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Before The Rockets Beat the Hornets

After The Defense of Chris Paul, What a Difference a Year Makes

10 masterful comments post your own

1. 

   YoungFella

   04/15/09 09:59 AM

   Looks good - I'd be content with either the Nuggets or the Blazers. I think the Rockets would be a death sentence.
   
   For all you Posey lovers out there, it is crunch time. Is he going to prove his worth? He seems to be a good matchup v's Denver (Melo is right in his wheelhouse - JR might be too quick) and Portland (Roy? Aldridge?) and not so much against the Rockets. The Rockets don't really have 1 or 2 "stars" that need shutting down and their versatility would render Posey less effective.
   
   We have so many questions marks - it's tough to see all the necessary pieces come together just because it's suddenly the postseason.
   
   Will Chandler give us anything?
   Will Peja be enough of a threat to keep the defenses honest?
   Will Posey play good defense and annoy opposing stars like JR Smith?
   Will Byron Scott refuse to call timeouts and turn 0-6 runs into 0-14 runs?
   Will Rasual Butler be poppin his J's?
   Will Julian give us energy plays like last year in Dallas?
   Will anybody step up off the bench (Hilton (LOL!), Daniels, Devin (LOL!) MoPete, Ely (LOL!), Marks)?
   Will the team really, truly fight - or have them semi-given up already?
   
   So many questions, undoubtedly more than any other team in the tournament.
   
   

   #1

2. 

   Caleb462

   04/15/09 10:16 AM

   Yeah I don't wanna see the Rockets. Healthy, we'd stand a fair chance against them... but the Hornets aren't healthy even if Tyson is back. And the Rockets D has the tendency to really shut down the Hornets offense.
   
   On the other hand, the Hornets have shown they can compete with the Nugget and Blazers, 2-2 against both those teams despite never having Chandler for a single Nuggets game and despite the 4th quarter meltdown that occured against Portland when CP went down. Less injury issues and I think the Hornets would have won both of those reg. season series.

   neworleansbasketball.blogspot.com #2

3. 

   otherMark

   04/15/09 10:39 AM

   It's crazy how hard this is to figure out. I took a stab at it, just for fun, and here's what I learned. There are 8 permutations of the three critical games. In four of them, we face the Nuggets (two as the 3v6 game and two as the 2v7).
   In three of them, we face the Rockets (all as the 3v6). In one, we would face the Blazers as the 3v6.
   Also, in the six cases where we'd be the 6 seed, the possibility exists of having home court advantage in the second round (if the Mavs upset whoever the 2 is).
   

   #3

4. 

   Juncti

   04/15/09 10:44 AM

   I'd say we do whatever gives us the best chance of avoiding the Rockets. If that means tanking the game tonight, and sitting our starters for some much needed rest, then by all means do so.
   
   Utah/Lakers could help out, I'd imagine Utah can potentially wear them down and maybe stretch it out a bit.
   
   I'd like to see, not sure if it's possible a path of Denver/Spurs/Lakers(if no one takes them out). It's a hard fight to the finals and I don't think we make it there against anyone else in the first round. Chandler (if he's healthy) would get tossed against Portland, and Rockets will eat us up.

   #4

5. 

   Niall Doherty

   04/15/09 12:37 PM

   A couple more articles about all these scenarios and possibilities posted in our News section:
   http://www.hornets247.com/news/articles

   www.ndoherty.com #5

6. 

   ChrisTrew.com

   04/15/09 12:41 PM

   I'm confident and pumped.

   www.christrew.com #6

7. 

   mitch

   04/15/09 01:24 PM

   I think that this is one of the best case scenarios for the Hornets playoff situation. While nothing is set in stone completely yet, it is certain that we won't have to play the Lakers, Jazz, or Spurs (who are always deadly come playoff time), which sounds good to me. Also, the teams that we will play (Dallas, Houston, and Denver) have either no experience deep into the playoffs, or in dallas's case, have choked spectacularly. Correct me if I'm wrong on anything guys, but this looks the best chance the Hornets have of doing some damage this postseason.

   #7

8. 

   mW

   04/15/09 01:27 PM

   I'm still not convinced the Rockets are that much better. I think we had an off game. We'll see. But no matter who it is, I'm ready!

   www.hornetshype.com #8

9. 

   Andrea

   04/15/09 02:06 PM

   Finally, the regular season is coming to an end!
   
   If I'm Byron, all starters (except Peja, including Ty) play 20-25 minutes then take a seat. I do not want to play Houston in the 1st round whether we're healthy or not. Like mW I refuse to believe Houston is THAT much better than us, but I don't think we match up well with them.
   
   I don't expect Denver to play their starters full out and the game is in Portland so I like Portland for the win. Mavericks have been pretty tough at home this season, but I think Houston's determined to get that 3 seed so I see the Rockets taking that one. Our game against SA can go either way regardless of who plays...
   
   I'm so excited. Best matchups for us in order would be: (easiest) Mavs, Spurs, Nuggets, Blazers, Lakers, Rockets, Jazz (hardest). No way it'll go like that though, obviously. I'm just ready for the games tonight to be over so we can know who we're going to play.

   #9

10. 

    HornetVan

    04/15/09 06:49 PM

    Give me the nuggets. They will choke in the 1st round
    
    No McGrady means the Rockets will win the 1st round
    Blazers are HOT, HOT

    #10

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