At the end of the first half, the New Orleans Hornets received a standing ovation from their fans after playing a nearly flawless half of basketball. From the way they played the rest of the game, it appears New Orleans thought the game was already over.
The Hornets led 61-44 and were on fire, shooting nearly seventy percent from the field. The second half was a completely different story as the Spurs outscored New Orleans 65-34 on their way to a 109-95 victory. The loss was the first for the Hornets at home and dropped New Orleans to two games behind San Antonio for the Southwest division lead.
It was a Big Three that led the way for San Antonio, with Richard Jefferson taking the place of Tony Parker in this game. Manu Ginobili led San Antonio with 23, while Tim Duncan and Jefferson chipped in 21 and 19, respectively. For the Hornets, David West led six players in double figures with 23 points.
The game turned in the second half as Gregg Popovich started the half with a three guard lineup. In the previous meeting, the Hornets also got out to a big advantage but San Antonio clawed back in the game due in large part to a three guard lineup. It has been somewhat of a recurring theme, as in the Hornets first loss this season at Dallas, the Mavericks exposed the Hornets defense with their three guard lineup of Kidd, Terry, and Barea.
The Hornets don’t have much time to reflect on this loss as they have to travel to Oklahoma City tonight for a game tomorrow night. If they don’t get this defense tightened up, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant are going to have a field day.
Other Notes and Observations:
* Marcus Thornton is the Eli Manning of NBA players. Rarely do you ever see a player look so spectacular on one play and so clueless on the next. I can understand Monty’s reluctancy with playing Thornton, but with the defense starting to show its true colors and Peja in Toronto, he is going to need a quick scoring punch on some nights.
* Chris Paul is surrounded by more weapons than he has ever been surrounded by (with the exception of Team USA), but that has been both a blessing and a curse. He doesn’t control the ball as much, play as many minutes, or take as many shots, and come playoff time that might be a good thing because he will be fresh. On nights like this, however, it is difficult to watch him be so passive.
* Wasn’t David West virtually unstoppable to start the game? Why not feed him non-stop to start the 2nd half?
* Okafor was great in the first half- challenging shots and making his free throws. The second half, not so much. It was a microcosim of his season; fantastic at times and invisible at others.
* Jarrett Jack has a tendency to be wild with the ball, making bad passes in the lane and throwing long cross court passes that teammates have to jump for to keep from going out of bounds. Defensively, he is rugged and takes more charges than most point guards but he can get beat fairly easily by quick point guards.
* The Hornets were outrebounded 42-34 overall and 11-5 on the offensive glass. Okafor was to blame on several of those rebounds as he simply watched the ball instead of getting his body on Duncan (who had 5 offensive rebounds!)
* Hornets fans will most likely remember the back breaking threes by Jefferson and Ginobili, but this game was lost in the defensive paint. 52 points in the paint, and that doesn’t even include all of the points San Antonio got at the free throw line due to the Hornets soft interior defense.
* Teams have obviously started to scout Jason Smith. He has one way to score, and he is not getting wide open 17 footers from good teams. He might light it up against the bottom feeders, but he will not make any sort of impact against quality teams moving forward.
* I’m terrified for Monday’s game. Thankfully, the Hornets get Charlotte and New York at home before a rematch with San Antonio a week from today.
89 responses to “Spurs Overcome 17 Point Deficit to Demolish Hornets”
Alright Dell, its time to make a trade… FOR AN IMPACT PLAYER! Give the Grizz a call and get OJ. Thats a start
OJ Mayo? He doesn’t give the Hornets anything they don’t already have in Belinelli. In fact Belinelli is probably a more reliable shooter and has shown himself to be a solid defender. Mayo is far from an “impact player.”
R U serius? Oj can create his own shot which we need and is a committed on ball defender, if not better then bellinelli. Marco plays off of cp3 and is inconsistent shooter. OJ is a future star while bellenelli will be nothing but a role player
If Mayo was so good why can’t he even start? Why is he barely shooting 40% this year? If OJ is so good why would Memphis trade him for nothing that will help them (to a division rival as well)
@Hornet doesnt matter, hes a better option than Marco
how is he a better option than marcus or willie though? that’s my point. marco starts because he spreads the floor and he’s a better fit.
You don’t know what you’re talking about. Check Marco’s defensive stats v. Mayos. No comparison. And Mayo is a selfish offensive player who never became a shooter, only a scorer. Plus he’s tarnished by the criminality at USC. Mayo got moved out of the starting lineup because he’s so disappointing at Memphis, already a bad team.
Dude, OJ May is NOT a better player than Marco. I’d be ok with OJ off the bench. But Willie is playing better than Mayo would be. Mayo’s really not that good. And he’s got an ego dude. I knew him and played against him in pick up games @ “the secret court” friends from USC and UCLA play together on (guys like Kevin Love and Mayo were CLOSE friends but didn’t play on each others campuses due to the rivalry so they’d play pick up games during the offseason at a gym near by). I used to play against Collison, Farmar, Gabe Pruitt and Nick Young there too.
