Things Fall Apart
by Rohan on Apr 28, 2011 10:43 PM CDT
in Recaps
Email
Print
In a few days, we'll look back on this series in a largely positive manner. I'm sure of it . That the Hornets took the L.A. Lakers to six games is remarkable in and of itself.
But it doesn't change the fact that this concluding game marked a return to those things we grew to so vociferously despise over these last five months. Chris Paul's passivity. The almost hilarious absence of perimeter shooting. Mis-evaluation of bench players. Those three things, probably more than anything else, define the 2010-2011 Hornets. And they most certainly defined them in their obliteration at the hands of Los Angeles.
It feels strange to criticize Chris Paul after the series he's had, but Paul absolutely failed to show up in the first half. It's one thing to have an off half (which, quite frankly, is an apt description of Paul's second half anyway). It's quite another to not only not shoot the basketball, but to literally avoid the ball entirely for possessions at a time. Where the national audience may have been somewhat shocked, we could do no more than sigh knowingly. It's true that Los Angeles pulled away in the third quarter, but the number of opportunities New Orleans left on the floor in the first half thanks to CP3's vanishing act was staggering.
Look, I enjoyed being "proved wrong" as much as anybody when Chris Paul killed the Lakers through five games. I strongly believe it will be a long while before a point guard has the kind of six game playoff stretch Chris Paul just did. But this series didn't answer the long term questions we had about Paul coming in. We saw that when he wants it, he's quite possibly the best basketball player on the planet. But we already knew that. What we still don't know is what causes those stretches where he doesn't seem to care, where he pumps the ball listlessly into the hands of Trevor Ariza, of Willie Green. That's as much a part of the fabric of the new Chris Paul as the stunning brilliance of Games 1 and 5. That's the reality.
In the meanwhile, there is absolutely no way anyone can question Paul's commitment to this team, this organization, or this city. His passivity in the first half of this game was a season long trend - caused by his surgery, Monty Williams' new offense, what have you - not an isolated instance of him "giving up on the team." We'd do well to remember that as the off-season media machine begins to twist and manufacture The Chris Paul (Where Will He Go!) Story.
Not too much needs to be said about the perimeter shooting, I don't think. That's a subject we can finally put away for now. Maybe it will be solved this summer, maybe it won't. But we're done with it for 2010-2011. I've recoiled in horror at Willie Green and Trevor Ariza bombing away from deep for the final time this season, and it comes as a massive relief. Similarly, I don't want to get too much into Monty Williams' bench either. I liked the move to go to Mbenga out of desperation late, but playing a 26% defensive rebounder (Aaron Gray) for a total of 7 minutes in a game where the opposition absolutely destroyed the offensive glass (~40%) will justifiably draw critique. Allowing Jarrett Jack to hoist jumper after jumper off the high pick and roll instead of penetrating - again inexplicable. My opinion on Willie Green and Trevor Ariza isolations and pick-and-rolls is also well known.
At the end of the day, I believe Monty Williams wrapped up a fantastic rookie season as a head coach tonight. The way he motivated this team from Day 1, the defensive principles he instilled, and the sense of team basketball he created were all remarkable. We're set for the future at head coach, and it feels great to type that. But in terms of determining which of his players are efficient from which areas of the floor (obviously a critical aspect of offensive basketball), he has much to improve on. It's excruciating now, but knowing Williams' work ethic and desire to improve, I think we'll see changes soon. And again, we really should be grateful to the old Bower-Weber front office for pursuing him and Tom Thibodeau. They nailed it.
In any case... it's now the offseason.
It's been an exhausting, exhausting year in every sense. On the court. Off the court. In between. Almost every player on the roster followed a pretty damn engrossing story arc over the course of the season. Chris. David. Trevor. Emeka. Marco. Willie and Jarrett. Aaron and Didier. Marcus. Carl. Quincy. Jerryd. Peja. The season started with a bang and right when it looked it would end with a whimper, the Hornets, thanks to the play of guys like Paul, Landry, and Ariza, made sure they went out with an almost unimaginable flourish.
2010-2011 did not, in the slightest, go the way we drew it up. And that's why we won't forget it.
Go Hornets.
