The Hornets kicked off their road trip in Phoenix tonight, and despite pulling off the rare feat of shooting 17 more times than their opponent due to their 9 more offensive rebounds and 5 fewer turnovers, still lost by 14.
The problem hasn't changed. It's been there from the start of the season. The defense as a whole is weak. The guards frequently lose their guy on the perimeter, and the interior defender either helps and his guy gets an easy dunk or putback, or he doesn't help and we see a dunk or layup. Amare took advantage of that tonight, earning 36 points on 17 shots. Yes, that's more than 2 points per shot, and he didn't shoot any threes. 14 free throws do that for you.
Marcus Thornton
Other than West, only Buckets was truly on his game tonight. What's more, he looked downright pissed off in the fourth as the team tried to make one last push and failed. He was gesturing furiously at teammates, directing traffic, attacking aggressively, and threw up his hands in disgust several times when the Suns scored to push the lead out. I'm a little worried that next year the combined glares of Paul and Thornton might actually kill a teammate who fails to rotate. A lot of intensity there.
Thornton finished with 28 points on 21 shots, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 2 steals, and a block. He got no free throws at all. Now, considering how often he drives, that may seem weird, but I'm not sure I can argue tonight. Thornton is the best rookie I've ever seen at changing the angle of his release or double-clutching at the basket to get a clean shot off. That does tend to cut down on the fouls called, since he's simply making his defender whiff.
David West
West is definitely trying to lead the team. He's vocal, he's working hard, and his defense and energy is again the highest I've seen from him all year. The worst thing that happened was when he got his fourth foul early in the third and went and sat down. He left the game with the Hornets down 6. He returned with them down 14. 24 points on 15 shots, 7 rebounds, 2 assist, and 2 steals for West.
The freakish part was he was still pressing and hedging in the fourth quarter, when the Hornets were down 20 - and he was nursing a faint limp from a twisted ankle he got in the second quarter. Oh, and the technical foul he got? Wow. It didn't matter game-wise, but wow.
Other Observations
- We usually see Okafor crack out the free throw line jumper a couple times a game. It's not usually a shot I like to see, though he's not a complete wreck from that distance. Tonight, however, he let fly about 8 times from mid-range, and surprisingly, he hit a bunch of them.
- Grant Hill's spike of Thornton in the second quarter was pretty sick. For an old guy, he's still got some serious athleticism.
- Collison had a quiet game, which I was surprised at. Steve Nash isn't exactly known for staying in front of guys like Collison very well. With Collison not attacking freely, the few times he went under the screen guarding Nash proved very costly. Nash knocked down the shot, and with only 7 shots matched the scoring output of Collison - who took 14.
- Julian was decent defensively, and a mess offensively. For a while, I was fine with his numbers (7-4-2-2-1) until I remembered he did that in 40 minutes. He needs close to double that production if he's going to carve out a niche in the NBA.
- Mo Pete hit some three's tonight. That was good. He also couldn't drive past Goran Dragic, Steve Nash, and onetime, on a switch when he had Jared Dudley on him. If you are a guard and you can't dribble past Jared Dudley, then something is really wrong.
Next game is tomorrow night against the Clippers. No word if Posey will be back in time for it. I wonder if anyone would buy the Hornets shutting down Posey for the rest of the season because of "flu symptoms".
UPDATE: Game highlights from NBA.com...
12 inspiring comments post your own
LSUhornet
03/15/10 12:23 AM
I was wondering about the zero FTAs by Thornton as well. Besides when he got hammered with under 2min left in the game, I don't remember any bad no calls. 28pts with no FTAs is seriously odd though. Watching him destroy Dragic was fun. He just bullied him all over the place.
West has been playing his butt off lately. Actually Mo has too, he just isn't good at things like driving, shooting, passing, or defending.
Steve Nash's shot is a thing of beauty. It just never looks like he's going to miss. I'm legitimately shocked when he misses a jumper with even a little space.
Songaila really needs to figure out where he left his jumper, because he is pretty worthless out there without it.
#1
QueenBee
03/15/10 12:29 AM
LOL! at Posey out the rest of the season with flu like symptoms. I'm tellin ya'll, Bill Simmons is just waiting to write a BS article about us. I will be hella surprised if he doesn't.
I agree that West has been playing hard. I doubt his haters aboard the trade West train acknowledge it though.
