The New Orleans Hornets lost to the Hawks in Atlanta after another poor game shooting from deep.
The Positives
– Anthony Davis 19 points and 7 rebounds on 8-11 shooting.
– It’s just the preseason
– Greivis Vasquez was magnificent in the first half, racking up 7 assists while committing only two turnovers.
The Negatives
– The Hornets lived (and died) with the jumper tonight. The first 11 shots from the field consisted of 8 jumpers from 19 feet or longer and 3 shots by Robin Lopez- two of which were jumpers. Only one shot inside the paint in the first seven plus minutes; a four footer by Lopez that was blocked. Ugh.
– The Hornets are now just 30-104 this preseason from the 3 point line.
– The Hawks scored about half of their points from in the paint getting 48 of their 97 from inside.
Moving Forward
We all expect this offense to struggle without Eric Gordon, but there is no excuse for what the Hornets have showed on the defensive end this preseason. Opposing teams are getting what they want in the paint and the Hornets have had a hard time getting back in transition after their long bombs clank off the rim. The hope is that when Gordon returns, the offense will be more balanced as Gordon will be the primary ballhandler in the pick and roll; getting shots for himself and others around the rim.
Jason Smith had his arm in a sling tonight and the Hornets were tight lipped (per usual) with regard to an injury and the resulting timetable. In Smith’s absence, Hakim Warrick got minutes for the first time in three games and had a reasonable stat line (8 points on 8 shots and 7 rebounds) but he still is a dead man walking on this roster. Speaking of dead man walking, Monty said he would get Xavier Henry minutes and he stuck to that promise, but per usual, Henry did absolutely nothing with those minutes (3 points, 16% from the field, 33% from the line).
Up Next
The Hornets play at Dallas on Monday in another game that you will not be able to see on TV. After that, though, you will be treated to 85 games of Anthony Davis as the last three preseason games will all be televised, leading up to our home opener at home against the Spurs on October 31st!
7 responses to “Hawks Pull Away from Hornets in 2nd Half”
terrible 3rd quarter…..love to see anthony davis healthy…..rivers getting to the foul line as well is a good sign……a healthy EG and we are set…..
I know we are all thirsty to take stuff away from these games, but let me remind you that in the preseason, thr following are true:
1.) The Lakers have not won a game
2.) Coby Karl is a flat out stud
3.) Hasheem Thabeet looks like a top 10 center (along with Cole Aldrich)
4.) Eric Gordon has yet to play
Can’t wait for Oct. 31st to get here!
Also, AD will definitely be a beast when he adjusts to the NBA game completely.
I love the positives from the first half, especially AD’s performance, and I don’t put any stock in pre-season results (same as football, you aren’t seeing now what you will be seeing in two weeks when the regular season starts). However, is there any concern that Ryan Anderson’s shooting has been so abysmal this pre-season (fluke or emerging trend)?
Put it this way- imagine you had to predict the future. Would you take a sample size of hundreds of games that actually matter or 2-3 that don’t to predict what Ryno is going to do this upcoming season?
Again, it’s preseason- nothing to be analyzed but effort IMO
@Michael – Do you think that Monty would consider having Lopez come off the bench instead of starting if he continues to play poorly? He had 4 TOs last night and didnt rebound well… This has been his trend for the past 2 yrs.
The preseason for productive commodities are completely pointless. Those guys are going 3/4 speed and it shows. However for those who don’t fit into that category I think preseason is important. If you can’t perform well against the bottom of the league and the good players C game what are you going to do when your facing the better players heavy mins and getting their A game the majority of the season?
I’m not worried about Ryan Anderson, Jason Smith and Eric Gordon(if he can stay healthy) everybody else I have my reservations.