Hornets247.com

The Hornets proved once more that they are very concerned about health and wellness.  Sporting a 20-point lead at the half and heading for a nice, relaxing blowout, the guys thoughtfully allowed the lead to slip to only four, raising the heart rate of all fans, both Pacer or Hornet, to acceptable levels.

Happily, after the letdown, there was a great team effort during the end of the fourth to keep the Pacers at bay.  Peja had a three and a big assist to West,  West drained two shots and had a great assist to Collison,  and Collison had a steal, coast-to-coast layup, a three, and a big jumper.  Even Okafor got into the act, muscling in a rolling layup and hitting a free-throw line jumper that made me give out a groan that quickly turned into a yelp of delight.

Oh, and Darren Collison had a triple double and Paul handed him the game ball.  Let's start there.

Darren Collison

Like I said, a triple double.  Yes, he did it in a lot of minutes(45) and he had 8 turnovers, but the kid is turning into a bankable monster night in and night out.  18 points on 13 shots, 13 rebounds, 12 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 1 three and shrieks of delight from every fantasy league owner who snatched him off FA list when Paul went down. 

In the first half, as the team built their lead, Collison was relentless, pushing the pace and keeping the Pacers on their heels.  This no small feat considering the Pacers are the third fastest team in the league - and Collison was beating them at their own game.

My favorite Collison moment of the game was during a brief close-up during an inbounds play, when TJ Ford was clutching and bumping him, hoping to slow him down so he couldn't get to the ball.  For just a brief second, Collison cocked his head and gave Ford a look I can't call anything but a sneer.  He knew TJ couldn't handle him.  Crazy confidence.

Continue reading »

In the last game before the Mardi Gras break, the Bees pulled out a tough win against the reeling Boston Celtics. An optimist would call this a defensive battle, but in reality it looked more like an average Wednesday at the YMCA. The combined forty five turnovers set a season high for both teams, and left some fans (fine it was me) wondering if Adrian Peterson was disguised as a point guard.

Darren Collison

Who knew it was possible for a point guard set a franchise record for turnovers (10) and still dominate his competition? What about saying that same guy was the team's best player? Oddly enough, Collison proved both possible tonight against the overrated and over-matched Rajon Rondo. He totaled 25 points on 16 shots, and had nine assists, finishing only one shy of a very strange triple double.

With 9:23 left in the fourth quarter, Peja made a layup. It would be the last time a Hornet other than Collison made a field goal. In fact, no other Hornet even scored a point for nearly eight minutes after the Stojakovic lay in. In that time, Collison took over, scoring 11 straight for the Bees, while the rest of team was ice cold. It was a truly CP3-like fourth quarter performance.

Continue reading »

Normally after a game, I want to write about some items of interest about the Hornets game plan, and then bring up some other items to  illustrate styles of play from either team.  Tonight, however,  I'm flabbergasted.  Nothing in that game was normal or consistent.   Well, other than the fact Tyson Chandler wasn’t playing and Okafor was.

Where was the vaunted Charlotte defense?  Why did Nazr Mohammed not play in the second half for the Bobcats?  When was the last time Peja Stojakovic took 12 shots and every one was a different type of shot?  How does Morris Peterson end up with the best +/- of any player in the game?

Darren Collison

Tonight Collison had to score rather than create.  Despite having a great skillset for a rookie, he does not have the best court vision on drives.  He’ll find guys in the corner, or the big rolling to the basket, but he rarely finds the shooters on the wings unless he’s turned back on his drive and uses them to bail him out.  The Bobcats are a disciplined team, keeping fairly tight on the guys in the corner, and mostly relying on the guard and big in the paint to contest on penetration.  That style of defense left Collison with few of the passing options he was comfortable with . . . so he did other things:  he pushed the ball hard on fast breaks,  hit a few nice foul-line jumpers, and got to the rim on the biggest play of the game, dropping a tough layup over Ray Felton with his off hand.  Big shot.   He’s proven to be scary good in the closing minutes of games this season.

David West

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 »

And just like that one of the best players in the NBA and the top Hornet is unavailable for an entire month.  At first blush, losing Chris Paul makes it likely that the Hornets now have no chance of reaching the playoffs.  But hope springs eternal, and as such, I will embark on a tortured analogy to prove otherwise:  I prefer to think of their chance as equal to the one Anakin Skywalker had at landing Queen Amidala.

Amidala was mature, gorgeous, clever,  righteous, and only a good 15 years older than him.  Skywalker was immature, whiny, arrogant, brash and unsubtle.  The whole idea of them hooking up seemed ridiculous, but despite all their differences, Amidala still fell for him. (pardon me while I resist jokes about skillfully wielded lightsabers . . .)

So here are the Hornets:  In the starting backcourt are two rookie guards.  One was taken 21st in the draft, the other 43rd.  Both had enough perceived weaknesses and faults that more than half the teams in the league passed on them.  There were seven point guards taken in front of Collison. (nine if you include Tyreke Evans and Stephen Curry as PGs)  There were twelve shooting guards taken in front of Marcus Thornton. The expectations for them were not high.

The results have said otherwise.  Despite all the perceived weaknesses, the two of them have formed one of the best drafts any team can claim.  As starters, they have combined for 32.9 points on 25.8 shots(1.28 points per shot), 8.2 assists, and 7.7 rebounds a game.  That's comparable, or better, than a good 75% of the backcourts in the rest of the league.

Continue reading »