The Hornets travel to Golden State tonight for their first game of a three-game West Coast road trip that will see them face three squads that are unlikely to make the playoffs this year. These are the kinds of games that you look have to win when you are fighting for home-court advantage in a top heavy Western Conference. Currently, the Hornets would be the 5th seed out West, but would actually have home court against Oklahoma City in the first round because they have a better record after defeating the Thunder on Monday night.
If that wasn’t incentive enough, the Hornets are also looking to win their 10th straight game, which would tie a franchise record. In order to do that, however, the Hornets will have to beat a team that came into the Hive just three weeks ago and stole a game from New Orleans in the 4th, 110-103. (box)
In that game, the Hornets led the entire way and actually entered the 4th quarter up by 10 points before Golden State outscored them 38-21 in the final period. Dorrell Wright and Monta Ellis both hit some clutch threes in the final minutes and Golden State practically lived at the free throw line late in the game as they were on the receiving end of some beneficial calls.
The game was strange because New Orleans actually controlled the paint and shot 50% from the field, but they missed 12 free throws on the night, including 4 by CP3 which is about as likely to happen again as Marcus Thornton only getting 4 minutes against this Golden State squad. Another place where this game was lost was in an area that the Hornets usually dominate- the turnover battle. The Hornets turned the ball over 18 times, compared to just 8 by the Warriors. If the Hornets are to start off this road trip right, that can’t happen again.
When the Hornets Have the Ball
There is not a single player on the Warriors who can match up with David West, and quite honestly, they might not even be able to slow him down with double teams. West is that much more physical down low than anybody Golden State will throw his way. The danger is, however, that New Orleans will force feed West and clear out, which tends to bog down the offense and limit ball movement. It has to be a balancing act for the Hornets, as West should be the focal point of the offense in this game, but the burden can not rest on his shoulders. He needs to be a decoy on certain plays and get the ball to the right guys when double teams come at him.
Marco Belinelli had a nice game the last time these two met, scoring 16 points in just 29 minutes. Marco actually took the ball to the rack quite frequently against Golden State, as he recognized how soft they were in the middle. The Hornets as a whole have to do that, perhaps even more than they did last game when they scored 46 points in the paint (almost 10 more than their season average).
This is where I expect Marcus to be big tonight, as I think Monty will continue the trend of giving Thornton the bulk of the minutes at the 2-guard spot. Thornton has shown the ability to both get to the rack and finish and to get into the lane and find open teammates in the last week or so. With his relatively low turnover rate and his improved playmaking skills, look for Thornton to create a lot of the offense for the second unit tonight.
When Golden State Has the Ball
Golden State’s offense revolves around their two volume scorers- Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry. Both guys have a PER hovering around 20 and average about 1.2 points per shot, and are just as likely to go off for 45 points as they are to go 4-19. That is what makes Golden State both scary and unpredictable, as you never quite know how those two are going to be feeling on a given night. If one or both catch fire, it creates headaches for a defense, as both players can score from multiple spots on the court. They hit from deep, can get to the rim, have great midrange games, and know how to get to the line. And on top of that, both can create for others- Stephen more so than Monta, but it is part of both of their games nonetheless.
On most nights, those two are going to get their 40+ combined points and most teams are willing to concede that. When Golden State is really rolling, they are getting other guys into the action as well, and this year Dorrell Wright has been the third guy on that team. Wright is averaging a career high 16.5 points per game and is averaging 2.5 three-pointers made per contest. He is benefitting from all the attention paid to Ellis and Curry, as he generally sets himself up on the weak side of the offensive set and waits for an opportunity to get an open look.
David Lee is the only other Warrior averaging double digits this year and he has been on fire as of late, averaging 23 and 11 over his last five games while shooting 58% from the field. Lee gets a lot of his points off of pick and rolls, offensive rebounds, and a nice 16 footer that he has developed over the last three years. Now that he is healthy again, he is going to be a handful for whomever the Hornets decide to put on him tonight.
News and Notes:
– The starting lineups for the All-Star game will be announced tomorrow night and CP3 has been the 2nd leading vote getter amongst Western Conference guards since the first returns were announced. Here’s hoping he is a starter again this year. As a side note, John Hollinger did pick him as the starting point guard over Westbrook in his article today.
