I love the NBA, and most of all the Hornets, but the sport I follow even more fervently is baseball. I watched about 150 Marlins games last season. As a baseball fan I know what it is like to feel the woes of a long season. The team loses a few games ugly and it is easy to get down on the whole team.

This comes up because a lot of people, myself included, have been really down on the Hornets after the Lakers and Magic games. But it is a marathon not a sprint and we are only 25 games in. and in those 25 games we are 16-9 with a +3.3 per game differential. The only team with less losses in the West is the Lakers, and we are currently the 4 seed. This is with all of the ineffiecencies that we all point out. With Tyson not looking nearly like last year and missing time, with Peja missing time, with Devin Brown on the court somehow, with our offense taking time off and standing around some games. We still have Chris Paul! We still are on pace to have a great season and probably host a playoff series. Who knows what that will mean come playoff time? I know that 82 games is a lot and there are much worse places to be than 16-9. I am still keeping faith that the Hornets can challenge deep into the playoffs because when I am watching the Marlins’ 82nd game of the year it is time for the all-star break. That gives me some perspective.