OJ Mayo can play. I know he can. But he isn’t as great as people were hoping for him to be. He focuses on himself more than his team. And I don’t think that personallity fits to what we’re looking for.
This team puts me in a really bad mood when they lose games. I shouldn’t be so attached. LOL.
Don’t worry man, I think most of us are like that.
Do you feel like kicking a kitten right now? LOL.
Yup
Thankfully the Hornets get Charlotte and NY before playing the Spurs again? Are you serious? Charlotte and NY are just the type of teams that the Hornets would lose to. I don’t look at any team as a ‘gimme’. And I don’t know the last time the Hornets won a game on NBA TV so I’m not feeling positive about that one at all. Gosh I feel like kicking a kitten. This team is not healthy for me. LOL.
If i remember correctly, the Sacramento game was on NBA TV. I wanna say we pulled that one out.
That’s good then. Although the Kings aren’t the Spurs but that’s good to know anyway. Thanks.
No one played well in the 2nd half. I have said it before and I will say it again. Chris Paul is not 100% and it’s apparent. He needs those extra 1-2 steps to get open looks at the rim and they just are not there right now. I don’t understand our offense sometimes. There has to be a flaw in design or effort. That is the only explanation I have. First half we were moving the ball around fluidly. Second half was the “I’m gonna shoot us back into the game myself” trend we’ve been seeing at times lately. Wayyy too much dribbling the clock down to 6 seconds and either passing to teammates to chuck up terrible shots or chucking up terrible shots themselves.
BTW, the officiating in this game was flat out terrible as usual when we play the Spurs. It’s not the officials fault when you get outscored by 31 points in a half at home but it seemed every single time the Hornets got anything going in the second half, the officials were there to give San Antonio their usual timely calls.
Nice to see Marcus get some burn.
Jarrett Jack was flat out awful today. Did Jerryd Bayless sneak back into the arena and put on a JJ2 suit?
I thought San Antonio played excellent defense in the 2nd half. They were swarming all over the Hornets. Not saying the Hornets were playing good O, but I give most of the credit to SA shutting the Hornets down as opposed to the Hornets just playing bad offense.
Another thing that makes me mad sometimes is it seems other teams are able to play their defense but when the Hornets get stern in their defense, whistles get to blowing. I don’t like that. And even though the Hornets had been playing very well, and had the best record in the league, you can best believe the league DOES NOT want the Hornets with the best record in the league.
Well, I saw Pops taking a time-out only to talk to (question) a ref with his hands on his waist for minutes. He did not even go back to his bench to talk to his playera throughout the TO. He is one of the greatest coaches of all time and he did his best to take the refs under control before everybody went back to the locker room. Then, the 2nd half started and I felt like we were the away team. No calls on Hill, even a ridiculous offensive foul on CP3, calls to (typical) Manu flops, call to Meka 2 seconds after(!) he took a rebound? I saw no replays, i might be exaggerating but that’s exactly how I felt. Pops knew that Refs would impact the result of this game and he did a great job to turn this away game into a home game for Spurs. Kudos!
How about we are getting out-coached on both small-ball lineups (Spurs opened with that, which they also used to stage their late run last time)?
I don’t see all this “Chris isn’t 100%” flap when we win.
Oh I know 42. But when we lose, “Chris isn’t 100%”. LMAO. I guess it’s going to be that way for the rest of the little guys career now. Just the other night against Portland I don’t think anyone said anything about him not being 100%. He may in fact NOT be 100% but when we win, it’s not pointed out so quickly.
@Kempleton-It’s always that way. I don’t know exactly what Pops says to officials but he talks with them for long periods of time. Each and everytime officials stand by the bench he’s in their ear. Each and everytime. Watch more Spurs games and tell me if I’m not telling the truth. I don’t know what he’s saying though so I can’t say but I will say that things tend to change for the other team. LOL.
See, I just went back and looked at the comments from the Blazer game the other night. The Hornets win, nothing about CP3 not being healthy. If he doesn’t put up 20 & 10 every game, he’s not healthy. If he doesn’t take over a game late, he’s not healthy. That’s just the way it is now. I guess he just needs to go sit out for a month or so so he can get healthy then.
Are you kidding me 420? I have said this multiple times over the last week or 2. How can you possibly even think that CP3 is 100% healthy? He has to use a damn exercise bike to warm his knee back up in between sitting on the bench. You don’t think that knee is taking it’s toll mentally and physically? When is the last time you saw CP3 drive to the hoop hard and get knocked to the floor? When is the last time you have seen CP3 blow by an entire defense without a screen being set for him? When have you ever seen CP3 give up on pursuit on another team’s fast break? When he’s fully healthy, he can get an open jumper almost any time he wants. He’s been contested on his jumpers way more than we are used to. You are trying to overcompensate for all the negative talk on this board and, in reality, saying Chris is not 100% healthy isn’t really being negative towards the team at all. You can blame Monty’s scheme for his production all you want. At the end of the day, the offense STILL starts and ends with Chris and he just doesn’t look like the otherworldly Chris Paul that flat dominates games like he has in the past.
