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23 intriguing comments post your own

1. 

   BeeDogg

   11/05/09 01:44 PM

   Great article....
   
   Proves that Byron is not just sitting the rooks by himself. How do people expect him 2 play these kids when we have all of these new people? The vets had to show they cant play before he sticks them in...it only makes sense. that being said.....the vets have looked like **** and this is why he mentioned seeing them this week.
   
   I am sick of Byron Scott bashers......he is great and doing the best he can with the weight of Bowers huge mistakes of Posey (21 mil owed) Peja (28 mil) Mo Pete(13 mil). Until cp3 comes out and disapproves of coach scott....I say shut up and thank god we have a coach that has kept us in the hunt when we should be at the bottom

   #1

2. 

   downtowndave78

   11/05/09 02:17 PM

   People just love to bash. Scott is right to stick with the vets for the beginning of the season, but eventually (more sooner than later) he will have to start getting the rooks some developmental minutes. I would prefer to see them playing along side an accomplished and successful veteran group as opposed to carrying all of the weight on their own shoulders. But no matter how it transpires Scott needs to get them both into the game eventually, and I think he will in the near future.

   #2

3. 

   ticktock6

   11/05/09 02:40 PM

   You gave Thornton 3 minutes in your chart, I think, when he hasn't suited up. For me it's not a big deal that Scott's not playing them, it's a big deal that he's not playing them in comparison to who he is dressing. Teams are all in different situations. Deep teams aren't giving their rookies minutes. But, some are. I think you should take advantage, as a coach, of what you have. With a rookie you could be surprised. Devin Brown, on the other hand, is always going to be Devin Brown. In fact, because he's 32-33, he's probably going to be less of Devin Brown than ever. So I think the frustration comes in that the risk does not outweigh the potential benefit of having a kid like Thornton on your bench.
   
   For my part, I would rather have a Marcus Thornton play terrible but *maybe* have a great game than a guy who plays on the low side of mediocre (but at least does it consistently!). Byron Scott clearly feels the opposite. It's a cost-benefit analysis.

   hornetshype.com #3

4. 

   LSUhornet

   11/05/09 02:55 PM

   BeeDog, I'm not sure what you think this chart justifies. Collison has played the second least minutes among his peers. Only BJ Mullens has played less. Likewise, Thornton is one of only 2 in his group that have yet to see the floor. Byron is not in the majority in not playing his rookies, he is well behind most coaches, a lot of which have more talent than the Bees do in front of the rookies, especially at the 2. "Seeing what the vets can do" doesn't make any sense either. We have a grand total of one new player playing the same positions as Collison/Thornton, and that is Bobby Brown. Suffice to say we've seen what he brings to the table. All of the playersr playing in front of Thornton are have been on the team for over a year. We already know what we are going to get from these players, which is not a whole lot. "All of these new people" consist of 3 big men (one injured), and a Bobby Brown. I fail to see what this has to do with finding minutes for a rookie PG and SG. I'm OK with Bobby Brown winning the backup PG duties based on preseason and he probably solidified his spot for awhile with his performance last night. But refusing to play a rookie who looks like he can score at this level even though you have zero capable SGs on the team and resort to playing what I feel will eventually be our 3rd string PG as a SG for big minutes is stubborn and slightly stupid. I am not "bashing" Byron , thought I think calling him great is a pretty big stretch. My opinion is that he is a good coach that sticks to a formula that has worked for him in the past. He's proven to be pretty inflexible in the last two seasons and I think it has been a detriment to the team. Also I'm not sure why you think "we should be at the bottom," but I think most people would agree that it has more to do with a man named Chris Paul than anything else.

   #4

5. 

   LSUhornet

   11/05/09 02:58 PM

   ticktock, I agree completely. Though, "less of Devin Brown than ever" is scaring me a little bit.

   #5

6. 

   corndeaux

   11/05/09 03:00 PM

   lsuhornet- cosign on all counts

   #6

7. 

   Caleb462

   11/05/09 03:16 PM

   I'm also confused at BeeDog's comment. The chart shows the exact opposite... in regards to Collison in particular. Collison was drafted specifically to be the backup PG, so why does Bobby Brown get the first nod at that job?
   
   He's hardly a "vet," and played horribly in his limited time last year. Now he did some good things last night, and that was nice to see and I hope it continues, but its baffling to me that Collison hasn't got a chance yet.
   
   And LSUHornet makes great points about Thorton as well.... SG is a *glaring* need right now. Will Thorton be the anwser? Who knows? But his skillset is promising.
   
