My first Hornets game, and they have the nerve to lose the damn thing. We looked good early, killing them in the first quarter behind a hot start from Peja Stojakovic, but the Pistons never looked worried and chipped into that lead, took control, and didn't look back.

Final score was 91-76. Linkage: recap | box

Gonna throw some observations at you from this one. At last I can give a first-hand account of the game…

• The Hornets just didn't look like they were in it together tonight. I don't know what the game plan was, because it looked like everyone had their own bright idea. Peja started off hot and we went away from him, Bobby Jackson and Jannero Pargo were on court together way too much, and the perimeter defense was pretty horrible. We're lucky the Pistons weren't knocking down most of their open looks or this would have been a blowout.

• Chris Paul had a rough game. It looked like he was trying not to get hurt out there or something. He finished with 14 points (4-14 FGs) and 7 assists. His counterpart, Chauncey Billups, had an equally bad game, shooting just 4-of-16 for 18 points and dishing 7 assists.
• That said, CP might have had the play of the game when he blocked Rasheed Wallace's layup late in the third, and the Hornets trailing by 6. Pargo took a nice charge from Billups the very next defense, and I thought we might turn the corner right there.
• Julian Wright got 9 minutes of burn tonight, his most burn since early November. That might have something to do with Rasual Butler's first DNP-CD of the season, and Mo-Pete getting hurt and having to check out in the third quarter. Wright made a few mistakes and didn't have much of an impact, but I liked his energy out there. The rest of the team really doesn't seem to have confidence in him though.
• Not sure about Peterson's status. Looked like he hurt his back, but he played on for a few possessions without too much drop-off in play.
• Tyson Chandler ended up with nice numbers (17 points, 22 boards), but if I hadn't seen the boxscore I wouldn't have thought he had that much of an impact. Weird.
• The attendance was listed as 10,312, but I don't think there was five figures there. Still, I was really impressed with the atmosphere at the game. I could really see what Toney Blare was talking about a few weeks back; those that do show up really get into the spirit of it and enjoy the experience. I expected the sight of all those empty seats to be depressing, but everyone seemed too busy having fun to care. I know other teams like Philly, Atlanta and Charlotte are struggling with attendance too, but I wonder if their crowds are as vibrant as those in New Orleans. And for as little as $10 a ticket, I have to believe the Hornets will be playing in front of much bigger crowds later in the season.
• Late in the fourth quarter, with the game decided, I headed down to the front row to meet George Shinn and Chad Shinn, which was probably the highlight of the night for me. Weird meeting those guys in the flesh and shaking their hands. Very surreal. They were both pretty cool, too, willing to take a minute to make me feel important.

Anyway, it's late and I got an early start, so I'll have to wrap this baby up. It was a serious downer that
the Hornets lost this one. That's not how I imagined my first game. I was thinking more like a Peja clutch triple to save the day.

Guess I was a four days too late.

Man, this moving thing is crazy. Trying to find an apartment with a dance pole, a water slide and off-street parking is so much harder than I thought. What's a guy to do?

My posting will remain about as consistent as Morris Peterson for a few more days, until I get myself into a routine. For now, let's just toss around some shizzle…

• We begin with the latest power rankings from ESPN.com, which have the Hornets at #7, one spot ahead of the Dallas Mavericks. Yes, the same Dallas Mavericks who the Hornets have beaten one consecutive time.

• Trust the New York media to take an unprovoked shot at someone else just because their franchise is the definition of fubar. This dude tells Knick fans not to worry about James Dolan being a terrible owner, because George Shinn is much worse. Shut up your face.
• Speaking of Georgie, he's the featured speaker at some luncheon thingy at the N.O. World Trade Centre this Thursday. It'd be great if he got up there and just ripped the Knicks for a solid hour. "Hey, did you hear about the dog crap that stepped in Isiah Thomas?"
• Another year, another story about how Baron Davis has finally matured. Interesting read though. The past couple of years, I've grown to not hate Baron so much. Shit, maybe I'm maturing, too.
• To whoever found that unlocked bike outside WalMart today: You're welcome.
• Hey, remember the T-Wolves Marko Jaric, who dropped 21 points on us a week ago? Apparently he's dating Victoria's Secret model Adriana Lima, who's all hot and stuff. Feel free to hate his guts. (via Ballhype)
• This guy got a Hornets tattoo. I'm not sure if he's a complete idiot or my new hero.
• So yeah, Michael Thompson is leaving the Hornets, and I was the last one to find out. I feel so used.

Methinks I'll stop there. Hornets are back at it on Wednesday, hosting the Detroit Pistons. Perhaps I should get my ass to that game.

The Hornets beat the Mavericks last night in an overtime thriller. Peja Stojakovic knocked down a clutch triple at the end of regulation, Chris Paul filled up the stat sheet, and that miserable losing streak against Dallas finally came to an end.

Linkage: box | recap | video

You might find it coincidental that the Hornets put an end to this streak the same day I arrived in New Orleans, but let me assure you that it's no coincidence at all.

This one's on me.

The Hornets just had three days off to rest, recuperate, and practice not sucking so much. They play the Hawks in Atlanta this evening, then it's back home to New Orleans to host those dastardly Mavs tomorrow night. We've lost four of five, so getting at least one win in these next two games would do wonders for my sanity.

Now, I should tell you guys that I'm finally making the big move to New Orleans this weekend. While that's super and fantastic and you can't wipe this stupid smile off my face, know that the posts here may be a little less frequent for the next few days, until I get myself settled.

With that in mind, let's focus mostly on the Hawks and Mavs in the notes today…

• Atlanta are 6-8 on the season, 4-3 at home. They're coming off a 96-80 win over the visiting Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.

• The Hawks are of course led by Joe Johnson, who's been filling it up again this season. He's scored at least 20 points in eight of their last nine. Check his game log here.
• Also playing well for the Hawks is Marvin Williams, who the Hawks selected ahead of Chris Paul in the 2005 draft. Some say that was a dumb move, and I may be one of those people. But Marvin's showing progress, averaging 15.2ppg and 6.3rpg this season, shooting .497 percent from the ground. Dude missed Wednesday's game with a hip malfunction, but he's likely to play today.
• Last game Marvin played (Tuesday at Chicago), he got punked by Tyrus Thomas. Rasual Butler can relate.
• Big rook Al Horford (third pick in the draft) is looking like the real deal in Atlanta. He's averaging about 9 points and 10 boards per. Dave McMenamin raves about Horford in the latest NBA.com Rookie Rankings...