106 comments
|
3 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Great Season guys! Great job with the site…I think it improved a ton from last year. Actually had a good amount of followers this year. Good Job Rohan and Company. Should be an interesting off-season for the Bees. Please get us a quality SG Dell.
by EaglesFanatic80 on Apr 28, 2011 10:53 PM CDT reply actions
Thanks, appreciate it
I think adding Caleb, Justin, Will, Andrew, Mason, and Paul was the best thing for the site… love their work.
Now… Let’s go get that SG!
by Rohan on Apr 28, 2011 11:05 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Good Job, Rohan
And I like “Things Fall Apart.” Probably my favorite novel ever. Although I’m not sure if that’s what you’re referencing (could it be The Roots CD)?
Anyways, you basically hit it on the head. I don’t want to bash the team too much but I also don’t want to be the “hey at least we got there and played better than expected” guy either. I had to work and missed the game and I’m just now seeing some clips of Chris Paul getting emotional at the end of the game and it’s tough. Sometimes you just wish your team was better. The Hornets played so damn hard for six games but they just got worn down by the bigger, stronger team. I think tonight that Chris Paul just hit empty. Of course, he was passive so much this season that you’ll want to say that’s what happened, but I truly think that he just didn’t have anymore to give. His conditioning needs a lot of work this offseason (he seemed to have that problem a lot this season) but hey he played a terrific series and I won’t criticize him at all for tonight.
As for everyone else, I just think a few of them were asked to do things they couldn’t. Namely Ariza and Green all season long. But Ariza was very good this season. Carl Landry turned out to be a great hire and I’m already interested to see what they do with him and David West this offseason. But as of right now, I just want to sulk a little bit and, at the same time, just be proud of the team this season. They really did overachieve basically the entire year.
I’ll be here all offseason with you, Rohan! Same as last summer. Let’s hope this one is less eventful…. or more eventful in a good way.
"You play to win the game."
Ha, both!
That’s seriously awesome that you know the novel, I don’t believe I’ve ever talked to someone else that’s read it.
You know, I totally buy that CP3 hit empty tonight as well. I wrote the “Paul not showing up in the 1st half” section of the recap at halftime, and I was really depressed at that point at what had unfolded. Still am, but with less of that edge I guess.
I’m looking forward to the offseason too, I hope everybody sticks around!
Well
I had to read the Achebe essay that he wrote in response to Heart of Darkness (BTW Apocalypse Now is like the greatest movie ever [based off of Heart of Darkness]) and do a project on it a couple semesters ago and I know that Things Fall Apart is a response to that so I went ahead and read it too. It’s fantastic. Okonkwo is such a tragic main character. I felt sorry for him the whole time lol.
Hopefully I’ll be able to contribute a lot more this offseason as well! This semester I was swamped with 18 hours of school and 25 hours of work a week and it just became a bit much. When I had time to sit down and write I just didn’t want to. And I always felt like I should be working to get ahead in school work too. But finals are next week and things should be different.
"You play to win the game."
by MrWayneKeller on Apr 28, 2011 11:15 PM CDT up reply actions
That's hilarious
That’s like the exact sequence of events that led me to read it too
And 43 combined hours of school and work every week sounds pretty brutal..
It Was Tough
The Hornets were basically an escape anytime I got to watch them! I say it every year, but this year was just a great bunch to connect with (the team). I think being a part of the site made it a lot of fun too. I’ve always had a hard time talking about the Hornets with people due to me living in San Antonio and this site gives me a chance to do it.
"You play to win the game."
by MrWayneKeller on Apr 28, 2011 11:48 PM CDT up reply actions
Great story, bro
Props to my favorite Hornets blog. I had been a faithful reader for a while now, but decided this season it’d be fun to pitch in once in a while.
Yes, the Chris Paul Circus starts NOW. BUT, like you said Rohan, I believe Chris will be dedicated to New Orleans as long as he’s here. He has stated this season that the team has the best coaching staff in the league. And if THIS team can push the Lakers to 6 games, imagine what a few offseason moves can do.
If we only have one more season with Chris, let’s make it count. And I have faith that Monty and Dell do just that this offseason.
I look forward to next season. Geaux Hornets!
Reppin' the Lafayette Hornets fans.
Thanks Ryan
Absolutely love chatting with you on here since you’ve been commenting. AND you’ve inspired me to do much more frequent random paint/GIMP shops (such as the above! does it make you dizzy? it kinda does right? success!) which is pretty much the ultimate win-win.
