New Orleans 104 | Dallas 93
Wednesday night in the Hive hosted the arrival of Dallas' Golden Calf: Jason Kidd. Supposedly, Cuban has been after Kidd since the Mavs went rigor mortis (the first time) and lost to the Heat in the 05-06 finals. Well Mr. Cuban, your prize has arrived. You traded your only defensive player worth anything in the post and an up-and-coming star at the point for it, but I'm sure it was worth it. Actually, that last statement highlights the lows and highs of this deal. Devin Harris, as good as he was (or could be), was not among the elite in the West, and while he does an excellent job on the fast-play-makers ( CP3 and Tony Parker), he has trouble running an offense that develops slowly and revolves mostly around isolations. He's a great player, but it's hard to play like a true point guard in that system. Also, the move to the East should help his development since he'll be among the upper tier of point guards with Billups and... well, Billups for sure. Calderon can come, too. So... Jason Kidd adds excellent passing ability (to a team totally devoid of it) and an intangible known as experience. Acquiring Kidd for Harris was good. Losing Diop in the process will hurt them because Dampier is washed up and the lack of imposing big men will force Dirk to play harder and more like the seven-footer he is... of course, Dirk hates this idea (not that he could play harder if he wanted to). So, Dallas becomes a small team. They got a little faster in the process, but ultimately, I don't think this is the solution to the present (and certainly not to the future).
So, the game. CP3 played out of his mind (I'll repeat his stats because they bear repeating: 31 points, 11 assists, 5 rebounds, and 9 steals). He set the franchise record for steals in a half (7) and was only 2 shy of the NBA record of 11. Every time he touched the ball in the fourth quarter a MVP chant would break out. They started out low, but eventually the whole stadium was belting it out at the top of their lungs (unintentional comedy moment: the moment these chants reached their loudest was after a offensive rebound and put-back by Paul... but Uncle Bowen had been fouled on the first shot... so, as the roof is about to fly off due the chanting, we have Ryan Bowen trying to take free-throws... I would have loved for Sir Charles to walk in at that moment [thinking the chants were for Bowen] just to hear his reaction).
The Mavs actually played pretty sloppy for most of the night. You could tell Kidd wasn't quite in sync with them yet: he passed out of bounds a lot and managed to facilitate most of CP3's steals. Nevertheless, he put up an 8,5,6 night with 3 steals so Mavs fans should take solace in knowing he hustled and that those first three numbers are only going to increase. In fact, by trading Diop, Cuban may have accidentally ensured that Kidd continues his triple-double reign.
Additionally, Peja and D. West contributed 18 a piece, Bobby Jackson knocked down 17 from the bench.Actually, he shot from the court, but... I'm not even going to finish that joke. All in all, we had a solid night against a slightly off-kilter team, who happens to be a major contender from our division. Sweetness.
***
Welcome to the show, Jeff Bower. About midday, the Hornets released a statement verifying the rumors that had been flying all morning about a three-way trade with Houston and Memphis. The trade looks something like this:
HOU to NO: Mike Jackson (2 years, $13 million), Bonzi Wells (expiring, $2.3 million)
HOU to MEM: Draft rights to Malik Badiane, cash considerations
NO to HOU: Bobby Jackson (1 year, $6.1 million)
NO to MEM: Marcus Vinicius (expiring, $700,000)
MEM to HOU: Draft rights to Sergei Lishchuk
So, what does this mean for the Hornets? Well, for starters, it means adding to veteran scorers who should provide a pretty good boost from the bench (alongside Pargo, Ely, and Armstrong). Jackson has fallen off the map lately (and that contract seems unnecessarily large), but hopefully Byron can reign him in. Speaking of reigning in players, Bonzi Wells is certainly the Wild Card in this equation. Byron and Paul are stern enough in their resolve to win; if they can get Bonzi to learn and accept his role, we should be golden. Wells will also clear a little more cap space for us this summer when we re-sign Paul. It isn't much (because he'll no doubt pull a max deal), but every little bit helps. Honestly, we won't have any clue until we see them play in our system. Oddly enough, the first time we'll have the chance to see that will be Friday's hosting of... the Rockets. Strange.
Well, here's to hoping that Bower knows what he's doing... (I think he does, in case anyone cares).
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Holy Crap, All-Stars everywhere, pt. 2
Saturday. On a somewhat serendipitous whim, Curry and I decided to head to the quarter for lunch with a friend (who has the misfortune of working Saturdays). On our walk through downtown, we noticed a surprising amount of people in the streets. The count was nowhere near Mardi Gras numbers, but it was substantial enough to take note of. As we walked past the Sheraton on Canal, who should emerge right in front of us? If you guess Jamario Moon you'd be right. I immediately told him hi and good luck (for the dunk competition) and Curry chimed in about his performance the night before. Not a twenty seconds later (as we cross Canal), Deron Williams passes us by chatting away on his cell phone. At this point, we're flabbergasted. I'm not usually around celebrities (but I do hold my own fine when I am... and I am also aware that Jamario Moon isn't exactly a celebrity), but walking past two fairly well-known players in the span of a minute was pretty cool... even after a night of being in the same building (and sometimes at close distances) to other players, past and present. After lunch we managed to run into Hilton Armstrong (Curry awkwardly high-fived his fist) and I saw Gerald Green cruise by in (no doubt, rented) Explorer. Not a bad run. (I use parentheses too much.)
The next logical step was an afternoon at the levee drinking a gallon of daiquiris. It was great prep time for an evening of beer and All-Star competitions. The individual events themselves were mostly meaningless, but (of course) I do have a few reactions:
1. I hate the Haier shootout thing. Let's agree never to talk about this waste of my life again.
2. D. Wade must feel pretty embarrassed after committing a turnover against a faceless cardboard cutout and then missing multiple layups. This was all made worse by the fact that he's the Skills Competition champ 2 years running.
3. Even though he was eliminated in the first round of the 3-point shootout, Peja hit more buckets than Rip, and that's all I care about.
4. The birthday cake dunk was amazing. The Superman dunk was also amazing, but would have been better had Dwight dunked the ball instead of throwing it in. Jamario Moon's second dunk would have been the most amazing had he practiced it once before attempting it in the competition.
Done and done. Let's move on to Sunday.
***
Sunday. All-Star day. I had gotten a call the previous day with news that my Dad's buddy had extra tickets for the game and my father and I were next in line. A call Sunday confirmed this (as well as an extra ticket for Curry). I now had a $300 pass to a star-studded, music-filled, skills exhibition. I was officially pumped.
Arriving at the stadium, we grabbed beer and made the trek to our upper-upper level seats. Did I care about such "terrible" seats? Not one iota. When the festivities finally did start, I was screaming like a five year-old. After watching the East get introduced, Kermit Ruffins, a local trumpet legend, swaggered out with his trumpet and played a classic New Orleans tune. (I actually talked with him in a bar the previous week [between sets] but that's another story.) His appearance -- and the subsequent appearance of the West's team -- completely ignited the crowd. First player to be introduced? CP3, ladies and gentlemen. The roof on the arena about blew off when he was announced. In fact, I have zero recollection of the next person introduced because everyone was still yelling. A faint "MVP" chant could even be heard amongst the screaming. Of course, D. West got plenty of props, too.
Smiling faces from as high as 10 feet above sea level.
Fast forward to the game. The first quarter sucked. Yao kept getting posterized (he's softer than me, I think), AI kept passing to his old conference, both teams played sloppy, and the East went up by a gazillion. Second quarter. The West cut the lead to 2 thanks to the remarkable tag-team of CP3 and Brandon Roy. It was at this moment, Curry and I decided to drive to Portland under the cover of night, steal Brandon, and leave a bag of weed and a plate of cookies in his stead... and Rasual Butler.
Halftime. 10 pianos and a jazz ensemble. I love this town. Appearances by Dr. John, Allen Toussaint, Art Neville, Harry Connick, Jr., etc. etc. It was fantastic and surreal all at once. I'm pretty sure I'll never be in the same building with as many famous people in my life...
