An interesting observation from Jim Eichenhofer over at Hornets.com yesterday…
"The Hornets lost all three of their games over the past seven days, extending their current losing streak to six, but are actually a half game CLOSER to eighth place today than they were a week ago."
This is true. Rub your eyes and look at the latest standings. There we are, just a game behind Golden State for that eighth spot. The sky is falling.
No point getting all giddy again, though. Even if the Hornets lose less than the Warriors, Clippers and T-Wolves the rest of the way and make it to the big dance, you know we're getting crucified by Dallas or Phoenix in the first round. Chris Paul's flat tire assures this.
Moving on, the Hornets are in New York today, and will try not to lose to the Knicks starting at 6:30pm Central. Some quick notes and such…
- Them Knicks were making headlines last week when Steve Francis' buzzer-beating triple gave them a win at Washington and catapulted the Knicks into a tie for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. It was their third win in four games.
- New York lost 94-104 Wednesday at Toronto, but they remain tied for that eighth spot, with the Nets, Pacers and Magic. And you thought the West was tight?
- The Knicks are the only team the Hornets have not played yet this season. We'll meet them again in Oklahoma City at the end of the month.
- Stephon Marbury has been on a tear lately, averaging 31.6 points and 6.2 assists in his last five, including 31 and 9 against the Raptors. He could snap Chris Paul off at the ankles tonight.
- Francis can also be a handful, both for the opposing team and his own. That gamer in DC capped a 26-point night, but he also had 7 turnovers. Wednesday in Toronto saw him commit another seven deadly sins, but this time he had no last-second prayer to make amends. As you'd expect, the New York media was quick to criticize.
- Tyson Chandler's former frontcourt buddy Eddy Curry has been struggling of late. He's usually good for 20 and 7 each night, but is averaging just 14 points in his last four games. Maybe because nobody's been giving him the ball.
- You've probably heard that Isiah Thomas will be running things in NYC for a few more years. Ok then.
(By the way, if anyone wants to suggest a caption for the Isiah picture above, feel free. My brain isn't doing funny today.)
- The Knicks will be wearing green uniforms tonight. Not sure why. Some big day in Iceland or something.
- On the season, the Knicks are 29-35, making them a better team than our 28-36 Hornets. Byron, you're being out-coached by Isiah Thomas. How does that feel?
- Out injured for the Knicks are Jamal Crawford and David Lee, so we won't worry about them. Starting swingman Quentin Richardson didn't practice yesterday due to a back problem. He's iffy for tonight, which is like saying he's probable for tonight, only quicker.
- You know who I haven't mentioned in a while? Cheerleaders! One of the Knicks dancers roomed with Honeybee Karin at that Vegas thing last month. I like to think they stayed up all night, pillow-fighting in their underwear. Surprisingly, no mention of such frolicks in her blog.
The Hornets play at Washington tomorrow night, so I guess you could call this the first game of a back-to-back. Yeah, that's what we'll call it. Screw convention.
Linkage…