  Horford has received nothing but praise in this column so far, so it's time to turn a critical eye. First of all, get that free throw percentage up. Nobody likes a big man that can't cash in from the charity stripe. Now, umm, make sure your jeresy is tucked in when you check into the game. Yeah … that's all I got. You're pretty awesome.

• Josh Smith is shooting horribly for the Hawks this season. 36% from the field, 19% from three. Methinks we should play a step off him.
• Sounds like the Hawks might be having the same problems as the Hornets. From Sekou Smith's blog at the AJC…

  You're not wrong to expect more from this team by now. Everyone expected a more polished looking product, a more consistent product and a much more sound outfit based on the progress made last year.

  I’m as stunned by the periodic lethargy as you are. The lack of execution on a regular basis perplexes me, too. Not even a solid first half against the Bucks was enough to convince me that the Hawks are playing with the fire necessary for a team in their position.

• Speaking of the Hornets problems, Ryan Schwan has an excellent analysis of the bench production so far this season. I read it twice, but once is cool if you're in a hurry.
• Hawks-related linkage: Team stats | AP game report

• Moving on to those Mavs, and you know they've had our number. We haven't beaten them since 1999. No, really. Like the Hornets, Dallas will be playing the second game of a back-to-back, too. They host the Portland Trailblazers tonight.
• Right now, the Mavs are 10-5 on the season. They had a bad run recently, dropping three straight to teams you wouldn't consider super-awesome: The Pacers, Bucks and Wizards. Dallas are 3-4 on the road, which, incidentally is the same as our record at home. Freaky shit, huh?
• The usual suspects are driving the Mavs. Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard are both dropping 20 a game, Jason Terry is coming off the bench and giving them a spark, other guys do other things that help them win. Check out their team stats here.
• Hey look, there's Brandon Bass. After two years at the end of Byron Scott's bench, dude is reborn in Dallas, averaging 10 points and 5 boards in 22 minutes a night. Nice job, kid. Just do me a favor and play really bad against the Hornets.
• I never mentioned Ryan Bowen's injury on this blog, did I? Yeah, he's out for three weeks with (what else?) a frickin' knee injury. Byron, can Julian Wright take his minutes? I'll mow your lawn for a month.
• Righteous Mavs blogs: Mavs Moneyball | Dallas Basketball

Right, that's about it for now. Gotta go pack some stuff and prep the getaway car. People of New Orleans, you don't need to throw a parade or anything to mark my arrival. No, really, I'm a humble guy. Maybe limit the welcome to a banner on Canal Street or something.

Hornets-Hawks tonight is at 6:30pm Central. Mavs game tomorrow is at 7pm at the Arena. Let's do this.

The Hornets are back from their three-day break tomorrow, when they take on the Hawks in Atlanta. In the meantime, get your brain moving and see how well you know your favorite team…

1. Which Hornet has a cousin playing football at Jackson State?

2. As either a player or as a head coach, how many times has Byron Scott been to the NBA Finals?
3. Tyson Chandler hyperextended his knee last week against Orlando and had to have an MRI, but what the hell does MRI stand for?
4. Only once have two Hornets players been named All-NBA in the same season. Who and when?
5. Which current Hornet says he'd be a pro fisherman if he wasn't in the NBA?
6. How many players who were drafted by the Hornets have played in an All-Star game?
7. I've played for the Hornets in both Charlotte and New Orleans, and spent time with five other NBA teams. I've also played stints in Italy and Israel. Right now I'm balling in Russia. Who am I?
8. True or false: Chris Paul has had at least two steals in every game he's played this season.
9. Besides the Hornets, what other NBA teams are affiliated with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League?
10. Which current Hornets player has played for the most NBA franchises?

Done googling? Cool. Answers in the comments.

Less than two weeks ago, when the Hornets were 9-2, I was busy thinking how deserving they were to be sitting atop the Western Conference. After all those season previews predicting that the Hornets would once again struggle to make the Playoffs, I was pretty damn happy that my team was making the so-called experts eat their pessimistic words. The Hornets record start was especially sweet because I had been telling everyone and their second-cousin just how deadly we'd be once healthy.

And now look at us.

The Hornets have lost four of five. That, in itself, would not be so bad except a pair of those losses came at home to Indiana and Minnesota, teams that you know are below us on the food chain.

Now I realize there's a billion more games to play this season, and we're likely to experience many more stretches of good and bad basketball, but here's me today, thinking that our three-year Playoff drought is not certain to end this season. That's quite a change from me considering the Hornets an elite team only two weeks ago.

So, what's the problem? A few theories, in no particular order…

The low attendance
The Hornets are 7-2 on the road, and just 3-4 at home. As of this morning, the teams they've played on the road have a combined record of 56-69 (44.8 percent), and those teams they've played at home are a combined 48-51 (48.5 percent). Not much of a difference there, so you have to start looking at other factors which might make a difference. The obvious one is the poor attendance. So far this season, the Hornets are attracting a league-low 11,478 fans per game (full NBA attendance figures here). That's pretty bad as it is, but what really sucks is the catch-22 of the whole situation: You expect the team to win more when they play to a packed house, but they won't sell the place out unless they rack up the W's.

Relying too much on the jumpshot
Ryan Schwan had a full post on this a few days back, and it's obvious watching the Hornets play that they've been living and dying by the jumpshot, three-pointers in particular. Bombing away from deep isn't really a bad thing, so long as our guys realize when the shots ain't dropping and look to take it to the hole instead. That hasn't been happening enough this season, as evidenced by the fact that we've shot more three-pointers (323) than free-throws (318). That's fucked up.

Bad coaching
Sorry, Byron, but the finger's gotta be pointed at you, too. Why hasn't Julian Wright been getting more playing time? We've got too many guys settling for jumpshots and here's the slasher we need growing roots on the bench. Incidentally, Brandon Bass is looking pretty good over there in Dallas. Beyond that, you haven't exactly been fantastic at managing the flow of games. If the other team drops four or five buckets unanswered, or we go scoreless for five minutes, why not use one of those cool little timeout things so we can regroup and get our shit together? I'm pretty sure the refs allow you to do that.