Third quarter. The score stays close; however, the East do go on a run after some sloppy plays by the West. They then record 3 of the most amazing ally-oops I've seen in a long time, including one that changed hands 3 or 4 times before Dwight Howard posterized Yao. On a side note, Yao attempted not 1, but 2 threes... whaaaat? Whose idea was that? He's got good range, but he's not wearing a four-thousand dollar suit... COME ON! Fourth quarter. The first lead change occurs and it looks like CP3 might actually lead the West to a victory (he finished with 16 points, 14 assists). He Roy continue to light it up on both ends of the court. BUT, for whatever reason, Byron leaves Dirk in the game forever which inevitably leads to the 2 plays that clinch the game for the East. 1) D. Wade blocks a Dirk 3 that would have tied the game with less than a minute to go, 2) Dirk (and 3 other members of the West) get posterized by LeBron in (mark my words) the most amazing dunk ever. Forget Superman, LeBron owns this league. At least he will, when Kobe loses his pinkie.
Cool view from the arena... betcha didn't know KG was that tall in person.
And that was it. It was an unbelievably wild ride and it couldn't have happened to this city at a better time. Simmons, Adande, and Hollinger wrote great articles about both the game and the city... and I think everyone's on board. New Orleans is back. It's got a long way to go, but for all intents and purposes, she lives on. And what a way to celebrate it.
***
Quick follow-up on Sam's most recent comment. I agree with you that Ben Gordon is not a slasher. I foolishly lumped him into the aforementioned category because he has good range, he can drive to the bucket if he has to, and he draws a decent amount of fouls (just under 5 free-throw attempts per game). Given my close following of the Hornets' stats (remember: last in the league in free-throws attempted), anyone who fits Gordon's stat description sounds like a slasher. But alas, it was false. I would still stand by the trade if it were to occur, although the outlook appears bleak.
At any rate, I'll cover the Dallas game tomorrow (before Friday's hosting of Houston). With any luck, I'll be discussing the addition of our new player that will make us reign supreme in awesometown. Until then, ladies and gents, I only have one thing to say: CP34MVP!!!
***
Just so you know, CP3 went for 31 points, 11 assists, 5 rebounds, and 9 steals against Dallas (and J. Kidd) tonight. Just thought I'd whet your appetite. Peace.
The next logical step was an afternoon at the levee drinking a gallon of daiquiris. It was great prep time for an evening of beer and All-Star competitions. The individual events themselves were mostly meaningless, but (of course) I do have a few reactions:
1. I hate the Haier shootout thing. Let's agree never to talk about this waste of my life again.
2. D. Wade must feel pretty embarrassed after committing a turnover against a faceless cardboard cutout and then missing multiple layups. This was all made worse by the fact that he's the Skills Competition champ 2 years running.
3. Even though he was eliminated in the first round of the 3-point shootout, Peja hit more buckets than Rip, and that's all I care about.
4. The birthday cake dunk was amazing. The Superman dunk was also amazing, but would have been better had Dwight dunked the ball instead of throwing it in. Jamario Moon's second dunk would have been the most amazing had he practiced it once before attempting it in the competition.
Done and done. Let's move on to Sunday.
***
Sunday. All-Star day. I had gotten a call the previous day with news that my Dad's buddy had extra tickets for the game and my father and I were next in line. A call Sunday confirmed this (as well as an extra ticket for Curry). I now had a $300 pass to a star-studded, music-filled, skills exhibition. I was officially pumped.
Arriving at the stadium, we grabbed beer and made the trek to our upper-upper level seats. Did I care about such "terrible" seats? Not one iota. When the festivities finally did start, I was screaming like a five year-old. After watching the East get introduced, Kermit Ruffins, a local trumpet legend, swaggered out with his trumpet and played a classic New Orleans tune. (I actually talked with him in a bar the previous week [between sets] but that's another story.) His appearance -- and the subsequent appearance of the West's team -- completely ignited the crowd. First player to be introduced? CP3, ladies and gentlemen. The roof on the arena about blew off when he was announced. In fact, I have zero recollection of the next person introduced because everyone was still yelling. A faint "MVP" chant could even be heard amongst the screaming. Of course, D. West got plenty of props, too.
Smiling faces from as high as 10 feet above sea level.Fast forward to the game. The first quarter sucked. Yao kept getting posterized (he's softer than me, I think), AI kept passing to his old conference, both teams played sloppy, and the East went up by a gazillion. Second quarter. The West cut the lead to 2 thanks to the remarkable tag-team of CP3 and Brandon Roy. It was at this moment, Curry and I decided to drive to Portland under the cover of night, steal Brandon, and leave a bag of weed and a plate of cookies in his stead... and Rasual Butler.
Halftime. 10 pianos and a jazz ensemble. I love this town. Appearances by Dr. John, Allen Toussaint, Art Neville, Harry Connick, Jr., etc. etc. It was fantastic and surreal all at once. I'm pretty sure I'll never be in the same building with as many famous people in my life...
Third quarter. The score stays close; however, the East do go on a run after some sloppy plays by the West. They then record 3 of the most amazing ally-oops I've seen in a long time, including one that changed hands 3 or 4 times before Dwight Howard posterized Yao. On a side note, Yao attempted not 1, but 2 threes... whaaaat? Whose idea was that? He's got good range, but he's not wearing a four-thousand dollar suit... COME ON! Fourth quarter. The first lead change occurs and it looks like CP3 might actually lead the West to a victory (he finished with 16 points, 14 assists). He Roy continue to light it up on both ends of the court. BUT, for whatever reason, Byron leaves Dirk in the game forever which inevitably leads to the 2 plays that clinch the game for the East. 1) D. Wade blocks a Dirk 3 that would have tied the game with less than a minute to go, 2) Dirk (and 3 other members of the West) get posterized by LeBron in (mark my words) the most amazing dunk ever. Forget Superman, LeBron owns this league. At least he will, when Kobe loses his pinkie.
Cool view from the arena... betcha didn't know KG was that tall in person.And that was it. It was an unbelievably wild ride and it couldn't have happened to this city at a better time. Simmons, Adande, and Hollinger wrote great articles about both the game and the city... and I think everyone's on board. New Orleans is back. It's got a long way to go, but for all intents and purposes, she lives on. And what a way to celebrate it.
***
Quick follow-up on Sam's most recent comment. I agree with you that Ben Gordon is not a slasher. I foolishly lumped him into the aforementioned category because he has good range, he can drive to the bucket if he has to, and he draws a decent amount of fouls (just under 5 free-throw attempts per game). Given my close following of the Hornets' stats (remember: last in the league in free-throws attempted), anyone who fits Gordon's stat description sounds like a slasher. But alas, it was false. I would still stand by the trade if it were to occur, although the outlook appears bleak.
At any rate, I'll cover the Dallas game tomorrow (before Friday's hosting of Houston). With any luck, I'll be discussing the addition of our new player that will make us reign supreme in awesometown. Until then, ladies and gents, I only have one thing to say: CP34MVP!!!
***
Just so you know, CP3 went for 31 points, 11 assists, 5 rebounds, and 9 steals against Dallas (and J. Kidd) tonight. Just thought I'd whet your appetite. Peace.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Holy Crap! All-Stars everywhere, pt. 1
Greetings from All-Star land. This city has been buzzing for the last few days and the hype is all building up to an unbelievable game. There will be 24 stars. There will be 0 defense. And there will be an arena rocking so loud that the roof might cave in.
But let's take a few steps back first. To recap, the week after the Grizzlies game the Hornets knocked off the Bulls and the Bucks. Both games were a little too close for comfort (for some of the stretches, at least), but in the end, the boys finished up 4-0 before the break after a disappointing 0-3 stretch. The strong finish puts the Hornets at 16-4 since the calendar changed (that's only one win behind the Jazz's 17-3 mark that's been stealing headlines). Regardless, we're having a great 2008... great is an understatement, as we actually hold the number 1 seed in the Western Conference.
Fast forward to Thursday night. A few friends and I headed out to a local microbrewery to watch (and listen to) a live broadcast of the Hornet's weekly radio program. The special guest of the evening was Jeff Bower, the Hornet's GM. We were hoping to grill him on upcoming trades/deals/moves... or whatever he would want to talk about. Unfortunately we were late and missed his segment. But all was not lost, as I managed to grab a table next to Mr. Bower and his wife. When he finished his pizza I cleverly managed to ignite a little conversation with him. After poking and prodding for a minute, I asked if there were any deals on the horizon... or anyone we were interested in acquiring. Observe:
me: So, are we pursuing any trades or free agents before the deadline.