   The fact is Byron has a track record when it comes to this kind of thing, so people are right to be frustrated and uncomfortable about the situation. It's not "bashing," its valid criticism. There's a lot of things to like about Byron Scott, but there is also a lot to dislike. If Scott proves us all wrong and ends up giving these guys ample time and doing his best to develop their skills, well then great... but no reason to blame people for worrying about this considering Scott's record of stubborness.

   neworleansbasketball.blogspot.com #7

8. 

   urgmasdaughter

   11/05/09 03:19 PM

   I like the idea of, Ryan alloted to earleir, Paul, B. Brown, Wright, West, Okafor, Collison running back-up PG duties. As we saw late in the game last night B. Brown is a little more reluctant to shoot the ball when he's on the court with CP3. When he was running with the second unit I think he felt he had to contribute to those bench points but playing with the starting 5 he is the 4th option behind Wright. His mindset was a little different in the second half last night, hope it sticks.
   
   Thorton has got to get into the game, he's young probably not the best D but MoPete, Posey and Peja are old and players are gettin around them with ease, but "Baby Buckets" can at least keep up.
   
   On a side note: I like what Songalia did last night on both ends of the floor without Diogu he is a better fit than Hilton

   #8

9. 

   BeeDogg

   11/05/09 03:36 PM

   What do i see on the chart? I see six rookies getting over 10 mins a game out of 21...... Oh yeah and how many of those teams were playoff teams? Only Ty lawson is putting up a decent numbers of minutes to make a difference from a playoff team from last year. The rest is of is very similar....little to no playing time. We have had some close games where rookies did not get garbage time either.....
   
   Guys...I hate the Mo Pete/JuJU/Posey/Brown/Brown sightings as much as anyone....but the rookies should be the last resort (which before was never a resort) Coach will play them in time...... I am much more curious to see Marcus Thorton right now after seeing the artist formerly know as mopete stink it up. WTF happened to him anyway???? .....i tried believing it was his number but I guess not! :) Oh yeah.... Byron was my hero growing up with LA had the league pass for 12 years and when he took over NO i became a diehard fan of this team. (just a disclaimer for the future) I have seen about every game in 5 years and can speak intelligently about this team on all levels except coach cuz i love him........had to admit it. BTW i'll be 4th row in nov at the Miami heat game...tradition 5 years in a row with my die hard heat fan son!!

   #9

10. 

    Niall Doherty

    11/05/09 04:41 PM

    @ticktock6: Good catch. Thornton's PT should be zeros. I copied over Collison's numbers by mistake. Fixed now.

    www.ndoherty.com #10

11. 

    Niall Doherty

    11/05/09 04:45 PM

    @BeeDog: It's important to look at total minutes and not just average minutes. Most of the other rookies have gotten multiple chances to impress, even it's only been for a handful of minutes per game. Collison got one chance in the first game of the season, while Thornton hasn't been given a shot at all yet.
    
    This is a VERY small sample size though. We're a week into the regular season. I'll come back and do a similar comparison in January or February and see how it's shaking out.

    www.ndoherty.com #11

12. 

    Mikey

    11/05/09 07:17 PM

    Niall, I'd hardly call the last 3 minutes of a blowout loss to your division rival "a chance to impress".

    #12

13. 

    Akademik_Hooligan

    11/06/09 03:45 AM

    It's fear that's driving the criticism I feel. I know it is for me. And when I say fear, just look at Brandon Bass.

    #13

14. 

    Juncti

    11/06/09 08:27 AM

    Reminds me of when I was job hunting many years ago. Every ad required experience (3,5,7 years). No job was willing to take anyone without experience, which essentially meant no new people could ever get those jobs.
    
    Same here.
    
    They're not playing because they're not experienced enough, but they're not experienced enough because they never play.
    
    A deadly cycle that needs to break before we see these rookies playing elsewhere and thrashing us in a few years. Worse, no help for CP3 towards winning a championship and I can't see CP staying past his opt out year. He wants to win and if we don't get him in a position to contend before that expiration I have to think he won't hesitate to look for a team that will help him win.

    #14

15. 

    YoungFella

    11/06/09 08:28 AM

    I thought the whole point of drafting Collison was that he was the "most NBA ready" and would have a "minimal transition" to the NBA because of his style of play (excels at defense, distributes the ball well, etc).
    
    I can totally understand Thornton not playing - but no Collison irks me big-time.

