The Eric Gordon led New Orleans Basketball Team took Utah to school late in the fourth.
It was over when- Eric Gordon showed up in the fourth quarter and said, “ MY GAME!”
MVP: Eric Gordon. Remember how earlier this year the Hornets hold late leads and then blow them? Eric Gordon isn’t a fan of that, and he let us know it yet again.
Defining Moment: Monty and Jason Smith were both T-ed up within minutes of each other for being predictably mad at the poor refereeing. The crowd really became a factor afterward.
LVP: The Utah Jazz for not simply offering up their name to the superior team.
X-factor: The crowd. While it was far from the most crowded Hornets game of the year, the noise per person was certainly up there.
That was… Fun: Really, it was. We’re a fun team to watch with Eric Gordon out there.
Tweet of the Day: New Orleans Saints @Saints: We are thrilled to announce & confirm Tom Benson as the new owner of the New Orleans @Hornets!
Jason’s Precap Predictions
- Hornets lose by less than 6. (WRONG)
- Vasquez ticked off a double-double. (I could stop here, but I’d rather continue to embarrass you)
- Marco, single-double. (Still waiting for something to be right…)
- Aminu had a strong offensive showing: at least 7 points. (Here we go! 11 points on 5 shots. Well done, Jason, although I’m not sure I count this as a real prediction since you said our starting SF is going to score 7 points)
- Ayon returned to form with over 10 points and over 1.3 points per shot with at least 2 assists and at least 2 steals. (Well I guess we know what you’re not good at)
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Jason Smith, PF 31 MIN | 3-6 FG | 2-2 FT | 8 REB | 4 AST | 8 PTS | +15Smith came back down to earth a bit tonight in terms of his statistical performance, but his fire and energy remained. He was t-ed up at one point for arguing, which I actually saw as a positive in this case. One thing I will say is that his defense was worthless tonight. The effort was there, but the Jazz front court got it done for most of the night. |  |
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Al-Farouq Aminu, SF 35 MIN | 4-5 FG | 2-4 FT | 7 REB | 2 AST | 11 PTS | +13Heck yeah! This is the kind of night that we’ve been looking forward to from Aminu. He played patiently, but still exploded when the time came. He consistently did the right thing on defense, and he even had some success taking it to the floor and from behind the line. It was a good night for Farouq. If there’s one negative, it’s that I found out he’s a Falcons fan. So there’s that… |  |
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Chris Kaman, C 33 MIN | 8-16 FG | 3-4 FT | 4 REB | 2 AST | 19 PTS | +11Aside from a brief stretch in the third quarter where he was the offense, Kaman really didn’t play well. He was just plain awful defensively and on the boards. |  |
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Greivis Vasquez, PG 32 MIN | 3-5 FG | 4-4 FT | 1 REB | 6 AST | 11 PTS | -1Greivis continued his efficient play, and again showed that he and Gordon form a pretty formidable duo in the back court. I’ve said it before, but it really is too bad that he doesn’t have the athleticism of some of his peers. |  |
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Eric Gordon, SG 37 MIN | 11-18 FG | 1-4 FT | 0 REB | 6 AST | 25 PTS | +12Yes sir. Defense, offense, passing, and leading. Gordon not only brought it all tonight, but he essentially closed the game for the Hornets, nailing on an and-on, a three, and then a long jumper consecutively. As far as rebounding goes, I’m actually impressed that he went 37 minutes and didn’t even grab a single one. | |
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Carl Landry, PF 20 MIN | 2-4 FG | 1-1 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 5 PTS | -8Poor defense and mediocre rebounding for Landry makes it impossible for me to give him anything in the B range. |  |
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Marco Belinelli, SG 21 MIN | 3-7 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 7 PTS | +6Marco didn’t do much for most of the evening, but he did hit a nice three pointer lat in the contest to keep the Hornets rolling. I will say, it was a very selfless evening for him. He wasn’t hogging it or jacking shots, but did the little things that rarely get noticed. | |
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Jerome Dyson, G 6 MIN | 1-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 1 AST | 2 PTS | +3Dyson didn’t see much time. The most notable thing he did in my mind was put up an atrocious jumper from the baseline. He was mad with himself when it feel a foot or more short. | |
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Gustavo Ayon, PF 12 MIN | 1-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 6 REB | 1 AST | 2 PTS | +4Gustavo was doing well on the boards, but not really anywhere else. He seemed outmatched on defense. |  |
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Xavier Henry, SG 12 MIN | 2-3 FG | 1-2 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 6 PTS | 0I’d take 12 minutes like that every single time he touches the floor forever. SO AGGRESSIVE! | |
19 responses to “New Orleans Beats Utah, Demands Name Back”
Eric Gordon’s game has so many similarities to Dwyane Wade’s – if he can stay healthy that’s a ceiling we could all get very excited about…
Currently the 3rd best SG in the league. In a couple years, he’ll be unanimous #1
B*TCH!!!!