The injuries threw us
We were 8-2 when Chris Paul hurt his ankle. We managed to beat the T-Wolves on the road despite his absence, but lost to the Magic at home without him. It was against Orlando that Tyson Chandler hyperextended his knee, which caused him to miss a game and a half. With the exception of Paul's 31-point, 11-assist performance on Monday, both players have been sub-par since returning from injury, and the lineup shuffle during their absences may have disrupted whatever kind of chemistry was working for us earlier in the season.

Overhyped roster
Could it be that the roster we've assembled here just isn't that good? A month ago I would have argued that we had one of the best starting five's in the NBA, but now I'm not so sure. Morris Peterson has been disappointing so far, Peja Stojakovic is the definition of inconsistent, and Tyson doesn't look like he'll be making the All-Star game anytime soon. Even David West and CP3 have had their ups and downs. Our bench has been also been horrible for the most part, from Bobby Jackson's erratic play to Rasual Butler's crooked eye.

What do you guys think is causing the Hornets to suck so much lately? Is it a combination of the above? Is it something else entirely? Is it even worth worrying about this early in the season?

The Hornets managed to snap that three-game skid Saturday in LA, beating the Clippers, 98-89 (recap | box | video). That win puts us at 10-5 on the season, which isn't a bad place to be. If we keep winning two-thirds of our games, we'll end up at about 55-27. I can live with that.

Gonna do the whole Shizzle thing today. I write, you read. Go team…

• Nice to see the Hornets stepping up the D and cutting back the threes out in LA. The Clips were averaging 98ppg on their home floor, and we held them to 89. Our guys also seemed to be taking better shots from the perimeter. We went 13-of-64 from deep during that losing streak. Against the Clippers, our guys drained 8-of-15.

• Tyson Chandler made his return from that knee injury on Friday in Utah. Since then, he hasn't really been the Tyson Chandler we all know and opponents fear. He had 12 points, 7 boards and 5 turnovers in 31 minutes against Utah, then managed 12 points, 5 boards and 3 blocks in 26 minutes out in LA.
• A couple of folks are talking about Chris Paul as an MVP candidate, which is nice. Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld has CP third behind Tracy McGrady and Dwight Howard, while ESPN list Paul eighth in the MVP race. Ryan Bowen doesn't appear on either list.
• The Hornets are back home in New Orleans to play the Timberwolves this evening. After that, it's a well-earned three-day rest until they play again in Atlanta on Friday. It will be the first time this season that the Hornets have had more than a day's rest between games. I think I'll keep blogging through the week though. You know, so my life doesn't lack meaning.
• Great read from Ryan Schwan this morning, noting that the Hornets are living and dying by the jumpshot. He uses numbers and stuff so you can't disagree with him.
• Sticking with long bombs for a minute, Jim Eichenhofer noticed that Peja Stojakovic seems to be doing well at the Staples Center this season…

  The 6-foot-10 forward is now 13-for-17 on three-pointers (76 percent) in Los Angeles and 60-for-160 (38 percent) everywhere else.

• After that Clippers game, the Hornets are 8-0 when leading after three quarters.
• Some big community investment announcement thingy is going down tomorrow in Gentilly. Tyson Chandler will be there with dudes in suits.
• Bill Simmons and Chris McCosky are the latest to take shots at the Hornets attendance. Methinks they can shit in a bag and punch it.

Right, so those Timberwolves, eh? We beat them nice and easy without Chris Paul just over a week ago in Minneapolis. Flashback. Six of our guys scored in double figures, led by Peja's 22. Al Jefferson was about the only T-Wolf giving us trouble; he went off for 20 and 10.

Since that meeting, Minnesota have just kept on losing. They're now 1-10 on the season. Every other team in the NBA has at least two wins. At least Jefferson is looking like a young KG out there, though. He's averaging 20.4 points and 11.5 boards.

In conclusion, the T-Wolves suck, and the Hornets really need to beat the crap out of these guys or it's gonna be a long week waiting for Atlanta.

Game tonight is at 7pm Central. Leaving you with zee linkage…

• Rival Report at The Official
• T-Wolves team stats
• AP game preview
• TWolvesBlog.com
  
• Latest Conference standings

Forgive me while I fumble through this post today. Between that miserable loss in Utah last night, and the subsequent amount of alcohol I had to drink to numb the pain, motivation is seriously lacking.

But what the fuck was that? Scoreless for the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter; how is that even possible?

Dammit, I'm not even gonna get into this shit right now because it's bound to put me in a pissy mood for the rest of the day. Stop screwing with my emotions, Hornets. Four wins, two losses, five wins, three losses. A little consistency, please.

I just hope our guys have taken last night's beating to heart and will come out looking for blood in LA this evening. They play the Clippers (6-5) at 9:30pm Central. Thankfully, the Clips are also on the second night of a back-to-back; they got beat in Phoenix last night, 94-113.

Ugh, headache.

• AP game preview
• Clippers team stats
• Blogs: Clips Nation | ClipperBlog.com

It's a slow one this morning with the holidays and everything. No NBA games last night, and very little to add to our news page today. It's a pity, too, because tonight our guys are in Utah to play the Jazz, a meeting that should prove to be a good measuring stick for the Hornets. In fact, apart from the Spurs a couple weeks back, I'd say this is the toughest team we've faced so far. Sorry, Orlando.

Some quick notes ahead of game 14…

• Utah have been playing pretty well for the most part, and they come into this one fresh as daisies having played their last game on Monday. They're 8-4 on the season, but haven't really beaten anyone glorious. Actually, none of the teams they've beaten have better than a .500 record right now.