Bower: Nothing's gonna happen tonight.
me: Well, I'll give you a call tomorrow then.
For those of you naysayers, that last line got a laugh from him, his wife, and some important looking guy who was lingering. This is all true. So turns out Jeff is a pretty smart business man. (Honestly, the press hound these guys day-in day-out, why did I think he'd tell me anything? Because I have season tickets in the cheap seats? Really? No.) I was hoping a trade would go down Friday night just for the hilarity that would ensue based on his comments from the previous evening.
Oh, and we also met Oscar Robertson. Yeah, the triple-double guy. He was there.
***
So, let's return to trade talks. I would like to applaud Sam Burness for being an "active" reader and challenging some of my more ridiculous statements. For those who are interested, just read the response (there's only been 1 so far) from the last post and you'll get a taste of the rhetoric that will be accompanying this blog for the rest of the season. At any rate, Sam disagrees with the Miller trade I proposed. And, what's more, his reasoning makes good sense. He pointed out that Miller adds an offensive gun with little defensive prowess, plus he plays for a team in our division (rebuilding or not, I don't see Memphis giving up a pseudo-star to a team they have to play four times a year). I mean, let's face it, the journalists have been saying it all season (not to mention every Sid and Nancy with a blog who thinks the world cares about what they have to say... lame): the Hornet's need a slasher with a penchant for driving to the bucket. We are totally incapable of drawing fouls and, as such, we rank dead last in the league in free throw attempts. Sam, in his infinite wisdom, suggested we go after Josh Childress or John Salmons. Thanks to every GM's nightmare (the trade machine), I figured we could offer Rasual Butler and either JuJu or Hilton for either player. The problem? Neither team is rebuilding and both have a reasonable shot at making the playoffs (ok, Sacramento doesn't have a "reasonable chance", but they are definitely building on the team they have for a playoff push next year and the only players they are interested in moving are older vets like Brad Miller, Kenny Thomas, and Artest). I for one would love to see a package deal to Atlanta that sent Rasual Butler and JuJu to Atlanta for Childress and Mario West. We get the slasher/good energy off the bench, they get a reliable (more or less) trade-off at the 3 slot plus young (lottery) talent. That setup would give us the following bench: Bobby Jackson, Childress, Uncle Bowen, Melvin Ely, Hilton Armstrong, and Mucho Jannero.
Remarkably, the Hornet's appear to be going after a much bigger name: Ben Gordon. Thanks to espn.com and hornetsreport.com, it appears that the Hornets were talking about sending Rasual Butler, Hilton Armstrong, Julian Wright (and maybe a first rounder) to Chicago for Gordon and Adrian Griffin. Good trade? I could get behind it. Rasual has been less-than-impressive as a go-to guy (although his last few games starting for Mo Pete have been pretty good), and Byron won't play Hilt or JuJu... ever. I think we'd be better for it in the long run. We get a proven star and they get some young talent to build around Deng, Hinrich, and (maybe one day) Tyrus Thomas. As I always say, 1 in the basket is better than 2 in the hen. Actually, I've never said that (and I'm pretty sure I butchered the phrase), but you get the point.
***
Friday. Curry and I scored tickets to the rookie/sophomore game (scored is a loose term... the upper deck was half-full at best). Actually, the lower section was full of kids. Literally, thousands of kids (and chaperons) from local schools. This ended up being a double-edged sword as it provided endless cheering, but also led to the inclusion of an American Idol celebrity as the half-time entertainment.
The game itself was fairly interesting. The rookies actually kept the score close well into the second half (the game is done in the college two 20 minute half format), but when Daniel "Booby" Gibson decided to drain 9 three-pointers, the game descended into a talent showcase complete will ridiculous dunks and a plethora of turnovers.
1. Kevin Durant is really good. He drives well, has excellent range, and has the quickness to elude big defenders. He tends to bear most of the weight of his team (even during this game) which leads to poor shot-selection, but given a few years, he will be a regular All-Star.
2. Brandon Roy is really good. We already knew this, but I thought it was worth mentioning. His performance the following night (on the big stage) was even more impressive, but I'll cover that tomorrow.
3. Jamario Moon and Sean Williams really want to be good. Both probably will be; however, I doubt either of them will ever be "great". Both have a penchant for hard defensive moves (Williams' 48 minute total in blocks is around 3.5), and they both love to dunk. They both seem a little careless, but I'm sure experience will help that. After the game went south, the two went tag-team on ally-oops (sometimes including the less-than-whelming Juan Carlos Navarro) deciding that playing real basketball was for sissies. Sean actually had the highlight play of the evening with his off the glass alley-oop-to-himself (think McGrady).
4. Chairman Yi (who is as impressive as this sausage) botched 3 or 4 dunks on the night. Incredible. He has a good midrange game with an pretty good moves in the post, but how do you miss all of your dunks in game where no one plays defense?
5. Mike Conley, Jr. was pretty disappointing. I've always been behind this guy, but he pretty much bottomed out for this game, contributing 6 turnovers in less than 20 minutes. Granted, he was playing much better team in a game designed to be skills exhibition... but still, 6? AI didn't even turn the ball over that much during the All-Star game.
We ended the evening by getting as close to the court as possible to watch the TNT guys interview LeBron. I don't know why I thought it would be exciting to see Chuck up close, but I did. We hung out for a while in the press area after crossing paths with Ric Bucher, but it turns out that he was the only journalist left we'd come close to recognizing. Then, we wandered outside and snuck into a restricted area to try and chat with Yao... but we found security before we found him (which is crazy because he's 7-6"... you don't lose a guy like that in a crowd).
Just a couple of dorky white guys.
On our way out, we snapped a photo thinking that our evening at the arena would be the closest we'd get to all of the action and mayhem of the weekend.
We couldn't have been more wrong. Stay tuned, more All-Star stories coming up in part 2.
But let's take a few steps back first. To recap, the week after the Grizzlies game the Hornets knocked off the Bulls and the Bucks. Both games were a little too close for comfort (for some of the stretches, at least), but in the end, the boys finished up 4-0 before the break after a disappointing 0-3 stretch. The strong finish puts the Hornets at 16-4 since the calendar changed (that's only one win behind the Jazz's 17-3 mark that's been stealing headlines). Regardless, we're having a great 2008... great is an understatement, as we actually hold the number 1 seed in the Western Conference.
Fast forward to Thursday night. A few friends and I headed out to a local microbrewery to watch (and listen to) a live broadcast of the Hornet's weekly radio program. The special guest of the evening was Jeff Bower, the Hornet's GM. We were hoping to grill him on upcoming trades/deals/moves... or whatever he would want to talk about. Unfortunately we were late and missed his segment. But all was not lost, as I managed to grab a table next to Mr. Bower and his wife. When he finished his pizza I cleverly managed to ignite a little conversation with him. After poking and prodding for a minute, I asked if there were any deals on the horizon... or anyone we were interested in acquiring. Observe:
me: So, are we pursuing any trades or free agents before the deadline.
Bower: Nothing's gonna happen tonight.
me: Well, I'll give you a call tomorrow then.
For those of you naysayers, that last line got a laugh from him, his wife, and some important looking guy who was lingering. This is all true. So turns out Jeff is a pretty smart business man. (Honestly, the press hound these guys day-in day-out, why did I think he'd tell me anything? Because I have season tickets in the cheap seats? Really? No.) I was hoping a trade would go down Friday night just for the hilarity that would ensue based on his comments from the previous evening.
