Rapid Reaction: Hornets lose to the Kings


New Orleans Hornets 80 Final
Recap | Box Score
96 Sacramento Kings
Trevor Ariza, SF
8-14 FG | 1-2 FT | 5 REB | 3 AST | 17 PTS | -18Trevor did everything he could in that game to keep the Hornets in it, leaving it all out on the floor on both ends. He was still going to the floor for steals in the last four minutes.
Carl Landry, PF
6-11 FG | 0-0 FT | 5 REB | 0 AST | 12 PTS | -6

Carl was very effective in his limited minutes and worked hard. I can also ignore the fact he didn’t grab a single defensive rebound, since he was working so hard offensively. As always, his size makes him foul too much, and that kept him unusable for too long.

Emeka Okafor, C
5-7 FG | 3-6 FT | 12 REB | 1 AST | 13 PTS | -8

Mek did everything we could ask of him, including hit a pair of jumpers.

Jarrett Jack, PG
3-11 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 8 AST | 6 PTS | -20

This is where things turn sour. 8 turnovers, lots of missed open looks. 6 points. I think the scorekeeper has to be lying about the 8 assists too. He was awful.

Marco Belinelli, SG
3-12 FG | 0-0 FT | 6 REB | 3 AST | 6 PTS | -13

And other than a 3 minute stretch in the third, Belinelli kept Jack good company, missing every three he took. If they were contested, I’d be fine, but at least five of the seven missed threes were open.

Chris Kaman, C
5-13 FG | 4-4 FT | 15 REB | 1 AST | 14 PTS | -6

Kaman struggled to start the game and is awful defensively, but he rebounded well and for a while kept the Hornets afloat while the guards were finding new ways to lose the game.

Jason Smith, PF
1-5 FG | 0-4 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 2 PTS | -8

Paging Gustavo Ayon. Maybe he won’t miss four straight free throws and 80% of his shots. I can’t fault Jason’s energy, but eesh.

Greivis Vasquez, G
3-9 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 8 AST | 6 PTS | -1

Vasquez was the most stable of the Hornets guards out there, but when he checked in, the defense lowered enough for the Hornets to give up little runs. Offensively he also wasn’t anything to write home about.

Al-Farouq Aminu, SF
0-5 FG | 0-0 FT | 6 REB | 0 AST | 0 PTS | 0

Aminu does fine defensively, but he is a man without a position offensively – and he looks brutal.

Three Things We Saw

  1. About six minutes into the second quarter I wrote down, “Some of the worst offensive basketball I’ve seen.” That carried over to the third quarter. For the Hornets.
  2. The Hornets frontcourt came to play. Kaman, Okafor, Ariza, Landry – those guys gave the Hornets everything they needed to win that game. It makes me appreciate Paul so much more – and wish for Gordon that much more desperately.
  3. No Ayon tonight. The Hornets might need to move one of their bigs to get another guard. Which do you think they should move – and what do you think they could get for him?

46 responses to “Rapid Reaction: Hornets lose to the Kings”

  1. Damarcus Cousins wants out of Sacramento. I say we go after him and offer either Kaman or Okafor and maybe even one of our draft picks. Could be risky but Cousins is an automatic double double and he’s not bad defensively. Under Monty’s tutelage I think he could shine. What do y’all think?

    • I like that the Hornets have good personality guys. If Cousins is an immature disruptive guy, he won’t help any team be successful, especially with a high price tag. I’d take a flyer on him for nothing, the dude can BALL. But I wouldn’t want to commit or give any thing much up for him.

      • Cousins is making just under $4M on his rookie deal probably.. Okafor and Kaman are individually the Hornets highest salaried players.. over $11M each but Aminu or Smith might work plus our draft choice..

    • I would take a chance on Okafor for Cousins. I think Cousins and Gordon would be great building blocks for the future. But the Hornets really need a shooter who can create there own shot and is consistent. Belly is not consistent and that is bad especially when he that was part of the reason for bringing him to the Hornets. I think the PG play is ok Jack is solid, he had a bad night tonight but he still has a 7:2 ratio for Assist to TO in the other two games. I love Vasquez energy and how he plays but not sold on him as starter just yet.