• That game they played on Monday was a 102-75 crucification of the visiting New Jersey Nets, who are still without Vince Carter. You might remember the Hornets only beating the VC-less Nets by a clutch Chris Paul basket back on Nov. 12th, although that one was played in Joisey.
• Unless there's something exclusive to the print edition, it looks like the Times-Picayune blanked the Hornets today. Nothing but some brief notes about tonight's game over at NOLA.com. Chris Paul vs. Deron Williams for the first time this season and we get nothing? At least the Salt Lake Tribune knows what's up.
• Actually, fantastic quote in that SLT article. Speaking about the whole CP-DWill rivalry, Jazz backup PG Jason Hart drops this gem…

  "If they have a link, it's because they are good players. You only have a link if they're both good players, or if one player is good and the other is bad."

  Dude's a genius.

• Williams has been held out of practice the past few days as he recovers from surgery dealing with an ingrown toenail on Tuesday. All indications are he'll be ready to play tonight, though. So far this season he's averaging 17.8 points, 8.4 assists, 2.9 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 3.8 turnovers in 36.9 minutes per game, while shooting 48.1% from the floor.
• Chris Paul's averages so far: 18.5 points, 10.7 assists, 4.4 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 3.5 turnovers in 35 minutes per game. He's shooting 48.7% from the floor.
• Since those two guys were drafted, the Hornets are 1-5 against the Jazz.
• Hilton Armstrong celebrates his 23rd birthday today. Yeah, I did say the same thing about two weeks ago, but I'm an idiot. This time I checked with his mom, so feel better.

  Hilton's still trying to live up to preseason expectations. With Tyson Chandler out against the Pacers on Wednesday, dude got a season-high 25 minutes of burn, but hardly made the most of them. He finished with 6 points, 3 rebounds and 5 fouls.

• No word on whether Chandler will miss this one, too. Byron Scott's thoughts on Wednesday…

  "I don't think anything is definite for Utah or the Clippers (on Saturday). I'm hoping he will be able to play. But again, we have to make sure that leg is strong. That's one thing, when he says that it feels weak, you're just waiting for something really bad to happen by playing him."

• Expect Utah's Carlos Boozer to fuck us up in this one, especially if Chandler doesn't play. Boozer is being talked about as an early MVP candidate, averaging 24.6 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. His play is especially impressive when you consider what he's had to deal with away from the court.
• Of course, the Jazz are way more than Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer. They have another three guys in the starting lineup, and even more guys on the bench. Yah, really.
• The Jazz are 5-1 at home this season, the lone loss coming on Nov 1st against the Rockets. Tracy McGrady burned the Jazz for 47 in that one. I studied the game tape and found that T-Mac made lots of shots, so I'd suggest the Hornets try do the same tonight. Someone tell Byron.
• Let's do the relevant linkage right here: SLT Jazz blog | Utah Jazz Blog | Jazz team stats | AP game preview

This one gets tipping at around 9pm Central tonight. I'm not getting my hopes up for a win if Tyson sits out again. Even then we'll have to be firing on all cylinders to beat these guys at home. Should be an interesting matchup though. Something tells me these two teams are destined to meet in the Playoffs someday.

Leaving you with some funky video. This rivalry won't end anytime soon…

Happy Thanksgiving, my ass.

What we're dealing with here is the poorest performance of the young season by the Hornets. Last night they hosted a Pacers team that had lost seven of eight and given up 134 points to the Lakers just 24 hours earlier.

And, we had Chris Paul back, so you know I was tempted to eat my blueberry victory muffin before the game even started. (I did end up eating it after the game anyway, but it didn't taste quite so victorious, believe me.)

Notes on this one…

• Final score was 105-93 to the Pacers (box | recap | uninspiring video). It was tight through the first two quarters, with Peja Stojakovic scoring 12 points in the first period and eight other Hornets getting buckets in the half. Indiana didn't have much trouble scoring either, though, pouring in 54 first-half points of their own.

• Morris Peterson put the Hornets up one at the midway point when he tore down a rebound, raced up court and fired in a 35-footer at the buzzer.
• The second half was a different story. The Pacers took off on a 13-2 run and our guys were done. The deficit bounced between 5 and 17 thereafter, but the Hornets never looked serious.
• Byron Scott spoke words from his mouth after the game…

  "The effort wasn't there for whatever reason. It's mind boggling to me. I told everybody to make sure they get a tape of this game. Everybody in the arena could see we didn't play hard and they need to see that. To me lack of effort is something not coachable. Right now I think they feel like they can just walk in here and win a game and it's not going to happen."

  Byron also thinks the media might be to blame. Damn you, John Reid.

• As noted at that above link by Jim Eichenhofer…

  Scott looked at the stat sheet and was bothered by the fact that over a third of the Hornets' shots were three-pointers (30 of 87 total FGAs).

• Missing Tyson Chandler is no excuse for this one, as the Pacers were minus their own big men; Jermaine O'Neal and Ike Diogu. O'Neal was a late scratch because he's suffering from (guess what?) a knee injury. Indiana won the rebounding battle, 51-45.
• Starring for the Pacers was Troy Murphy, who had 18 points by halftime and finished with 23 and 9 rebounds. He was doing damage inside and out. Danny Granger also got some, scoring 22 and grabbing 9. I'm so not speaking to him anymore.
• So much for Jamaal Tinsley being a big pile of suck (you jinxed us, Ryan!). He finished with 18 points, 13 assists and just two turnovers. He's actually dished 36 assists and turned the ball over just five times in his last three games. I'm no dentist, but those numbers sound good.
• David West and Melvin Ely were about the only two guys who played well for the Hornets. West bounced back from his poor showing against the Magic by scoring 23 (10-17 FGs) and grabbing 8. Ely continued his strong play, scoring in double figures for the third straight game (10, 10, then 11 last night). He even decided to try out that rebounding thing against the Pacers — you know, just to see what it was like — and ended up with 11 boards. He's considering doing it more often.
• But everyone else wearing white last night pretty much sucked. Peja shot 0-of-4 in the second half and managed just 5 points beyond that first quarter, finishing with 17. Chris Paul showed heart by coming back perhaps a little early from that ankle injury, but was clearly off his game. He dropped 10 dimes, but could only hit 3-of-12 from the field for a season-low 8 points.
• Meanwhile, Rasual Butler shot 1-of-5 from the field and Julian Wright sat on his ass all game. You're looking for some energy, Byron? That athletic freak of a rookie at the end of your bench might do the trick. Just a thought.
  
