The pattern continues in New Orleans, as the Hornets fell behind by double digits – twice – and then stormed back in the fourth to make it competitive.  Tonight, the game went in favor of OKC, who did everything well but hold onto the ball. Key stat of the night:  OKC went 15-30 from midrange(10-23 […]

Matchup: Thunder(27-21) @ Hornets(26-22) Off Efficiency: Thunder 103.3(19th), Hornets 104.8(14th)Def Efficiency: Thunder 100.5(6th), Hornets 105.5(19th) The Thunder have recovered from a three game losing streak with a three game winning streak, including a road win over tough Atlanta last night.  The Thunder, despite the phenomenal scoring expoits of Kevin Durant, do not win games with […]

And just like that one of the best players in the NBA and the top Hornet is unavailable for an entire month.  At first blush, losing Chris Paul makes it likely that the Hornets now have no chance of reaching the playoffs.  But hope springs eternal, and as such, I will embark on a tortured […]

At halftime, I was about ready to turn the game off and go play Mass Effect 2.  The only reason I didn’t was that I wanted to see if Thornton and Collison could get things in gear in the second half.  By the end of overtime, I was on the phone to my buddy, crowing […]

With the Hornets locked in combat with the Grizzlies for the tail end of the playoff picture, I thought it would be nice to get more insight into the Grizzlies by hammering Chip Crain of 3 Shades of Blue with questions about Gay, Randolph, Gasol, Conley, and it strays to what happened with Allen Iverson […]

That last play of regulation was crushing.  The Hornets have run that play a dozen times, but tonight three things went wrong.  First, West overthrew Paul by too much, forcing him to sprint into the crowd to catch it, Marcus Thornton went towards the basket behind the guy covering him rather than giving Paul a […]

I’ve been pretty open that I really like what Jeff Bower did with the roster this season.  Over the summer, pundits were talking armageddon for the Hornets, insisting that they weren’t likely to be able to get under the Luxury Tax line without trading David West – or more ridiculously – Chris Paul. Instead, Bower […]

First, we need to address one thing:  The trade for Aaron Gray was not financially motivated.  With no Ike Diogu, and Hilton Armstrong  a bust, the Hornets wanted a backup center, but didn’t want to move any real pieces.  So they got what they could for a 32-year old Devin Brown who is probably at […]

Basketball is a deceptively simple game.  On offense, five guys work together to generate a good shot for a player who can knock it down.  On defense, five guys work together to try and make the opposing team take bad shots, and miss them.  Simple, right? The concept may be simple, but for a long […]

On the second night of a back to back, the Hornets went into Denver to take on a team that has only lost 3 times on its home court.  Missing David West, they took the game to overtime, and then fell short as the guy they were leaving to double Carmelo(Afflalo) hit two big threes […]

Another game down to the wire in New Orleans Arena, and since it was in New Orleans, it ended up a win.  The Grizzlies had a few mental errors at the end (That lob play at the end was TERRIBLE, and putting rookie Carroll on Posey?  Really?) and the Hornets capitalized on them like the […]

It’s pretty clear that the Hornets aren’t going very far this season.  It’s just as clear that the Hornets need to clear out some of the dead weight they have at the wing positions.  Now, I’m not one of those people howling to “blow it up now”.  The Hornets are already out of the running […]

Yeah.  I said it.  It’s not Chris Paul.  It’s not D-West.  It’s Emeka Okafor. Now, before any of you blow a gasket, I’m not saying Emeka Okafor is better than Chris Paul.  That’s not even a contest.  What this post is about is depth and skill sets, and in my opinion there is one player […]

Unlike in Detroit, where the teams made competing big runs all night long, the Hornets came out and did just a little more than the Pacers did each quarter, en route to a typically close win on the road. The Hornets didn’t shoot particularly well, but for one of the only times this year, they […]

Friday night the Hornets hit Detroit and then travel south on Saturday to take on the Pacers in their fourth and fifth games in seven nights. So that means a double preview.  Yay?  Double the fun? Matchups: Hornets(20-17) @ Pistons(12-25) & @ Pacers(13-25) Offensive Efficiency: Hornets 104.1(16th), Pistons 100.0(24th), Pacers 98.8(26th) Defensive Efficiency: Hornets 105.6(20th), […]

So, the Hornets get their second double-digit win of the season, against the Clippers, who they got their other double-digit win of the season against.  I don’t much care who it was against.  It was just nice to not be on edge during the fourth quarter for once.  The ball movement in the third was […]

It seems that every game recap I write contains the words “Chris Paul let the team carry the scoring load in the first half, and then kicked into gear in the second.”  In the Sixers recap, I noted that again, and Corndeaux brought up in the comments the fact that the announcers on ESPN/TNT broadcasts […]

Sometimes, you just have to make your shots.  The Hornets outrebounded the Sixers by 8, including a 10-offensive rebound advantage, they matched them in turnovers, and fouled less often than them. The Hornets even finished well on the 31 shots they took at the rim, an unusually high number for them.  It was their bread […]

Matchup: Nets(3-30) @ Hornets(17-16) Off Efficiency: Nets 94.3(30th), Hornets 103.0(21st)Def Efficiency: Nets 107.1(23rd), Hornets 105.6(20th) Injuries: Nets: Jarvis Hayes is Day-to-DayHornets: Ike Diogu, Sean Marks The Nets are terrible.  Yeah, I know that’s a bit of a “duh” statement since their record stands at 3-30.  Their offense, however, is more than just terrible.  Over the […]

And the Hornets are finally above .500 and the proud owners of their first 4-game winning streak of the season.  The game itself was great fun to watch as both teams clawed and fought their way throughout the game, refusing to lose contact with the other guy. Following their usual game plan, the Hornets were […]