      I think the best trade value would be in one of our big men since we have Landry Smith Kaman Okafor and now Ayon. Ayon has not proven anything but he still is a body to throw in there for fouls if needed.
      The player with the most value would be Kaman because he is a good scorer and rebounder plus he has a expiring contract.
      if I had to trade one it would be Okafor. He is a strong good defensive player who can bang in the paint and rebound well. With trading Okafor we would get a big contract off the books.
      It think Minnesota would be a good team to trade with:
      Okafor for Beasley and another player. Beasley has had issues in the pass off the court but he has gotten better, he is also can create his own shot and can be a second scorer we need. We would get better offensive and more Athletic while keeping size (Beasley 6’9-6’10) but we give up a little defense and still mite have a ? For 3pters but well have a better scoring option.
      Another good team to trade with would be Sacramento:
      I’ll take a chance of Okafor for Cousins(Cousins and Gordon sounds like a good combo to me plus we get better offense out of Cousins)

      Another name we mite be able to trade is Ariza. I like Ariza and how he is a good defensive player but if he can get us a 2 for 1 trade deal in our favor then let’s go for it.
      I would like to trade Ariza to a team like the Suns.
      Ariza and Bellini for Dudley,Brown,and Telfair . Mite be a little off but it would give us a better offense with out losing defense. And we get more excitement from Brown and Gordon together.

      All of the trades might be possible but are all some senecios I PERSONALLY wouldnt mind seeing happen.
      In reality, I think the Hornets are a pretty decent team(good defense, hustle,and hard work) as they are.
      Remember it’s still early and we haven’t had all our starters play together (Gordon been out ) but i think we have a solid team, we just another scorer to come off the bench.
      I think a player like Nate Robinson would be a good player to consider because he will bring more points off bench to compliment Kaman.
      He can also be a good spark or addition for Vazquez because they both play with high energy. We would lose defense and high but it gives us a player who can creat his own shot.
      Just some ideas for FUN but I like the Hornets right now we just need to play better as a team on offense and get one more 3pt shooter or a scorer who can creat his own shot. Or better yet Jack, Belly,and Ariza need to step up a little more.
      But let’s really wait till we see the WHOLE TEAM together before we start to really consider trade(unless it’s a big deal to make us a lot better for now and the future).
      “I’m IN” Geaux Hornets

    • a sophomore demanding a trade to me sounds like he is poison, he also isnt that amazing really anyway, good rebounder and has his moments in the low post (inconsistently) but not much else really

    • I’m just gonna say that Vasquez made Mek look like an all star on the floor tonight when they played together…

  2. I’d consider trading Kaman for Anthony Morrow and a pick to New Jersey. They need a center desperately and we need a shooter. I have been disappointed at Jack’s decision making and lack of “leadership” he does nothing really well but yet sometimes he is effective. Vasquez needs more minutes without a doubt.

      • Don’t see them giving up a pick as they suck so hard. In all likelihood it’d be protected top 10.. In which case it’d wouldn’t be that good.

    • Anthony Morrow is a shooting guard and we have ERIC GORDON. No way are we giving up a pick and a valuable expiring contract for a backup SG.

      • They were saying that we would get the pick. we would get morrow and a pick and they would just get kaman. Im not saying im completely for the deal im just trying to clarify things.

    • The guy’s been replaced in the starting lineup by Sundiata Gaines. I saw Morrow play in a charity game during the lockout, and his shot was off even then… No need for a kneejerk reaction at this point. FWIW Marco had a poor preseason last season, so I expect he’ll regain his form once again.

  3. i didn’t see a reliable half-court play, skeem or set. Not one! That’s what worries me the most because that’s on Monty.
    I don’t know what to think about some players’ performances/signing/reaction when we goes down by some points, are we tanking???

    • you mustve missed a few of the high picks with greivis n oak, but apart from that id agree completely, whilst it is nice that we are focusing on defense i think monty needs to put in some schemes that dont rely solely on EG10.

    • Monty’s defense-only mindset will get real old real quick. It doesn’t matter that we can hold every team to less than 90 points, if we can’t score 91.