  
• Brandy and her little bro were in the house last night. Yo, Brad Pitt! When are you and Angelina gonna show up and support this team? I know you read this site, dude, trying to pick up some of my impeccable grooming tips. Get your ass to a game and I promise to quit flexing when your lady is in the room.
• Attendance last night: 11,609. That's actually better than I was expecting for a mid-week game against the Pacers.
• View from the other side: Indy Cornrows wraps this one up.

The Hornets aren't in a happy place right now. We've got a two-game losing streak, and back-to-back road games against the Jazz and Clippers up next. Those two teams are a combined 9-2 at home this season. What's worse, there's a possibility Tyson might miss both those games, as his knee injury lingers.

I'll leave you with some good news, though. As John DeShazier points out today, Peja's play might be up and down, but at least we're not concerned about his back anymore.

Did some previewing of Hornets-Pacers earlier, check here if you missed it. Let's dive right into this…

• First off, I gotta recommend you go read DJ Toney Blare's take on the Orlando game. Dude was in the building Monday night and felt the crowd buzzing…

  …from what I can tell, we have a shot at a great, great NBA crowd. All through the 4th quarter, the half-full arena was rocking, with people going all out in dance contests and D-Fence chants. A lot of this was the tight game, but there was also a sense of celebration, of unembarassed foolishness, that was a familiar sensation.

• That was the optimistic take on the Hornets attendance. Here's the flip side.
• Stat guru Kevin Pelton talks nice about the Hornets, using lots of numbers and stuff to back up said niceness. He also talks nice about Orlando, but screw them and the horse they rode in on. Some quotage…

  In hindsight, expectations were probably too low for the Hornets… So far, Paul has an unbelievable 30.2 PER, good for second in the NBA… Peterson's True Shooting Percentage thus far this year (66.3%) is an enormous upgrade on the inadequate 49.3% TS% Mason posted a year ago.

• Hey look, another knee injury! This time it's Denver's Steven Hunter. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the Hornets back out of acquiring Hunter from Philly a couple of years back because they were worried about his knees?
• Steve Aschburner takes a look at the fortunes of the NBA's seven expansion teams since 1988, and even grades their success. The Hornets come first, outside of Florida.
• As if I wasn't looking forward to moving to New Orleans enough already, the Hornets are now telling folks there will be free beer at every pregame BuzzFest. Luckily, free beer is my favorite kind of beer.
• This next link is three weeks old. Found it in the back seat of my car. It's entitled The Crucial Mistake 19 NBA Teams Are Making, and author Quinten Farmer tells us that mistake is hiring "stale veteran coaches." Nice read.
• The Hornets are in Utah on Friday to take on the Jazz, and I've had that game pegged as the first true test for our guys this season. Right now though, Utah don't have much of a team. Between injuries and absences, they didn't have enough players for a scrimmage at practice yesterday.

  Deron Williams, Mehmet Okur and Matt Harpring are all suffering from various ailments and I'm guessing some of those guys could be iffy for Friday's game. Williams had surgery yesterday for an ingrown toenail on his right big toe. That's just sexy.

• THIS JUST IN: Chris Paul will play tonight against the Pacers. Tyson Chandler will sit it out. Confirmation via The Official and NOLA.com. Jamaal Tinsley, happy Thanksgiving.
• Actually, confirmation on Tyson's absence tonight from none other than Tyson Chandler himself, in his second blog post over at NBA.com. Very cool post, actually. He talks about his injury, plans for Thanksgiving, and growing up without a father…

  I want you to know that I play for that kid that's in his backyard right now, taking his jumpshots by himself, with no father figure. It's just him and his mom and he's trying to do whatever it takes to get them out of that situation, and all he has is his ball.

Righty, I'm outta here. Thirteen frickin' games in the NBA tonight, folks. That means only four teams are chilling. Mavs-Rockets (6:30 Central, ESPN) and Magic-Spurs (7:30 Central) might be worth keeping an eye on.

Hornets-Pacers gets going at 7 Central. Let's get another win streak going. 

This is gonna be a quick one; got some Shizzle on the way later. The Indiana Pacers are in town today to take on the Hornets. Game time is your usual 7 in the pm at the Arena.

Indiana began the season nicely, winning their first three games and causing me to wonder if maybe they weren't the most forgettable team in the League. They're now 4-7, though, so I guess they do suck after all. Still, they did beat us twice in the preseason, and their lone win in the past 2-plus weeks was a 20-point clobbering of the Jazz on Saturday. Then they go out and give up 134 points to the Lakers at home yesterday.

Unpredictable, these boys be.

Ryan Schwan's got plenty more on the game tonight over at The New Orleans Hornets Fan, including his always-funky positional analysis. You can also read the exact same thing here. I'd suggest leaving a comment on one site, wait for Ryan to reply, then you go reply on the other site. Actually, no, wait. That sounded funnier in my head. Forget it.

No word on whether Chris Paul or Tyson Chandler will be available tonight. I think we can compete with the Pacers without them, and last I checked it was still November so there's no reason to rush those two guys back. I'd like to see them both rested and healthy for that big game looming in Utah on Friday. Plus, Peja's been rolling lately, and he might have some extra motivation tonight, going up against his former team.

Almost done. Me linkage. You clickage…

• Pacers blogs: Indy Cornrows | Pacer’s Pulse
• AP game preview
• Pacers team stats
• YouTube: Pacer players in da club

Some kind of game last night. If you just read the headlines this morning you'll see that Chris Paul is still injured, Tyson Chandler got hurt and the Hornets lost to the Magic. Then you might go stick your head in the oven.

But it ain't so bad. CP might miss one more game, Tyson might miss none, and we played Orlando pretty tough despite the absences. If you did heat up that oven, put some buns in there and kick back.

Some bullets, if you don't mind…

• Final score was 95-88 to the visitors. Linkage: box | recap | video.