I think your point about Lakers is very important… down our second best player, we took not only the 2 time defending champs but our WORST POSSIBLE matchup in the ENTIRE NBA to six games. Healthy Chris, healthy David, TOOTH off the bench, with like one more piece (Tyson Chandler with Mek off the bench?) and we’re a top 3 team in the West. Can’t wait for them to lift the lockout..
I Really Hope
That we do have a season next year. I just don’t want to see what happened in 99 happen here. I think the team needs a fair shake to prove to Chris Paul that he can still win here and I don’t think they get that opportunity if there’s a lockout.
"You play to win the game."
by MrWayneKeller on Apr 28, 2011 11:16 PM CDT up reply actions
PS
Rohan I’d love to work with you on getting the Facebook Fan Page going. Maybe in a few weeks we can hop on that…
And I’m sure I’ll have many more Microsoft Paint Jobs in store for next season!
Reppin' the Lafayette Hornets fans.
Unfortunately
I have to take a boards examination this weekend in Houston. I can e-mail you with my ideas next week.
Also, my twitter is @ryancaz
Reppin' the Lafayette Hornets fans.
I can help with that too, if need be
I set up our HoopDat Facebook page fairly easily, so let me know if there’s anything that I can do.
by GeauxHornets on Apr 29, 2011 8:33 AM CDT up reply actions
thanks chris
and thank you for showing the nba what we all knew, you’re the best PG in the NBA. SORRY D-ROSE. great article showing why here – http://chasing23.com/third-year-point-guard-comparison-derrick-rose-chris-paul/
Thank you Hornets
Rohan said it best, the season didn’t go as planned and it didn’t end that way either. I’m super proud of them and glad to be a hornets fan. Thanks guys, hopefully we get some of the off court problems solved before the draft and have a better year next year. Go Hornets.
Team needs help
Lot’s to think about in offseason…Remarkable that this team won 46 games
My preliminary view
Great job by Williams in extremely difficult circumstances.
1. Ariza keeper
2. Landry keeper
3. Bellinelli keeper
4. Gray keeper
5. Jack keeper
Green NOT
Mbenga NOT
Jayson smith NOT
Qpon Too early to tell
Ewing Too ealry to tell
Which leaves West, Okafor and Paul
West—really tough call..but if he stays, has to be at right price
Okafor- trade bait
Paul—Ultimate trade bait (but lose lose either way-we will either not get enough value for him in a trade, or we will get no value if we just let him go)..
Right now, I am having a hard time envisioning how this team is better next year or thereafter..Love to hear the opinions of others.
I'd Rather
If Chris Paul’s going to leave, I’d rather him just go. I don’t want to trade him because I don’t think they’d get anything worthwhile in return. So, instead, I’d just like the freed up cap space that the team can work with. I think most teams will learn from New York, too, and not offer up so much. But if the Hornets aggressively pursue a trade I’d be pissed. I think you try and win with what you have nad moving Paul would not be a move to try and win. If the Hornets wind up with what Utah got for Deron Williams, it’d set the team back big time.
I want to know how you don’t think the team will be better. They have Paul, Jack, Okafor, Ariza, Pondexter under contract next season. That could be a bad thing considering they have a lot of holes to fill, but they’re not married to some really bad deals. They have room to breathe a little bit. Plus, they instilled a system here (finally) and have a plan as to what they want to do. Therefore now you find guys for the system as opposed to “filling the gaps” year by year.
Also, I think most of you are being way too hard on Okafor. I think it’s easy to say he got smoked by Bynum (who’s about twice his size) and rail on him, but Okafor played hard this series. He couldn’t stay out of foul trouble and he couldn’t box out someone who was bigger than him but I’d hardly say that’s grounds to trade him. For most of this season, Okafor was the big reason why the team was as good as it was. People forget that when Okafor went down to his injury, the Hornets were the third seed in the West. By the time he got back, they were back to fighting for a playoff spot. Okafor was really good this season before the injury and I think the negative comments should be reduced in relation to this series. He was just overmatched.
"You play to win the game."
by MrWayneKeller on Apr 29, 2011 12:18 AM CDT up reply actions
Not trying to be hard on Okafor
But the Hornets are too small upfront to take their game to the next level. Okafor is like Elton Brand without the offensive skillset, and 6’10" centers don’t cut it unless they can pull defense away from basket with mid-range game.