#2
Grayson
03/15/10 01:02 AM
Anybody care to disclose what happened with West's technical, I missed the game.
#3
Jayjay2The1
03/15/10 01:36 AM
@ grayson. West just looked at the Refs after a shot be made from like 3 fouls on one play and he didn't even say nothing.... and bam! Technical lol.
www.facebook.com/jehosafeph #4
TopherPrice
03/15/10 02:27 AM
@Grayson: The call was on a "push" on a Sun player, wasn't Amare it was a bench guy, after a shot that David made. He did a post move on the defender who bumped him around 3 or 4 different times in David's post move to the basket. David hit the shot but didn't get his, "AND ONE!!!!" So as he continued in his path back to the other side of the court the defender was on him, as will happen in the course of a game, and David pushed him off his body. I am talking like a little, "uhhh your in my personal space" kind of push. He didn't even know the whistle was on him for about 15 seconds.
It was a weak tech, but I think the refs were tired of hearing him complain about not getting calls. However, he did have a legitimate complaint tonight.
On another note: I think The Incredible Bulk needs to stay on the team next season. I like him. That guy is deceptively fast getting back down the court. I guess it's the 14 foot strides that keep him at pace with the other guys. I just want to see him lose like 30 lbs (maybe just take a really big dump in the morning) and get some time to gel with the rest of the team.
#5
YoungFella
03/15/10 05:18 AM
We're now only .001 percentage point behind Chicago for 11th pick (barring lottery miracle by either team).
Unfortunately we won't be able to catch the Clippers, who have 7 more losses than us.
#6
YoungFella
03/15/10 05:34 AM
QueenBee,
The "trade West" contingent has nothing to do with his ability or his effort. It has to do with the fact that he's maybe going to be too old to be a great contributor when the Hornets are ready to make a run again in 2 or 3 seasons.
CP3 and Thornton and DC Sniper will all be 26 or so at that time. West would be pushing 33 and he's already got some back issues, etc.
I don't think anybody dislikes West or what he brings to the team for such a reasonable price. He's been my all-time favorite Hornet since he was drafted and blossomed. It's just that we could probably get a younger guy in return for him who better helps us in 2012 and 2013. It doesn't look like Shinn is willing to trade him though, so I don't think you have much to worry about.
#7
NOEngineer
03/15/10 06:26 AM
About half of A'M'A'R'e"s free throws came when he was 18 feet from the basket, and all he had to do was swing his arms around and maybe pivot once or twice to initiate contact. West and Thornton and Okafor have to lose a limb to get a call. I still think the Hornets get the least respect from the referees of any team with legitimate playoff aspirations, especially at home.
#8
nikkoewan
03/15/10 08:11 AM
i have to announce, im starting to love wesley johnson :)) he seems perfect for the hornets
#9
Borris Mart
03/15/10 09:58 AM
We'd have to strike gold in the lottery / trade up to get Johnson. Very unlikely he drops out of top 10. He would be an interesting fit though.
#10
cl0verstreet
03/15/10 12:18 PM
Any prospects the hornets looking to shore up the 8 man rotation they are stuck with for the foreseeable future? I know we have no chance of making the playoffs, but to suit up just 8 players? .....I know we have injuries so those players still have to stay on the Hornet's roster, but I believe the NBA allows teams to sign people in cases like this. I just remember cringing last night when CST showed the available players and it was just Gray, Okafor and Wright. Zero depth.
But let's keep the faith my fellow fans. I know it's grasping, but we do have a great outlook on our future: major expiring contracts coming up next year, amazing rookies that will hopefully continue to grow, & paul will be back. I dislike our current standings but I have hopes for better days.
#11
HollisBuckeye21
03/15/10 02:53 PM
"I'm a little worried that next year the combined glares of Paul and Thornton might actually kill a teammate who fails to rotate. A lot of intensity there."
That comment got me. Another tough night. I knew we were struggling but when I was watching some ESPN yesterday afternoon I saw we dropped 8 of 10, now 9 of 11. It's tough to see things go this route but this stuff happens.
I too have a lot of positive hope for the teams future. But for all the potential there is to improve, we could really mess up and take a step back, so it's still a little nerve racking.
Who would be some guys likely to be FA's that we could sign for veteran minimum this summer? I know it's been brought up of the Hornets getting a guy or two this way but I haven't heard any possible names.
#12