So far this season the Hornets have feasted on the Eastern Conference, going 6-1, with their lone loss coming at the hands of the red hot New York Knicks. Overall, the Hornets have lost 7 of their last 10 games, so the Philadelphia 76ers appear to be just what New Orleans needs (much like Detroit was earlier in the week).
Rather than just speculate on what is going on with the opponent, I had a little chat with the enemy. I wanted to know a couple of details about the team, along with an outsiders perspective on our whole situation. The following is a brief interview with Carey Smith from Philadunkia, the 76ers ESPN affiliated TrueHoop blog:
What has been Philadelphia’s most effective 5 man lineup this year?
Carey Smith: That’s an easy one…AI9, Thad, Brand, Holiday and Meeks. Even though he has shown signs of life in the last 3-4 games, Spencer Hawes has been a complete disappointment this season.
Has there been any noticeable difference in Iguodala’s game since his stint with Team USA this summer?
CS: For me the noticeable difference has been that ‘Dre was not himself early on this season. He looked tired, banged up and at times frustrated with his own play. After a self induced 10 day lay-off for a soar achilles, in my opinion, AI9 is just now starting to play up to his usual standards.
After such a promising first two years, why has Speights seemingly hit a wall?
CS: It’s funny that the perception around the League is that Speights had a promising first two years. Did Speights score in bunches during the first two years? The answer to that one is “yes†and I guess that’s what people see when they read the box scores or watch SC. But what people who don’t watch the Sixers nightly may not have seen is that Speights is a one-dimensional player. He’s a big who can score on 12-16 foot jumpers and that’s it. His defense is atrocious. He can’t bang on the blocks. He also has a low basketball IQ and frequently messes up the Sixers sets. Finally, he doesn’t rebound well for an athletic, 6-10 player. All of these issues are not new either, they were all happening during those early “promising†years.
Speights literally drives me crazy because he appears not to care about any elements of his game outside of having a silky jumper. I he did, a player with his athleticism and God given talent would have improved on some of those weaknesses by now.
Can Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner co-exist long term? If not, what would the Sixers be looking to get in return for either player?
CS: This was easily the biggest question the Sixers were facing from training camp until mid-November. That’s when ‘Dre went out with his achilles and Turner went into the starting lineup. Turner played well for a couple of games in AI9’s absence, but he’s not ready to start in the NBA. Not long after ‘Dre returned, Turner was removed from the starting lineup because his play had become horrible and now he is barley getting any tick. So who knows if they can play together because they were only the court at the same time for a handful of games.
What I can tell you about Turner is this…Before the 2010 Draft a well respected NBA player personnel executive told me that Turner’s position in the NBA would be PG because he needs the ball in his hands to be effective. At the time I kind of dismissed the evaluation as an unusual observation. Now I’m not saying Turner will never develop into a good NBA shooting guard. He has a great work ethic and in time could very well become a solid 2-guard. But every time I watch Turner play this season, that above statement about Turner really being a point in this League seems to hold more truth.
So I don’t think either of these players is going any where right now because the Sixers have no idea what is going to happen with Turner.
As an outside observer, what do you make of all the drama going on with the Hornets?
CS: Honestly, I get a kick out of it. It reminds me a little of the Iverson era here in Philly. Although CP3 doesn’t have the off-court issues, baggage and attitude problem that plagued Iverson during his time as a 76er. Sixers fans were always demanding that the Sixers front office get AI more help. Although he never said it publicly, I’m sure behind the scenes Iverson was begging for it as well. Yet they never got him a bonafide second fiddle and one could argue that’s one reason the Sixers only went to the NBA Finals once in the Iverson years. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not the only reason, but it’s certainly one of them.
I just hope for Paul’s sake as well as Hornets fans that the NOH can learn from mistakes other NBA franchises (like the Sixers) have made when dealing with mega-talent.
So, apparently the guy isn’t the biggest Marreese Speights supporter, he doesn’t think Iggy is going anywhere, and somehow CP3’s situation reminds him of the “Practice??!?” days back in Philly. Agree or disagree, I love getting outsiders opinions on our Hornets and I don’t have the time to watch all 30 teams play this year, so hearing from a guy who has to both watch and analyze every Sixers game makes me feel just a tad bit more informed.
