It is time once again to stare directly into the light that is Marcus Thornton.
The Kings sport a dismal 12-26 record, but they are actually above .500 at home (8-6), a record that includes a 16 point win over the Hornets back on New Year’s Day. In fact, the Kings are 2-0 against the Hornets this year and have beaten them two completely different ways. In the first game, DeMarcus Cousins was serving a team mandated suspension, so guards Tyreke Evans and Sir Marcus Thornton took over, scoring 52 points on 36 shots. In game two, Cousins was back and he terrorized the Hornets, dropping 28 and 19 as the Kings came back from an 18 point deficit to win.
Bottom line is that this is not a good matchup for the Hornets (but then again, how many teams are?) because they simply don’t have the talent to take advantage of the Kings defensive inefficiencies. The Kings are going to score points, but most teams who play them simply score more. The resistable force plows into the moveable object, as the 29th ranked offense faces the 30th ranked defense. So far in this matchup the defense has won, or should I say, the offense has lost.
Other News and Notes:
– Trade of the Day: We had an interesting one on our Twitter account that fans of both teams seemed to like. Here it is. And the Nets also throw in their unprotected 2012 first rounder (which would be #5 as of now). Basically, the Nets clear space and build around Big 3 of D-Will, Gordon, and Dwight (who they sign in summer). Meanwhile, the Hornets have three lotto picks (possibly 2 of the top 5) and Lopez moving forward. Thoughts?
– Vegas Zone: The line started at Hornets +5, but has moved up to +5.5. The over/under is at 192 and I would take the under considering how difficult it has been for the Hornets to score at times in the first two meetings. I also like the Kings giving the points, as I just think it is a bad matchup for the bees.
– Gustavo will be out tonight because of a sore left foot, leaving Monty to decide between Solomon Jones, Aminu, and Lance Thomas to start at the four. I say he goes the conservative route and starts Thomas.
– The Wolves host Portland tonight. Hopefully we got the Blazers back on track and now they can steamroll the TumbleWolves.
– There are rumors out there about the ownership situation and people hit us up everyday on Twitter to ask about it, but you just gotta be patient. I think this site has done a great job of laying out a lot of the principles, but it is a slow process that is very fluid. There will be an owner in the next two months and this period of unstableness will soon be a distant memory.
– Finally, we got a lot of exciting things planned over the next few weeks, including a watch party, our first ever interactive live video chat, some fantastic announcements, and more! Stay tuned.
24 responses to “Game On: Hornets @ Kings”
I like that trade assuming we could get Anthony Davis because his defensive abilities would compensate for Lopez being a less than stellar defender. Lopez being an RFA (which I think he is) leaves the same “what if he signs the tender and leaves after a year” worries as Gordon, but I don’t think he has as many teams beating down the doors to sign him as Gordon, and no Indy who clearly wants him.
It would be nice to make sure Lopez is completely healthy though, foot/ankle problems for a 7 footer don’t sound inviting. Hopefully he doesn’t turn into another goofier Yao
I take that trade for sure.We could draft Davis and Beal to go with Lopez.. Beal has been compared to Gordon a lot so if he in fact lives up to that we essentially traded a broken sg for a younger, healthier version of himself and broken c.. Sounds like a good deal to me.. Or even if you’re not high on Beal and we don’t get the 1st pick having a combination of Thomas Robinson, Lopez, and wingman x (preferably Barnes even though everyone hates him for like no reason) is a good combo. Then with the Minnesota pick we can add Lilliard or Rivers (if he’s still left) or some other guard that can become a nice solid starter. The bad thing is if we got Lopez then Sullinger is no longer an option in the draft because a front line of him and Lopez is just asking to be smashed.
I can’t wait till a new owner is announced. I really hope this gives the organisation the stability it’s been craving ever since Shinn decided he wanted out of Charlotte.
What do you guys think of Evan Turner from Philly? What would it take to get him?
We had a trade of:
NOH Get: Evan Turner, A. Nocioni, C. Brackins, T. Battie
PHI Get: Chris Kaman, Xavier Henry and MIN First Rounder
I think this could work for both sides, though I’m still a little unsure about the Hornets side of things.
What say you?
I like it!
As crazy as it sounds i kinda don’t wanna give up on Xavier so fast… I would much rather put aminu in that trade (im not sure if its about the salaries…) Not a huge fan of taking Brackins back either..