– Vegas Zone: Hornets 2 point favorites in this game, the over/under is set at 198.5. So far the Vegas Sharks are siding with the Hornets as 79% of the money has gone on New Orleans -2 and 96% of those wagering are taking the over.
– A strange fact: The Warriors have scored 35 points or more in the 4th quarter against the Hornets in each of their last 4 meetings. The Hornets have only given up that many points in the 4th quarter a combined 5 other times since the beginning of last year.
– Hornets giving up just 85 PPG during this 9 game win streak.
– And finally- IT’S BACK!!! Add the Caption!!!
Joe Will be on ESPN’s Daily Dime Chat throughout the game, so stop by if you have a minute and harass him if you have a minute.
208 responses to “Game On: Hornets @ Warriors”
Haha. Great pic. Lets GEAUX HORNETS!
I’ve lost track of how many we’ve won in a row… LoL. I just hope it keeps going!
Does anyone have an explanation as to why we are the 5 seed right now, and OKC is 4th? We have a better record, win percentage, conference record. I don’t understand. Anyone know why?
OKC is a division leader, all of which are guaranteed one of the top 4 seeds. (So is LAL and SAS). The best non-division winner (see my gripe below) can place above them, but the 2nd best non-division winner has to sit at the 5 slot.
Annoying that ESPN lists Hornets as 5 seed and Dallas as 3 seed on percentage points, considering that the first tie-breaker is head-to-head (tied 1-1), and then division record, of which NOH has 6-3 and DAL has 4-5. So NOH should be 3 seed. Whatever, it’ll resolve in time.
As for the Warriors, I HATE them. They are pure chuckers, no coaching whatsoever. They just run fastbreaks to the rim and iso Monta and Stephen all game. Lee and Biedrins look for tip-ins on their many misses. The last game between these two the Hornets absolutely THREW AWAY. I hope we give them a massive thrashing tonight.
They remind me of what a team of tasmanian devils would look like…
“Biedrins says the Darnedest Things”
caption: how do you feel andris, knowing i got a bigger d***?
Is that Jim Eichenhofer of the Hornets blog interviewing Biedrins?
Lets get this W
10 straight baby!
I think that it’s a dangerous game tonight. The Hornets can get caught up in playing fast, but they’re not good at that. Unless there’s some extended Paul and Thornton together minutes or something like that. Plus, they have really good fans in Oakland. C’mon Horns! Big game tonight!
—-the only person who wanted to interview biedrins
Hornets better get their 10th win tonight. They have been getting better at forcing teams to play their pace during this winning streak. Hopefully they will continue that tonight, I’m sure they will.
Caption:
Kid: “I heard you say you could dunk on me, how about now?”
Go Hornets!
caption: why is ryan seacrest doing NBA interviews now?
I feel more afraid of the hornets losing this game than any other game during this 9 game winning streak. it just seems like the warriors have our number. hopefully the defensive intensity continues and the hornets force the warriors to play “monty ball” and not the other way around.
I just have a feeling that the team will step up for this game. GS has dropped 35+ on the Hornets in the 4th in the last 4 games. I think Monty has pointed that out and they will rally around that as motivation. I am more worried about one of the other two games being the letdown game.
Finally, now I can look into the first two eyes.
Kid: “I challenge you to a ladder match, Andris”
Boo CST for not having the game.
I think it’s gonna be tough but I hope I’m wrong.
Well short pants, now you know what zi weatha is like up here (Arnold Schwarzenegger voice)
Kid – “See, now THIS is climbing the ladder!”
Andris – “What are you trying to say…”
Kid – “…soooo, whats you favorite restaurant?”
Andris – “…I may not be able to climb the ladder but I sure can kick one over”
Hornets need to win this game. Which is why I was hoping they’d win when the Warriors were in NOLA. Gotta win your home games because it’s much harder to do so on the road. GEAUX HORNETS!
god I hate west coast games. They come on so late here
“Whenever I need inspiration, I just look up at the 42 banner . . . Yeah, I like it the best . . .”
CP with the 4 quick assists, and every bucket so far has been assisted on
hornets playing well so far but i think this pace could end up biting us in the butt b/c it seems like we are playing right into the warriors hands.
sorry didn’t mean to say we, i meant the hornets.
Agreed. Strike while it’s there, then slow it down.
Dictate.
