The Hornets dropped to 1-2 in the preseason last night when they flamed out down in Miami. The final score was 109-105 in favor of the home team, which, by my calculations, means we lost by seven points. Enough of me showing off though. Here's a few news and notes to pass the time…

• The big news last night was that Peja made his Hornets debut, and, well, he shucked, at least offensively. Our $64 million hired gun managed just five points in 24 minutes, shooting 1-of-7 from deep and 2-of-10 overall. Peja shrugged off the perfomance afterwards, as did assistant coach Darrell Walker. They're confident things will get better. Worth noting that most of Peja's misses were clean looks off kick-outs from Chris Paul, so when he rediscovers that stroke, shit will be nifty.
• The words of Darrell Walker become relevant because Byron Scott was absent due to a mysterious illness yesterday. Actually, he wasn't absent and the illness wasn't mysterious. He was at the game but couldn't coach because of a stomach virus.
• Linton Johnson rocks my world! The way this dude is playing — 15pts, 9rebs, 3-6 3FGs last night — he could really help the team during the regular season. And to think he was just a throw-in in that Nachbar for Marc Jackson trade. Steal.
• Desmond Mason scored 15 points, but again most of those came from the paint. I'm going to stop criticising his shooting now, because points are points, and if he can drop 15ppg in the regular season, I'll be happy like Marc Jackson on horseback.
• Oh yeah, David West didn't play. Precaution.
• Tyson Chandler had his best offensive game as a Hornet, scoring 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting. He still can't put it all together though, as he struggled with foul trouble (5 in 18 minutes) and managed to grab just 3 rebounds.
• Jannnnnnnero Pargo was the Hornets top-scorer, bombing his ass off to the tune of 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-6 from deep. He might be the most underrated pick-up by any team this summer.
• Like Peja, Bobby Jackson also struggled shooting the ball last night, finishing 2-of-13 from the field and missing all five of his three-point attempts. Take away the dismal performances of Jackson and Stojakovic, and the Hornets were 10-of-17 from downtown against the Heat.
• Cedric Simmons played better than Hilton Armstrong.
• Before you think it was just the Hornets on the court last night, Dwyane Wade dropped 19 points in 24 minutes, Shaq sat down after six minutes and never got back up, while Dorell Wright scored 13 and grabbed 10. Alonzo Mourning scored some points and grabbed some rebounds, but mostly just pointed at the sky and thanked god a lot.
• More than anything, what probably lost the game for the Hornets was the 41 free throws they gave up, 35 of which the Heat converted.
• The guy named Chris Paul scored 10, dished 8, stole 3 and turned over 4. He was 3-of-9 from the field.
• While we're here, have you ever noticed that perhaps the funkiest young five in the NBA — CP3, LeBron, Carmelo, Wade and Dwight Howard — all have first names for last names?
• Rasual Butler found his range, knocking down 3-of-3 from deep.
• Brandon Bass had perhaps his poorest showing of the preseason, scoring 4 and grabbing 2 in just 12 minutes of action.

In other news, there is no other news. The Hornets next game is on Tursday, all the way over in Oakland against the Warriors, who beat the Blazers last night behind 30 points, 10 boards, 6 assists and 5 steals from Braon Davis.

Hmm.