But seriously we need to loose that MIN first rounder, that stock is tanking faster than the titaniccc
Yeah I like this if we put Aminu vice Henry. I think Turner will be a 18 – 20 ppg/ 8 RPG/ 5-7 APG game kind of guy. I think he is long enough to play good defense at the 2 and 3.
I love how people just throw around numbers like that. Quick, find me the list of guys who average 20/8/ and 5-7. What “kind of guy” is that?
The list of guys who do that:
Lebron and……….
That’s it
Kevin Garnett and Grant Hill (?) have also had seasons putting up those #’s!!
Also I think Turner has the trappings of becoming a Iggy-light and the voice of Terminator. He would be an good piece to have in NOLA
Yeah Mike,
I don’t mean hard fast for those numbers but more of an upper limit. I was thinking in the mold of Scottie Pippen*. Not a terrific shooter but can score, rebound, pass and play defense. At worst a good 6th man and at best somebody that can contribute in a number of stat stuffing categories.
* So you don’t jump on this I don’t mean Evan Turner is one of or will be a top 50 player of all time.
I think the Hornets would do that deal in an instant. I have no idea why the Nets would throw in the number 5 pick (assuming thats what they get). Surely they could get a young player for a big and 2 cheap contracts other than Gordon without throwing in the top 5 pick.
And to Grayson…why the heck would the Hornets give up a 1st, Henry, Kaman for essentially Evan Turner? He has struggled so badly so far and I’ve seen a lot of Philly games and he can’t really create his own shot, can only play shooting guard and can’t stretch the floor, and Hornets would have to give up that package for him? I would say no from the Hornets side.
Any chance of their being a live game chat tonight?
hopefully the hornets can finally beat mr. thornton…and i think its almost time to stop caring about that minny pick they’re going to make the playoffs..givin the blazers another beat down. can’t wait for this weeekend, ill be at the wolves err muskies lakers game friday, then switching jerseys to cheer for the hornets saturday against the wolves should be a fun bball weekend!!
Well that was fun
phew…i was soo worried about the tankkkkk
This was a great loss for us tonight. We now have the 2nd worse record in the league and Sac gets the tiebreaker for ping pong balls.
As in, we get more ping pong balls cause Sac’s 2-0 now.
No thanks to that Gordon trade.
How about:
NOH: Chris Kaman, Aminu, Trevor Ariza, Jack
NYK: Melo, The Great Bearded One B. Davis, Knicks #1
We use B. Davis and Melo to guarantee a successful tanking for the rest of the year. Then ship Melo off to whatever crap team will take him for their number one(Wizards or Bobcats I am looking at you) in the offseason.
The Knicks get the instant benefit of making everyone on their team better. Win Win all around.
No really, what?
Melo doesn’t guarantee tanking, he guarantees more wins. He is 10x better than anyone on our roster right now and one fo the top 10 players in the league (IMO, but objectively I think anyone would say he’s top 20).
This trade also doesn’t make their team better at all. Without Melo, who is handling the scoring load? Disinterested/struggling Amar’e and…Jeremy Lin? Really?
In what circumstance are the Knicks ever taking that? Do you remember what they gave up to get Melo all of 1 year ago?
Monty: ok trev, only a few seconds to go. I want you to inbound the ball and throw it as close to the king’s net as possible…and try to get it to belli.
Trevor: but coach, that’s the single most stupid thing i could do! We have this game! The kings have a chance to pick it off and score!
Monty: exactly!
Trevor: ooooh! I get it. *giggle* *wink*
*trevor and monty high five*
*the shining face of anthony davis appears in the clouds, and gives a reassuring wink to hornets fans everywhere*
I like this trade a lot. But I wouldn’t want to keep Lopez. I worry about his injuries and I’m not sure how he’ll play on a rebuilding team. I’d want him for a sign and trade though. Imagine if we could have the Tumblewolves, Nets, and our own pick. If we got Davis, Drummond, and Beal to put next to Jack, Ariza, Vasquez, Ayon, and MediOkafor then I think we would be well on our way to having “rebuilt” in the shortest time ever.
We would however have to carry rabbit feet and horseshoes in our pockets that Drummond hits his goal of being Dwight Howard however.