LET’S GEAUX HORNETS!!!!
keep it up guys great so far
Amazing start! (minus that 4 point play)
GSW commentator after Ariza hit the 3 to put hornets up by 13 in the 1st:
“Thats not his shot…he takes to many of those.”
Priceless.
Glad you are back, you deadhead, you.
hewhorocks, never said this to you before but i love your pic. i’m a bit of a dead head myself even though jerry died when i was 9 years old.
Show up on the forums once in a while.
Ha! I do need to do that. Color me chastised.
Guard the 3 ball Hornets! That’s all Reggie is in there for.
D*mn. West with his 2nd foul.
10/12 FG in 1st 6 minutes. Ouch!!
I hope Marcus hears the cheers and the LSU song in his head as he checks into the game on the road. LOL!
I figure our best plan is to stay 10 pts ahead at least.
I love my Fucking Team!!
ROFLOL!!!
buckets looking like a pro with the shooting sleeve
CP3 with 8 assists already!
Wow, Hornets defense really causing a lot of turnovers. This team definitely looks improved during this win streak
ooooh Tony Parker, I mean Monta hahaha
Yeah this can be a statement game after the last time they played.
That’s 2 easy Marcus
The Warriors announcers: “Mbenga checks in. Just the name Mbenga sounds physical.”
lol…you forgot to add the next lines: “his muscles have muscles”
And1
I think monty should put marco back in to start the 2nd with jack, pondexter, smith and mbenga. the reason i say put marco in is b/c he was playing really well on the fastbreak in the 1st qt. and he seemed to be playing pretty good D on ellis.
Mbenga has been playing well these past few games
Jason Smith with the block
Blockfest
You gotta Love J Jack of the bench..This guy just gets it Done
Lead slowly dwindling.
Second squad looking a little limp
hornets need to slow it down here.
Ariza is playing well
Thank God for NBA League Pass! C’mon guys…do your thing!!!! We all have your back, right here at home as we await your return. Geaux Hornets!!!! ‘I got a feeling’…’that tonight’s gonna be a good night’… lol
What the hell is Jarrett Jack doing?
damn jack is playing like crap
Damn Jack is playing atrociously right now.
Subs never seem to shock me at giving up a lead.
Damn we are quite good at blowing leads against this team.
The bench basically shit the bed.
Who the Fuck is This!??
omg hold onto the ball and play better d!
Where was the defense on that possession? How you gonna let Wright go in there with that easy ish?
Damn it. Getting sloppy. Slow down the pace
Seven turnovers this quarter for us now. We’re still shooting a high percentage because we can’t even get shots.
WTF happened to the damn defense that was pathetic! combine that with some pretty bad calls and the turnovers and another big lead is gone in a flash.
Marco!!..Great D by Oak and Great finish by Ariza!
the starters are playing on a higher level than the bench…screw the bench tonight…except benga! lol
You’re a Shooter and they leave you open..That’s called disrespect..You gotta make them Pay Marco
I haven’t looked at the boxscore but does Beli have any points?
He has 11 points on 5-7 shooting. Having a good night so far
Thanks George. 🙂
Thank you Beli! Well now I know he has at least 3 points. LOL!
Lol..See it’s not that hard huh?.. Treys Waiter!!
http://www.nba.com/tvc/index.html?gamecode=20110126/NOHGSW&brand=NOH
11 points for the Cajun Italian stallion
refs have been keeping the warriors in this
Yeah. I dare anyone say the Hornets get favorable calls because they’re owned by the league.
ya that’s straight b.s. i’m assuming chouset is waiting till the collective bargaining agreement is over till he throws his hat back into the ring. is that what most people think in NOLA?
GUARD ELLIS
I’m always so d*mn nervous when watching this team. Goodness gracious.
Mute. Don’t wanna hear sh*t David Aldridge has to say.
We didn’t play our best and yet we’re up 12..That’s what Elite teams Do..Let’s finish this in the 3rd Fellas
Bill jindal lol
Just heard, “The state’s governor Bill Jindal……”
Monty can’t be pleased at allowing 49 points.
At the rate this is going (us scoring -7 in Q2 and them +7), they’ll beat us 125-100.
(Of course, any engineer knows you can’t derive a trend from just two point…)
You can. It’s just risky.
All that nice talk now to throw us under the bus.