If it is in fact true that Philly will be leaning heavy on a combo of Iggy, Holiday, Thad, Meeks, and Brand, then the Hornets should have their way inside and West should have a field day. In fact, there is nobody on that roster who can cover him, so expect the Hornets to go to that early and often.
The Hornets need this game because the Miami Heat are looming and will be waiting for revenge on South Beach tomorrow night. Speaking of, that gives me a chance to remind all of you about the first Hornets watch party of the year tomorrow night, December 13th against those Miami Heat. The game is at 6:30 CT, and will be shown at Extreme Sports Bar and Grille on 535 Tchoupitoulas St. RSVP on facebook, bring your friends, and support the Save Our Hornets foundation please. Already the word is getting out and enough money has been raised in less than 72 hours to have bought over 100 tickets for underprivileged local youths to attend a game.
Thanks to the amazing Dariusz Ejkiewicz for the Game Day Banner. rm- I am sorry, but it looks like Pops might have been just a 1 time deal.
Game On folks, chat it up right here and don’t forget to share your thoughts in our forums as well.
75 responses to “Game On: Hornets @ Sixers”
Let’s do this.
Goodluck to the Hornets, they really need this win. This being the first of a back to back, the next one being in Maimi (they’re finally playing well), we have to get this one.
I’ll be at the Lions (sigh) game cheering in the bitter cold.
Jodie Meeks has excelled since being put into the starting lineup, but David West should have a field day going against the front line of Philadelphia.
They can’t contend with athletic forwards.
guess he does keep up with other teams that much either, when you asked him about the drama surrounding the hornets he talked about the lack of support for cp thing? i think thats kind of the last thing we are worried about, not to mention we’ve been trying to prove that to cp all year with a roster that only has like 5 guys from last year on it.
this is a win need biiig time. i agree with blue i think d-dubs is gonna have to have a big night. curious to see if they keep marco on iguodala or if they move ariza to deal with him. oh i just realized this bish aent even televised, darn stupid internet feeds
Does anyone have a stream?
nevermind.
You found one Hornet?
atdhe.net has one up right now
Not a terrific start for the Hornets. 4-15.
Playing too much into Philly’s tempo, gotta slow it down and execute some good sets.
I agree. And it’s never too early to play defense either.
Hornets to the line for the first time in the game. CP went in gaining contact to get to the line.
Marcus is in the game. Hopefully he can give us a spark.
Are our Hornets still asleep? Geezus.
Sure seems like it
good shot by mt, but orrible foul at 0.1
Belinelli took the most Hornets shots for the first qtr(6) and hit 1.
A 24% shooting 1st qtr. Gotta do better than that guys. Come on. You can do it!! GEAUX HORNETS!!
CP took 2 shots in the 1st. I’ll bet Jack comes in and during the 5-6 minutes he plays, he’ll take at least 5.
These guys know they have a hot Miami team to go against tomorrow right? Goodness.
lol sixers fan got owned.
13 points half way through the second…. this isn’t going to be pretty…
*SIGH*
this is so ugly. idk what to even say anymore. our guys play with no passion.
13 points in almost 17 minutes…. that’s ugly
Seriously. What the hell is going on? I can’t even listen to V and G anymore. Monty and the Hornets need their asses kicked for this. I’ll check back in sometime in the 3rd maybe.
atdhe.net has a stream for ya.
Thanks. I tried to get on their earlier but for some reason it wouldn’t connect. Now, with the way they are sounding, I don’t know if I even want to watch now. LOL.
This is a conspiracy. They want to suck so hard that they want us fans to say to hell with them, let em leave. LOL! But I won’t do it dammit! I won’t do it!!! LOL!!!
wow…13-30. they must have partied hard in philly last night
They must’ve. This score should be reversed. It’s too early for me to be p*ssed off. LOL.
who does jarret jack think he is?! hes the last person that needs to be taking shots, damn! pissin me off. gettin blown out by philly like this is embarassing. theres no motivation for the hornets anymore. there something terribly wrong.
whoa. what happened?
FREE MARCUS!
Look at that, Marcus was the only person off the bench to make a shot. Glad we won’t see him at all in the second half or for the next 4 games.
No feasting tonight I guess. The team is usually bad when playing early games. Man this is just ugly
Anybody know of any streams i can watch the second half on without usiong veetle etc….and yh despite the score i feel obliged to watch…1st time in a while im watching a game and its not early morning lool ;P
Hornets r facing a disjointed Philly team. This looks like an easy win.
