The Hornets lost big to the Knicks tonight, but it’s hard to get too hung up on it. Call me a homer. Call me a fool. Call me whatever you want, actually. Tonight was not a true representation of the two teams that faced off against each other. The Hornets are a better team than the Knicks.
The Knicks are on an absolute roll. Since the acquisition of Carmelo their fans have taken their intensity to a new level, and for a few games they are going to be all but unbeatable. I talked a little about the mental aspect of sports in the brief preview, but perhaps I didn’t go quite far enough. Tonight was about the teams mental tenacity, and the Hornets just didn’t come prepared.
Right now the Hornets are reeling. They are mentally flawed. Call it apathy or simple lack of communication, but don’t make the mistake of calling them a bad team. They are good. They are not only good, but they have the potential to be so much more.
Jarret Jack
If there was any doubt it anyone’s might that Jack is a more than capable backup, the last two night should have put that to rest. The guy started for years, can play with Paul in the backcourt, and is capable of impacting important games.
He went for 21 points on 13 shots, 5 assists, zero turnovers, and 5 rebounds. Oddly enough, he easily could have gone for 24 points had either of his two relatively open three pointers on one possession had gone in. He’s always been a second half player, and hopefully this second half will continue into the playoffs for him.
He’s on fire right now. Let’s talk about Paul.
Paul
With Jack playing the way he is, it’s time to give CP3 a rest. As I noted in the pregame, he’s played the 8th most minutes in the entire NBA this year, and Monty is undeniably playing him in times in which the Hornets have nothing to gain with him on the floor. With 6 minutes left, down 20, Paul was on the floor with most of the starters. This has happened over and over this year. Why?
The game was over at the point. There was no reason to keep putting the burn on Paul’s legs/knee.
None.
Zero.
This isn’t the first time this happened, and it probably won’t be the last, unfortunately. Monty needs to do a better job restricting Paul’s unnecessary minutes or there won’t be much chance of a fresh CP3 for the postseason.
Game notes
- I don’t have much to say. This is a short recap due to Mardi Gras, but I really want to know what people have to say about this one. Don’t go too negative, because you know that the effort we saw tonight isn’t representative of the talent that is on this team. Try to really evaluate what is wrong, and what fixes need to be made.
77 responses to “Hornets Lost to the Knicks or Something, But it’s Mardi Gras, So Whatever”
“The Hornets are a better team than the Knicks.” – I’m not convinced that’s accurate at all. Also, it’s blowing my mind that two bloggers in the last 3 days have made mention of being in the playoffs like it’s a forgone conclusion. I don’t see this team making the playoffs. I just don’t.
I do. I think the Knicks are overrated.
an “overrated” Knicks killed us and beat Miami though. They’re pretty damn good, I think they’re on the same level as us, if not better, and I won’t change my mind until we get another big win streak lol
I’ll eat my Mardi Gras hat if we don’t make the playoffs. I’ll even put it on video so you can watch.
comment is bookmarked
count me in on those who think the Hornets WILL make the playoffs. I’ll bet my graduation on it. Yeah, thats how confident i am.
We just need a slap across the face. Namely Chris Paul needs a slap across the face, he’s showing no effort out there. And I know people will harp on about how “You can’t say that CP’s a winner,” but you can tell from his body language that he’s frustrated and not giving it his all.
It doesn’t just go for him others are like that too, the guys are down on themselves and it’s tough to watch. Missing layups and having the league’s worst offensive execution isn’t going to help us. Monty Williams needs to re-adjust and focus in on that end, rather than continuing to preach defense. Sure defense IS important. However it means nothing when your offense stinks like a pile of dog crap.
Perhaps, Paul is requesting those minutes and his knee feels fine. For the past 3 seasons the Hornets have proven to be much better while he’s on the court, for the simple fact that their bench is sub par.