Oh, and we also met Oscar Robertson. Yeah, the triple-double guy. He was there.***
So, let's return to trade talks. I would like to applaud Sam Burness for being an "active" reader and challenging some of my more ridiculous statements. For those who are interested, just read the response (there's only been 1 so far) from the last post and you'll get a taste of the rhetoric that will be accompanying this blog for the rest of the season. At any rate, Sam disagrees with the Miller trade I proposed. And, what's more, his reasoning makes good sense. He pointed out that Miller adds an offensive gun with little defensive prowess, plus he plays for a team in our division (rebuilding or not, I don't see Memphis giving up a pseudo-star to a team they have to play four times a year). I mean, let's face it, the journalists have been saying it all season (not to mention every Sid and Nancy with a blog who thinks the world cares about what they have to say... lame): the Hornet's need a slasher with a penchant for driving to the bucket. We are totally incapable of drawing fouls and, as such, we rank dead last in the league in free throw attempts. Sam, in his infinite wisdom, suggested we go after Josh Childress or John Salmons. Thanks to every GM's nightmare (the trade machine), I figured we could offer Rasual Butler and either JuJu or Hilton for either player. The problem? Neither team is rebuilding and both have a reasonable shot at making the playoffs (ok, Sacramento doesn't have a "reasonable chance", but they are definitely building on the team they have for a playoff push next year and the only players they are interested in moving are older vets like Brad Miller, Kenny Thomas, and Artest). I for one would love to see a package deal to Atlanta that sent Rasual Butler and JuJu to Atlanta for Childress and Mario West. We get the slasher/good energy off the bench, they get a reliable (more or less) trade-off at the 3 slot plus young (lottery) talent. That setup would give us the following bench: Bobby Jackson, Childress, Uncle Bowen, Melvin Ely, Hilton Armstrong, and Mucho Jannero.
Remarkably, the Hornet's appear to be going after a much bigger name: Ben Gordon. Thanks to espn.com and hornetsreport.com, it appears that the Hornets were talking about sending Rasual Butler, Hilton Armstrong, Julian Wright (and maybe a first rounder) to Chicago for Gordon and Adrian Griffin. Good trade? I could get behind it. Rasual has been less-than-impressive as a go-to guy (although his last few games starting for Mo Pete have been pretty good), and Byron won't play Hilt or JuJu... ever. I think we'd be better for it in the long run. We get a proven star and they get some young talent to build around Deng, Hinrich, and (maybe one day) Tyrus Thomas. As I always say, 1 in the basket is better than 2 in the hen. Actually, I've never said that (and I'm pretty sure I butchered the phrase), but you get the point.
***
Friday. Curry and I scored tickets to the rookie/sophomore game (scored is a loose term... the upper deck was half-full at best). Actually, the lower section was full of kids. Literally, thousands of kids (and chaperons) from local schools. This ended up being a double-edged sword as it provided endless cheering, but also led to the inclusion of an American Idol celebrity as the half-time entertainment.
The game itself was fairly interesting. The rookies actually kept the score close well into the second half (the game is done in the college two 20 minute half format), but when Daniel "Booby" Gibson decided to drain 9 three-pointers, the game descended into a talent showcase complete will ridiculous dunks and a plethora of turnovers.
1. Kevin Durant is really good. He drives well, has excellent range, and has the quickness to elude big defenders. He tends to bear most of the weight of his team (even during this game) which leads to poor shot-selection, but given a few years, he will be a regular All-Star.
2. Brandon Roy is really good. We already knew this, but I thought it was worth mentioning. His performance the following night (on the big stage) was even more impressive, but I'll cover that tomorrow.
3. Jamario Moon and Sean Williams really want to be good. Both probably will be; however, I doubt either of them will ever be "great". Both have a penchant for hard defensive moves (Williams' 48 minute total in blocks is around 3.5), and they both love to dunk. They both seem a little careless, but I'm sure experience will help that. After the game went south, the two went tag-team on ally-oops (sometimes including the less-than-whelming Juan Carlos Navarro) deciding that playing real basketball was for sissies. Sean actually had the highlight play of the evening with his off the glass alley-oop-to-himself (think McGrady).
4. Chairman Yi (who is as impressive as this sausage) botched 3 or 4 dunks on the night. Incredible. He has a good midrange game with an pretty good moves in the post, but how do you miss all of your dunks in game where no one plays defense?
5. Mike Conley, Jr. was pretty disappointing. I've always been behind this guy, but he pretty much bottomed out for this game, contributing 6 turnovers in less than 20 minutes. Granted, he was playing much better team in a game designed to be skills exhibition... but still, 6? AI didn't even turn the ball over that much during the All-Star game.
We ended the evening by getting as close to the court as possible to watch the TNT guys interview LeBron. I don't know why I thought it would be exciting to see Chuck up close, but I did. We hung out for a while in the press area after crossing paths with Ric Bucher, but it turns out that he was the only journalist left we'd come close to recognizing. Then, we wandered outside and snuck into a restricted area to try and chat with Yao... but we found security before we found him (which is crazy because he's 7-6"... you don't lose a guy like that in a crowd).
Just a couple of dorky white guys.On our way out, we snapped a photo thinking that our evening at the arena would be the closest we'd get to all of the action and mayhem of the weekend.
We couldn't have been more wrong. Stay tuned, more All-Star stories coming up in part 2.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
I'll take Mike Miller for 3
New Orleans 112 | Memphis 99
Let's face it. No one is really surprised by this win. We had a slight scare when we found out that Tyson still had the flu and Mo Pete was out for... well, we don't know why he was out, but he was. The we remembered that Mo averaged a less-than-whelming 7 points in January (to Peja's 18), and Tyson's absence on the boards probably wouldn't hurt too much now that Darko leads the Grizz's Pau-less big men. And then, after all of that, we remembered we were playing Memphis.
Our boys practically hurled themselves out of the gates, leading the Grizz 16-2 after 6 or 7 minutes. Memphis then proceeded the cut the deficit to 2 before the end of the quarter. The game continued in this manner (Hornets build up a big lead, slowly throw it away, then wake up to start the cycle over) until the fourth quarter when CP3 and company kicked it into high gear. Despite dishing out 16 assists, Paul only notched 2 points on 1 for 10 shooting, making this his lowest point total all season (it should be noted, however, that other than a 6 point [losing] effort against Utah and an 8 point [winning] effort against the Clippers, Paul has scored in double figures in every other game this season). D.West continued to show the world why he was a formidable All-Star selection by putting up a 30/10, and Peja dropped 26 point while going 6 of 12 from beyond the arc. These numbers reinforce what Curry and I have said all season: For the Hornets to win, they need 2 of the starting 5 to put up strong numbers. Done. CP3 takes a night off on points, no problem. Mo Pete drops off the map for a month, piece of cake. As long as someone steps up (and they have been), we're golden.
Which leads to my next topic: wouldn't it be great if could add one more piece to our arsenal to better ensure that someone (or 2 someones) steps up every night? Absolutely. And now that everyone and their mom is trying to make a power play in the West, why not join the fun? I don't think we need to shake up our core, but a slasher/forward/jump-shooter could really bolster our success... or even a dependable big man off the bench so we don't have to rely on the Uncle Bowen at power forward strategy. So who do we go for? My vote goes to Mike Miller. He's a proven threat beyond the arc and is good for 15-20 per night as a starter. Plus, who wouldn't be afraid of a Paul-Miller-Stojakovic-West-Chandler lineup? Ooooh, I just got goosebumps writing that.
(I should note here that, for those of you who know me, I have an inexplicable man-crush on Miller, Kevin Martin, and Matt Barnes. You shouldn't ask questions, you should just go with it. I only mention this because I know some of you are thinking that I only want this trade to happen because of said creepy obsession. But seriously, tell me this trade doesn't make sense... oh wait, I haven't told you who we're giving them.)
According to ESPN's trade machine (a wonderful invention, I might add), any of the following trades would bring Miller to the Hornets and keep both teams under the cap:
a) Rasual Butler, Bobby Jackson
b) Rasual Butler, Morris Peterson
c) Julian Wright, Bobby Jackson
d) Hilton Armstrong, Bobby Jackson
Obviously A would be the best option because it keeps our starting 5 intact. But we have to figure that in Memphis' rebuilding efforts they would obviously want someone who could at least be a respectable starter. B solves this problem, but I have a feeling that Mo Pete's 4 year contract is not that appealing to anyone considering his contributions so far. C and D offer young talent and actually clear more cap room for Memphis. If we went this route, it's simply a question of who Bower's willing to part with and who Memphis would want. I think we'd do better in the long run with Hilton (if we could develop him into a usable big man), but I would hate to see JuJu go. Either option is acceptable if it means bringing Miller to the Crescent City. To seal the deal, I'm pretty sure we'd have to offer a draft pick (first round, this year or next) which, again, is completely acceptable. Both teams win in this scenario. New Orleans gets another quality scorer to help make a deeper playoff push, and Memphis gets cap space, young talent, a contract that will end sooner than Miller's, and a future pick to help them rebuild. Done and done. Of course, given their front-office's ingenious business sensibilities, we could possibly end up with Miller and a future pick for Ryan Bowen and Hugo.