LoL new arena…really D.A.
Hornets need a new arena? WTH are they talking about? The building is 12 years old.
I agree, they made need a few updates but certainly not a “NEW” arena
Complete idiots. I have it on V and K . . . 106.7.
Happy 2nd half Hornets fans! Who wants 10 in a row??? I do!!!!
WTF somebody shut this dude up
LMAO!!! See what I’m talking about? I knew not to listen to that jerk off. LOL!!
he was talking out of his ass saying the refs are cheating us because we are owned by the NBA and we need a new arena.They even got the governor’s name wrong who the fuck is Bill Jindal
LMAO!! Bill Jindal. SMH.
Gotta hold on to this lead!
I hate it that people don’t give the Hornets their due respect…this team is in beast mode right now and they still get the cold shoulder from a lot of people…bull crap!!!
Wow…Danny glover is drunk or high
HAHA! I was just thinking the same thing!
They showed Danny Glover?
So i’m assuming all these conspiracy theorists are assuming the league will waltz the hornets all the way to the NBA championship and then sell the team for like 3x what they bought it for all the while raking in all the merchandising money the hornets make during their championship run or something? I hope the hornets get a new owner soon b/c this conspiracy b.s. is getting annoying.
I’m getting tired of these little rinky dink little foul calls…half the time their bull crap!!!
No Commentator..He never Misses
Get it Outta Here
This game might set a record for number of fouls called.
These ridiculous little “I grazed your jersey” foul calls are getting annoying…let em play ref!!!
Where’d these refs come from? The Helen Keller School for the Blind??
LMAO!
C’mon Oak! What’s up with the 3 sec. violations???? GEESUS!! 🙁
geez hang on to the GD ball
It’s time for CP3 to get angry dang it!!!!!
Refs hate us…
Sit down and shut up David Lee!!! You little punk!!!
I love the incredulous look on D-Wests face every time he is called for a foul
god i hate espn message boards, they’ve become completely overrun by degenerate gamblers. every damn post has a +3.5 or a -3 O/U and all that other stupid gambling jargon. they should start treating the gamblers posting on message boards like spammers.
wow, these refs suck.
LMAO!! @ Ginobili and Raja Bell both trying to flop on each other. LOL!!
I got that game on here too.
Oh, look, there’s the starting all-star guard and his extra sexy beard . . . and there’s him losing . . . and there are the few people there leaving . . . how nice!
He knew he had to put on a show in what might be the their last nationally televised game before the reserves are announced. Hahaha! 😉
ARIZAAA
It kills that West misses a shot on about 97% of his hesitations.
damn ariza is a beast tonight
He’s Looking like Ariza from 08..I fucking Love it..6 straight pts
Alright, alright, alright!!! Extend the lead! Beat these chumps!!!
Just gotta love Chris
I missed that just now. Did CP3 do something good?
Nothing special, just being MVP out there
Yeah he did a little Pete Maravich hesitation dribble and drained a jump shot
Thanks! Hahaha!
Chris being Chris….nice
ALLEY OOP TO OKAFORRRRR
and Arizaaaaaaaa
that oop reminded me of the crescent city connection! haha
Next person That says Any other name Besides CP when talking best pg on the Planet..I’m Fucking Slapping them..I Swear
16 and 14 halfway through the 3rd? Not really that good.. Rose and Williams are still better, Rondo too….
(yeah right)
😛
Yeah! where’s his alien looking head or his super sexy beard?
Two Tyson Chandler dunks in a row!!
Beautiful alley oop!!!
That’s right. Keep em off that 3pt line!
These ticky-tack calls are keeping them in the game
But keep em off that free throw line too please.
David Andersen has the most awkward defensive stance EVER
Monty needs to keep this group on the floor to start the 4th.
Lets Go DA!!!!
Ok. This isn’t the group I was talking about. LOL!!!!
Jack –> 4 TOs in 7 mins
Come on bench and D-West. Hold it down please! Please!
Bad night for jack… I would play him next to Paul to get him out of his funk
I love the announcers trying to justify that Radmon foul haha Just complete garbage out of his mouth.
wow this 3rd quarter will never end
If it wasn’t for all these bloody foul calls this game would have been in the 4th quarter 10 minutes ago. I’m going record the rest of this game so I can get up on time for work.
