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Yeah, that tanking talk was way premature.

Two days after slaying the best team in the Western Conference, the Hornets took down the beasts of the East, putting together four solid quarters of basketball to topple the visiting Atlanta Hawks, 96-88 ( box | recap ).

A microcosm of this game came with about 1:30 left in the fourth quarter. The Hawks went inside out to get Jamal Crawford an open corner three, cutting the Hornets lead to six points. Darren Collison came down court and, as he'd done several times already in the game, got a high screen on the right side from one of his big men (Emeka Okafor on this occasion) then dribbled middle towards the paint. Atlanta had dropped a help defender from the far wing on that same play twice in the fourth quarter, and had twice been burned by Collison dishing out for open triples. This time the Hawks stayed home so Collison continued into the lane, getting halfway down, drawing the help D, and remaining calm to find David West for an open baseline J. West missed, but Marcus Thornton had sneaked in under the basket from the right corner and was able to tip the rebound up and away from Josh Smith. Al Horford looked to have position to grab the ball out of the air, but Okafor took a swipe and batted it back over to Thornton, who wasted no time in getting a shot up. Horford would get a hand on that attempt, but was rightfully called for a goaltend. 1:10 left, Hornets by 8, and the crowd on its feet.

A lot to love on that play: the defense spread by the shooters; Collison making good decisions and exploiting the gaps; Okafor setting a solid pick, rolling nicely and positioning himself well for a chance at the rebound; Thornton getting in among the trees, battling and getting two more points any way he could.

All good things, and justly rewarded. It's been bundles of fun watching the Hornets these past few games.

On to some notes...

Darren Collison

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The Hornets got their biggest win of the season on Thursday, beating the Western Conference leading Suns in New Orleans. Tonight, the league leading Hakes come to town, fresh off a last-second win over the Rockets last night in Atlanta.

The Hawks are 11-2 on the season, currently riding a 7-game winning streak. We saw them just a week ago in Atlanta, when our guys were still within striking distance early in the fourth quarter before the Hawks got serious and blew the game open.

Atlanta have been eating their vegetables and so have no injuries to report. As for the Hornets, Chris Paul remains out for a mysterious amount of time, while Marcus Thornton has reportedly shaken off that ankle tweak and will be available tonight. As for Ike Diogu, the T-P reports that he did not practice as planned yesterday, so I guess his reevaluation didn't go well.

Game tips at 7 p.m. Central.

Linkage:

• Ryan's mini game preview
• Lagniappe: Collison video, SI roundtable, and dealing with Devin Brown not sucking
  
• Rival bloggers: Hoopinion | Peachtree Hoops

(Many thanks to Dariusz for the banner.)

Once again, the Hornets get to face a team that walloped them just a week ago, as the Eastern Conference-leading Hawks come to the Hive tonight.  In the previous game(Jeff Bowers first without CP) the Hornets displayed the first glimmerings of fight all season, fighting off runs and keeping in contact with the Hawks until the last 6 minutes of the game.

The Hornets will have a little help on their side, as the Hawks played last night against the rough and tumble Rockets, pulling the win out with 0.7 seconds to go.

Regardless, the Hornets will have some difficulty matching up with the Hawks.  Josh Smith is an athletic big of the sort that typically gives West trouble, and Devin Brown isn't likely to be able to check Joe Johnson.  The Hawks also have few obvious weaknesses as they are top five in turnover rate, rebound rate, offensive efficiency, and offensive rebounding.  So far their only real weakness has been the long ball, (34% as a team) so if you go under picks and play off of them a little, they may settle for long jumpers.  Or so you can hope.

They are also only average(15th in the league) at defensive rebounding, so I suppose one can hold out hope for another offensive rebound barrage like last game, but I have a feeling Josh Smith and Al Horford will give more resistance on the glass than Amare "Too Cool to Jump" Stoudemire and Channing "I would rather be a guard" Frye.

So, it all sounds a little grim, but this is the NBA.  You slow down a couple things they like to do and knock down the shots you generate, and anything is possible.

Enjoy the Game.

One step forward, two steps back.  Tonight the Hornets took on a sharp and confident Hawks team and didn't lose contact until most of the starters came in a few minutes into the fourth.  Then their starters came in, and the Hornets were quickly swamped.  There were a few highlights, a lot of lowlights, and some weirdness I can't figure out:

• The loss tonight was on the starters, without any question.  They couldn't defend the Hawks to save their lives, falling behind even with Peja absolutely smoking from every angle of the court.  Okafor and West gave up easy shot after easy shot on the interior, and Devin Brown defended Joe Johnson as well as the Maginot Line defended France in 1940.
  
  
• West's play, in particular, was a major reason this game got away from the Hornets.  Usually I can stomach his slow rotations defensively, because offensively he's giving more than he's taking.  Tonight - and really, the whole season - that's not been true.  I'm completely flummoxed about his problems this season, too.  He's not just missing forced shots - tonight he had 4 offensive rebounds that he had uncontested layups to put back in . . . and he blew them.  He's done that in multiple games this season.  I don't get it.  If he'd just put in his open point blank shots, the Hornets would have been up in the fourth.  He also refused to step out to meet several passes while in the post, allowing easy steals, and Josh Smith treated him like a traffic cone.  Frustrating.
  
  
• The second unit played very well.  Both times they entered the game, the Hornets made a run behind Bobby Brown's (surprisingly) decent shot selection, Thornton's aggressiveness, and Songaila's deft passing and willingness to battle.  Even Posey was working out there tonight, getting out on the break and fighting hard on the boards and defensively.

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Hornets in Atlanta this evening to take on the Hawks. Chris Paul will not be playing after suffering a bad ankle sprain against the Blazers last night. I'm hearing he could miss up to two weeks.

Rookie Darren Collison will get the starting nod for the Hornets at point, looking to build on an impressive showing against Portland.

The Hawks are looking nice with a 7-2 record, and are fresh off a big win in Boston last night. They are 3-0 at home this season and have no injuries to report. Not an easy task for the Hornets to come away with a W.

Game tips at 6 Central. Once again, this one isn't on local or national TV. Watch it on NBA League Pass or tune in to Gerry V and Sean Kelley calling the game on 106.7 FM.

Linkage:

• Ryan's Hornets-Blazers recap
• Lagniappe: How to spell Bower, not worrying about CP3, finger pointing and much more
  
• Rival bloggers: Hoopinion | Peachtree Hoops

(Many thanks to Dariusz for the banner.)