      On a related note, the Marcus Thornton trade still pisses me off. Yeah, we got Landry, who I really like and who we definitely needed in West’s absence, but we should’ve kept Thornton. His positives far outweigh his negatives, IMO.

  4. Why do people think we could get Cousins for something like Okafor or Kaman? He might be the best big man prospect of the last 5 years, other than Blake. Even if he demands out of Sacramento, they have no reason not to wait for a good offer, which they will definitely get because dude is a beast

    • Because people thought their teams could get Paul for a nice autograph, a pair of Knicks tickets and some sweaty gym shoes. I don’t think we could get Cousins for them either either.

  5. Actually, Ayon got in some basura (spanish) time at the end. I agree that there might be a problem with Monty’s offense, but players missing wide open looks isn’t a coaching problem. I’m a little frustrated by the rotations after these two stinkers in a row. Why not try some twin towers? It’s not like the bigs are getting fast break dunks anyway. Oak and K-Man would be a formidable front line. And I love lock down defense and everything, but the Hornets can’t have Belli and Ariza together on the court for too long, the shooting is just too NBA terrible.

  6. At a certain point, Monty needs to run some offensive set drills in practice! We can’t be all defense when the pick and pop offense we ran for years is gone…

    • Jack is garbage but greivis is good, the pg position requires for little turnovers, setting up people and pushing the tempo, Vasquez is legit but jack isn’t simple as that.

    • Its 4 games in calm down, you cant look as good as point guard when your best shooter is out and everyone your passing to is missing their wide open shots

  7. This loss was saddening for sure, considering Sac had Counsins out.. Hornets should play Trey Johnson more, and the twin towers effect should also be played with. Everything could be forgiven with a win in Utah though…

  8. We have some shaky confidence right now, especially when we start missing the wide open jumpers. I think Gordon returning will make a huge difference, because we need someone that can reliably score or get to the line when we start to go into these dry spells. Overall, I still feel reassured by what I’ve seen except for the ice cold shooting. Law of averages ALONE won’t allow this to continue. . .

  9. Beli had an off day, but I think we can all agree our offense and Sac-towns Back-court killed us. When Reke got hot I don’t know why Ariza wasn’t switched onto him, I understand Salmons is 6’7 but Reke is 6’6 so surely when greivis, beli n jj guarded reke they couldve dealt with Salmons instead. To me Trev switches off on defense unless he has a properly tough matchup, on two occasion he went to help despite being in no position to do so and left Salmons for open corner 3s. Give him reke (or whoever the scorer/hot hand is for the other team) and let someone else take Salmons. It was early 3rd quarter where we lost this game.

    PS I hope EG is back soon, I dont get how if its just day to day (has been for like 5 or 6 days) he is going to be out for over a week, Im thinking it is more serious than Monty would like to pass on.

  10. Jack played terribly tonight… So far this season, he starts playing selfish basketball when we get behind on the scoreboard… He must differentiate team leader from leading scorer/go-to-guy…
    Putting the blame on Vasquez for poor defense… Keep in mind when he gets on the floor we lose defensive minded players in Mek and Landry and put in offensive minded Smith and Kaman… Vasquez was our best guard tonight… He creates offense for himself and others.. I do think we should keep Jack off the court when Vasquez is in… Let him run the show instead of having Jack out there sharing duties..
    Ariza played great… Only put up two dumb shots from what I saw… if he sticks to spot up jumpers, fast breaks, and back door cuts… I will begin to like him much better…
    Landry was his usual consistent self offensively and defensively…
    Belli Jack and Vasquez all need to make those open shots fall… Belli more than Vasquez… And jack more than Belli… Belli will go back to a bench role when gordon gets back… I’m less worried about him… Jack scares me because he is so confident that he doesn’t realize when he is having a bad game…

  11. This is possibly an unnessasary comment to make but im not trying to be smart or anything. Im curious to know how many ppl are feeling the opposite about the hornets season to what they did after the celtics team.

    Like if you do feel the opposite (from bright season to gloomy) or dislike if your oppinion for the season is still unchanged since then.