After 3 qtrs., not all great but alot of great moments! This is ‘THE TEAM’…I’m feeling it! Let’s go guys…4 qtr:) LET’S MAKE SOME NOISE!!!!!!!!!
Buckets heating up…
Lol..Cmon Thornton Your 2-6 is messing with our fg%
Who is that clown trying to fall down in that corner? Get yo arse up! LOL!
Love that chicken from popeye’s
I like the Popeye’s comment!!! Damn, that was sweat!!! lmao
c’mon buckets one more andevery player will have a 50%+ shooting night
there we go
oop he set us back again
Andersen make your free throws bum!
Don’t stop playing D until the clock says 0:00.
No way was the a foul on Mbenga, he had position! Reds need to learn how to make no calls.
Oh and Andersen needs to shoot less.
Except for putbacks
Come on now. Don’t make Paul and West have to come back out there!
hahaha that was the worst call i’ve ever seen. jack tries to call timeout and they call a charge
Come on!!! They have to put the starters back in, lame!!!
Oh my goodness!! A meltdown with just a few minutes to go?
Haha! They were taking off warmups up as I was hitting send.
geez, why can’t the hornets hang on to the damn ball against the warriors?
Seriously? Another foul call? WOW
The bench has been horrible tonight
That was a pretty disgusting effort by the bench then, stopped us for getting a blowout media attention grabbing game its going to be another brush off game that hornets barely beat a bad team.
I notice CP seems to always have more turnovers than usual when we play the Warriors.
now we cant let them make it to 100, thats not how we do
dammit
Dribble out the clock… thank god, this game went from domination to scary in a short period of time
We don’t even have to try on offense. Just off 23 seconds, chick the ball at the hoop or throw it way high to kill clock and take the violation so they break on you. Play defense, no fouls.
Why don’t they do this?
WHY ARE THE STUPID REFS CALLING OFFENSIVE FOULS WITH TWENTY SECONDS LEFT????
Those refs can kiss it. Smooches!
We’ll take it. 10 in a row!
Glad it is over….poor D effort when they had the game in the bag.
The Warriors announcers: “I wonder what the game would have been like if NOH shot 50% and not 63%??”
I don’t think they realized or wanted to admit that it’s the Warrior’s D that allows them to shoot that high percentage. haha
Amazing. I couldn’t shoot even 63% without anybody guarding me.
I wonder what the season would like if the other 29 teams drove of bridges.
Haha the “what if” is so pointless.
damn those refs were terrible. one of the worst officiated games i’ve seen all year, seems like half our turnovers came off of b.s. offensive foul calls.
wow… the hornets have a winning road record!!!! crazy, i thought i would have never have seen that again since the beginning of the season.
Hornets bench 29
Warriors bench 14
strange to think about but 18 of the hornets 31 Ws have come from 2 winning streaks. does anybody know what the biggest winning streak of the season by a team has been so far?
Celtics had a 14 game winning streak, probably the longest.
uhhh i think it was dallas or san antonio with 11 or 12
wait wait wat about miami?? i thot they had a huge one
Heat won 12 in a row, lost to Dallas, then won 9 in a row.
i looked it up and its the celtics with 14, then miami with 12, spurs with 12, then the hornets and spurs with 10 game winning streaks too. i’m assuming the next game we lose is against the thunder in OKC the night after we play the wizards at home so that OKC game will probably be tough.
10 in a row!!!
Not excited by how the bees closed out this game though. There should have been no reason the starters had to check back in. I think this highlights how important Jack can be for the second unit, when he struggles like he did tonight the second unit is a mess they are a whole lot more effective when Jack can dictate how they play.
Also, I still can’t understand what it is about the Warriors that make the Hornets cough up the ball so much!?!?!
So what happened to Belinelli? I’m only basing my knowledge on the box score, but why so few minutes when he seemed to be doing well?
they were resting starters, if the game was close he would’ve gotten 28-30 minutes.
“So what do you REALLY think of my jean shorts, Andris? Or as I like to call them, ‘jorts’.”
WOW have you guys seen how many assists we collected?? 32!!!!! Thats great teamwork on the part of the offense. Hope it continues lol
17 from the MVP, but still very impressive team stat.
good win.
2 side notes:
– I liked the warriors commentators.
– The beli shoes are so ugly.