• The Hornets were trailing 31-46 when Tyson went down in the second quarter. It was weird how he hurt himself, kinda looked like his leg just collapsed in under him, like a folding chair or something. Of course, my blood ran cold when he hit the deck. "Fuck no, here we go again." Luckily, the MRI came back negative and he sounds hopeful that he'll be ready for the Pacers game tomorrow. Teddy Kider has the full story at the T-P, while Ryan Schwan causes blindness, takes a look back at the Hornets injury woes over the years and comes up with a catchy new nickname for Baron Davis.
• Melvin Ely and Hilton Armstrong had to step up in Chandler's absence. Ely scored 10 points for the second straight game, which is good. He also grabbed just one rebound for the second straight game, which is not so good. Hilton played 14 minutes and managed 4 points and 4 boards. Neither of those guys (or Chandler for that matter) had much success containing Dwight Howard, though. That lump of muscle laughed his way to 24 points and 15 rebounds.
• Leading the Hornets was Peja Stojakovic. He scored 21 on 8-of-15 shooting, 2-of-4 from deep. The last three games, he's gone for 17, 22 and 21, shooting just over 50% from the field.  He's suddenly gone from the most inconsistent player on the team to the most consistent. Nice to know too that he can do the whole scoring thing without Chris Paul on the floor getting him wide open looks.
• Also pouring in some points for the Hornets were David West (14) and Jannero Pargo (18). Neither played real well, though, especially Pargo. He helped the Hornets get out of that 21-point hole, dropping jumpers and dimes late in the 2nd quarter and early in the 3rd, but then he bricked seven of his final nine shots and just didn't do the whole point guard dealio real well. That whole trigger-happy thing he's got going is fine when he's coming off the bench and we need him to firebomb, but last night we needed him to do some kind of Chris Paul impersonation and it wasn't happening.
• Rasual Butler had 4 points in 14 minutes, and he's now averaging just 3.0ppg in his last seven. That wouldn't be such a problem except he's playing 20 minutes a night and his main role is to fill up the cup. Byron, it might be time to give Julian Wright some of those minutes.
• Orlando's Rashard Lewis, who chucked in 19 points, talked about beating the Hornets last night…
  
  "It's still a confidence booster. Obviously, Boston is a great team, New Orleans is a good team."

  Actually, Rashard, I'll have you know the Hornets are a fucking fantastic team. Screw the Celtics. Try playing us when Chris Paul is a biped and Tyson Chandler is there for the second half.

  Stan Van Gundy knows what's up…

  "The Hornets deserve a lot more credit tonight than we do. I am being honest. The thing that helped us was Chris Paul being out and Tyson Chandler being out for half the game."

• Attendance last night was 11,741. Balls.
• Ahead of last night's game the Hornets were looking all cozy in the latest power rankings. NBA.com had us fifth, while ESPN threw the Spurs in there to just keep us out of their top five.
• Wrapping it up from the other side: Believing in Magic and Third Quarter Collapse. I'd read those recaps myself but I'm completely illiterate.

• Dwight Howard got Player of the Week for the Eastern Conference, which is impressive, I guess.
• Tyson's not the only with knee problems lately. Kwame Brown, Amaré Stoudemire, Gilbert Arenas, and a pair of Timberwolves are all suffering from various knee injuries. Sounds like an epidemic.
• Magic pivot Adonal Foyle, who grabbed 2 boards in 8 minutes against the Hornets, bored a bunch of kids to death before the game last night.

See, yesterday wasn't so bad, right? Read John DeShazier's latest if I've failed to convince you. Also, you can't stay pissed off because it's Ryan Bowen's 32nd birthday today and everyone's invited. I'm getting him a little white puppy.

Pacers in town tomorrow. Previewing that one after day turns to night and back again.

Here we go. Tough one tonight, people.

The Orlando Magic are in town, and they be the only other folks in the NBA with nine wins right now. They just got done handing the Celtics their first loss of the season down in Florida yesterday, and they're looking something like the real deal so far. Let's jump to bullet-mode and figure these guys out…

• Orlando haven't lost on the road yet, having won all six away from home so far this season. Freaks. Much like the Hornets though, they haven't beaten anyone fantastic. In fact, none of the teams they've beaten on the road are above .500 right now.

• Still, beating the Celtics is pretty impressive, so the Magic can't be underestimated. They were up by 22 points on Boston last night, before they almost blew it and had to fight for a 2-point victory. Final score was 104-102 and you can read the recap if you click on this part of the screen.
• The only other tough opponents Orlando have faced were Phoenix and Detroit. They lost both those games by a combined 34 points.
• Orlando are scoring about 103 a game (8th best in the NBA), and allowing about 96 (10th best in the NBA). For the record, the Hornets put up just under 100 a game (12th) and give up just over 90 (3rd).
• Leading the Magic is that big fucking beast of man named Dwight Howard. That guy is unreal, averaging 22 points, 14.2 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game this season, while shooting 56% from the field. He's like Tyson Chandler with some serious post moves. Check his game log here.
• Also playing real well for the Magic are Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu. It cost Orlando an arm and a leg to land Lewis in the offseason, but he's earing his keep so far, averaging 21.4ppg on 47% shooting from deep. Meanwhile, Turkoglu is having himself a career season, scoring 17.6 and collecting 5.9 boards per game.
• Can't forget Orlando's point guard either. Jameer Nelson is keeping everybody happy, dishing 6.6 nightly while pouring in 13.6 points of his own.
• Orlando are 3-1 this season on the second night of back-to-backs.

Right, so the big question tonight is if Chris Paul will play or not. Actually, wait, that wasn't really a question, was it? Fuck. If only there was some kind of deletion button on keyboards. That would be clever.

Anyway, I have no idea if CP is playing tonight. The voices in my head tell me he won't, and they've never been wrong before, so there's that. Methinks Byron would be playing with fire if he does play Chris tonight. It's only November, so he'd be wise not to rush the kid back. I figure Jannero Pargo and Bobby Jackson can handle Jameer Nelson, and maybe we can convince Ryan Bowen to try dunking on Dwight Howard.

Also, before I punch out here, I just want to tell anyone that might be reading this from Louisiana to GET YOUR ASS TO THE ARENA TONIGHT. I just got done reading John Reid and Fletcher Mackel, and it's hard to disagree with the facts; The Hornets low attendance thus far is making New Orleans look bad.

What's wrong with you people? The Hornets are kicking ass and looking like the real deal here. I imagine the only conceivable way the game experience could be any better would be to have them Honeybees get nekkid. Just wait until I get down there; I'm gonna beat your asses into that arena.