The Hornets can’t shoot from outside (except Beli), they get pounded on the boards…bad combination. They play very hard, and that will get you about 45 wins, which is what they achieved. But they are unlikely to have DWest until mid-season next year (assuming they keep him), and they do not have a number 1 pick in this year’s draft.
Maybe Demps can pull some Magic (preferably Dwight Howard magic)…but they have glaring needs in the front court and generally in scoring, and I do not see cavalry on the way…In fact, I don’t see an owner committed to keep the team in New Orleans on the way….Just my opinion.
by BenDerDonDat on Apr 29, 2011 6:33 AM CDT up reply actions
No I Get It
Yeah the Hornets are horribly undersized and have been since they acquired Okafor. In fact, Okafor’s probably more of a natural 4 than he is a five. But I feel he’s done well at the 5 spot this season. His size was just glaring here in this series. I think they could still be an upper second tier team with Okafor but, you’re right, they have to get much bigger if they want to be a great team.
"You play to win the game."
by MrWayneKeller on Apr 29, 2011 1:43 PM CDT up reply actions
agreed
If we don’t keep west id say move oak to the 4 and try to get a center in FA
some players of interest in random order
Glen Davis
Kris Humphries
Zach Randolph
Jason Richardson
Sam Dalembert
Steve novak
Gray of course
Landry
West
Michael Redd
Michael Dunleavy
Chuck hayes
Tayshaun Prince
Chandler
Pryzbilla
Jamal Crawford
Rohan
Couldn’t have summed up the playoffs, regular season, and emotional feelings better myself.
Really, truth be told, it was fun at times but Monty’s treatment of MT5 really will linger for me.
I can’t do 3-5 more years of watching new talent being flushed down the toilet for reliable (LOL?) veterans.
In Dell Demps I trust. Monty, stop being such a dick.
Good series. Toughness, heart, character. You guys have it. We will meet again…….
by California Girly Girl on Apr 29, 2011 12:43 AM CDT up reply actions
Really?
Monty may have misfired on the Thornton and Willie Green rotation bit, but you’re really going to sit and argue that Carl Landry wasn’t a better fit for this team than Marcus Thornton?
"You play to win the game."
by MrWayneKeller on Apr 29, 2011 12:48 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Also
Thornton still has to prove he can be effective in a structured, dedicated system. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that as soon as he got traded to a lousy team with no structure that he put up great numbers. It’s what he did last season. I don’t know if he’s a “good numbers on a bad team” guy yet but I don’t know if he’s a “good numbers on a good team” guy either.
From what Demps said, Thornton didn’t go to any of the defensive camps that Monty ran once he arrived this offseason. If Willie did, I think it’s entirely fair for Monty to not want to bend over backwards to accomodate Thornton. Thornton’s a great talent, but he hasn’t earned that kind of treatment yet.
And I can’t believe we’re still talking about this all these months later and with the team having played the way it did here in the postseason.
"You play to win the game."
by MrWayneKeller on Apr 29, 2011 12:50 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Oh Jesus
Get off it man. If you think the Landry 2-3 month rental was worth giving up Marcus Thornton you are just trying to blindly defend Monty at that point.
Boohoo offseason OTA’s. You realize you are only hearing one side of the story right? Did you watch Marcus play throughout the season? The kid busted his ass to play Monty ball.
You are saying it’s ok to not develop Marcus because he made one fricking mistake in not going to offseason OTA’s and it was right for us to get a full season’s dose of Willie Green instead because of it? Marcus turned corners throughout the season to no avail while the rest of our SG’s reversed corners and proved they were WORSE.
But hey, I guess the whole city of Sacramento falling in love with the kid in 20 games is just cause he’s got a goofy smile.
And lastly, why the hell as we move into the offseason would you NOT expect it to be talked about? You have to be a sheep to not be a little worried about them giving Willie Green a 3-4 million dollar contract in the offseason.
I'll have an article up soon on Marcus & Monty
Not going to change anyone’s mind I’m sure – most seem to have their opinion set in stone, which is fine. But, hey, we’ll get to hash it out one more time.
Quit Being So Whiny About It
“Oh, poor Thornton. Monty was so mean to him for not playing him. Sacramento loves him because he’s so good too. That means we made a mistake.”
