yet to see Jack initiate a fastbreak. He doesn’t see the court well and he can disrupt any flow on offense if his passes are late or badly thrown. Marco ran a terrific PnR with Smith (of all people), one of the few I’ve seen all season. He can make those passes if the play-calling would allow it. In all the time I’ve watched Jack play, I’ve never seen him run a PnR either here or with the Raptors, because he just can’t. All I’m saying is if you are going to grade Marco on his shooting alone, then do the same with Jarrett in terms of his ability to set up the offense.
While I’m at it, can’t this team hire Peja as a shooting coach?
Agreed. Jack does play with a ton of heart, but he’s a shooting guard, not a point guard. He’s one of our best scorers, but he’s a very poor passer. It’s especially painful to watch when the game is close, because our opponents know that he won’t trust his teammates and try to set them up, but will instead try to “put the team on his back” and try to score off the dribble. He occasionally is successful, but when games are tight, opposing teams are baiting him to drive and then collapsing and forcing turnovers. How many times this year are we going to see him slip and fall when he realizes that he’s got into a spot that he can’t get out of? He missed some WIDE open guys on at least 3 pick and rolls in the 4th quarter.
Vasquez is a much better passer, but he’s limited by his ball handling & quickness deficiences. I like Vasquez running the point with Jack as the 2 guard. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens with the guard rotation when Gordon returns. . .
I think y’all are just spoiled by years and years of watching Chris Paul distribute the ball very well. Jarrett Jack finished the game with 6 assists tonight and is averaging 7.4 assists per game which is 12th in the league. Of course your not going to see Jack pass the ball as much as Paul because they play two different games.
Most games it seems like no one can score but Jarrett Jack. Nobody can make an outside shot. We have 0 offense and he has been one of our most consistent scorers (it is saying a lot, I know) but you want him to take his shots other wise the games we lose by 2 or 3 we end up losing by 10 or 15 because Jack passed up on his spot. With the way the Hornets have been playing its a lose lose situation. Jack need other people to elevate their game, until then the ball is going to be in his hands.
Jarrett Jack keeps the Hornets competitive. And by no way do I want to start Vasquez, that’s pretty much inviting the team to score mad points off the fast break, wayy to many turnovers.
neither marco or jack should be starters on a great team, but let’s be fair and grade the two players according to their impact on the game (scale of 1 to 10). jarret jack – let’s say anywhere from 5 to 10. Belli – 0
I’m sure part of Jack’s problems is that he knows he’s on a team of bricklayers, or at best one guy will have a good night like Carl last night but then disappear for four. I think people are way too tough on Jack in this forum, being a point guard on a team that is an offensive wasteland is a terrible place to be. Y’all want him to “create” for whom? Marco, Ayon …. DeJuan Summers?? REALLY?? I withhold judgement until Gordon and maybe Henry play a dozen games; after that I think we can assess JJ more fairly.
also, it’s not jack’s fault that he is being played out of position supposedly…marco’s position is not disputed. he’s a shooting guard that can’t shoot in-game.
@sweetpea I agree with you 100% and besides the PG position is evolving look at the guys that play in the NBA now, Derrick Rose, Westbrook, Irving, Walker, Lawson, Jameer Nelson, John Wall, Mo Williams, and many others. All of these guys are scorers, distributers are dying off, they are becoming a thing of the past.
How can Marco Belinelli improve his 3pt.-FG%?
The problem with Jack is his extremely poor decision making. He does not think well under pressure. Last night he had .4 seconds once he caught the rebound off the missed free throw. Enough time to set and shoot, instead of batting a one-handed off-balance attempt back at the rim. He panicked, and he does in a lot on fast breaks, when he falls down a few times a game, and when he is trapped. Your point guard should not panic.
Another 2-point loss where the other team was handed some very obvious points by the refs. The other team bats the ball out twice and gets possession both times. Landry gets called for groining Odom in the knee. The abuse by the refs is the most frustrating thing about watching the Hornets, followed by Kaman and missed free throws. I know we actually got to the line tonight, but there was only one of two of those fouls that wasn’t a hard, obvious foul. I guess I should be glad they actually called those ….
Agreed on Jack. It’s not his ability or vision. It’s the blinders he puts on at times when he crosses half court and the sogged determination to shoot or pass, whichever, no matter the cost.
He thinks making a decision makes you a leader, a common error. It’s cute, if frustrating.
He’s getting better. Example:working good decision to get out of a trap tonight in the 4th.
Also, I felt our off ball movement was there at times. And Ariza is reigning in the long ball attempts, even when open. All improvements.
Jack is working with vastly inferior, very young, very raw talent most of the time. If not young and raw, scoring inept barely scratches the surface. The guy has so much damn heart, I want to see what he can do with Gordon and a regular supporting cast.
With Gordon (the only game he’s had him all season), dude had 19 and 11 with his starting SG going 8-22 and starting SF going 0-4.
He’s not CP3, he won’t make world beaters out of people. But I think he can very well end up being better than serviceable and a great leader for this team.
Jack is the only player we have who can create his own shot–we need Gordon back ASAP!
you mean Eric Roy because we extend this guy we’ll really be rebuliding til 2020.I say trade this guy to the Pacers because we don’t need no more damage goods.
Dude, top 20 players don’t grow on trees, much less that actually WANT to play defense.
i think we should get jack some new shoes.tired of seeing the guy slip on the floor 3 or 4 times a night.also i know 7up is one of our sponsors.but please 7up make another commercial.tired of seeing that cee-lo commercial on cst about 12 times during a hornet game
That’s the soda singer guy?
I’m glad I listen to other garbage. My guys suck too much to get into a “Come on, baby, buy my tire” situation.
[…] Ryan Schwan Register | Log in ← Hornets Struggle Again from Deep, Lose Tough One to Mavs […]
aminu needs more burn at the four. hes a beast w a 2nd unit at the four. dude is awkward and uncomfortabe, especially offensively, at the 3
[…] Hornets Struggle Again from Deep, Lose Tough One to Mavs | New …By Joe GerrityHow it ended: Delonte West stepped to the line with 14.7 seconds left and a one point lead. He calmly knocked down both. Jack then took the ball for the Hornets, losing his footing which resulted in a jump ball. It was knocked out of bounds by …Hornets247.com » Blog […]