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New Orleans Hornets 2011-12 Power Rankings, V.15

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Published: April 22, 2012

As the season winds down, we bring you the second to last set of Hornets player power rankings of the season after a 3-1 finish to the week.

If the Hornets had let Joe suit up, maybe they'd be able to tank a little better!

1. Jarrett Jack, PG: 45 GP, 34.0 MPG, 15.6 PPG, 45.6 FG%, 6.3 APG, 3.9 RPG, 18.0 PER

Out for the season, but I can guarantee you that he won’t be moving from this top spot.

2. Chris Kaman, C: 47 GP, 29.2 MPG, 13.1 PPG, 44.6 FG%, 7.7 RPG, 1.6 BPG, 15.4 PER

After a quiet game in the team’s home win against Memphis last Sunday night, the Hornets have decided to shut Kaman down for the rest of the season with a bruised left tibia (or as I like to call it, a bruised left tankia). Very solid season overall for Kaman; though he wasn’t exactly the most efficient scorer at times, he did a lot to help carry the Hornets’ offense when they lacked scoring punch.

3. Trevor Ariza, SF: 41  GP, 32.9 MPG, 10.8 PPG, 41.7 FG%, 5.2 RPG, 3.3 APG, 14.3 PER

It looks like Monty has decided to shelve Ariza for the rest of the season in order to keep giving guys like Aminu and Henry extended minutes. Trevor is likely okay with it since he still has two years remaining on his current contract, and isn’t really playing for a new deal at this point.

4: Jason Smith, PF: 38 GP, 24.0 MPG, 10.0 PPG, 51.6 FG%, 4.8 RPG, 1.0 BPG, 16.3 PER

Smith cooled off a bit this past week, though he did make over 50% of his shots (20-39) scoring basically right at his season average of 10 points per game. Still a decent 4-game stretch for Smith, continuing to do the things that he has done right all season that have allowed him to improve so much this year.

5. Carl Landry, PF: 38 GP, 24.9 MPG, 12.7 PPG, 50.1 FG%, 5.4 RPG, 18.3 PER

Landry was undoubtedly the Hornets’ most consistent performer over the past week, scoring with incredible efficiency and pulling down double digit rebounds in three out of the team’s four games. As he normally does so well, Landry got to the line over 5 times per game during this stretch, making all but one of his 21 attempts. As the season comes to an end, it is clear that Landry has stepped up his game with his free agent market value on his mind.

6. Gustavo Ayon, C: 52 GP, 20.0 MPG, 5.8 PPG, 54.1 FG%, 4.9 RPG, 16.6 PER

Ayon had another quiet week up until the Hornets’ home finale on Thursday night. In that game, he made 4 of his 5 shots to go along with 10 rebounds, 4 assists, a block and a steal before fouling out late in the game. He clearly appears fatigued from the wear and tear of his first NBA season, but it was nice to see him come step up his game the other night.

7. Greivis Vasquez, PG: 63 GP. 25.6 MPG, 8.9 PPG, 43.4 FG%, 5.4 APG, 14.6 PER

Somewhat of a sub-par week for Vasquez, even before taking the turnover column into account. Vasquez only scored more points than he had field goal attempts once, and even that game saw him score 20 on 18 shots. He averaged over 8 assists per game, but his 4.5 turnovers per game throughout that stretch is a really bad stat, and something he’ll need to focus on while working on his game this offseason. If he learns to take care of the ball better, he can be an above average backup PG in this league for a long time.

8. Emeka Okafor, C: 27 GP, 28.9 MPG, 9.9 PPG, 53.7 FG%, 7.9 RPG, 1.0 BPG, 15.6 PER

No change here; Okafor won’t be coming back for the final three games of the season.

9: Marco Belinelli, SG: 63 GP, 30.1 MPG, 11.8 PPG, 41.5 FG%, 37.5 3P%, 11.7 PER

A tough shooting week for Marco means a tough week overall, given his limited ability in most other aspects of the game of basketball. 7-24 from beyond the arc (29.2%) and 17-50 overall (34%) is certainly not pretty… unless he is driving the tank, of course!

10: Eric Gordon, SG: 8 GP, 34.0 MPG, 21.0 PPG, 45.0 FG%, 3.3 APG, 1.6 SPG, 21.4 PER

Gordon played in two of the Hornets’ four games this past week, and likely won’t play in any of the team’s final three in order for Monty to “keep giving the young pups extended PT.” He made 14 of his 27 shots in both games combined, but that total becomes much more impressive when you factor in the 18 free throw attempts that he earned, making 16 of them. Whether or not you were rooting for Hornets losses, you can’t help but enjoy watching this kid succeed.

11. Al-Farouq Aminu, SF: 63 GP, 21.7 MPG, 5.8 PPG, 41.1 FG%, 4.4 RPG, 10.6 PER

Aminu had a typical Aminu week through the first three games, then broke out for a great performance in Thursday night’s game against the Rockets. Aminu scored a season-high 17 points on 14 shots to go along with 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals, not to mention having his first no-turnover game since March 24th. Games like that from Al-Farouq are what Monty and Dell are looking for in regards to his development and potential.

12. Xavier Henry, SG: 43 GP, 17.1 MPG, 5.3 PPG, 39.5 FG%, 2.4 RPG, 9.3 PER

Rough week for Henry; 20% shooting on 15 shots and 3-6 from the free throw line, not to mention 7 turnovers in his past two games. Hopefully, he can bounce back with a strong showing in the Hornets’ final three games.

13. Lance Thomas, PF: 39 GP, 13.5 MPG, 3.6 PPG, 45.9 FG%, 2.8 RPG, 9.8 PER

Nothing special from Thomas this week, but he knows his role and never tries to do too much, which is partially evidenced by his zero turnovers in 43 minutes of action over the past week. His talent is limited, but he’s a smart player, and a good guy to have at the end of the bench on a healthy team.

14. Jerome Dyson, PG: 6 GP, 16.0 MPG, 6.7 PPG, 37.0 FG%, 1.8 APG, 12.7 PER

Dyson burst onto the scene for the Hornets in the loss in Memphis on Wednesday night, scoring a remarkable 24 points on just seven field goal attempts, thanks to going 14-16 from the charity stripe. While it’s exceeding unlikely that we see a game like that from him again in the team’s final three games, that one performance may have single-handedly given him an early leg up in the battle to become the team’s third string point guard next season.

Incomplete: Darryl Watkins, C

Player Power Rankings is a weekly piece that you can find every Sunday only on Hornets247.com. For past rankings, click here.

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