What inclination do you have that Landry was just a rental? And Thornton sure made a huge different for Sacramento when he got there. I think they won about 10 games after the deadline.
Give it a rest and talk about it on offseason threads. This is to reflect on the prior series and your crying about Thornton is tiring.
"You play to win the game."
by MrWayneKeller on Apr 29, 2011 1:09 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
But It's Whatever
I won’t engage you in conversation anymore on this topic. You clearly take it entirely too personal and I won’t be responding to you after this.
"You play to win the game."
by MrWayneKeller on Apr 29, 2011 1:11 PM CDT up reply actions
Seems like you are too touch in response, too.
Here’s the perspective. The glaring hole in our roster, as it has been for years, is SG. Also, backup PG is an issue last several years. We had two of the best rookies at those positions last year, and it seemed we could turn to the next thing. Then we dumped both.
Sure, they enabled us to get Landry and Ariza, not arguing that. Point on Thornton is that he WAS the solution at SG. Not saying he was a savior, just an excellent SG. And as part of this retrospective, I think it is totally fair to be mad at Monty for not playing him and Dell for trading him.
by m-W on Apr 29, 2011 2:08 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
I Only
Got touchy when he started throwing out insults. It’s cool. My opinion of Thornton hasn’t changed since February. I’ve done nothing but repeat myself since then so my efforts have been for not anyways. I’m fine with disagreeing but he doesn’t want to debate he wants to argue.
Thornton was/is terrific. He’s truly a great scoring shooting guard. I think he’s better than any shooting guard on the roster. Do I think Monty deserves some blame for the way he handled the rotation? I do and I think he got a lot of it from the fans. Do I think Thornton deserves some blame too? I do and I think he’s given a free pass. That’s all.
And just as you don’t it’s fair to be mad at Monty and Demps for ridding of Collison and Thornton (and I liked them too), it’s equally fair to have a contrasting opinion which onpoint’s noticeable hostility stated otherwise. That’s why I said I wouldn’t respond to him anymore.
"You play to win the game."
by MrWayneKeller on Apr 29, 2011 3:28 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
I take it too personally?
I mentioned it in passing as something that marred my enjoyment of this season and you jumped down my throat instantly.
Jumped Down Your Throat?
I disagreed with you. If you can quote anything I said that was remotely hostile feel free to.
"You play to win the game."
by MrWayneKeller on Apr 29, 2011 7:43 PM CDT up reply actions
“And I can’t believe we’re still talking about this all these months later and with the team having played the way it did here in the postseason.”
Kind of funny, because you really started the conversation.
That's Hostile
After you called Monty Williams a dick, saying that I can’t believe we’re talking about this is hostile? Whatever man.
Agree to disagree, buddy. We like the team, find common ground on that and move on. No ill will here.
"You play to win the game."
by MrWayneKeller on Apr 30, 2011 12:09 AM CDT up reply actions
+100 MrWayneKeller
CP3forMVP, MWK never “jumped down your throat”. I read everything in your exchange and I literally cannot find one thing that he said that was hostile.
Your response was entirely disproportionate and aggressive, take it easy, even if you can’t face the fact that undisciplined Thornton [who Cowherd (who I don’t even like), Ric Bucher, Ryen Russillo, and Scott Van Pelt have all made fun of by tallying his daily field goal attempts per game throughout the course of his latter season with Sacramento and just chuckling at the guy] just isn’t a good fit for a team that’s trying to win, at least be civil.
Or point out something that MWK said that was “hostile”.
Because I’d say that based on these comments:
In Dell Demps I trust. Monty, stop being such a dick.
Oh Jesus Get off it man. If you think the Landry 2-3 month rental was worth giving up Marcus Thornton you are just trying to blindly defend Monty at that point. Boohoo offseason OTA’s. But hey, I guess the whole city of Sacramento falling in love with the kid in 20 games is just cause he’s got a goofy smile.
you deserve some kind of warning. Stop trolling with this trade that’s long been over and attacking MrWayneKeller, I’ve disagreed with him many times before but neither I nor others stoop to the level of picking fights over long-over trades and aggravating things by calling the coach a dick or totally thumbing our noses at someone who actually makes quality comments like MWK
by Grand Tanyon Sturtze on Apr 30, 2011 1:27 AM CDT up reply actions
you're out of your mind if you think the deal for landry wasn't a net-ben.
like MWK said, thornton’s another guy who will pour on shot attempts for unstructured, frenetic, bad teams. And you take it way too seriously, I mean really. “Boohoo”?