    • The thing about the Celtic game is that it was their third game in four nights for an old team without one of their top players…
      The hornets played very well..
      But I kept optimism to a minimum knowing the circumstances hindering the Celtics…
      I feared the Hornets were playing above their heads..
      But now I will keep pessimism to a minimum until Gordon is back 100%…
      From the beginning, I believed the team would not play well enough to reach the playoffs…
      It wouldn’t hurt my feelings to see them succeed… But if they were to lose, I would have higher lottery odds to fill my mind with ease knowing greater things may yet await…
      True Fanship!

  12. We need offense no doubt about it and gordon in there could have changed the outcome of this game. Nothing’s wrong playing lockdown defense, but ballgames are won by good offense as well.

  13. Gordon is CP3’s evil twin in due time he’ll be asking for a trade despite that he’s only been with the team for over 3 weeks now but when things turn sour they want to break and run.

  14. Maybe it premature of me saying that on my previous post but this team is the misfit toys for christmas.Stern didn’t just give us two good players and a bust Aminu AKA Julian Wright mysterious twin brother but they brought the stink of the Clippers past with them “Vomitrious”

  15. its still too soon in the season to make an predictions about Gordon leaving or Aminu being terrible, Kaman has played pretty well and Aminu is really raw, but did anyone really expect us to do anything this season? Greivis has been playing great and Belli’s shot will come back, good to see that Okafor is more confident in offense and Landry is consistent as usual, really want to see what Ayon can do he could be a diamond in the rough, patience everyone patience!

  16. Start Grevis over Jack. GO AFTER DEMARCUS COUSINS. I don’t care if you have to give up( Landry, Okafor, Kaman, or Ariza) + a 1st round pick. I liked Ariza going into the season but he did not get better. If someone asked me who is more likely to be on this team long-term I would say Okafor. The thing about Oaks rebounding stats is you have to add 3 rebounds to his average because of the tap outs. Landry is not scoring like I thought he would. He would best come off the bench. Give up Kaman and one of the picks for demarcus. Trade Ariza next year, get either harrison barnes or terrance jones in the draft.
    Grevis/Jack
    Gordon/Bellinelli
    Ariza/Aminu
    Cousins/Landry/Smith/Ayon
    Oakfor/Smith/Ayon
    Gordon

  17. I think the T-Wolves could wind up going after Cousins. They have enough talent to give back to the Kings, and they could definitely use an upgrade at the center position.

    The only question with going after Cousins is, is the team receiving him willing to put up with his character issues and immaturity. I think part of Monty and Dell’s system is bringing in high character guys.

    If anyone saw the Vasquez interview, he talks about how the relationship between everyone on the team is really good. He also said it was important to winning basketball. Cousins is enough of a problem to soil any kind of off-court chemistry we have going on here. Cousins isn’t worth the hassle.

  18. We lose by 15 to Phoenix & by 16 to Sacramento. ERIC GORDON IS THE MISSING PIECE HERE. He’s good for @ least 20ppg.

    For all who are suggesting we trade for Cousins, STOP IT!!! I would be LIVID if we give up anything for that guy, especially a #1 draft pick. Okafor & Minny’s #1 for Cousins??? BADD TRADE!!! To give up that draft pick after begging & desiring that pick in the CP3 trade makes ZERO SENSE!!! Also, YOU CAN’T KEEP,MAKING THESE TRADES THROUGHOUT THE SEASON. IT DISRUPTS CHEMISTRY & it takes too long for a team to find its rhythm. If you think I’m lying, look back @ the Peja Stojakovic trade whers we received Jarrett Jack-we were 11-1 or 11-2 I think & we struggled after that trade.

    Our frontcourt is NOT the issue-Smith, Kaman, Okafor, & Ariza are playing well. It’s the BACKCOURT that is playing like HOTT GAR-BAGE RIGHT NOW. I think once Gordon comes back, we’ll be fine.

  19. love the rapid reaction…belli and jack were terrible last night. If they can’t score at all, it’s gonna be a long season with a lot of terrible offensive nights. I agree that kaman is struggling defensively, but i like his hustle on the boards. ariza has played very solid all around, but we need gordon back in the lineup if we want to compete

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