You are such a hypocrite QueenBee. You can cry, bitch, moan, complain till your face goes limp (and when we are losing, you damn sure do) but the second I say something that is painfully obvious to most Hornets fans who have been watching every Hornets game since Katrina, you find a way to try to get on my case.
Bees: A few things. I do not care about negative comments if they are accurate. In fact, I prefer them to ignoring the bad in both wins and losses. Same goes for positive comments. Example: I pointed out Emeka’s ooor performance during our 4 or 5 games prior to this as an possibe explanation for our struggles.
Also, I’ve seen him drive in the recent games and commented on it.
Also, comment on his health in a few wins and I’ll stop saying people don’t comment on his health in the wins. I’m not saying you don’t think it. I’m saying people don’t say it, pick on it.
Settle down, we’re on the same side here. I want to see what you see about his health. I notice the bike and semi-stealth trips to the locker room midgame. Help me out, don’t get frustrated because I don’t see what you see. That’s the easy way out. Really, man, I’m serious. Let’s work on this.
Sorry to say but….my hornets have been pissing me off lately. Lose to the Clippers(which i mentioned was a trap game), Destroyed by Jazz…, and Let the Spurs comeback to embarrass us at HOME. Jarrett Jack isnt impressive at all to me, Chris Paul is not looking like Chris Paul…The only person who really is showing up is David West. You guys are right. Its time to go get an impact player. Defense is lovely but we need some darn points.OJ Mayo is good but I don’t think he’ll be the key…maybe or maybe not. Marcus Thornton is actually getting time and showing some sparks…Hmmm… Bellinelli is good…but should come off the bench. he’s a three point player and not very aggressive. I may get heat for this one but…ARIZA NEEDS TO COME OFF THE BENCH like he did for LA. Its not working…it didnt work in Houston either. HELLO! Cmon Demps and Monty…That starting lineup honestly is not going to carry us but sooo far. you all know its true,put your man crushes aside…Sorry folks for the angry text. Maybe im alittle too attached too :/
Actually, Ariza was most effective for the Lakers when he started (which he did throughout the ’09 playoffs). And I think he’s been fine the last few games.
The difference I see between the early winning streak and now (the last six games or so), at least on the offensive end: Okafor regressing to the mean and Chris Paul not doing much in the 2nd half.
I’d like to assume CP will get back to MVP form. Not sure about Okafor.
Too bad for Okafor that the Hornets can’t play the Heat every night. LOL! Wasn’t that his best game this season?
I’m sorry but imo, OJ Mayo ain’t sh*t.
We were raped by the Spurs in the second half. And do not be fooled: Chris Paul is not the best PG in the NBA today. He is not justifying this position in recent games. I’m a fan of the Hornets, but admit it: Deron Williams, Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook and Rajon Rondo are playing basketball a lot higher than CP3. I even fear that Westbrook can do with Paul tomorrow. I am shocked and very disheartened by this defeat. I hope the Hornets proved otherwise there in Oklahoma, but honestly, I do not take faith. The performance of Chris Paul in the second damn time I disappointed a lot. I think we can start looking for the panic button. Even if it is a corner of his eye …
Do you think the Hornets would have a better record than 12-4 with those other point guards?
Same supporting cast as CP3 has now. Would those other point guards have the Hornets 12-4?
possibly…Come on man we all love our cp3 but he isnt playing at a high level like D.Will right now..as much as i despise that guy and his team.
We are all disappointed, I understand. But we can not deceive us. I know it’s hard to admit, but we must be realistic at this time. Chris Paul is not the best PG in the NBA today. Unfortunately, this is the truth. It’s hard to admit, but it is better to live in the real world than to lie to yourself.
He is not 100% healthy. It’s just fact. I don’t even think he is 80%.
Well let’s trade him then. Demps should see which team would be willing to take an injured player of his caliber.
Why you always on my case QueenBee? Starting crap with me when there isn’t even crap there? Did I once mention he needs to go? Nope. Go nerdrage on someone else’s posts please.
I actually tried to look at this with an unbiased opinion since Chris Paul happens to be my favorite player. So I did the whole basketball-reference thing. Mind you I haven’t seen some of the other the other top PGs in action much as I’d like to in order to form more of a valid opinion. But none the less.