You are saying it’s ok to not develop Marcus because he made one fricking mistake in not going to offseason OTA’s and it was right for us to get a full season’s dose of Willie Green instead because of it? Marcus turned corners throughout the season to no avail while the rest of our SG’s reversed corners and proved they were WORSE.
Just take a chill pill already, we just finished a long, hard-fought season, sorry if you’ve got unrequited Thornton love but wake up and face the music that he’s just a bad-team shooter and/or at least just move on already.
by Grand Tanyon Sturtze on Apr 30, 2011 1:20 AM CDT up reply actions
Willie Green
Green, much maligned on this board, will be badly missed by the team if he is not resigned. The team can do a lot worse at backup SG than Willie Green.
As for MT, I don’t really miss him. MT can be a good player in the right circumstances, but it was the right trade to get Landry who was also a lucky catch after West blew out his knee.
You're probably right
about Green. But it’s the fact that he doesn’t offer any potential – no hope for improvement that draws the ire of so many. I’d be willing to bet a number of people would prefer to take a chance on someone like Brandon Rush instead.
New Orleans Hornets
Respect
Kobe: "Listen, if you told me at the beginning of the year that we’ve got two games at home to win a championship, yeah, I’ll take that shit"
by hrghori on Apr 29, 2011 2:49 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs
Great season
Personally I think this season has been somewhat spectacular. The up and down nature added to the excitement. But I think among all the distractions the hornets managed to put together a brilliant season.
Also Im gonna make a shoutout to Rohan and the rest of the ath team, the work you guys do is spectacular and especially for me who lives in New Zealand at lives completely out of the hornets loop it is greatly appreciated.
Sucks how the hornets season is over. But now it’s time for me to focus on my New Zealand Breakers who are playing in the Austalia NBL final.
Go Breakers and Go Hornets
by Mayooo on Apr 29, 2011 3:23 AM CDT via mobile reply actions
Great season guys
It was awesome to come here to discuss things Hornets. It’s been a wild ride, but in the end, who’d of though we’d take the Lakers to the brink? If we had a bit more size, and more scoring talent on the wings, we’d of won that series, easy peezy.
Let’s keep the momentum rolling into the offseason with our first acquisition (Gary Chouest).
Australian Atlanta Falcons Fan EST 2003
Hey head over to SB Nation Atlanta...It's not as scary as you think...
Swarm and Sting - A Fansided New Orleans Hornets Blog
yop shoutout from france !
Hey Rohan i usualy like your comments & all , but i think ur going way too hard on Chris Paul .
Me too i was sad about the fact that Cp didn’t show up in the first Half , but wait a minute , can u imagine fighting the 2 time champions ALONE for 6 games in a row !?
He simply got no gaz left in the tank !! He can’t do everything on his own every nights ! He is still human !
Rohan
can I use your photo for a journal entry in the Hornets247 and a note in FB? :D PLS :D if you want you can read it ;)
First of all praise and thank you
to this blog and most on it.
I felt alone up here in the Ozarks until I stumbled across this location.
Rohan, thanks for such a wonderfully controlled and intelligent place where we could discuss the team and even live banter.
I think I have grown to understand a great many new things about the team and the city.
In fact, I used to think of NO as a sink hole that should be where it was and inhabited by a lazy people.
You all changed this for me.
Now I wish I was there and was able to spend time at local pubs talking just like we have here.
Thanks so very much for taking me in.
Monty will hopefully get better. Many of his traits are to die for in a coach. His big ability to bond and reach his players from other than a position of authority is massive. He just needs to learn them and their strengths, and weaknesses better and how to use them.
Everyone on this blog knows I am here because Grays drafting brought me here. I am a big follower of him as well as other personalities in the league I like and respect, regardless of stardom.
And from the beginning, Gray was misunderstood and poorly developed and used. A season wasted, in my opinion.
It happened again last night. I do not think we could have won it if Gray was played his 10 to 15 minutes…no, that’s you discussion of other failures….but we could have had a chance.
We were bullied to the point of embarrassment inside all night.