Thornton 10 pts in 8 minute so far.
we need scoring, green and bellineli stink, oh look our boy thornton is averaging 19 ppg since he got traded while shooting 47% from the floor in just 27 minutes, hmm
Marcus Thornton is 4-5 w/ 10pts in the 1st half for the Kings. Must be nice…
By the same token, Kevin Love averages a double-double as his team piles up losses. Must be nice…
and guess what? I’d love to have Kevin Love on my team too
But would you still want him if it means being 17-45? I’ll take the Hornets’ 35-28 record anyday, and you can have Kevin Love and the 45 losses. They come as a package, you know.
They are hardly a package…surround Kevin Love with even decent players and he is now Dwight Howard for Orlando. Kevin Love on the Hornets would make us a better team, not worse.
also, i dont know if the Knicks are in much of a roll more than we’re horrible lately, i mean, they did get spanked by the cavs
Pull it together. The only good news I can pull out of this game is that Jack was ballin’.
That Marcus guy is not on this team anymore. If you really want to talk about him, you should probably consider starting a kings247.com. In the meantime, we Hornets fans are going to focus on the Hornets.
Unfortunately, there is not much positive that I can say regarding tonight’s loss other than Jack played really well. I hope we can turn things around for the game in Memphis on Friday. It’s going to be a pretty big one.
JJack gettin some hustlin done. Were the hornets this is what we do. We win 10 in a row then lose a shit load in a road, we just gotta ride the wind till we get on the other streak you know that winning one
Yea I knew another losing streak would be coming. But we really can’t afford to have these streaks with the Playoffs soon and the West so tight from seeds 5-8.
Look the MT complaining needs to stop, Monty was never going to play him much, good to see him in a situation to succeed night in and night out, but now we have this team to focus on.
Are we a better team? Maybe, maybe not, but fast paced teams kill us for one reason: our bad offense. Bad offense gives fast paced teams more chances to do what they do, and no matter how good our defense may be (although poor at best tonight) we do not play efficient enough offensively to win consistently against those teams. We can beat these teams though, but not the way our offense has been playing.
Jarrett Jack has stepped up on offense, double digits in 9 of 10 games i believe? I’m loving that. I remember some questioning Marcus’ defense though on here, therefore it is only fair to say Jack is awful defensively, in every aspect. If he scores decently though, I’ll get over it.
Lastly, Dear Chris Paul, wtf are you doing out there
past 3 games
Paul: 7-29 17pts
Lowry, Douglas, Calderon: 24-37 64pts
Let that soak in… disheartening really
It also might be some growing pains of Monty as a first time coach. He doesn’t know how to motivate his guys and keep them fresh for an entire season. He’ll figure it out for the next few seasons. I know that’s not much comfort now, but hey, at least we know that Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry can carry the bench.
I agree, when we get some easy games or games that don’t really matter (against East teams or something), either sit CP completely or only play him like 20-25 minutes. He won’t like it, but it’s good for him and I think he knows it
I thought the idea was to “not go too negative” and “to really evaluate what is wrong and what fixes need to be made”. What’s the deal?
Thornton plays for another team now right? I’m not sure how his numbers in two or three games is a fix. Or a description of what is wrong with the Hornets …
As for what I think is wrong with the team, I’m no expert, but the players – actually mostly just Paul – seem apathetic or frustrated. I can’t really blame him though at this point in the season. There are only four or five players that are at least starter level basketball players and four of them play them same two positions. Landry is an upgrade to the bench and I think Gray (contrary to popular belief) is an adequate bench center. The SG and SF position is a void of bench or worse level players getting huge minutes.
I dig the frustration at seeing Thornton go, but Landry (who at the beginning I thought was overrated) is an upgrade as a player (sorry) at a position that is more valuable.
In my opinion once the players adjust and the rotations work out a starting line up of
PG-Paul (superstar level)
SG-Green (bench level)
SF-Ariza (bench level)
PF-West (starter level)
C -Okafor (star level)
and a bench of
PG-Jack (starter level … just not quite yet)
SG-Belinelli (bench level)
SF-Pondexter (bench level but a rookie)
PF-Landry (starter level)
C -Gray (bench level)
isn’t the worst team in the league, could make a good show in the playoffs if Paul plays with fire and can improve.
