Marcus Marcus Where for art thou? Marcus

 I looked forward to the debut of Jarrett Jack when the Hornets played the Clippers. I seemed to be one of the few who disliked the trade and was hoping my skepticism wasn't justified.  The Hornets second unit had become stagnant of late and management thought Jack could be the catalyst to get them back to early season success. He had a good game stat wise with 12 points, 4 assists in 16 minutes. But he looked to me to be a duplicate of Willie Greene.  The second unit overall had looked no better.

As the game progressed I was certain it would go to the wire.  The Clipper announcer remarked there was no Stojakovic to shoot away at the end.  The Hornets went to David West time and again. If David wasn't taking the shot Chris Paul would try himself. Very late in the game a pass to West went awry and the Hornets lost a close one.  Bellinelli was free in the corner but his 2-9 three point shooting apparently had left a sour taste in Paul's mouth.

After watching tonight's Oklahoma City game I see the same problems repeating itself again and again.  When the Hornets are close in the fourth West and Paul are pressured.  Ariza, nor Bellinelli, nor Okafor are scorers.  Bellinelli is only effective in the first quarter when he doesn't have the pressure and has open shots.  Ariza is money when the shot clock is falling and has to shoot a three but he too has trouble putting the ball on the ground and taking it to the hole.

I hated the Peja deal because everyone knows either Paul or West now have to take the late game shot. Like or hate his defense, Peja is money at the foul and three point lines in the fourth quarter. He is highly respected and must be considered when creating a defense.  The Hornets will struggle unless they find a third scorer that will be highly thought of in the last period.

Marcus Thornton is the only player on the current roster that can fit the bill.  He is a scorer, a three point shooter and a good foul shooter.  My suggestion is to start Bellinelli but play Marcus like last year and let him finish the game as the 2 guard.  If we don't do this the losses will keep piling up and we'll lose a valuable asset at seasons end, because I don't think he would want to come back being used the way he has been.  What does everyone else think?