This is truly pitiful. They are going to score less than 30 in the first half.
“If it is in fact true that Philly will be leaning heavy on a combo of Iggy, Holiday, Thad, Meeks, and Brand, then the Hornets should have their way inside and West should have a field day. In fact, there is nobody on that roster who can cover him, so expect the Hornets to go to that early and often.”
Really? Really? LMAO. Definitely not looking that way in the 1st half.
I quit.
ROFLMAO!!
Guys have two and a half minutes to convince me not to turn this garbage they call basketball off for the day…
You cannot win a game shooting 15%. In the words of Mike Singletary, “Can’t do it!” “Can’t win wit em!”
STOP TAKING JUMPSHOTS!!!!
The Bobcats scored 62 yesterday. Wonder if we can outdo them by scoring less than that.
SMH. They need to feel very ashamed of themselves. No Passion. No Purpose. No Pride. Did they come in taking the Sixers lightly? You can’t take any NBA teams lightly dudes. Come on now. A 10 point 2nd quarter? Really? Wowweee.
It’s the Jarrett Jack banner I tell ya!
I don’t think I can continue caring about this team anymore, it’s just too depressing. Makes me wonder how the T-Wolves and Clippers fans deal with it…
If they’re not embarrassed I’m embarrassed for them.
good thing this game was NOT shown on TV
I’ll be shocked if they score 50 this game…
8 second violation? Seriously?
I’m done.
Whoa, after checking the score on my phone, I’m glad I went to the Lions game. What the heck is going on? Good Philly defense or horrible offense by the Hornets?
Horrible would be generous. Ugliest game all year. This one makes the Sacramento game look amazing.
This team is a mess today….
the worst thing is that they got a good amount of open looks, they are just missing.
WOW HORNETS YOU SUCK
lmaoLMAO haha. poor hornets…. u r still an nba team u know? u get paid to make fucking shots do u not? i dont wanna hear dat “sometimes its just off” shit, bull excuse. take da ball in da paint…
Hornets have been down 20 the whole game and yet Monty goes with BAD OFFENSE. UNBELIEVABLE.
Willie Green: 0-5
Jack: 1-6
Mbenga: oh great
4 assists so far for the Hornets. That’s just sad. Gotta be some sort of all time low.
I take that back. Boston once had only 3
You’re really going to let Mbenga take 3 shots??
So tired of hearing the Philly announcer laugh at our team…
OMG. what is happening? O_O at this pace, i might retract my 50 win prediction X_X i can’t believe our team is NOT shooting this bad.. O_O
This team really stinks right now.
Is Okafor injured or something? I hate this team. All they ever do is ruin my day when play like this. Maybe they don’t deserve any fucking ticket sales.
I can already hear the, “See, this is what happens when CP3 scores 25 points on 12 shots” crap already. Oh, and our starting lineup doesn’t need a Marcus Thornton infusing. I’m almost down for a Q-Pon infusing over Ariza at this point. Make these vets earn their playing time if they want to play like this.
This lack of respect from Monty for offence is annoying.
MBenga for Anderson why? Andersen at least can shot
WHY HAS MBENGA TAKEN 5 SHOTS
bunch of tips. he has 6 rebs, 4 offensive. and oddly enough the only positive +/- on the team lmao. no he’s not legit. i’m not saying he is. it’s just funny.
yea it is. but he took two jump shots. that’s just inexcusable.
Hornets are going to find themselves on the wrong side of .500 soon if they keep dropping games they should be winning.
Our team leaders are quitters. They’ve done it before, and it looks like they’re doing it again. And yes, that includes the almighty Chris Paul.
Marcus Thornton=8 points in 12 minutes.
You can’t tell me Thornton ISN’T what this team needs.
OFFENSE.
oh wait, “he’s just not a good fit”
12 minutes of garbage time against the second unit of the sixers are not enough to evaluate his game.
30% shooting for the game, probably that high because of garbage time…hmm, I think I’ll pass on watching them against the heat (I know I’m going to give in and watch it anyway). Well CP3 atleast shot 8-12 (Smh…), and the rest of the team go for 16-67 (come on now!). They should be fined for shooting so badly…………..
Oh and it was nice to see Marcus playing. Didn’t help in this game, but I’m sure he will help more than hurt the Hornets.