By the way, I think our attendance woes are finally over. Last night's game featured 17,200 people. It was only our second sellout of the season... but it was against Memphis. We can definitely blame the first one on LeBron's presence, but Memphis... really? I think all of those fans came to see their hometown's finest. Unless Rudy Gay is a bigger draw than I'm aware of. Add that to the hype surround next weekend's All-Star game (and the plethora of Hornets involved in the event) and I'd say we're set...
Then again, I have been a fan of New Orleans sports long enough to know that nothing is certain. I'm just hoping that being romantic about the whole thing will actually solve the problem. Ask me how that's going for my life in general. Actually, you should probably just go to the games instead.
Let's face it. No one is really surprised by this win. We had a slight scare when we found out that Tyson still had the flu and Mo Pete was out for... well, we don't know why he was out, but he was. The we remembered that Mo averaged a less-than-whelming 7 points in January (to Peja's 18), and Tyson's absence on the boards probably wouldn't hurt too much now that Darko leads the Grizz's Pau-less big men. And then, after all of that, we remembered we were playing Memphis.
Our boys practically hurled themselves out of the gates, leading the Grizz 16-2 after 6 or 7 minutes. Memphis then proceeded the cut the deficit to 2 before the end of the quarter. The game continued in this manner (Hornets build up a big lead, slowly throw it away, then wake up to start the cycle over) until the fourth quarter when CP3 and company kicked it into high gear. Despite dishing out 16 assists, Paul only notched 2 points on 1 for 10 shooting, making this his lowest point total all season (it should be noted, however, that other than a 6 point [losing] effort against Utah and an 8 point [winning] effort against the Clippers, Paul has scored in double figures in every other game this season). D.West continued to show the world why he was a formidable All-Star selection by putting up a 30/10, and Peja dropped 26 point while going 6 of 12 from beyond the arc. These numbers reinforce what Curry and I have said all season: For the Hornets to win, they need 2 of the starting 5 to put up strong numbers. Done. CP3 takes a night off on points, no problem. Mo Pete drops off the map for a month, piece of cake. As long as someone steps up (and they have been), we're golden.
Which leads to my next topic: wouldn't it be great if could add one more piece to our arsenal to better ensure that someone (or 2 someones) steps up every night? Absolutely. And now that everyone and their mom is trying to make a power play in the West, why not join the fun? I don't think we need to shake up our core, but a slasher/forward/jump-shooter could really bolster our success... or even a dependable big man off the bench so we don't have to rely on the Uncle Bowen at power forward strategy. So who do we go for? My vote goes to Mike Miller. He's a proven threat beyond the arc and is good for 15-20 per night as a starter. Plus, who wouldn't be afraid of a Paul-Miller-Stojakovic-West-Chandler lineup? Ooooh, I just got goosebumps writing that.
(I should note here that, for those of you who know me, I have an inexplicable man-crush on Miller, Kevin Martin, and Matt Barnes. You shouldn't ask questions, you should just go with it. I only mention this because I know some of you are thinking that I only want this trade to happen because of said creepy obsession. But seriously, tell me this trade doesn't make sense... oh wait, I haven't told you who we're giving them.)
According to ESPN's trade machine (a wonderful invention, I might add), any of the following trades would bring Miller to the Hornets and keep both teams under the cap:
a) Rasual Butler, Bobby Jackson
b) Rasual Butler, Morris Peterson
c) Julian Wright, Bobby Jackson
d) Hilton Armstrong, Bobby Jackson
Obviously A would be the best option because it keeps our starting 5 intact. But we have to figure that in Memphis' rebuilding efforts they would obviously want someone who could at least be a respectable starter. B solves this problem, but I have a feeling that Mo Pete's 4 year contract is not that appealing to anyone considering his contributions so far. C and D offer young talent and actually clear more cap room for Memphis. If we went this route, it's simply a question of who Bower's willing to part with and who Memphis would want. I think we'd do better in the long run with Hilton (if we could develop him into a usable big man), but I would hate to see JuJu go. Either option is acceptable if it means bringing Miller to the Crescent City. To seal the deal, I'm pretty sure we'd have to offer a draft pick (first round, this year or next) which, again, is completely acceptable. Both teams win in this scenario. New Orleans gets another quality scorer to help make a deeper playoff push, and Memphis gets cap space, young talent, a contract that will end sooner than Miller's, and a future pick to help them rebuild. Done and done. Of course, given their front-office's ingenious business sensibilities, we could possibly end up with Miller and a future pick for Ryan Bowen and Hugo.
By the way, I think our attendance woes are finally over. Last night's game featured 17,200 people. It was only our second sellout of the season... but it was against Memphis. We can definitely blame the first one on LeBron's presence, but Memphis... really? I think all of those fans came to see their hometown's finest. Unless Rudy Gay is a bigger draw than I'm aware of. Add that to the hype surround next weekend's All-Star game (and the plethora of Hornets involved in the event) and I'd say we're set...
Then again, I have been a fan of New Orleans sports long enough to know that nothing is certain. I'm just hoping that being romantic about the whole thing will actually solve the problem. Ask me how that's going for my life in general. Actually, you should probably just go to the games instead.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
And the Lord said to Abraham, "Let them rule the Power Rankings"
Golden State 116 | New Orleans 103
So that whole tagline about a "devoted fan" is probably coming into question given the fact that I've taken quite a sabbatical from writing. But never ye fear my beloved [4] readers, I have returned and am glad to be posting once again. For those of you who were concerned for my well-being in my absence, you may rest assured knowing that the combination of Mardi Gras and women have been the poison that has kept me from writing (but not rooting) for my team.
Quick shoutout to Mike, whose Giants have inexplicably stunned the Pats for a victory in the Superbowl. Not that I didn't believe in their abilities (I gave them a 25% chance the day before), but honestly, did anyone really see this coming? Nope, didn't think so. Much congratulations to you, Michael. Your years of frustration have paid off... here's to relieving the NFL woes of the Crescent City in 2008. Now, on to basketball.
For those of you who have been paying attention, you've probably heard that the Hornets are on quite a run right now. A 9 game winning streak put the Hornets on top of all 3 power polls ( Stein, Hollinger, NBA.com) before a 3 game skid bumped them back down to reality. However, the boys are still in the top five and sport the fourth best record in the league presently (33-15, good for a tie with Dallas). The 3 sequential losses were followed by an unbelievable double-OT win in Phoenix (which was dominated by Paul: 42 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, 8 steals, 1 turnover). The W puts us at 3-0 against the Suns with the final game to be played on our turf. Yes, it's safe to say that the Hornets have proven that they are no joke and, in a year in which Western Conference surprises are as common as mint in a julep (at least down here), the Hornets continue to dominate headlines and dwarf other impressive feats.
As if the team's record weren't enough, 2 Hornets will be gracing the All-Star team with their presence. Both CP3 and David West were voted onto the squad by the coaches poll (the latter edging out Matrix and Baron "I dipped my face in hair and now I am a basketball god" Davis). Additionally Byron Scott was named head coach for the Western Conference, and Peja and CP3 will be participating in some of the extra contests during the weekend (Peja in the 3 point challenge and Paul in the skills challenge). The timing on all of this could not have been any better as New Orleans will be the stage for this grand event (right in the middle of its post-Mardi-Gras recovery). With the Hornets making such a strong All-Star showing (as well as grabbing headlines along the way), it seems as though this city has awoken from its drunken disappointment over an underwhelming Saints season to find a national title contender hitting the paint hard almost every night. And, it turns out, they're fun to root for.
Take the Golden State game from last Wednesday. Sure we lost, but the point is that amazingly enough we had home court advantage. I've only heard of this phenomenon myself, but I hear all of these bloggers and experts saying that it's pretty useful to fans in the seats for home games. We aren't exactly selling out, but we are drawing over 10,000 a game (probably closer to 12). Does this actually help? Consider this: a lack-luster performance by most of the squad (save CP3: 28 points, 12 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover) coupled with Golden State shooting the lights out from everywhere (52% from the floor, 48% from beyond the arc, 92% from the stripe) should have resulted in a rout. Instead, the game was back and forth (with a dozen or so lead changes) up until the six minute mark in the fourth quarter. The fans were carrying the team through a slight slump. Did we win? No. Am I thrilled that the city is getting on board with this team? Abso-@#&*%!-lutely.
