Hornets Beat Grizzlies In Front Of New Owner Tom Benson

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Published: April 15, 2012

The team tentatively known as the New Orleans Hornets beat yet another Western Conference  playoff contender. Tom and Gayle Benson were in attendance and introduced as the new Hornets owners in the first quarter.

It was over when- Up 9 with about 5 minutes to go, Marco Belinelli finally hit a three pointer to bump the lead to 12. That would prove to be enough.

MVP: Carl Landry (16 points on 10 shots, 11 boards, 26 minutes) and Eric Gordon (18 points on 9 shots) provided the offense to an otherwise sub-par Hornets offense.

Defining Moment: Tom and Gayle Benson were introduced as the new owners of the Hornets in the first quarter. They received a loud round of applause from the smallish crowd. “We’ll fix it”, Benson remarked in regard to attendance.

LVP: Mike Conley was unable to get the Memphis offense rolling. The team shot just 35.7 percent, and Conley personally was 1-8 with just three assists in 29 minutes.

That was…potentially serious: Marc Gasol took a hard shot with about seven minutes left in the third quarter. He was helped to the bench by teammates, and went to the locker room after missing a free throw.

Tweet of the Day:@GarlandGillen: We talked to #Saints and #Hornets Owner Tom Benson, said he was disappointed at the attendance tonight. Said “We’ll fix it”.

 

Memphis Grizzlies 75 FinalRecap | Box Score 88 New Orleans Hornets
Jason Smith, PF 27 MIN | 7-13 FG | 0-0 FT | 10 REB | 4 AST | 14 PTS | +22Jason wasn’t particularly at his best tonight, but when the guy supposed to be your fourth big man is putting up quality numbers on an off night against quality opposition, you know he’s come a long way. His passing tonight was what I was most impressed by. He can still improve in that regard, which means we might not have seen the best that he has to offer yet.
Al-Farouq Aminu, SF 29 MIN | 4-9 FG | 4-4 FT | 7 REB | 2 AST | 12 PTS | +18Aminu had a couple of awful possessions, throwing it so hard off the backbard it didn’t even touch rim, and then tossing one of the top of the backboard shortly after. Aside from that he really played a pretty solid game on both ends. He had a couple nice defensive plays and really didn’t do anything particularly dumb on that end all night. A few balls didn’t bounce his way, but I won’t fault him for that. One of his dunks, a put-back, was particularly impressive
Chris Kaman, C 20 MIN | 1-2 FG | 2-2 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 4 PTS | +6Chris played a very limited role tonight, but still managed to turn it over three times. I’ve been more impressed, but he wasn’t bad I wouldn’t say.
Greivis Vasquez, PG 37 MIN | 2-10 FG | 2-2 FT | 1 REB | 9 AST | 8 PTS | +19Greivis didn’t have his shot working tonight, but 9 assist versus 3 steals isn’t too shabby. He struggled a few times when pressed, but overall did a good job of advancing the rock and running the offense.
Eric Gordon, SG 28 MIN | 5-9 FG | 8-8 FT | 0 REB | 2 AST | 18 PTS | +17Gordon continued to refuse to grab rebounds (0 in his last 87), but we all know he’s a scorer, and that’s what he did tonight. While the Hornets didn’t need much from him late, he got the buckets that kept them rolling throughout, when most of the team (and the Grizz) was struggling. It’s hard to complain about an efficient night like that, even if he did little else on offense.
Carl Landry, PF 26 MIN | 6-10 FG | 4-4 FT | 11 REB | 0 AST | 16 PTS | 0Landry had a really efficient night all around, but I was particularly impressed with his defense on Z-BO, who finished with just two points. He was all over the boards, and finished well. All in in all it was one of Landry’s best performances of the year. Maybe he really does want to be here now?
Marco Belinelli, SG 22 MIN | 2-9 FG | 1-1 FT | 0 REB | 3 AST | 6 PTS | +3Beli couldn’t buy a bucket early on, but I’m never going to yell at him for taking open threes. That’s what he needs to do, and I’m glad that he isn’t afraid to shoot just because he’s missed a few. I’ve seen that from him too often this year.
Lance Thomas, F 1 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 PTS | -2Thomas saw about one minute at the end of the game, and played perfectly
Jerome Dyson, G 12 MIN | 1-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 2 AST | 2 PTS | -8Jerome had a strong drive early in the fourth, extending the Hornets lead to 10. He wound up playing the first six minutes of the fourth quarter. The worst moment was am unforced travelling violation. The best was a hustle play the likes of which you seem to only see from NBA rookies fighting for a spot in the league.
Gustavo Ayon, PF 16 MIN | 2-4 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 4 PTS | -4Again Ayon saw limited minutes and did nothing unexpected on the court. I really think that he’ll come into next year more physically prepared for the rigors of the NBA schedule and competition.
Xavier Henry, SG 22 MIN | 2-5 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 4 PTS | -6Took a very nice charge on the defensive end in the first quarter.
Other than that he was fairly quiet.

Five Things We Saw

  1. Tom Benson, Mickey Loomis, Courtney Roby, Lance Moore and Pierre Thomas all were in attendance when Tom Benson and his wife Gayle were introduced as the new owners of the Hornets.
  2. Tom Benson had his eyes glued to the floor almost the entire game, and seemed genuinely interested in what was going on. I love it!
  3. Saints running back Pierre Thomas NAILED a 3-pointer in his first and only attempt after the Hornets game. #nothingbutnet #signhim
  4. The baby race was yet again entertaining. I think if my toddler started crying and turned back to me, I’d turn him around and yell at him that he has to make up time. You?
  5. My predictions were terrible. Feel free to mock me.

 

Prediction number one: The Hornets will shoot over 50% as a team (difficulty level- 7) WRONG!!!
Prediction number two:
Somehow, someway, we will not be complaining about bad refereeing afterward. (DL- 5) I’ll say this one was mostly correct
Prediction number three:
Zach Randolph will score more than 20 points, something he hasn’t done since his first game back from injury on March 16th. (DL- 7) WRONG!!!
Prediction number four:
Jason Smith scores less than 10. (DL- 5) WRONG!!!
Prediction number five:
The Hornets will yet again win, AND the Kings will yet again lose. There will just just a half game separating the two teams after the day is done. (DL-7)  HALF-WRONG!

 

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