Hornets-Magic is set for 7pm Central. Linkage…

• Magic team stats
• AP game preview
• Magic blogs: Believing in Magic | Third Quarter Collapse
• ESPN's Daily Dime: Believing In Magic Not So Unreasonable
• YouTube: Dwight Howard ain't so tough

It just keeps on getting better, don't it?

The Hornets dismantled the Timberwolves in Minnesota last night. Second game of a back-to-back, on the road, missing your superstar, and you still kick mucho ass. Sure, the T-Wolves look a lot like suck and they were working Friday night, too, but excuse me while I cover myself in teal body paint and run buck neked down Canal Street.

Christopher Emanuel Paul sat this one out due to that ankle sprain he suffered in Memphis on Friday. Pau Gasol and his inconvenient hoof are getting the crazy eye from me next time we meet at the laundromat. Byron Scott is saying he'll probably keep CP out when the Hornets take on the Magic in New Orleans tomorrow, and there's a possibility he could also miss the Pacers game in N.O. on Wednesday. More info at ESPN.com.

We'll worry about his absence in due time. For now, sit back and feel that nice brand of fuzzy, because we've won five straight and sit atop the West with a 9-2 record. Dance, Georgie, dance!

Notes and stuff…

• Final score in this one was 100-82 (recap | box | video). Nice to see the Hornets clamping down on D after surrendering a zillion points to the Grizzlies a night earlier.

• Peja and Mo-Pete with the swishness. Stojakovic led all scorers with 22 points, shooting 4-of-6 from deep. Peterson dropped 18, knocking down three triples of his own. Sweet.
• The Hornets had just 4 turnovers for the whole damn game. That's unheard of. Maybe Chris Paul is actually hurting this team, encouraging others to throw bad passes when he's on the court. I'm wise to your tricks, CP. Game's up. We're trading you for Baron Davis.
• Filling in for CP as the starting point guard was Jannero Pargo. He'd been struggling, shooting 3-of-15 from the field and totaling just 4 dimes in the previous three games combined (see his game log here). He stepped it up against the T-Wolves though, playing 33 minutes, shooting 5-of-11 from the field for 15 points, and racking up 7 assists.
• The bench was weakish again, apart from the contributions of Melvin Ely (10 points), and Bobby Jackson (7 points, 5 assists, 3 steals). Rasual Butler and Hilton Armstrong need to step up.
• Among the game observations from Jim Eichenhofer…

  Balance has been one of the best aspects of the New Orleans attack so far. With Stojakovic racking up a team-high 22 points at Minnesota, it marked the fourth straight game that the Hornets had a different player lead the club in scoring.

• Hey look, the Hornets are 6-1 on the road and 2-1 on the second night of back-to-backs. None too shabby. Also, as mentioned, we're sitting on top of the West. Full standings here.
• View from the other side: TWolvesBlog.com.

• Both Marcus Vinicius and Julian Wright got some burn against the T-Wolves. Very little burn. They got five minutes between them. I hate to complain when the Hornets are winning like this, but surely Byron could afford to play these guys a little more. We're beating teams by an average of 9.1 points, second only to the Celtics, so you know we can afford a rookie mistake here and there. I mean, I like Ryan Bowen and everything, but why does he get the big minutes (20 last night) in a blowout?
• The T-Wolves were without starting center Theo Ratliff who had a bum knee or something. Their head coach, Randy Wittman, rejigged his rotation and gave Antoine Walker and Corey Brewer their first starts of the season. Brewer made the most of the opportunity. Oh no, wait, he went scoreless in 22 minutes. My bad. That Al Jefferson kid is nice though, going for 20 points and 10 boards last night. Always liked him. I thought he and Tony Allen were gonna turn into solid ballers when they were with the Celtics. I guess I was half right.

Anyways, I'm done. Back tomorrow with a look at the Magic. Get some rest, CP.

The Hornets took care of business in Memphis last night, although it took a little longer than usual. We needed overtime and some heroics from David West to shake those pesky Grizzlies.

Final score was 120-118 (recap | box). The Hornets really should have wrapped this one up in 48 minutes, but the Grizzlies were just on fire from deep, dropping three threes in the final 13 seconds of regulation to force OT. Rudy Gay and Juan Carlos Navarro were on some hero shit right there. Pretty impressive though that the Hornets run into a white hot Memphis team, who shot 15-of-24 from three and 50.5% from the field, and we still come out on top. And on the road no less.

There were some great individual performances by the Hornets, most notably David West's 40 points. That's a new career high for him. Ditto for field goals made (17) and attempted (29). Speaking of career-highs, Peja had 9 rebounds last night. I though he was allergic to those things. Yeah, just kidding. Dude scored 17 points, but his shooting is still pretty inconsistent.

Tyson Chandler had himself a tidy game, scoring 12, collecting 17 and rejecting 4. Bobby Jackson was electric off the bench, scoring 14 on 5-of-8 shooting, including 4-of-5 from downtown. Uncanny, you could say. Meanwhile, that Chris Paul dude finished with 28 points, 13 dimes and 5 steals. We'll forget about the 7 turnovers. He turned his ankle in the third quarter and had to get it wrapped up. He played on and played well but I'm not sure how that will affect him in Minneapolis tonight. Jim Eichenhofer tells us it's "a relatively minor injury." Hopefully that's not relative to decapitation or something. John Reid tells the same story, though, so I guess we're all good.

Anyway, we're 8-2 and I have that good feeling like a sneeze only eight times better. Tonight it's a tussle with the T-Wolves up North, and it might be a tough game despite their 1-6 record. Our guys won't exactly be fresh like shaved daisies after that slugfest in Memphis.

Luckily, the Timberwolves were busy running up and down a basketball court yesterday, too. They hosted the Wizards and did the losing thing again, 89-105. Rashad McCants led Minnesota with 19 points, while Al Jefferson chipped in with 15 and 10 boards.

Those guys got their only win of the season against the visiting Sacramento Kings last Wednesday, 108-103. McCants had a career high 33 points in that one, which is, like, way inferior to David West's new career high. Sucker.