They get a star at the wing and Pondexter develops into a starter and they become fun to watch again.
I will say that I didn’t think Brewer was going to do it.
Anyway that’s my message from Mars on the topic.
(by the way, the Superstar to Star to Starter to Bench (to Scrub) classification I got from Arturo’s Silly Little Stats. his blog is recommended reading.
http://arturogalletti.wordpress.com/2011/02/26/late-season-kaizen-report/ )
I’m not concerned about questionable losses since, yes, we’re a sufficient team, but talent goes to naught if improperly executed. Fact of the matter is, we’re not performing right, and unless we figure out what’s wrong, a sub-.500 legitimately may condemn us out of the playoffs.
I’d love to be able to be more specific on what should be improved, but I haven’t really kept up with the recent games. Until then, you NOLA folk enjoy your Mardi Gras!
I just got home from the game, and boy this was painfull to watch. The highlight was that I met Victor Howell from CST, what a nice guy! Other than that from my observations off camera I say a lot of actual arguing from chris-david west and willie green but mostly dwest and cp3.. That’s horrible considering they are the two Captains.. There are definitely internal problems and confident issues.. What really pissed me the hell of is that off camera Amare was leaning all over Cp3 in the 4th kind of making fun of him and then he returned with some fast movements and a bucket.. So its not that he can’t its that he won’t. There must have been three drives to the basket where he opted to pass first when he would have easily scored..
I was THE ONLY new orleans fan in the building wow was it loud and I was the only one cheering and basically the whole arena could hear me.. And what would u expect? A blowout.. But hey I called it if u look at the pregame…
Smh
The camera caught West yelling at CP3 for passing up the open layup telling him to “TAKE THE LAYUP”……sorry Hornets fans, but the ball is gaining downhill momentum!!!
I was 3rd row, Section 309 with my little brother rocking my 2008 SW Division Champs t-shirt! You weren’t alone! (although there were probably about 50 of us among the 19,000 at MSG)
Okay Chris Paul, here’s what you wanted … the first stepping stone to getting traded in the offseason right?
1st you demand a trade,
2nd you try to retain fans by stating that you want to win,
but 3rd you start playing as terrible as you possibly can,
and 4th you try and patch it up by stating “The loss was my fault”,
or 5th acting as if you really carewell,
6th I say go sit the pine,
7th you’ll get another opportunity in the playoffs (if we make it),
8th if that doesn’t work,
then 9th you get your wish to be traded!
I’m sick of this crap. Maybe I’m too much of a fan … hell, I’m a grown damn man rooting this hard for players that don’t wanna play! I work too hard for my money.
L_REAZY
This sounds like a coach that’s lost his team and has conceded to not making the playoffs. Usually teams at the bottom of the league have coaches that talk about the summer time at this time of year, he should have just said next year for that matter.
“I just think we didn’t have the fight that we’ve had this year. I had to address some things after the game personally with some guys. I’m not going to get to the summer time and have stones that are unturned,” Hornets coach Monty Williams said. “I cannot stomach guys that go out there and don’t play with passion and go out there and play afraid. That’s what I saw tonight.”
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/gameflash/2011/03/02/29070_recap.html#ixzz1FVafbirW
1 positive was Quincy. That dunk was NASTY
im glad we made a hornets drinking game so it makes watching these games a little more bearable..
im soldily embedded in depression
hiet! hjafidf! afadifja. fafjaskdlfasldkfaskdf.
-Results of playing the drinking game tonight.
What do people think about Paul going on the 15-day DL & allow the team to play at a slightly faster pace for 2 weeks & then see if Paul can come back as something close to his old self for whatever’s left of the season . . . instead of this death-by-a-thousand-cuts?