Passing is something that can be done without lightning quick speed. Can you argue that CP isn’t the best passer in the game? I don’t think you can when you look at his turnover/assist ratio, and just having seen him as much as you probably have as a Hornet’s fan is testament enough. Don’t you think that maybe once he gets more familiar with his teammates tendancies that he will have higher assists/better turnover ratio? He is scoring 16.6 points per game on 11 FG attempts a game. And all while averaging only 34 minutes per game.
Then you factor in the knee brace, and he is still playing on such an elite level. The Hornets are also exceeding expectations more than most fans believed to begin the season, let alone the skeptics. He’s leading the league in rebounds for a point guard, steals.
I appreciate having as high caliber of a point guard as Chris Paul on my beloved Hornets team for 6 straight seasons and hopefully many more to come!
But as far as tonight’s game goes, it was very hard to watch the 2nd half.
well i guess we can try to look at the bright and say, better the mistakes now than later in the season…but then again….*sigh*….OH GREAT AND MY FOOTBALL TEAM JUST LOST TOO. What a sports day lol..smh
The Hornets have a record of 12-4 when no one expected them to do anything at all but now we must hit the panic button? Really? I understand disappointment but not knee jerk reactions.
Other than the Spurs and Lakers who have 2 and 3 losses respectively, every other team has 4 or more losses. I’m pissed but it’s not like the Hornets are currently 4-12 instead of 12-4.
We believe we could be better, and that makes it frustrating when we give a game away.
We can not lose sight that we can and do play well.
Good persepective, Queen.
Yeah, we believe we could be better but where do we get off thinking that 16 games into the season when most if asked at the beginning of the season what would the Hornets record be through 16 games? Going into the season if anyone asked you through 16 games what would the Hornets record be, would you have said 12-4? I know I wouldn’t have said that. People are saying the Heat will need time to jell. But the Hornets don’t? I guess winning the first 8 games made people believe that we had fully jelled and we shouldn’t lose any games at all.
@MaskedTalent-I didn’t say he was playing at Dwills level but answer the question, do you think the Hornets would be 12-4 with any of those other point guards? CP isn’t playing like we’re accustomed to seeing him play but it’s not like he’s out there looking like a 3rd string guard either.
We don’t need Chris Paul to be the best point guard in the game right now. What we need is for he and others to play harder. When CP3 is the best point guard in the game there were still other point guards that had better teams and records than the Hornets so being the best pg in the game don’t get you ish. Which is obvious since we haven’t won a championship in this lifetime. Is Lebron the best SF in the game? What has that gotten him? Is Dwight Howard the best C in the league? What title has he won?
The point is that CP3 has not decided in the crucial moments of games, at least in these last games. He prefers to pass the ball to D-West rather than himself to decide. You never know what goes on in the mind of Chris Paul. It can be anything, including this: I will infiltrate and to risk a new injury for what? Soon I will be moving to NY, and the Knicks need that my knees are healthy. I will not risk it now …
You’re right. It could be anything. It could be Monty wanting Chris to stick to whatever call he calls out and not letting Chris Paul do exactly what he wants the way Byron did. It could be Chris not being as aggressive as we know he can be. It could be teams playing him harder this season. It could be that Chris’ knee is about to fall off. It could be that Chris’ arm is about to fall off.
I don’t see the argument that any pg has been close to CP3 this year. D-Will rebounds less, (8.2% cp3 rate vs 6.2%), assists less (51.3% vs 44.6%), turns it over a little more, even with cp3’s way higher than usual rate this year (15.5 vs 15.7). Oh, and he stills at a hugely better rate too: 4.6% vs 1.8%. CP3’s offensive and defensive ratings are just enormously better, he scores more efficiently (62 TS% vs 57%). The ONLY major thing d will is doing better is pure quantity of points (16.6 vs 21.7 points), however he’s using a lot more possessions to get there, and if you assume that those extra possessions cp3 isn’t taking go to league average shooting, then cp3’s production is waaay better, if you assume those shots would be a little below average, he’s still better.
There are similar comparisons to the others. Rose is worse is all these categories too, again, except scoring. But Rose scores at BELOW league average efficiency, with a 53.9 TS% (his shooting is okay, but he doesn’t get to the line enough to manage a league average TS%). And especially with the rest of the team being relatively much more efficient he should pretty clearly take fewer shots. His higher scoring looks good but is very misleading. Rondo has the only non-scoring argument against cp3 (he’s not scoring much, and he’s doing it shooting badly), but he does get the nod for assist rate and rebounding by slight margins, loses to cp3 on steals and most importantly is dominated on turnover rate. I think rondo probably comes closest, but really, it’s not close.
CP3 is the best PG in the league, and arguably the best player, though Pau Gasol this year sadly has a very good argument for that too.
Yeah, Pau Gasol has been balling this year. CP3 going into today leads the entire league in PER. Not just point guards but the entire league. How’s that for a guy supposedly playing not 100%? A little barely 6ft point guard no less. Leg about to fall off but yet still very efficient.