Go hornets!!!!!
Go (as of right now) HORNETS!!!
guaxe krewe
Eric Gordon no doubt deserves that A for his efforts tonight. He could not be guarded for a 3-4 minute span. It didn’t matter who the Jazz put on him. Hornets are a different team when EJ is on the court.
Looking forward to the next Tumblewolves post. For those not keeping score, they’ve now lost 8 straight and are just 2 games up on the Warriors (9th).
tumbletumbletumble…….
Whitout Rubio (sometime Love, Ridnour) the Timberwolves change this face. But i don’t know if the other bad team (GSW, DET, NJN, etc.) at the end of the season have better record than T. Wolves. I hope, but he season ending faster and this team are slow.. Go HORNETS!
Refs are always for the Hornets?
Hornets are going to the playoffs next year with the additions they are going to have from the draft and possible trades. Gordon will be an all star next year and the hornets will be back in the playoffs. This is just a very bad year due to the fact that depth became an issue early and the star of the team went down. I cant wait for next year. Geaux Hornets. P.S. thank you Tom Benson for buying the team, all the hornets fans appreciate it greatly.
Who dat bought them saints?!
t benson!
We want the brayghe!
Also, this game was a good sample slice for determining the way other players play around EJ10. Aminu had a strong game tonight. If he gives us that production next year in major minutes (perhaps?) each game, I think that would be excellent.
EJ is SOOO FAST, and that fast break that he and Aminu ran was awesome. They were light speed ahead of everyone else. I feel like those two must have some trust and familiarity with each other after their Clippers days. They could be an excellent complimentary duo in time……
I was going to only put a 1 sentence comment on the game last night but you covered it.
That Gordon/Aminu fast break last night was by far the cleanest run and nastiest fast break of the year.
What the f@#k happened to Ayon? He has looked TERRIBLE since returning from paternity leave.
Can someone please keep a namechange away. Go demonstrating against it or something! I just couldn’t stand it………:-(
I am really worried about GS’s tank. We are only 1.5 games worse than GS with 7 games to go, including 1 against GS.
If a team finishes 3rd to last, they have a 47% of drafting 1-3 (split evenly among each spot), 49% change of drafting 4-5 (split evenly among each spot), and a 4% chance of drafting 6th. If a team finishes 4th to last, they have a 38% of drafting 1-3 (split evenly among each spot), a 10% change of drafting 4th, a 35% chance of drafting 5th, a 16% chance of drafting 6th, and a 1% chance of drafting 7th.
In a draft with a talent drop off after the 3rd pick, there is a big difference in finishing 3rd to last and 4th to last.
They are 5 games ahead of us. You need to be worrying about Sac/Clev
Thank you, and YES Sacramento (who we don’t play) the other non-LA California team. Sac has lost 7 in a row so far, and may only beat Charlotte in their last 6 games
Ol’ Happy Day!