The New Orleans Hornets travel to the ATL tonight to take on the Hawks in the team’s fifth preseason game.

Though I’m not a Saints fan first and foremost, I have a massive dislike of Atlanta because of the Falcons and living in New Orleans. Unfairly or not, this carries over to the Hawks. I really have no reason to dislike them, but I do. So I hope they lose tonight (obviously).

Unfortunately, I do not believe the game is being televised but it should be on WWL radio 105.3 FM if you’re in the New Orleans area.

This is the part of preseason where coaches typically give you a better idea of how the team will like during the regular season. So while we like to say preseason doesn’t matter (unless our team wins!) this is kind of when it starts to. The wins and losses don’t matter, but we’ll start to get a really good idea of what are the Hornets’ strengths and weaknesses. So if you’re able to listen/magically watch the game somehow share your thoughts in the comments or on twitter @nolajake and @hornets247.

Let’s do this…

3 Things to Watch For

 

The Rotation and Minutes

Monty Williams has said he’s going to start shortening the bench and keep his rotation closer to what he’ll use during the regular season. While I’m curious about minutes (especially with Brian Roberts) I’m more interested in seeing the lineups Monty throws out onto the court. Does he use a small ball lineup? Go big with a front court of Anthony Davis, Robin Lopez and Jason Smith? Often the different combinations of player used can be more important than their individual minutes.

Zone Defense

I said this in my Charlotte preview and I’m going to list it again. Zone defense doesn’t get played a whole lot in the NBA (no team played it more than 10% of the time–Thank you Zach Lowe and Synergy Sports) but the Hornets have a chance to unleash a fearsome zone defense on the league led by Davis. Monty said he’d break it out later in the preseason so let’s hope we see some tonight.

3-Point Shooting

Another one I’m going to reuse. The 3 ball really helps space the court for the Hornets. If the team is making and taking good open looks from deep Davis, Smith and Lopez will have an easier time scoring on the block. Tonight I don’t really care if the shots fall; I just want to see the team creating good, open looks.

Lagniappe to Watch For

 

Eric Gordon?

Should Gordon play tonight I have a lot of questions: How does he look? Does he have explosiveness driving to the rim? Is his jump shot consistent? Is he used as the primary ballhandler on offense? Does he start to lose his legs due to lack of conditioning in the 4th quarter?

Enjoy the game and let us know what you’re looking for in the comments and on twitter @nolajake and @hornets247.

Your Pregame Song

I was going to go with either Metallica or GWAR since I will be seeing both next week, but instead I felt like this…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4MFxcFofkY