It really is enjoyable reading comments after a win, but after a bad loss it seems like it’s time to torch the team on here. It starts to look all NOLA.com on these boards when things go the other way.
This loss made me want to kick the arena seat in front of me off of its foundation; however, at the same time, we are 12-4. The spurs are arguably the best team in the nba right now (Lakers?). Did you not expect some resistance? Obviously the Hornets didn’t after halftime, but how about the fact that the team did show the ability to DOMINATE the best team in the league. Albeit for one half (which is totally unacceptable, I agree) but still, not time for all this total abandonment of ship.
Something else I noticed is that when the Hornets win, we don’t have as many comments/posts as we do when they lose. LOL. It’s that way on every fan forum I think. And LOL @ you Jordan for wanting to kick the seat off of it’s foundation. LMAO! I so feel you on that one. LOL.
My problem with this game was what happened to our offense in the second half. Yeah our defense was pathetic, but it looked good compared to our offense. The offense was awful, 34 in a HALF? That is after dropping 61 in the first half. As mentioned David West should’e gotten more shots. Marcus had a nice few plays in the first, didn’t get to see him even shoot in the second from what I remember, but with 34 in a half, wouldn’t that be a good time to get him going?
I agree with you 100%.
Our cold shooting can have a similar effect to porous defense. It will come.
Oh quit your damn whining and sniffling BeesGivingEffort. I’m a hypocrite? No, you are a hypocrite. Have you said anything here about Chris not being healthy when the team wins? I’ve already said that Chris isn’t playing the way we are accustomed to seeing him play. Whether that’s because he’s not 80% or 100% healthy. Whatever percentage you feel like putting on it. Thing is, Chris HAS been getting into the paint. He’s been putting up his floaters. Most players do that in the paint do they not? Just because he isn’t getting fouled hard and knocked to the floor like you’re apparently looking for doesn’t mean he hasn’t been in there. If you were coming off of a pretty serious injury how quickly would you be willing to take chances on getting knocked down? Heck yeah if I were Chris I’d want to be careful too. Whether I’m 100% or not. Having that injury I’m pretty sure he isn’t in any hurry to have another one of the same magnitude. Just tonight he was in the paint on the floor with all kinds of Spurs around him. Any one of them could’ve jumped on his leg going for a rebound but he no doubt put himself in that situation. Why am I always on your case? Are you kidding me? Dude I barely ever even say anything to you. LOL. Hell yeah I bitch and moan when my favorite team loses. Most fans do but I don’t come here calling people hypocrites and such. Always on your case? That’s funny. How about this then? From now on, you ignore my posts and I’ll ignore yours. That should make everyone happy right? Good night to you.
Our effort was not there after halftime. Some examples:
– West failed to reach for the pass on two consecutive plays, allowing turnovers.
– West dribbled the ball off his foot when nobody came to help on the double team. He was stranded on at least 4 or 5 double teams in the 2nd half.
– Three or four lazy three-point or long two-point shots early in the shot clock from Paul. He made one, and missed three.
– Players turning their back on driving teammates, resulting in turnovers when the driver had nowhere to pass.
I agree that we were whistled for minimal contact, while West and Paul suffered tons of bumps and hacks with few whistles. The offensive foul on West where Jefferson fell down and the one where Paul was run over and knocked down killed a brief rally.
On the other hand, we missed a ton of easy shots up close and too many free throws, so the refs were only a small part of the story.
I hate the small-ball lineup if our smalls are going to play off their 3-point shooters 12 to 15 feet. My Grandma or Jason Kidd can make those uncontested 3s. This coaching move was the worst I’ve seen from Monty so far.
All in all, this was the most disappointing loss at home since the 58-point debacle. A swing of 30+ points in one half really sucks.
I was at the game tonight and felt so confident at half time!! (I am an Australian exchanged student @ LSU), very new to this site. I find it very interesting to get on here after a game and see what people have to say about the games. Here are a few of my thoughts:
– Must give credit to the spurs 2nd half defense. We were simply out-hustled.
– I don’t like complaining about ref’s one bit. The team that plays better wins.
– I was confused with what type of offense the team was trying to run in the second half. Ariza should NEVER dictate an offensive play- ever. Our players were getting trapped in corners, and there was very little ball movement.
– Soooo happy to have willie green and MT5 comin off the bench.
Can i propose a question….who is the WEAKEST link in the starting 5? I tend to think its Okafor. But from what I see, Trevor Ariza is prone to lethargy and often seems very uninterested in the game. Could you imagine upgrading the SF position and having Ariza’s talents coming off the bench. But on the other hand, a BEAST at the center position would do a lot for the team too.
– David West is soooooo consistent. We are blessed to have him on our team.
BEAT OKC!!!