There are other things to be excited about. Ju-Ju continues to throw down nasty dunks during his scant minutes on the court. Uncle Bowen has been scoring points, including a night in which he had 8. In fact, that particular evening featured an dunk in transition that ended up in the coveted Sportscenter's top 10 plays (Pargo had some kind of faith let Bowen take that shot... or he was partially blinded by Bowen's whiteness and thought he was passing to Hilton Armstrong). Hell, Pargo himself has been quite a story as well. He's been lighting it up from all across the court and has proven to be more than up to the task of bench-igniter in Bobby Jackson's absence.
But through all of this delightful mayhem--in which my world of Hornets fandom has been turned upside-down--one thing sticks out to me more than any of these. On January 28, the Hornets played host to a Carmelo-less Nuggets. The boys proceeded to blow Denver out of the water in the kind of rout that reminds you of a video game. CP3 himself had 23 points, 9 rebounds, 17 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block, while Tyson asserted that he doesn't like being in Camby's shadow (Chandler: 10 points, 16 rebounds, 1 block -- Camby: 3 points, 5 rebounds, 1 block).
However, two moments in the game stand out. In the first half, one Hornets possession results in 4 straight offensive rebounds. After the last of these Tyson kicked the ball out to CP3 beyond the arc. As he did so, the crowd rose in unison and cheered louder than I'd ever heard them. All of sudden the fans in New Orleans got it. We always joke about how no one in this city knows how to root for a basketball team. Well, Denver was the tipping point. Oh yeah, then D-West posted up for an easy bucket. In the second half (with a sizable lead in place), Paul attempts an assist and, after the missed bucket, got the rebound dribbled back toward the arc while drawing the foul. At that moment the crowd rose to cheer, but instead found itself chanting. MVP! MVP! MVP! MVP! MVP! I thought the roof was going to cave in, but I didn't care because I was overwhelmed by a type of joy that I had never experienced as a fan. I felt a true connection to the team at that moment and couldn't help but believe that I was witnessing something special. It was as though Paul was being lifted to the Pantheon of New Orleans Sports icons... with Archie and Pistol Pete waiting to shake his hand. The best part? When asked about the chanting after the game, Paul's response was something like "Yeah, David and Tyson... they could be MVP."
Bring it on... the world. We are ready to take you.
***
(For the convenience of those who care, I've taken the liberty of including the scores from all of the homes games I didn't cover as well as a link to each of the game recaps from espn.com... Enjoy.)
Los Angeles Lakers 80 | New Orleans 109 Loss
New Orleans 114 | Miami 88 Win
New Orleans 123 | Seattle 92 Win
New Orleans 112 | Charlotte 84 Win
New Orleans 106 | Milwaukee 92 Win
New Orleans 96 | Portland 81 Win
New Orleans 111 | Los Angeles Clippers 92 Win
New Orleans 117 | Denver 93 Win
So that whole tagline about a "devoted fan" is probably coming into question given the fact that I've taken quite a sabbatical from writing. But never ye fear my beloved [4] readers, I have returned and am glad to be posting once again. For those of you who were concerned for my well-being in my absence, you may rest assured knowing that the combination of Mardi Gras and women have been the poison that has kept me from writing (but not rooting) for my team.
Quick shoutout to Mike, whose Giants have inexplicably stunned the Pats for a victory in the Superbowl. Not that I didn't believe in their abilities (I gave them a 25% chance the day before), but honestly, did anyone really see this coming? Nope, didn't think so. Much congratulations to you, Michael. Your years of frustration have paid off... here's to relieving the NFL woes of the Crescent City in 2008. Now, on to basketball.
For those of you who have been paying attention, you've probably heard that the Hornets are on quite a run right now. A 9 game winning streak put the Hornets on top of all 3 power polls ( Stein, Hollinger, NBA.com) before a 3 game skid bumped them back down to reality. However, the boys are still in the top five and sport the fourth best record in the league presently (33-15, good for a tie with Dallas). The 3 sequential losses were followed by an unbelievable double-OT win in Phoenix (which was dominated by Paul: 42 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, 8 steals, 1 turnover). The W puts us at 3-0 against the Suns with the final game to be played on our turf. Yes, it's safe to say that the Hornets have proven that they are no joke and, in a year in which Western Conference surprises are as common as mint in a julep (at least down here), the Hornets continue to dominate headlines and dwarf other impressive feats.
As if the team's record weren't enough, 2 Hornets will be gracing the All-Star team with their presence. Both CP3 and David West were voted onto the squad by the coaches poll (the latter edging out Matrix and Baron "I dipped my face in hair and now I am a basketball god" Davis). Additionally Byron Scott was named head coach for the Western Conference, and Peja and CP3 will be participating in some of the extra contests during the weekend (Peja in the 3 point challenge and Paul in the skills challenge). The timing on all of this could not have been any better as New Orleans will be the stage for this grand event (right in the middle of its post-Mardi-Gras recovery). With the Hornets making such a strong All-Star showing (as well as grabbing headlines along the way), it seems as though this city has awoken from its drunken disappointment over an underwhelming Saints season to find a national title contender hitting the paint hard almost every night. And, it turns out, they're fun to root for.
Take the Golden State game from last Wednesday. Sure we lost, but the point is that amazingly enough we had home court advantage. I've only heard of this phenomenon myself, but I hear all of these bloggers and experts saying that it's pretty useful to fans in the seats for home games. We aren't exactly selling out, but we are drawing over 10,000 a game (probably closer to 12). Does this actually help? Consider this: a lack-luster performance by most of the squad (save CP3: 28 points, 12 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover) coupled with Golden State shooting the lights out from everywhere (52% from the floor, 48% from beyond the arc, 92% from the stripe) should have resulted in a rout. Instead, the game was back and forth (with a dozen or so lead changes) up until the six minute mark in the fourth quarter. The fans were carrying the team through a slight slump. Did we win? No. Am I thrilled that the city is getting on board with this team? Abso-@#&*%!-lutely.
There are other things to be excited about. Ju-Ju continues to throw down nasty dunks during his scant minutes on the court. Uncle Bowen has been scoring points, including a night in which he had 8. In fact, that particular evening featured an dunk in transition that ended up in the coveted Sportscenter's top 10 plays (Pargo had some kind of faith let Bowen take that shot... or he was partially blinded by Bowen's whiteness and thought he was passing to Hilton Armstrong). Hell, Pargo himself has been quite a story as well. He's been lighting it up from all across the court and has proven to be more than up to the task of bench-igniter in Bobby Jackson's absence.
But through all of this delightful mayhem--in which my world of Hornets fandom has been turned upside-down--one thing sticks out to me more than any of these. On January 28, the Hornets played host to a Carmelo-less Nuggets. The boys proceeded to blow Denver out of the water in the kind of rout that reminds you of a video game. CP3 himself had 23 points, 9 rebounds, 17 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block, while Tyson asserted that he doesn't like being in Camby's shadow (Chandler: 10 points, 16 rebounds, 1 block -- Camby: 3 points, 5 rebounds, 1 block).
However, two moments in the game stand out. In the first half, one Hornets possession results in 4 straight offensive rebounds. After the last of these Tyson kicked the ball out to CP3 beyond the arc. As he did so, the crowd rose in unison and cheered louder than I'd ever heard them. All of sudden the fans in New Orleans got it. We always joke about how no one in this city knows how to root for a basketball team. Well, Denver was the tipping point. Oh yeah, then D-West posted up for an easy bucket. In the second half (with a sizable lead in place), Paul attempts an assist and, after the missed bucket, got the rebound dribbled back toward the arc while drawing the foul. At that moment the crowd rose to cheer, but instead found itself chanting. MVP! MVP! MVP! MVP! MVP! I thought the roof was going to cave in, but I didn't care because I was overwhelmed by a type of joy that I had never experienced as a fan. I felt a true connection to the team at that moment and couldn't help but believe that I was witnessing something special. It was as though Paul was being lifted to the Pantheon of New Orleans Sports icons... with Archie and Pistol Pete waiting to shake his hand. The best part? When asked about the chanting after the game, Paul's response was something like "Yeah, David and Tyson... they could be MVP."
Bring it on... the world. We are ready to take you.