    #15

16. 

    downtowndave78

    11/06/09 08:41 AM

    Those "three big men" you mention are every reason to allow the vets (meaning non-rookies) to develop. No other sport relies on team chemistry as much as basketball, and in theory our vets (meaning non-rookies) have more experience to work with to make the adjustment occur more smoothly. This is a team adjustment- not a SG adjusting to a new position. And remember, the adjustment I am talking about also includes Wright & Peterson, both who have been here a few years, but rarely played last year or played in the starting line up. It is different playing next to West and CP as opposed to Hilton and Devin B, and an adjustment period will have to occur. It is all about chemistry, and knowing how your teammates play the game, positioning, reads, the plays, communication, and knowing your assignments on the court. I don't think it is fair to evaluate the situation by comparing Thornton to his competition (Devin & MoPe). You have to evaluate their levels of game knowledge because that is what is more conducive to a smooth transition for all of our "new players", and by "new players" I am also including Peterson, Wright, and any other "veterans" adjusting to new roles on the team.
    
    And like I said earlier, I am hoping our rooks are able to learn the game with a strong veteran core shouldering much of the load rather than them assuming the role of saviors, and we need to allow the vets time to develop for this to happen. NOT THE WHOLE SEASON....just a little time. I also think Scott is finally catching on to this too since they might be activated this weekend. WOOOOOO !
    
    Why does JuJu get benched when he makes a mistake but Bobby doesn't? This is what makes me fear another Bass incident...not the rookies.
    

    #16

17. 

    mW

    11/06/09 09:44 AM

    Yeah, well, what these charts DON'T show is that Thornton was one of the Vegas scoring leaders in the Summer League and registered the third most PPG for the Hornets in pre-season. Doesn't sound like a guy who shouldn't be dressed, regardless of his draft position, and regardless of what his draft mates are doing.

    www.hornetshype.com #17

18. 

    corndeaux

    11/06/09 10:40 AM

    you know what really bums me out about this whole thing? when i saw the hornets acquired bobby brown- bobby effing brown- i knew byron had his excuse to sit collison.
    
    i am sure i was not the only one either. it is only a matter of time before byron gets the axe.

    #18

19. 

    LSUhornet

    11/06/09 10:52 AM

    @ mW
    
    Exactly. I wouldn't be upset if he hadn't shown much in the preseason or summer league, but his abilities in college look to transfer well into the pro game. He seems to be exactly what we need, as the only real shooting guard we have been dressing out is Devin Brown. I kept wondering what he could have done defensively against Terry Wednesday night. Likely answer is not much, but it would've been a nice option considering he is two inches taller than Terry and maybe quick enough to stay in front. As far as defending SGs right now, we are either too slow or to too small. Granted 6'4" is small for a SG but you gotta think 6'4" and 205 is better than 6'2" and 175. Marcus is rather bullish and I think opposing guards would have a harder time backing him down (see Ray Allen against Brown). That's in addition to his (presumably) significant advantage offensively over what we've been trotting out there.

    #19

20. 

    Vic De Zen

    11/06/09 10:54 AM

    It's indefensible. Bobby Brown is awful and it's not as if Mo Pete, Posey, and Peja are setting the world on fire. Give the kids some burn.

    vittoriodezen.wordpress.com #20

21. 

    HoustonFan

    11/06/09 12:12 PM

    View from an outsider's perspective.
    It seems kind of obvious to Houston fans that Byron has a strange aversion to player development.
    Sometimes the team has to deal with a few poor outings by rookies in order to get something out of them in the future. The Rockets have been a consistent playoff team for the past several years and have also developed several young players into critical components of the team Brooks, Landry, and now Budinger, Andersen, and Taylor. Chase is an interesting case. He did well in summer league and preseason and was given significant time in the opening game, and he promptly sucked a big one. But, Adelman threw him out there again and he keeps improving each game.
    I think Byron just needs to realize that the team as currently constructed is not really going to be competing for the 1st seed or even for home court advantage, so playing the rookies now and sacrificing a win or two is a much better long term strategy.

    #21

22. 

    kel

    11/06/09 12:25 PM

    i know they are not the same player but about the same size but if eric can start why cant thorton
    
    i know gordon was drafted #7 and all but he is not that tall

    #22

23. 

    Niall Doherty

    11/06/09 01:10 PM

    @HoustonFan
    
    Very well said. I agree completely. Short term pains = long term gains. Young players have to be given some time and allowed to play through their mistakes.

    www.ndoherty.com #23

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