Michael and I talk about Grievis Vasquez, Austin Rivers, the Weather, Dungeons and Dragons . . . aw, who am I kidding? We talk Eric Gordon! And recap the other games and preview the next two.
Eric Gordon!
Got something to say to us? Sound off by calling 504-322-3333.
Enjoy the Podcast! Want it on Itunes?
21 responses to “In the NO Podcast Episode 108: Eric Gordon!”
What is this a podcast about DnD AND EG? I must listen. lol
Sorry guys, that was me being silly. We don’t talk D&D. Michael is too cool for such a thing.
Sorry that I was misleading!
Oh well. Talking Eric Gordon is an acceptable alternative. Lol Happy New Year gang (Both writers and fans) by the way.
You guys mentioned how open Anderson’s corner 3 was, and Vasquez had one that was just as open, and he nailed it. It is amazing how much space we have with Gordon operating in the high pick and roll. I noticed this a couple times, and I’d have to go back to check, but they put our weaker offensive player on the ball-side corner, and threw the 2 guys who could shoot (Anderson/Vasquez) on the opposite side, and each had nice spacing.
I have certainly had my moments over-analyzing Vasquez’s game, but I really liked almost everything he did against the Bobcats once Gordon took over the offense. I would still like two shot-creators on the floor at all times, and I prefer Anderson/Vasquez doing work off of the ball, and against very good teams, I believe we’ll need another guy who can really break down a defense. I think Rivers could become that, but it is likely a couple of years away.
The Spurs offense is so fun to watch- I hate and love them, obviously, but when they are clicking, the court seems twice as big, and three times as big when they’re playing us. I think this illustrates a point you referred to, and have been referring to, all season: you can’t afford offensive liabilities against good defenses, because they can help off of those weak players and live with the consequences.
The second half was very fun to watch, and I’m very excited to see how the offense clicks once EG shakes off the little rust he still has. Was also pretty remarkable to see how easily he stayed in front of his defensive assignment. Lopez has gotta be better about showing on those pick and rolls though, because he allowed a couple easy pull up Js by sitting back.
Do you guys believe Cousins will be traded, and if so, could we facilitate? If the Pistons are really hot for him, as is being said, does Drummond or Monroe become available? Naturally, it would seem that Drummond would be the guy who would become available, and though I don’t know if he will ever be a good offensive player, he looks like he could be a fantastic defender/rebounder in this league for a long time.
Last thing: cannot believe how many jump shots Davis is getting to now.. it’s extremely exciting
What ever happened to Terence Williams out of Louisville? I was really hoping he would fall to us in the 09 draft, but went 11th and wasn’t absolutely horrible his rookie year. I know he was cut by Detroit before the season, but I don’t see anything on this team currently better to not give him a shot. Is he that bad of a head case or problem to not get minutes on this team at small forward? I really would like to see us give him a try out. Does he just not play defense or just that bad a team player. Some other guys might be Michael Redd, Bill Walker, Ryan Gomes, Quentin Richardson, Maurice Evans, or Jamario Moon. I know some are old and maybe not good influences on the young players, but some of these guys have to be better than what we have at small forward! I know Redd is a shooting guard and a shell of himself, but he could help get fans in the seats. What we should of done this past offseason and what I thought we were doing was getting Dorell Wright for Jarret Jack! That trade of Jack for absolutely nothing but cap relief was crazy to me. Watching the game against the Warriors aggravated me cause two of their better players were on our team last year and we got absolutely nothing in return for either one (and I know Landry was a free agent, but still a sign & trade would of been nice)!
Terrance Williams is playing in China I think.
Just listened to the part about the Orlando and Toronto games. Did you all mean to agree that River’s Toronto 3rd Quarter was “magnificent”, mostly discuss Lopez’s historic (first time in years and rare overall) 29 points on 10 shots Orlando game with sarcasm and by disparaging his opponent, and only discuss Vasquez’s Orlando game as a whole (strengths and weaknesses)? Is it possible focussing on Rivers small moments of success is overstating his positives?
Personally, I do this because I am looking big picture and see Rivers as the guy with the highest upside of the three if he can reach his potential. As we discussed on this podcast, we both think Vasquez and Lopez have pretty limited ceilings.
We also said in the podcast that the Hornets have 6 real NBA players currently, and Rivers is not one of them, while Lopez and Vasquez are. So, we acknowledge that both guys are easily better right now, but yes, we are looking for signs of progression from Rivers, because if he reaches his ceiling, it really raises the ceiling of the Hornets as a whole.
Maybe we are wrong for thinking about the future when we should just be enjoying and evaluating the present in a vacuum, but I have a feeling that if we were listening to an ’08 Thunder podcast, they would be looking for small positives in Westbrook’s game, not praising Desmond Mason or Nenad Kristic.
Again, we know Rivers is not good now and Lopez and Vasquez are above average, but we are looking forward to days when we could be contenders.
Did Mason or Kristic ever win Western Conference Player of the Week? My point is maybe Vasquez and Lopez have are better players than you appreciate, and possibly have a higher upside than you see (and than Rivers).
We will know in a couple of years. I would bet that Vasquez and Lopez are about at their ceiling, which is still great when you consider their salaries, while Rivers has a chance to be a real difference maker for a good team if he reaches his ceiling. Can’t possibly know for sure, but those are the bets I would make based on what I have seen.
I am fine with people disagreeing, but this thought that Ryan and I are biased is crazy. We give our opinions on what we see and every time we dont like what we see, we pray that the players will prove us wrong. Nothing would make me happier than if our PG of the future was already on this roster, in Vasquez- I just honestly dont see it. We are all right sometimes, wrong others. So it goes, but there is no hidden agenda.