***
(For the convenience of those who care, I've taken the liberty of including the scores from all of the homes games I didn't cover as well as a link to each of the game recaps from espn.com... Enjoy.)
Los Angeles Lakers 80 | New Orleans 109 Loss
New Orleans 114 | Miami 88 Win
New Orleans 123 | Seattle 92 Win
New Orleans 112 | Charlotte 84 Win
New Orleans 106 | Milwaukee 92 Win
New Orleans 96 | Portland 81 Win
New Orleans 111 | Los Angeles Clippers 92 Win
New Orleans 117 | Denver 93 Win
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Give it to Nash, I mean, Paul!
New Orleans 101 | Phoenix 98
NOH: 15-9 (15-10 as of posting)
The first record in today's title references the Hornet's combined win/loss versus Phoenix, San Antonio, and Dallas last year. Guess what the second one is?
I used this well-researched tidbit to hide the fact that I've been slacking (actually, that's not true... it showed up in a weekly power ranking on espn.com... I think). I started this blog to write about all of the home games (which of course represents half of the games played), and I can't even stay on top of that. Due to travel I did miss two close (albeit exciting) match-ups that resulted in victories versus Memphis and Seattle. Following that, they lost a heartbreaker in Denver and dropped to 1-1 versus Dallas. Then the Hornets came home to battle Phoenix. Now, anyone who knows me knows that I used to be a die hard fan for men in D'Antoni's squad. In case your wondering how some kid on the bayou managed to even see a Phoenix game, let alone become a fan of their team, read on.
When I was a kid, the NBA was non-existent in Louisiana. I missed being a Jazz fan by 6 years--which ended up being ok since the franchise left the Crescent City in 1979 to relocate in the owner's wife's home state: Utah (resulting in the dumbest city/mascot relationship until the Tennessee Oilers... actually, no, it's worse than that). As a result, when I became interested in the sport and wanted a team to follow I looked to the great state of Texas... since most professional Texas team's are broadcast in Louisiana I was already a fan of the Rangers (Juan Gonzalez was my hero), so Dallas seemed like the logical place to start. I immediately latched on to the Mavericks because of the Nash/Nowitski thing. I was mesmerized by how they worked together. Having only been to NCAA games, I had no idea how much better the players were when you jumped up a level. I just couldn't get enough of the no-look passing and alley-oops (I spelled that phonetically, so shut up if it's wrong). Then, the split came. Nash was dealt to the Suns while Dirk was left to cry in Dallas. What did I do? Well, if you're keeping tabs, I should have just switched to being a Hornets fan since they had relocated a year before the Maverick's schism... but that's not what happened. At the end of the day, I followed Nash... partly because I liked his off-the-court personality better and partly because I've always secretly wanted to be a great point-guard. It's true, I'd rather wow the audience with an insane pass than be the guy who gets the dunk as a result of it. Anyway, I stuck with the Suns until my move to New Orleans when I decided that I couldn't stand to be a sports bigamist. Goddammit, this is my home now: this is my team (I said it just like that, too).
Flash back to Saturday night. I've never been so excited about an NBA game in my life. I was giddy beyond belief. The prospect of seeing the league's two best point guards go head to head (that's right... I said CP3 is the second best point guard... but don't take my word for it; ask my man Hollinger). Actually, they never really faced off one-on-one because of the way each team plays. The disparity in play was actually almost as exciting as seeing these two stars since there appeared to be no-guarantees as to how the evening would progress. The Suns are known for their high-octane style of play that pushes slowwer teams to the edge. They fire shots relentlessly (though with a little more sanity than Nellie's Warriors) and they force teams to play at uncomfortable paces. The Hornets, meanwhile, run what has to be the slowest offense in the league. They play mind games with the defense by holding and moving the ball from the key to the perimeter and back again.
The reason the Hornets ultimately prevailed actually had little to do with the discrepancies between the two teams' style of play (which could have resulted in a major advantage for one club). And while the Hornets established a pretty solid lead throughout most of the first half, each team took over the pace for periods of time during the second half leading to a game of back and forth for the last twenty minutes or so. No, the reason the Hornets pulled this one out is... (sit down, you are not going to believe this)... is... (I swear this next sentence is true and not a joke)... the HOME CROWD carried them in the final minutes of the game. It's not about who wanted it more (which it never is) or who was more talented (which it sometimes is), it was about who had the most people screaming in their respective corner. The arena was fairly packed (though not sold out) and the fans went nuts the whole game. I had only recently accepted the fact that we are having attendance issues (although I heard Miami is beating us in the fickle fan base race), and I was moving on from my "we don't actually have a problem" rants to much more informed journalists. As such, my world was turned upside down. When I glanced from the court to the stands, I didn't sigh in disgust or grunt in sarcasm... I smiled. Is this what it's like to be a fan of a winning team that matters? Time will only tell.
Actually, time might have to be put on hold because I'm missing Saturday's re-match with the T-Wolves--partly because I'd rather not have flashbacks to the previous encounter and partly because... well, that's mostly why. Anyway, I don't anticipate a sellout for that match-up, but I am expecting larger contingencies for the ensuing games against Toronto and Cleveland (both of which I will be missing due to travel... though I will blog from afar).
What's the bottom line? New Orleans beat an excellent team due partly to their HOME COURT ADVANTAGE. This is a big deal. Despite another inexplicable road loss to Portland Monday night (I think Portland's just better than they let on), I think big things still lay in store for this crew.
NOH: 15-9 (15-10 as of posting)
The first record in today's title references the Hornet's combined win/loss versus Phoenix, San Antonio, and Dallas last year. Guess what the second one is?
I used this well-researched tidbit to hide the fact that I've been slacking (actually, that's not true... it showed up in a weekly power ranking on espn.com... I think). I started this blog to write about all of the home games (which of course represents half of the games played), and I can't even stay on top of that. Due to travel I did miss two close (albeit exciting) match-ups that resulted in victories versus Memphis and Seattle. Following that, they lost a heartbreaker in Denver and dropped to 1-1 versus Dallas. Then the Hornets came home to battle Phoenix. Now, anyone who knows me knows that I used to be a die hard fan for men in D'Antoni's squad. In case your wondering how some kid on the bayou managed to even see a Phoenix game, let alone become a fan of their team, read on.
When I was a kid, the NBA was non-existent in Louisiana. I missed being a Jazz fan by 6 years--which ended up being ok since the franchise left the Crescent City in 1979 to relocate in the owner's wife's home state: Utah (resulting in the dumbest city/mascot relationship until the Tennessee Oilers... actually, no, it's worse than that). As a result, when I became interested in the sport and wanted a team to follow I looked to the great state of Texas... since most professional Texas team's are broadcast in Louisiana I was already a fan of the Rangers (Juan Gonzalez was my hero), so Dallas seemed like the logical place to start. I immediately latched on to the Mavericks because of the Nash/Nowitski thing. I was mesmerized by how they worked together. Having only been to NCAA games, I had no idea how much better the players were when you jumped up a level. I just couldn't get enough of the no-look passing and alley-oops (I spelled that phonetically, so shut up if it's wrong). Then, the split came. Nash was dealt to the Suns while Dirk was left to cry in Dallas. What did I do? Well, if you're keeping tabs, I should have just switched to being a Hornets fan since they had relocated a year before the Maverick's schism... but that's not what happened. At the end of the day, I followed Nash... partly because I liked his off-the-court personality better and partly because I've always secretly wanted to be a great point-guard. It's true, I'd rather wow the audience with an insane pass than be the guy who gets the dunk as a result of it. Anyway, I stuck with the Suns until my move to New Orleans when I decided that I couldn't stand to be a sports bigamist. Goddammit, this is my home now: this is my team (I said it just like that, too).
Flash back to Saturday night. I've never been so excited about an NBA game in my life. I was giddy beyond belief. The prospect of seeing the league's two best point guards go head to head (that's right... I said CP3 is the second best point guard... but don't take my word for it; ask my man Hollinger). Actually, they never really faced off one-on-one because of the way each team plays. The disparity in play was actually almost as exciting as seeing these two stars since there appeared to be no-guarantees as to how the evening would progress. The Suns are known for their high-octane style of play that pushes slowwer teams to the edge. They fire shots relentlessly (though with a little more sanity than Nellie's Warriors) and they force teams to play at uncomfortable paces. The Hornets, meanwhile, run what has to be the slowest offense in the league. They play mind games with the defense by holding and moving the ball from the key to the perimeter and back again.
