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Beneath the Screen: When Time Runs Out
Being an NBA head coach must be hard. Not only do you take criticism when you’re team loses but even when they win on a last second play, as the Hornets did on March 20th against the Celtics, you still hear it. Recently, Monty has taken a lot of heat for his isolation play calls […]
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Gauging Al-Farouq Aminu’s Value
At the start of the 2012-13 NBA season, the Hornets declined Al-Farouq Aminu’s 2013-14 player option worth about $3.7 million, making him an unrestricted free agent this summer. At the time, opinions were split on whether or not doing so was a good idea, but neither side appeared to be terribly distraught or excited then […]
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New Orleans Hornets 2012-13 Power Rankings – Week 21
No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you – the Hornets actually have actually gone 3-0 since last week’s rankings, beating three playoff teams in the Celtics, Grizzlies, and Nuggets. Week 21 1) Ryan Anderson, PF – 70 GP, 31.0 MPG, 56.2 TS%, 16.3% DRR, 7.0% TOR, .140 WS/48, 19.0 PER; Last Week: […]
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In the NO Podcast Episode 126: Winning Basketball?
Michael and I talk about a winning week of basketball! And somehow, Michael manages not to drown in his own tears. Then, we talk the upcoming games, somehow talk about obscure euro’s who are out of the league, wonder at Demps ability to pull in usuable big men, and preview Nuggets and Clippers. Oh, and […]
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The Missing Piece: Searching for Bruce and Danny
When fans dream of offseason acquisitions, they think of the ‘Big Fish’ – the current All-Stars and the guys who could be perennial All-Stars. Two or three guys every year fit that description, and more often than not those guys stay where they are or go to a big market. After those guys are off […]
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New Orleans Hornets 2012-13 Power Rankings – Week 20
The Hornets may have gone 0-3 over the past week, but for the first time in over a month, we have a change within the top three. Week 20 1) Ryan Anderson, PF – 67 GP, 31.1 MPG, 56.0 TS%, 16.2% DRR, 6.9% TOR, .136 WS/48, 18.9 PER; Last Week: 1 Pretty rough shooting […]
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In the NO Podcast Episode 125: Draft Prospects, Tiers, and Anthony Davis
Michael and I recap the three losses this week, focusing, as usual, on Davis, Gordon, Vasquez, and Ryan Anderson’s virus-caused yack. Okay, not that last part. Then, we take a great listener question and start talking the Draft! McLemore, Smart, Porter, Noel – and boy does Michael say something silly about Noel. Enjoy the Podcast! […]
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The Missing Piece: Unveiling the Big Board
It’s that time basketball fans. Whether you get sucked into March Madness for the pure love of the game or for the love of your bracket, we will all be watching closely these next few weeks, and when we do we should have our scouting glasses on. While Dell will have plenty of money to […]
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Beneath the Screen: Upside Down
As I wrote in my post on Tuesday, the Hornets have been breaking out an inverted offense somewhat frequently over the past handful of games. I’m going to illustrate how this creates offense in today’s post. If you want a deeper breakdown of how this works, especially against the Lakers, click here. To the Madistrator! […]
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New Orleans Hornets 2012-13 Power Rankings – Week 19
The Hornets have just a two point last-second victory over Portland to show for their most recent slate of games, finishing them with a 1-3 record and an average scoring margin of -6.25. Let’s try to find some bright spots in the team’s play over the past week, shall we? Week 19 1) […]
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In the NO Podcast Episode 124: The RPG and AD is already Dominating
As Anthony Davis continues to get long minutes, Ryan and Michael area already starting to debate wether Skynet is the best player on the floor in each game. We also talk about Darius Miller’s big minutes, Lance Thomas’ possible role as an Rocket Propelled Grenade, whether Eric Gordon and Aminu have checked out – and […]
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Will a Lack of Rivers Help the Hornets Flow?
Austin Rivers has experienced a rough rookie season overall, but how will his absence impact the Hornets (and consequently, their NBA Draft Lottery standing) for the remainder of this season? For those teams who will be watching the NBA postseason from home, the loss column is arguably more important than the win column at this […]
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The Missing Piece: Building an Advanced Team
Last Week, the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference took place in Boston, and some interesting presentations were made that might or might not influence decision makers in the NBA, both now and in future generations to come. There is an old school vs. new school debate going on right now in NBA circles, with the […]
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In the NO Podcast Episode 123: The Collapse, Monty, and The Worst Defensive Play Ever
Michael and I rant about the Lakers game. And the Orlando Game. And we present the Worst Defensive Play ever award, after being given not one, not two, but THREE distinctly awful plays to choose from in that Lakers game. Then we answer a listener’s question about rebuilding models and what path we’d like to […]
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New Orleans Hornets 2012-13 Power Rankings – Week 18
The Hornets finished their most recent week of games with a 1-2 record, sandwiching a win over Detroit between very bad losses to the Thunder and Magic. The same team that stepped up in crunch time against the Pistons folded down the stretch against the Magic, as New Orleans inexplicably blew a nine point lead […]
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New Orleans Pelicans Lottery Projections (updated through games on 4/3/13)
With three quarters of the 2012-13 NBA season in the books, it’s impossible to avoid looking towards the 2013 NBA draft this summer. Given each team’s remaining schedule, where are the Hornets most likely to end up? It’s a question on everyone’s minds, but likely one that not many want to talk about. Though many […]
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Five Reasons To Keep Watching The New Orleans Hornets This Season
With the season winding down and the Hornets well and truly out of the playoff race, I think it’s time to reflect on why we should keep watching. A team like this needs fans like us. I’m quite sure we all want to say we we’re there in the beginning right? Well, let’s do that […]
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Hornets Beat: Rookies, Tom Benson, and the Future
This week on Hornets Beat our writers take on Austin Rivers, Darius Miller, the future, and the first season of Tom Benson’s ownership. 1. What will the Hornets record be the rest of the season? James Grayson: 10-12. (edit–portion removed) Portland, Golden State, Los Angeles and Utah are all fighting for playoff positions and […]
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In the NO Podcast Episode 122: Hornets Tanking?
Michael and I recap the week, talking about a close loss to Brooklyn, a tight win over Detroit, and a cringeworthy (or poetry-worthy) game against OKC. Since these games result in more injuries to the team this week – we start speculating on whether the tank has arrived or not. Then, we play the game […]
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The Missing Piece: Modeling Models
The easiest way to figure out an answer to a question is to find someone else who has already solved it and “borrow” the answer from them. My teachers used to frown upon this practice in school, but the NBA has no rules against one franchise copying another franchise’s successful model. In fact, it is […]