I was also in the building…..Granted, it was section 343 but I was there, rocking a CP3 jersey no less and to say I was disappointed is an understatement.
Before I get started, this was my first Hornets/Knicks game Ive ever gone to and to me the team looked flat and all around out of synch after the first quarter.
Open looks on the wing and nothing.
Open looks under the basket and nope.
No calls.
No defense.
Pretty much a team destruction. When you allow Toney Douglas and Shawne Williams to get open looks and blow past your defenders on fast breaks, you’ve got problems.
CP3 played awful as he’s been doing the last few games now and if I was Monty, even with Paul saying he’s “healthy†He needs to be bench and maybe not just for one game either, try to light a fire under his ass because right now, he’s not playing with anything and it’s really hurting this team when they can’t move in transition and the defense is playing right next to you.
Just an awful game and after the Toronto loss, you have to question this team’s talent level and trying to upgrade at the position they need most…A scoring 2 guard who can pop threes on the wing consistently and that’s not Willie Green.
Sorry you had to witness that live
I want to go ballistic on how this team isn’t playing hard right now and if Niko is right then GOOD. I want that fire and leadership under West because he’s someone that IS trying to play hard out there unlike Paul from what we’ve seen lately.
Knowing this team, they’ll probably go on a small 5 game win streak or something before the regular season ends and everybody will hail this team again as righting the ship at the right time but this is a team right now that clearly isn’t playing basketball fit enough to be playoff worthy.
We can assure ourselves that we aren’t getting home court advantage in the playoff but we have to play harder than this and we need to crush the Grizzlies if there is any more faith in this team.
*Ziko…..Sorry ’bout that. Trying to assimilate myself here from NY is a hard thing to do so far away. The wonders of the Internet.
I really dont know wat the hell is going on wit NO right now. *I know some of yall gonna get mad for this but i have to: MT23 – 26pts 2ast 2stl 2reb 4threes
And how did that work out?
my guess is it was entertaining at least.
Yes. I’m sure. We all love losing. Especially when the Kings’ fans have exactly 10 games left before their beloved team packs up and leaves town. A loss laden with hope for the future is exactly what they were hoping for.
Put yourselves in the places of those Kings fans before talking about how fun these losses are.
Oh, wait, we are next in line quite possibly?
I’m not one of the mad ones … I’m not sure anyone is … but why do you say you “have to”?
id honestly not be to upset to be a kings fan at least they look to have a promising future compared to us on the other hand…. demarcus tyreke and MT uhhh sounds like a better future than an aging west 50% of what he used to be cp3 and limited in talent okafor
Steven,
You mean you’d like to be one of those Kings fans who know that next season the team will be playing 500 miles away in Anaheim? Remember what it was like when all our home games were in OKC? I don’t think there’s too many Kings fans who are positive about their future, at least not their future in Sacramento.
Small rumor.
DWest went AWOL on Paul in the locker room after the game in front of EVERYONE due to his effort and lack of passion.
Coaches are trying to keep it under wraps.
P.S.
MT is doing what he does best: scoring points for a losing team.
id say losing by single digits to a playoff team without your best player (tyreke) is a pretty decent showing
You could have stopped after “scoring points”. Give the kid a break.
But anyway, I think it’s good that Fluffy is calling out Christopher. That’s what friends are supposed to do right?
So wen marcus was putting up good numbers in limited minutes this year in N.O. wat was he doing?
The Kings record is terrible, but I watched some of the game, they were competitive against a Portland team that we struggled with, and if Marcus was not playing, the score probably wouldn’t of been close. He’s playing hard and with consistency, and he could’ve done that here but we gotta be honest, Monty gave him the cold shoulder, it is what it is but he shouldn’t be blasted for playing good basketball.
