Hornets247.com

Salary Cap Stuff

Don't get too excited, but it appears that the that the NBA salary cap and luxury tax lines are dropping less than expected. It's now being projected that the cap will fall from 57.7 million to 56.1 million. The 1.6 million dollar decrease is millions less than most front offices had anticipated.

The expected luxury tax hasn't been revealed, and likely won't be until the official salary cap is set. That said, I project it to be just over 68 million, given the historical correlation between the two. This years luxury tax line was set at 69.92 million.

As it stands right now the Hornets have ten players under contract for approximately 72.2 million dollars.

Continue reading »

It's playoff prediction time here at Hornets247. No, the Bees won't be part in the postseason, but that doesn't mean that we can't have some fun talking about the 16 teams that have earned a shot to compete for the title. The seeding is set, players and coaches are preparing, and we're predicting.

Ryan Schwan: If ever there was a time when seeding was unimportant, it was this year in the Western Conference.  Seven games difference between the 1 seed and the 8 seed?  Point differentials that only vary by 2.6?  Crazy place, the Western Conference.

Continue reading »

Matchup: Thunder(27-21) @ Hornets(26-22)

Off Efficiency: Thunder 103.3(19th), Hornets 104.8(14th)
Def Efficiency: Thunder 100.5(6th), Hornets 105.5(19th)

The Thunder have recovered from a three game losing streak with a three game winning streak, including a road win over tough Atlanta last night.  The Thunder, despite the phenomenal scoring expoits of Kevin Durant, do not win games with their offense, which is, frankly, inept when the ball leaves Durant's hands.  Instead, they rely on their defense to keep them in games, but even their defense is a bit strange.  As I noted a few posts ago, the Thunder routinely give up really easy shots, yet still keep the opposing team from hitting them.  We'll have to see how the Hornets handle that curve ball.

Tonight will also be quite a test for the Hornets rookies as they face Thabo Sefolosha and Russell Westbrook, two extremely long, athletic and capable defenders.  If they can come through with solid efforts, the Hornets interior of West and Okafor should be able to complete the win for the Hornets.

Injuries

Thunder: None
Hornets: Chris Paul, Out

Positional Analysis

Continue reading »

Friday night the Hornets hit Detroit and then travel south on Saturday to take on the Pacers in their fourth and fifth games in seven nights. So that means a double preview.  Yay?  Double the fun?

Matchups: Hornets(20-17) @ Pistons(12-25) & @ Pacers(13-25)

Offensive Efficiency:

Hornets 104.1(16th), Pistons 100.0(24th), Pacers 98.8(26th)

Defensive Efficiency:

Hornets 105.6(20th), Pistons 107.4(24th), Pacers 103.9(17th)

Pistons

The Hornets played the Pistons on December 16th, fell behind by 13 at the half, and stormed back in the second half behind tightening defense and an offensive blitz from West and Paul.(32 points combined in the half)

Since that game, Rip Hamilton has returned to the lineup for the Pistons, Austin Daye has fallen out of the rotation, and the Pistons have managed one win(over the Wizards) in fourteen tries.

The Pistons had hoped that Villueneva, Tayshaun Prince, Stuckey, Hamilton and Ben Gordon would provide the scoring needed to compete this season.  While Gordon has done well, he’s battled injuries, and is injured now, leaving the others to fire away freely. Combined, they manage a pathetic 59.3 points on 56.3 shots.  It’s so bad GM Joe Dumars could hire an Imperial Stormtrooper to teach them how to shoot and expect improvement.

Continue reading »

Matchup: Nets(3-30) @ Hornets(17-16)

Off Efficiency: Nets 94.3(30th), Hornets 103.0(21st)
Def Efficiency: Nets 107.1(23rd), Hornets 105.6(20th)

Injuries:

Nets: Jarvis Hayes is Day-to-Day
Hornets: Ike Diogu, Sean Marks

The Nets are terrible.  Yeah, I know that's a bit of a "duh" statement since their record stands at 3-30.  Their offense, however, is more than just terrible.  Over the last five years, offensive rules changes has made scoring much easier, and not a single team has ended the season with an efficiency below 100.  The Nets trail that mark by 5.7.  I guess that's what happens when you consciously trade away your best players for picks and cap space - and then hold all that cap space for the future.

Oddly, the Nets do have a few efficient scorers on their team.  Yi Jianlin and Brook Lopez both average over 1.3 points per shot - and Devin Harris is posting a decent David West-like 1.23.  The problem, however, is their other players.  Chris Douglas-Roberts, Courtney Lee, and the recently waived Rafer Alston took a combined 33 shots a game - and produced 35.  That's awful.  Again, it would be like us running our offense through Devin Brown.  Last year's Devin Brown.  Oh, and he'd have to take as many shots as Kobe does.  Yeah.  It's that bad.

So, for the Hornets to take out the Nets, the key is to let the guards shoot.  Pressure Lopez, stay on Yi, and ask Courtney Lee and Douglas-Roberts to fire away from the perimeter, please.

OR they Hornets could win by crashing the boards, because the Nets ignore the glass, giving up a 6-rebound advantage to opposing teams.  Lopez isn't a bad rebounder, but Yi is weak on that end, and none of their guards bother with the boards in any meaningful sense.  In fact, Peja Stojakovic produces more rebounds per minute than every one of their swingmen and point guards - except Douglas Roberts, who exactly equals him.  That's pretty tough, considering I turn up my nose at Peja's rebounding efforts.

So - there are a lot of ways to beat this team.  Let's hope the Hornets take advantage of one of them.

Enjoy the game.