The Hornets beat the Kings


Oh yeah, baby! Put on your favorite music, do your spontaneous victory dance, ask out someone way hotter than you. Then rejoice, for the Hornets are unbeaten this season.

Chris Paul and Peja Stojakovic

Yup, game one of the season is done, and the Hornets cruised to an easy W. A big-ass chunk of news and notes coming at you…

  • Final score was 104-90. The Hornets seemed in control from the start, with Sacramento missing some key players including Mike Bibby and Ron Artest. Our guys led by as much as 26 a couple times in the third quarter, and the Kings got no closer than 13 points in the fourth.
  • Linkage: AP recap | box | photos | NBA.com highlights | ABC26 Sports highlights | NOLA.com game notes: 1st Quarter, 2nd, 3rd, 4th

  • You could say that all five of the Hornets starters filled their roles to perfection. CP ran the show and did a little of everything, Tyson was collecting and rejecting like a beast, David West was mixing it up inside and out (despite the bum ankle), Peja spotted up and stroked it from downtown, and Mo-Pete shook off his preseason shooting woes to score an unexpected 13 points.
  • Off the bench, Rasual Butler provided some scoring, while Bobby Jackson pushed the tempo and caused some havoc defensively. Hilton Armstrong and Jannero Pargo both had a poor showing, but the effort was there.
  • Melvin Ely disappointed me hugely. Why the hell didn't he keep the funky fro he was sporting on Monday?
  • Player of the game? I'm thinking Tyson was most impressive. As Ryan Schwan said to me earlier, he looked like he was out for blood last night, as I'm sure Quincy Douby can attest to. TC finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds and 2 blocks in 37 minutes. Those could be his season averages right there.
  • In the house were those dudes from K-Ville (never seen it) and Saints QB Drew Brees.
  • Peja hit 4-of-7 from deep, which is nice and everything, but what made me feel fuzzy was his aggressiveness. He made some strong moves to the basket and initiated contact, something you wouldn't expect from a guy with a fragile spine. I guess he's not worrying about that injury anymore.
  • John Salmons looked nice for the Kings. He played all but three minutes, scoring 22 and dishing 9.
  • Dream sequence: Late in the second quarter, Brad Miller misses a close one, having to alter his shot because of pressure by Chandler. Miller gets his own board but is smothered by TC, and sees his weak put-back attempt spanked by David West. Loose ball out to Chris Paul, who takes off up the floor, Mo-Pete to the right, Peja to the left, West the trailer. Kicks to a wide open Peja who spots up outside the three and buries one.

    Seriously, I've dreamed that shit before.

Billions more words have been written about the game last night so I won't go much further. Check out our news page for linkage to all the good stuff.

All in all, a damn good start to the season, but I'm trying hard to keep things in perspective. The Kings sans Bibby and Artest, on your homecourt, might be as easy as it gets in the NBA this season. I hope the players are coming out as hungry and aggressive when they're facing the Dallases and San Antonios on the second night of a back-to-back mid-way through the season.

That said, let's enjoy this spotless record while it lasts. Right now, we're perfectly poised for an 82-game winning streak. 


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