“We never had a problem. But it really wasn’t a defensive thing, because if you look at all my game, I never let anybody just kill me. I don’t know what it was. But now I’m going to Sacramento. Those were his guys he brought in and you’ve got to respect that.”
so don’t even bring up defense, although he still cannot get through a screen to save his life lol
It’s known that west and paul have had a fiery relationship for awhile now. So this doesnt shock me
Ziko, I have to ask here, but I really hate doing this:
AWOL means Absence Without Official Leave. It’s a military term that’s been co-opted by the general public, much like FUBAR.
Did D West go away? Or just ‘go off’?
I only ask because I’m a little confused. I know there was an exchange, according to your report. But did he leave after?
I hate picking at words. Words are so fun, after all.
From what I read, he was furious with CP. It was from a fan site, but here’s the link:
http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=173689
Thanks, man.
ROFLMAO i read AWOL and i was like where did David go? lol i thought he didnt show up for the bus or something lol. thanks 42
If you take that bus, you get there…
Seantonio, everything I do, I do it for you…
@Andy
It was entertaining to watch. Unlike the game I watched prior to it. You know the 20 point clobbering the knicks put on the Hornets.
@42
You are correct this team could possible be next right behind the Kings. I mean you trade away a fan favorite, when you really need to be trying to establish a fan base and keep this team here.
What do you know? Common ground.
Good man, Just a Fan. I knew we could do it.
I agree with Agent Ziko. Scoring for a losing team. LIKE THE HORNETS!!!!!!!!!
The guy can play. Monty couldn’t see it or wouldn’t. I’m glad we got Landry, but
like most of the fans said all year. PLAY MARCUS!!!!! He’s clearly better than Belly and Green, his competition for minutes. That’s why we are upset!!!!!
I’m a Chris Paul fan even more than I am a hornets fan, as I went to Wake with him and have been a hornets fan and ordering league pass each year since he’s been drafted.
However I can’t help but be reminded of his last few college games, which I had successfully blocked out of my memory until tonight.
This is clearly the toughest stretch of his professional career, so the only such adversity I can compare it to would be right before the ACC tournament when we were projected as a 1 seed lock and our first final four in 40 years. Chris got suspended for an ACC tournament game for an incident on the court and did not handle or play well in the tournament subsequently due to all the controversey. He was frustrated and not playing up to his potential and eventually dealt with the frustration by intentionally fouling himself out of our double OT loss in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
I’ve seen no signs of that side of CP3 resurfacing in the 6 years since, however unfortunately he’s also not dealt with any professional adversity since that incident so I don’t know how that bodes for how he’s going to respond to this.
To add: I don’t think he reacts well to public criticism and its entirely possible he knew he was on the front page of ESPN today.
I think I understand about 10 percent of the game.
But it has a few standards that are the same in all sports.
I know before I begin a match in tennis, we hit around to warm up.
I use that time to watch my opponant moves to see how he reacts to shots and see if there is anything I can use against him.
Now, in basketball, it seems a good team has done it’s work on you as well and should be adjusting to your game, and you theirs.
How did we adjust to their game last night, or any of the previous losses?
I saw us getting our defense handed to us under the basket. We sat Gray.
3 games in a reow he did not play.
And yes, he did NOT play last night!
Of course there are greater minds than mine involved with this complex game, but when you have a HUGE 7 foot center, one that has actually played very well every thime put into a game, but you keep him on the bench and lose 3 games in a row….you are playing stupid.
Instead of playing your game, you are playing to their game.
I am extremely disapointed by this player rotation.
No, I am pissed.
I remember that I said CP3 is no longer an elite PG and would average near 14 PPG and 8 APG. I caught a serious amount of heart ache from certain members of this site(42 and ziko.). Well I guess he is around 9.5 APG recently so it isnt as bad as my original prognosis.
Funny thing is I feel next year he will recover physically and come back better then ever. He will have seen the game from a different vantage and be a smarter player.
You right… I may be crazy… But I just may be the luuuunatic you’re looking for…
– Billy Joel
I may be wrong (on the quote), but it’s close.