You were confident at halftime? So was I. LOL! Apparently the Hornets were a bit TOO confident though. If they would’ve came out and played 3/4ths of the way they did in the first half they could have won this game. The weakest link is usually the SG spot but Marco hasn’t been all that bad although while I know what he’s capable of, he drives me crazy when he misses a wide open shot that has been set up perfectly for him. But he’s not all that bad. I like him actually. He has nice size for his position. Right now I guess the weakest link is at the 3 and 5 spot. You’re saying Ariza should never dictate an offensive play ever? That leads me to wonder. Is that his doing or Monty’s? Is Monty trying to make Ariza more of an offensive player? Because Ariza is really not that type of player. He’s a defensive player and if, only IF, he’s set up or open for an offensive play is when he should be involved in it.
I’m convinced we’ll make a run at Carmelo. A real run, not just dangling a Mars bar and strippers at the GM.
I’m not convinced we’ll get him, but I’m convinced we’ll make a run.
His-defense-to-this-point be damned, I think they’ll assumed he’s coachable.
I have mixed feelings about the move due to the fact of I personally have a mild distaste for him, but he’s warmed on me since 2 seasons ago (nothing to do with the beatdown), I’m not convinced he’s a top tier guy, and that he’ll be max-expensive.
I’m not sure what getting him in here, or someone like him cost-wise, would do to negotiations with D West. Getting a third option that costs you your second option (not order of primacy) is just trading second options.
You need three options because most teams of 5 players can’t double 3 people. Right?
You just need the right 3 options. It’s clear what the wrong ones get you: a ~0.500 ballclub. For me, really, you put those guys at 1 3 5 . . . spread the talent out, have a `money guy’ in each of the phases: initiating, wings, low. But what do i know . . .
I honestly think we will too 42. But I really think that IF we do, and somehow manage to get him, then we will be the second best team in the league behind the Lakers, and once we manage to get more bigs in the offseason, we would be the BEST team in the league. I dont think we have to give up West. Look at Denvers roster. They are LOADED up front. I think the pieces to go will be Okafor, Ariza, Thornton, and every penny we got something like Birdman and Melo. And to have that 3 some of West, Melo, and Paul would be DEADLY.
Let me also say this. We have a new coach, new coaching staff and 2 new starters in the lineup. About 9 new players altogether. Believe it or not but they are still learning to play together. They’re still learning how to open things up for Chris and he’s still learning their tendencies. And yet they’ve managed to be 12-4. Of course we’d all love to be 16-0 right now but is that really realistic for this team and the schedule they’ve opened up the season with? Yeah I may be pissed when they lose because all fans want to see their teams do good and win games. I’m pissed though. IMO, bitching, whining and moaning is another animal. Oh well. On to the next one. Thunder here we come. Oh brother.
It could be worse. We could be the Miami Heat!!!!
Zing!
Yup.
Kudos to the Spurs in the second half. They shut us down, poured in the shots, and we didn’t reciprocate. Bummer.
I gotta say that so far I’m not impressed with Jack. He looks just like Bayless out there – wild, out of control, taking foolish risks with the ball, etc. Seems like he never passes and always looks to shoot first. I imagine a lot of this will get ironed out – he just joined the team – but I’m not seeing much of an upgrade at this point.
I kind of figured Jack wouldn’t be all that we wanted him to be. That’s why I couldn’t really get excited with the swap of Bayless for Jack. Yeah, he’s new to the team and still has to get adjusted (and it is possible that he may very well begin to play better) but I kind of knew he wouldn’t be what most thought he was. And he’s older than Jerryd to boot. But Jack is ‘known’ to be more of a point guard than Bayless is.
I got ROASTED for saying that Jack wasn’t the right fit QueenBee. I thought Bayless was a better fit because he was the only guy other than Paul who didn’t settle for jump shots. The kid just attacked the hell outta the basket. And what are we desperately missing right now? A slasher to keep the defense honest.
just read a post-game quote from Monty, “I was simply out-coached in the second half”. Humble fella isnt he? In response to the opening article-‘why not feed the ball to West in the second half’: the spurs coach admitted that D-West was unstoppable in the first half, so he ordered an intense double team everytime David got the ball…and didnt it work a treat? Monty needs to think on his toes and give the boys a solution when this happens.
I heard Monty say that. West also commented on the small ball.
http://videos.nola.com/times-picayune/2010/11/david_west_says_new_orleans_ho.html
Let’s see how they play tomorrow. Westbrook and Durant will be going buckwild I’m sure but let’s just see how the team will react.
He came to the same conclusion I did. Smart guy! No, really, I think this is going to happen and it’s not a harbinger of doom when it happens; it’s a lesson that will make us stronger. We forget, I think, that we have a rookie head coach; the fact that we can forget that is awesome.
Regarding potential trade targets, I wonder why Dahntay Jones is not playing in Indiana right now? I remember how annoying he was in the Denver playoffs and I’d love to have that down-and-dirty player on defense that just flat pisses people off.
