Tonight’s game was enjoyable but hardly compelling as the only tough defense being played out there was Jared Jeffries earnestly humping David West in the post.  Happily, all that did was make him score more and shout “And One!” a half dozen times, making Hornets drinking games that much more entertaining and inebriating. Otherwise, most players were going under picks, semi-contesting shots, and generally not going at full speed unless they were scoring. 

Still, it is hard not to like West going for 35, 10 and 5, Collison for 26 and 11, and Thornton racking up 20 and 6 as the Hornets hit 9 of 15 from deep with 64% shooting from the floor. 

That trio is the core of most of the things right about the Hornets this past season.  At the All-star break I would have hesitated to put West in that list, but the last two months he’s been turning it on, and the result is a PER that is the essentially the exact same it was last year, and the year before, and the year before and the . . . you get the idea.

The 2009-10 Season

The season itself?  Disappointing as a whole, but it was also bizarre in the extreme.  In no particular order, here’s a half dozen subjects we wrote about that I would never have guessed I’d be touching on at the start of the season.

1. That the Hornets would have not one exceptional rookie, but two of the top five.
2. Considering(if rejecting) the idea of Chris Paul being traded – because of a rookie.  A rookie picked 21st in the draft, no less.
3. That because of those rookies, flights of fancy like Sign and Trades for Elite players like Chris Bosh are even moderately believable.
4. How Jeff Bower shed $9 million in salary in a bad economy with everyone gearing up for a crazy free agency – without moving any major piece on the team other than the injured Tyson Chandler.
5. That the Hornets will most likely be owned by someone not named “Shinn” in the near future.
6. That Tim Floyd, of all people, would return to the Hornets bench in any capacity.

Like I said – a crazy season.

Our Blog and Community Plans

In terms of the blog, we’ve also had some pretty exciting developments.  Our affiliation with ESPN has allowed us to get access to players, be granted full media credentials to cover games, snag some neat giveaways, and have our stuff featured through multiple national outlets.  I’ve even heard things I’d written about brought up in national broadcasts.  Oh – and we found another exceptional voice to join our team in Joe Gerrity.  Go Joe! (Wait, I think that’s taken.)

Anyways, just because the season ends, our coverage of the team will not.  We’ll be following the playoffs tangentally, the lottery specifically, and of course, any developments that come from the impending ownership change.  Then, like last summer, we plan on evaluating the season of each player, discuss the draft, free agency, the salary cap, and any other player movement that does or does not occur. 

We’ll also be evaluating the site(any feedback you have is appreciated) as Niall wants to embark on a series of improvements to make your Hornets247 experience that much better when next season kicks off.  And who knows, maybe, just maybe, I’ll get Joe and Niall’s Irish brogue on Skype and churn out a podcast or two.

The Wins Contest

As a last order of business tonight, the latest contest “Wins and Another Giveaway” closed right before the game.  Tomorrow morning I’ll tally the results and draw a winner.  Good luck if you entered!

Have a good night.