“Don’t go too negative, because you know that the effort we saw tonight isn’t representative of the talent that is on this team. Try to really evaluate what is wrong”
Asked and answered, Joe. What’s really wrong is that the team clearly isn’t giving its best effort, and it’s becoming a regular occurrence.
Some of the blame goest to Monty, i mean this team doesn’t execute any play on offense, no ball circulations, no look at the weak side, no inside/outside ball movement, just a lot of dribble and some difficult kick off. For sure the old Paul could deliver by himself and maybe he can’t now. But I wonder if this team as a playbook.
I’m looking forward to seeing the team with quincy in the starting line up (if ariza is out of the memphis game). quincy looked great. got a steal, a nice dunk. crashed the boards for offensive rebounds. In the fourth when you had {Paul,Green,Pondexter,West,Okafor} as your five, that stretch was actually encouraging. I think Ariza is significantly better coming off the bench than he is in the starting. Lakers had it right. Ariza starting in Houston didn’t work and it doesn’t look good in New Orleans. we should use him in key defensive situations (similar to posey a couple of years ago)and as a second team player that can bring energy off the bench.
Second Team?
Jack, Belinelli, Ariza, Landry, and Smith/Gray
not bad.
You do know that when Ariza was healthy, he was a STARTER for the Lakers, right? Bynum. Pau. Ariza. Kobe. Fisher. He played the whole season through injury, and was finally healthy the second half of the season and started every game from then on.
ariza played in all 82 games and only started 20 in the 08-09 season. And as a starter he wasn’t impressive.
pre allstar break: GP-52 GS-1 MPG-22 PPG-8.6
Post allstar break: GP-30 GS-19 MPG-26 PPG-9.1
Starter: GS-20 MPG-28 PPG-10.1 REB-4.4 AST-1.5
Bench: GP-62 MPG-23.2 PPG-8.5 REB-4.3 AST-1.9
[…] Someone in New Orleans is a sore loser. Then again, he does have a point with this whole “Mardi Gras” […]
Whoever thinks Chris Paul is anywhere near where he used to be is on drugs…4 points against landry fields/tony douglas. Yeahhh……..What happenned to the Hornet’s motto? Purpose. Passion. Pride. More like Pointless. Pathetic. Playoffs?
Im so disgusted…
i agree with silent q, the effort isnt there. it also seemed that the hornets got caught up in new yorks pace and instead of slowing the gaming down and working the ball inside to west landry and okafor they were willing to settle for jump shots which is obviously not this teams strong point. not really sure what where the team that beat san antonia by 20 went but its hard to imagine that team coming back this season.
a ton of overreaction from fans who were spoiled by 2 10 game winning streaks. We’ll come back, like I’ve said when we went on a slump back in our 1st 10 game winning streak and again NOW on our slump from our 2nd 10 game winning streak.
This is as frustrated as I have been with the Hornets. I hope D West did go off on Paul in the locker room. His effort blows. Please don’t turn into Baron Davis. He is being abused by NBA scrubs. Really looks like he is packing it in. Funny he never seems to be getting any type of treatment on the sidelines if he is hurt.
I am so sick of hearing Monty preach defense. The offense is right there as one of the worst in the league. Do your job and work to make this offense better. You don’t trade away one of your best scorers when you can’t put the ball in the basket. Be honest if this doesn’t look like a coach that has lost a team then I don’t know what does.
I have to give Jack some credit. He has been playing well on the offensive side of the ball.
Landry is looking like he is glad to be out of Sacramento. I still would rather have Marcus. Of course I would play him.
Good luck Marcus you will have a lot more productive career then Monty will coaching.
chris needs a reality check? bench him and start Jack, maybe the fire will return. no more babying him. man up so we can fan up!
Just for some happy thoughts I present Q-Pon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNHtKh8Sd3w
Word is that Dwest was yelling at paul about how he was not playing with effort in frount of the players and the coaching staff in the playroom after the knicks game.