I have to agree with the idea that Chris Paul is not 100%. There is a tangible difference between the separation he’s generating this year and the separation he used to create. He looks a few pounds heavier and also looks more reluctant to get deep into the paint like he used to. The last few games, defenders from other teams have started to anticipate CP3 the split second he gets into the air, causing those oh so rare turnovers from him.
CP3 has been remarkably efficient this year, creating open shots for teammates and also scoring for us when our offense has gone stagnant. However, he has not been the complete CP3 of old yet. It’s obvious. It amazes me that he can lead a team to this record while he isn’t fully healthy. No one is (or should) be complaining about CP3’s production this year, but I think everyone should be aware that SOMETHING is different about him
Ok guys. OKC lost to Houston tonight by 1 point so you know they’ll be p*ssed and want to take it out on the Hornets. Let’s hope the Hornets are also p*ssed because of tonights loss and get after it.
pissing contest?
Guys I’ve been wanting to ask …. have you all been placing votes for the All-Star game? I try not to forget but I’ve been voting just about daily via both online and texting.
I have not. I need to cast some votes. I just do one set. It feels wrong to do more.
Same as 42.
Lakers lost to the Pacers. Wow. Goes to show any team can win or lose on any given night.
Losses count for the Lakers? I thought those were off nights. We don’t have losses either; we have chicken little story hour, franchise player bon voyage party, and pick-a-player-pinata time . . . plus a loss that invalidates all prior wins.
dont worry queen ive been voting! 😀
A few points:
Jack has yet to really have a practice with the team, and he won’t be getting one before the Thunder game.
The three guard thing and the zone thing are absolutely coaching issues. We have capable guards to throw at guards. We just aren’t that deep in our offense yet or we haven’t written those pages in the book yet. Blair was getting killed and didn’t see minutes later. Hill and Neal were `starters part deux’ and the box score clearly shows their +/- are through the roof considering a 14 pt victory. Ariza was our top guy of people to to play at least 24 minutes in that department . . . and he scored 10, second lowest of the 6 such players, with Green’s 8 `besting’ him. Makes you go hmmm . . . right?
12,449 is the attendance number, whatever that means. Ignoring fetuses and twins conjoined at their common ass, that’s an upper limit to the number of patrons at the game. In other news, the causeway bridge signs that display messages to the drivers on the 24 mile span between the New Orleans suburb of Metairie and Mandeville said 2 things today: “High Crosswinds — 45 mph Speed Limit” and “Happy Saintsgiving 8-3”. Ponder.
12-5 is the worst we can do through November unless they vacate some of our wins. We have not gotten worse in the area of health since the start of the season. Fat, dumb, happy.
Monty has played this “three guard thing” pretty consistently, so on paper a small lineup should have been an effective match-up against Pops going small in the 2H. But it couldn’t stop the Spurs from swinging the ball and finding the open player for an easy shot. You can counter that if your players are making their shots. But as was shown today the Spurs are pretty good defensively. Definitely the Spurs won the game not so much with Duncan and Parker on the floor, but with Manu, Jefferson and Hill instead.
As far as Jack goes, pretty much what he’s shown so far is how he played in Tor. Practice might make him feel more comfortable getting his shot down, but as a distributor, he is what he is.
I agree with about it on paper. When it doesn’t work it’s about execution and coaching. The guy had trouble with their shots even when we corked the Spurs layupfest to start the third. If I can’t see why the shots aren’t falling it’s either defense or “just one of them deals.” In the latter case, the gravitational constant of the universe just not helping you and there is nothing to be done. In the former, a little coaching magic is required. We didn’t get that. Where were the lineup changes? Where was the mixing and matching?
The idea of a starter is fine, but starters don’t have to get starter minutes when the other team throws things as you that dictate a xhange in matchup.
It seemes the double on D West was achieved with the guards through added speed, not necessarily on D West, but on the court somewhere; we should have been able to exploit that. The Hornets left on the double were not making themselves available so it became 5 on 4 effectively. That’s how we lost: not adding speed or a ‘next step’ in the offensive playbook.
I hate speculating, but it’s safe to say that a few buckets in the third may hve very well prevented the emotional, yes, emotional collapse in the 4th. Giving up a 17pt lead must feel emasuclating. It probably also feels like you lost. We ivercame a similar Heat threat, but it was late in the game. Going out to start the 4th up 12 and not up 5 may have been a very different emotional position to be in all around.
Whatever we feel about this, our boys feel worse. Take that to the bank.
A very simple solution to all of this talk… get back to the 1-2 game with west and chris paul. I keep seeing okafor setting the picks why did we run away from that after just one game in dallas when tyson played the pick and pop so perfectly it will work against pretty much every other team.
also keep playing marcus he looks great and aggresive out there thats exactly what we need
An interesting thing as I was watching last night was how small Hornets played.