Tip tonight is at 7pm Central, which is less than three hours from now as I type this. I'm late like a pregnant chick today. Some linkage, and I'll be out of here…

• T-Wolves team stats
• AP game preview
• TWolvesBlog.com

The Hornets try for the best start in franchise history this evening, when they take on the Grizzlies in Memphis. We're currently 7-2 on the season, aiming for that eighth win.

This post isn't your usual half-assed game preview because there's already some good reading out there. Check out Ryan Schwan's preview over at The Hornets Fan, then get a view from the other side over at the Grizz blog 3 Shades of Blue. Both quality reads, I assure you.

So, with all that taken care of, let's get to some shizzle. It's been a while…

• A few more clips were added to the Hornets247 YouTube group earlier, including one where Bobby Jackson talks about how good he looks. It's oh-so humorous.

• We didn't get to see a lot of the much-anticipated Julian Wright vs. Thaddeus Young showdown during  Hornets-Sixers on Wednesday. But man, it was fantastic while it lasted. I'll let the 4th quarter play-by-play tell it…

  0:56 – Thaddeus Young enters the game for Andre Iguodala.

  0:56 – Julian Wright enters the game for David West.

  0:51 – Julian Wright blocks Thaddeus Young's 14-foot jumper.

  0:50 – Thaddeus Young offensive rebound.

  0:46 – Thaddeus Young lost ball (Julian Wright steals).

  0:30 – Melvin Ely misses 10-foot jumper.

  0:27 – Julian Wright offensive rebound.

  Exhilirating stuff. It was a lot like Dominique and Larry back in the day.

• John Hollinger went and got on my Christmas card list by ranking the Hornets 2nd in the NBA in his latest power rankings. Yes, we're even ahead of the Spurs, who beat us up and took our lunch money last week. Go figure.
• I've been meaning to pass this on since forever: The 10 Greatest Moments In Halftime Show History

• According to this, if you were to bet $100 on the Hornets winning a championship this season, and then they actually did, you'd be $6,100 richer. Methinks that's not a bad gamble.

Grizzlies-Hornets tonight gets going at 7pm Central. Memphis are 2-5 on the season, coming off a 3-point loss at Milwaukee on Wednesday. They did beat the Rockets in Memphis the day before though, and the Rockets ain't exactly sucking this season.

Anyway, here's hoping for the best start in franchise history. Linkage and I'm out…

• AP game preview
• Grizzlies team stats
  
• YouTube: Extended highlights of Grizzlies-Rockets

Happy face. We're 7-2.

Dance, Georgie, dance!

Chad, why aren't you dancing? Do you not like the victoriousness?

Anyway, not much time to blog today, but I did make that image extra long so you could still get your scrolling fix. If that doesn't satisfy you, head on over to NBA.com, where Tyson Chandler has a brand spanking new blog, where he, like, blogs and stuff.

Plenty of other stuff to read in our news section, so check that out and report back to me. By the way, do many of you guys use our RSS feeds? Do you even know what RSS is all about? Help us help you, etc., etc.

Our 6-2 Hornets are back in New Orleans this evening to take on the Philadelphia 76ers, the same team they demolished in Philly last Sunday. Cue photographic evidence of said event…

That 93-72 result was the Hornets biggest win so far this season, and I don't think we have to worry about the Sixers extracting revenge on us tonight like the Blazers did a week ago. The Blazers were well-rested and at home; the Sixers are coming off a loss to the Mavs in Dallas last night which dropped them to 2-5 on the season. I think this might be as close to a sure-thing as we'll get all season.

(Oh shit, did I just jinx us?)

Recap and video highlights of Philly's loss in Dallas right here. The Mavs turned it on in the third quarter and cruised to a 15-point win. Andre Iguodala shot like a dog but almost managed a triple-double (15, 12 and for the Sixers. Sam Dalembert, who went for 15 points and 10 boards against the Hornets on Sunday, had 18 and 7 against Dallas.

It would be nice for the starters to blow this one open early, then get the reserves in there to make up for their dismal showing in New Jersey two days ago. I want to see an entire fourth quarter of Thaddeus Young vs. Julian Wright, dammit.

Anyway, I got stuff to do. Mostly push-ups and ass-kicking. Gotta get going. Game time is 7pm Central this evening. Leaving you with the relevant linkage…

• Sixers team stats
• AP game preview
• Sixers blogs: Passion and Pride | Sixers Shots

Ah, nothing like winning a game you should have lost.

The Hornets looked to be headed to their third loss in four games last night in Joisey, but Chris Paul grabbed the game by the balls and led his team back from an 11-point defecit with less than five minutes to go. In that stretch, Paul hit a triple, dished a pair of assists, baited Jason Kidd into an offensive foul, stole a rebound from Jason Collins' slippery mitts before dishing another dime to Morris Peterson for the four-point play, then went ahead and banked in the game winner.

Final score: Hornets 84, Nets 82 (recap | box | video).

Man, it must suck not having Chris Paul on your favorite team.

The game last night did a lot to wash the lingering bad taste of that Spurs game out of my mouth. The Hornets are now 6-2 on the season, with their next three games against teams with a combined record of 3-13. Let's keep this rolling, fellas.

Notes anyone? Random shizzle style, methinks…

• All five starters scored in double figures last night for the Hornets. Paul finished with 27, his highest output of the season to date. Tyson Chandler scored 14 and grabbed 12, his first double-double in five games.

• ESPN's Tim Legler regurgitates the "Deron Williams or Chris Paul" debate, and says he'd rather take Williams. I think this argument is destined to be settled in the Playoffs. Maybe not this year, but it's gonna happen eventually.
• Has anyone else noticed that the Hornets have only given up 100 points in a game once this season? Not bad when the League average is 98ppg.
• Rough night for the bench against the Nets. 8 points on 3-of-15 shooting.
• The Nets' Jason Collins on his turnover and subsequent foul on Mo-Pete that let the Hornets back in the game last night…

  "I tried to make up for a mistake, and ended up making another mistake."

• Cool story on Brandon Bass' progress with the Mavs. He's averaging 10 points and 6.4 boards so far this season. Check his game log here.
• Ryan's still pulling double duty with the blogging thing, posting about uncomfortable probing sensations at MVN and doing those funky positional analysis things over at his roots.

Hornets at it again tomorrow when they host the Sixers back in New Orleans. Gotta run.