The reason the Hornets ultimately prevailed actually had little to do with the discrepancies between the two teams' style of play (which could have resulted in a major advantage for one club). And while the Hornets established a pretty solid lead throughout most of the first half, each team took over the pace for periods of time during the second half leading to a game of back and forth for the last twenty minutes or so. No, the reason the Hornets pulled this one out is... (sit down, you are not going to believe this)... is... (I swear this next sentence is true and not a joke)... the HOME CROWD carried them in the final minutes of the game. It's not about who wanted it more (which it never is) or who was more talented (which it sometimes is), it was about who had the most people screaming in their respective corner. The arena was fairly packed (though not sold out) and the fans went nuts the whole game. I had only recently accepted the fact that we are having attendance issues (although I heard Miami is beating us in the fickle fan base race), and I was moving on from my "we don't actually have a problem" rants to much more informed journalists. As such, my world was turned upside down. When I glanced from the court to the stands, I didn't sigh in disgust or grunt in sarcasm... I smiled. Is this what it's like to be a fan of a winning team that matters? Time will only tell.
Actually, time might have to be put on hold because I'm missing Saturday's re-match with the T-Wolves--partly because I'd rather not have flashbacks to the previous encounter and partly because... well, that's mostly why. Anyway, I don't anticipate a sellout for that match-up, but I am expecting larger contingencies for the ensuing games against Toronto and Cleveland (both of which I will be missing due to travel... though I will blog from afar).
What's the bottom line? New Orleans beat an excellent team due partly to their HOME COURT ADVANTAGE. This is a big deal. Despite another inexplicable road loss to Portland Monday night (I think Portland's just better than they let on), I think big things still lay in store for this crew.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Motown Got Game
Detroit 91 | New Orleans 76
Thanks to all you fans out there who were emailing me begging to me to stop missing Hornets games and start blogging more often. Actually there were no emails. So permit me to amend that last statement. Thank you fans; I've no doubt your silence is indicative of trust and support. After all, if you disagreed with what I wrote, you'd probably let me know, right? Since you've been anything but noisy I can only assume you are all on board. Allons y!
So, if you are truly a Hornet's fan, you don't need a recap of Monday's game versus Dallas. If you aren't (or sleep in a cardboard box) this href="http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=271201003" > linkmight help. We actually pulled that one off after downing Atlanta with a solid outing.
Then Detroit came to town. Actually, that isn't really the next part of the story. Ok, actually it is, but it isn't of any real importance. The Hornet's held Detroit to 16 points in the first quarter (leading by as many as 12 along the way) and maintained their 10 point lead up until the end of the first half, when Detroit cut it in half. Then the third quarter started. We are notoriously awful in the third quarter. I'm actually very curious to know if this is a common trend (a sort of natural low point in the game) or if it's more of a "we just have to suck for 12 minutes out of the game, so it might as well be then" kind of thing. Honestly, we were outscored 17 to 22, not to mention they had us by a pretty comfortable margin in all other categories as well. And though we never actually trailed by more than 12 until the final ninety seconds or so, we all but went belly-up. How is that possible? I have no clue. We completely lost our rhythm. It wasn't quite the train wreck that the Minnesota game was, but you just couldn't help but sit there and think "there is no way we can pull this off". As per usual, we were graced with pretty poor officiating (a few calls were just absurd... you can't tell me a triple-team on Chris Paul that pushes him out of bounds results in an offensive foul), but it did not disrupt the flow of the game in any measurable way (I think we can thank Dick Bavetta for that).
So we learned that Rip and Sheed are deadly from anywhere on the court, Jason Maxiell is pretty impressive off the bench, and the Hornet's need someone to step up in difficult games (beyond Tyson's 20-15 showing) for us to really oust the big contenders. I should be more worried about our position right now, but honestly, we're still in a good place. Despite what Mr. Hollinger's ridiculous href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/playoffodds"> play-off prediction machine might suggest, we win 2 out of every 3 (so far... and this weekend brings Memphis and Seattle to town, so that should stay the same), and when we lose, it's usually to difficult teams. Besides, we are still playing the non-contender role that everyone writes off even though we are presently a 4 seed. Things are good.
Attendance still sucks though. I've accepted that we have a problem, but I don't know how rehab works for this kind of thing. As if our attendance woes weren't enough, Detroit had an unusually large contingency of fans at the game considering they're from another conference and play about 1000 miles away. Seriously, if anyone knows how this is possible, they should email me because it's been keeping me up at night. Sort of. I mean, we saw more than one person in a Red Wings jersey. Hockey. Whaaat?
Ok, I was going to go into trade musings I've been playing around with on the ESPN trade machine, but I have to catch a flight up to St. Louis, so I must be departing (Curry, you know you're laughing right now). I'll cover that next time and possibly give a run down of the two games I'll be missing this weekend (oh, you silent legions are too much). See you on the 15... after a totally unpredictable game against Phoenix. Nash versus Paul... wouldn't miss it for the world.
Thanks to all you fans out there who were emailing me begging to me to stop missing Hornets games and start blogging more often. Actually there were no emails. So permit me to amend that last statement. Thank you fans; I've no doubt your silence is indicative of trust and support. After all, if you disagreed with what I wrote, you'd probably let me know, right? Since you've been anything but noisy I can only assume you are all on board. Allons y!
So, if you are truly a Hornet's fan, you don't need a recap of Monday's game versus Dallas. If you aren't (or sleep in a cardboard box) this href="http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=271201003" > linkmight help. We actually pulled that one off after downing Atlanta with a solid outing.
Then Detroit came to town. Actually, that isn't really the next part of the story. Ok, actually it is, but it isn't of any real importance. The Hornet's held Detroit to 16 points in the first quarter (leading by as many as 12 along the way) and maintained their 10 point lead up until the end of the first half, when Detroit cut it in half. Then the third quarter started. We are notoriously awful in the third quarter. I'm actually very curious to know if this is a common trend (a sort of natural low point in the game) or if it's more of a "we just have to suck for 12 minutes out of the game, so it might as well be then" kind of thing. Honestly, we were outscored 17 to 22, not to mention they had us by a pretty comfortable margin in all other categories as well. And though we never actually trailed by more than 12 until the final ninety seconds or so, we all but went belly-up. How is that possible? I have no clue. We completely lost our rhythm. It wasn't quite the train wreck that the Minnesota game was, but you just couldn't help but sit there and think "there is no way we can pull this off". As per usual, we were graced with pretty poor officiating (a few calls were just absurd... you can't tell me a triple-team on Chris Paul that pushes him out of bounds results in an offensive foul), but it did not disrupt the flow of the game in any measurable way (I think we can thank Dick Bavetta for that).
So we learned that Rip and Sheed are deadly from anywhere on the court, Jason Maxiell is pretty impressive off the bench, and the Hornet's need someone to step up in difficult games (beyond Tyson's 20-15 showing) for us to really oust the big contenders. I should be more worried about our position right now, but honestly, we're still in a good place. Despite what Mr. Hollinger's ridiculous href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/playoffodds"> play-off prediction machine might suggest, we win 2 out of every 3 (so far... and this weekend brings Memphis and Seattle to town, so that should stay the same), and when we lose, it's usually to difficult teams. Besides, we are still playing the non-contender role that everyone writes off even though we are presently a 4 seed. Things are good.
Attendance still sucks though. I've accepted that we have a problem, but I don't know how rehab works for this kind of thing. As if our attendance woes weren't enough, Detroit had an unusually large contingency of fans at the game considering they're from another conference and play about 1000 miles away. Seriously, if anyone knows how this is possible, they should email me because it's been keeping me up at night. Sort of. I mean, we saw more than one person in a Red Wings jersey. Hockey. Whaaat?
Ok, I was going to go into trade musings I've been playing around with on the ESPN trade machine, but I have to catch a flight up to St. Louis, so I must be departing (Curry, you know you're laughing right now). I'll cover that next time and possibly give a run down of the two games I'll be missing this weekend (oh, you silent legions are too much). See you on the 15... after a totally unpredictable game against Phoenix. Nash versus Paul... wouldn't miss it for the world.
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