A collective 15 minutes for anyone over 6’6″ on Hornets bench compared with 37 for Spurs. I know Blair didn’t play much so that needed to be filled but still Hornets don’t have an answer off the bench to go low.
In addition to this Smith nor Mbenga is an offensive threat in the paint.
Hornets need this. I don’t think Andersen is the answer as again he is more a mid range jumper threat rather than a post man.
I have seen Pops be a force in the paint for a number of Teams however I would not be surprised to see him waived before he gets another shot.
I think Hornets need that interior threat Offensively.
“Marcus Thornton is the Eli Manning of NBA players” huh you gotta be kidding me, you cant possibly make a comparison like that. a super bowl mvp to a second year bench player. its offensive to people who use their brain.
I, too, thought Marcus justified his time. He had a miscue with Chris offensively and a defensive 3s, but he held is own overall. It’s very reasonable that he and Monty are reaching their happy place slowly but surely.
Nevertheless, last year he turned the the ball over on breaks at a clip high enough to make me remember, both on the dribble and at the rim, both with and without pressure. That makes him normal, not special.
The biggest knock on Bayless I heard here was turnovers. Call them bad passes, they are turnovers. Marcus was involved in at least 2 yesterday by my count: the pass from Chris and the 3s. Now, Chris was involved in the one, and sharing the blame is fair, but lrt’s this a ‘superstar call’ on my part. Playing tine reduces this sort of thing in theory.
The other was the 3s. Now why is this a turnover? Well, it isn’t, but it’s got much of the same effect for couple of reasons. 3s violatiins happen, and a couple are excused for guys who are down there alot. For Marcus to get it, he had to have lost his man who was in or near the paint, so it stems from a bad defensive response to a slick offenseive move at best, boneheaded at worst. It also worth, say, at least 0.8 points per occurence since a teams best FT shooter on the floor takes them. This is the same as the effect as an at least 40% shooter taking a shot on some virtual possession. It’s a weird Bizarro defensive turnover.
At any rate, it’s not good for a guard to get called on that. It’s worth it, however, since it didn’t cost us the game even remotely provided he learned.
I’m very much looking forward to watching Marcus play Wednesday.
Hey guys- love the site… I think the 2-man game with CP3 and DW is the way to go. I think CP’s knee is slowing him down, but will be fine soon.
Anyway- check out my new NBA site And One for Ostertag – http://www.andoneforostertag.blogspot.com – for short funny, rarely seen NBA videos! Thanks guys so much- my hopes is that since I have supported H24/7- maybe you guys could give my new site a chance. Thanks again!
QueenBee, sweety. I remember VERY well that I pointed out that CP didn’t look right even in the WINS because of the way he was playing. I’ve said he’s looked hesitant SINCE the Houston game. I really think he’s got a mental block. I think he’s terrified to get hurt again and watch the season be basically over if he did for a big chunk. Especially since he sees so much potential with this team. I don’t think he’s hurt. I see the explosion still there. Some of it came out against DWill. But I see more hesitancy than explosion. Again, I only see this because I personally KNOW it.
I know Jack hasn’t had very much time to jell with this team, but the more I see from him, the more I preferred Bayless. I got reamed for not liking the trade, but last night was a night that Jack SHOULD have shown his worth playing against a PREMIER back up PG in Hill. Even if he hasn’t learned the offense, did you see his defense? Instead Monty went with Green down the stretch because Jack struggled to play off the ball when NOH went small.
But the more I think about it, the more I’m starting to wonder if we got Jack to just trade him. Maybe he will be the key to a Melo, Captain Jack, or Iggy swap? Lets wait and see.
Lastly. This is a little out there. But a new name struck me yesterday. Anyone notice that Hedo Turkuglu has been coming off the bench for the suns lately? He’s struggled to fit on the team because the team has sooo many ball handlers and distributors and creators. Hm. Isn’t that something we’re lacking right now? His shooting, passing, and creating would be an AWESOME fit on this team, and the guy is actually a SOLID defender who likes taking on big matchups like Melo, James, and Kobe.
Something to consider, I guess.
Ziko, care to pull together some data from the boxscores from the 4 wins up to and including Houston (since I think you are focusing on this due to the `tweak’ Chris had at the end of the game; correct me if wrong), the 8 wins after Houston (or maybe the 4 `worst’ as well), and the 4 losses? I’d like to see that. BeesGivingEffort has been saying Chris hasn’t been right and I think at least the 3 of us would like to see if we see it in the numbers or if we need to pick out particular plays or perhaps play selection by Chris to get deeper into this.
We could get the OKC numbers, too, but it’d be really nice to have this going into the game so we can look tonight. Of course, we can see more Wednesday (at least I can) since I can choose what to look it with binoculars in the Arena and won’t have to be limited to what Cox shows tonight (alot, but not all).
I fully admit that we may not `see the injury in the numbers.’ If we do, great. If not, we need to know what to look for. Right?
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