And I also don’t love how our critiques of both players are overmagnified and there is no mention of the positives. I said in this very podcast that I love Vasquez’s game off the ball and could see him being a real weapon if he continues to develop the post up. For Lopez, I praised his variety of offensive moves that he showed in the Orlando game.
If you guys think Lopez and Vasquez are great players, then that is all you should need. You don’t need Ryan or I to verify it for you. I think they are great 7th and 8th men on a title team, you think they are more. Such is life. It’s good to disagree and have multiple perspectives
And the sarcasm was about the fact that nobody had done this in 3+ years =, since Deron Williams. I think that if we would have said that seriously, and put him in that class- that would have been more redicilous than being sarcastic about it.
Ok, perhaps not “biased”, but I believe that some writers here have either a bad approach, a bad attitude or a wrong point of view when talk about some players. In the case of Vasquez, even in a week when the NBA found merit to highlight his performance, in the podcast you decided to spent 75% of their comments talking about his deficiencies… And when you mention what he did good, you are really “cheap”. An example, qualifying his offensive of 27 points, eight assists and six rebounds in the 97-94 win over the Magic as just “OK”???.
Nobody here is denying Vasquez flaws, but we would like to see more enthusiasm in your descriptions when he or Lopez, or Aminu, do something good.
Focusing all your praises in a kid that “could be”, just could be a good player in two years from now, does not looks fair. Remember that Aminu was N° 8 and Henry was N° 12 in the draft two years ago…
One thing I noticed in that charlotte game is Vasquez is extremely confident in that corner 3
His spot-up numbers are fantastic this season. Once Monty hands the reigns of the half court offense over to Gordon, our numbers say that this Hornets offense should be top 5 in the league in PPP
What a great podcast. You guys are so sarcastic, so disrespectful, so biased, and do all of that with such a geniality! Keep going you are the best bloggers of all NBA teams. What an honor for Hornets fans to have you here. It seems you are almost God and players your puppets. Great job!
I agree with you, as when one of 247 writers said during the podcast Greivis Vasquez deserved MVP of a game because he hurt M. Kidd-Gilchrist with his knee in a play. For sure NBA named Vasquez player of the week because of that action. That´s embarrasing for a commentator…
Its going to be so hilarious if we all look back at this time next year and Eric Gordon is an MVP candidate and were in teh top 4 in the west with a good SF that we pick up through free agency and solid draft pick at the 5 or 3. Save this comment for your rememberance.
Could Ben Mclemore fit in as the SF of the future. Because he is listed as a 6’5 shooting guard but when watching Kansas games they use him as the SF and he plays much bigger than 6’5. Plus he pulls down 5.5 boards a game which is pretty good for a college small forward that mostly hangs around the perimeter on offense
Vasquez will be even better playing with Gordon. Both will cause damage to opponents, either on the perimeter or running to the bucket. We will have an explosive combination between our best player and our MIP. Wait and see.
504, Venreader, Selim, and Canadian,
I never call out other readers and commenters, but I just have to say that your critique of McNamara and Schwan on this podcast is beyond crazy. I read all these comments before I listened to the podcast and expected Vasquez and Lopez to be bashed unmercifully. Instead, I actually listen to the podcast and 75% of what they said about both men was positive, and their critiques were very well reasoned, with supporting evidence, and even acknowledgement of areas where they could realistically get better.
Then, you guys all call them haters, biased, etc etc. What to you want- all positives? This team was 5-22 heading into this week. 5 and 22! If you all had your way, we would have two guys on here talking about how everyone is fantastic, including the starting PG and C on a 5-22 team, and never lighten up the mood whatsoever with any sarcasm.
I am imagining that you all were the same type of fans calling Dan Dickau and Lee Nailon future foundation pieces because they filled the stat sheet for our 04-05 team that went 18-64, which I might point out is a higher winning percentage than the 6-23 this team prior to Gordon’s return.
These guys give their opinions and write dozens of articles per week backed with facts, data, observations, and historical relevance, while you guys just say- “Hey, this guy is good because he got one weekly award or his one stat is this high.” It’s unbelieveable. Why not just start your own blog and see how it competes with Hornets247’s wealth of information, fact, and reasoned opinion.
I know I won’t be reading it, but good luck to you all
Chad,
I don’t know about the others you have lumped me with, but the main difference between your posts and mine is that I don’t lie. (When you say I called anyone a hater or biased that is a lie. And there were other misstatements in your post above.) Nor do I demean others my making up stuff about them. ( Your “I am imagining that you all were the same type of fans calling Dan Dickau and Lee Nailon future foundation pieces” is a demeaning fantasy.) And the facts I offer are relevant. (When you talk about what was said about Lopez and Vasquez elsewhere in the podcast has nothing to do with my point about Rivers. I said: “Is it possible focussing on Rivers small moments of success is overstating his positives?”)
I offer a respectful opinion that may or may not agree with a writer at Hornets 24/7. I often post that I am in complete agreement with an article. Yet, Michael and I have had posts in multiple articles respectfully disagreeing about something where there can be multiple points of view. You could learn a lot about appropriate tone and relevant supporting facts from reading those posts.
Clearly you are new to this site and haven’t read many of my posts. I have been posting here for years, with relevant factual support for my opinion. Everyone is entitled to have an opinion, including you and I, but I believe you need to rethink about how you are going about presenting yours.