Thanks to all…even a few great who came over a few times from 247; Nikkoewan, 42, quennbee, as well as my favs on this blog.
Have a great summer and I will check in once in awhile when something big comes up
Paul
RO...next year
add a spell check tab!!!!!!
unless you really enjoy reading my brutal use of the language!!!
Exactly
Great wrap-up. Now to decide who is the lesser evil: the Mavs or the Lakers?
No Way!
I’d rather cheer for the Lakers than cheer for the Mavericks. Even after I cussed their entire team these past two weeks.
"You play to win the game."
by MrWayneKeller on Apr 29, 2011 1:10 PM CDT up reply actions
Option C
Neither – why do we have to root for either? I’m actually rooting for Memphis to represent the West in the Finals.
Oh God
I hate Memphis too. And San Antonio lol. See I don’t really like any other team in the league but I hate everyone in the Hornets division. I actually like LeBron (dodges tomatoes) so I wouldn’t mind if the Heat win. They’re probably the only team left at this point that I feel I wouldn’t mind seeing win it all.
"You play to win the game."
by MrWayneKeller on Apr 29, 2011 1:42 PM CDT up reply actions
Do you hate Memphis simply because they are in the Southwest?
I get that… but was just wondering if there was another reason.
Personally, now that the Hornets are out I’ll probably be rooting for Memphis. I kinda like how they are a team of NBA misfits (they are lead by Z-Bo for goodness sakes) doing well.
As for Lebron… I think he’s a jerk, but I don’t have any aversion to the Heat like a lot of people do. The only team I have any real hate against is the Lakers.
Me too
I want Miami to win everything simply because the “LeBron is great, but not a winner” storyline annoys me more than probably any other one out there right now
I hear that
the “winner/not a winner” BS is one of my least favorite memes (if it’s appropriate to call it that) in sports discussion and analysis. It’s so shortsighted and irrational most of the time.
Eh
So he wins one. Then they’ll forever remark that he’s only got 1. No matter what, the media is gonna make some kind of story annoying repetitive about the guy.
I’m still in the boat that I’d prefer Miami never wins one. Would rather it serve as a model to other great players on what not to do.
I Hate Memphis
Just because I thought what they did to close out the season (intentionally losing games so that they could play San Antonio) was chicken sh!t and I don’t like the way they play the game. They play like the Lakers in the sense that they just throw elbows and try to be physical because it’s a gimmick. They’re not truly a tough team.
As an old school NBA fan, though, I love watching Zach Randolph play offensive basketball. He’s a joy to watch in the low post.
"You play to win the game."
by MrWayneKeller on Apr 29, 2011 3:30 PM CDT up reply actions
And Yeah
The fact that the Hornets play them four times a year doesn’t help me like them either. I truly do have disdain for every team in the division.
"You play to win the game."
by MrWayneKeller on Apr 29, 2011 3:31 PM CDT up reply actions
Understandable
But I’d like to see Memphis do some damage just because it would upset the NBA apple cart. I love the NBA, because I love the sport, but the continued domination of large markets and traditional powers gets so boring.
Hopeful
this new CBA implement a hard cap, only this will make the small market teams compete with the big ones and those who have billionaires as owners, and create some kind of a franchise tag just like the NFL to avoid the superstars leaving any time they want
by saintsbrasil on Apr 29, 2011 6:53 PM CDT up reply actions
I Have A Hard Time
Believing we’ll have a season next year.
And if we do, absolutely nothing will change the way it is now.
"You play to win the game."
by MrWayneKeller on Apr 30, 2011 9:44 AM CDT up reply actions
Really?
I think there will be an initial lockout as a deal isn’t likely by July 1, but eventually, both sides will get it worked out as opening day nears. Too much for both sides to lose.
I Think That Applies To The NFL
The “too much to lose” aspect of it. But 22 teams lost money last year in the NBA and even the NHL outdrew the NBA this season. I don’t think there’s much else to lose at all from the owners side.
"You play to win the game."
by MrWayneKeller on May 1, 2011 12:10 PM CDT up reply actions
Exhausting to a degree
Yes this season was an emotional roller coaster – more than any other I can recall. However, we can all admit it was fun! Much different from a year ago when CP3 was injured, we missed the playoffs, and we had an unstable organization in place(Shinn in charge, Bower the head coach, etc). Remember, teams that tumble from near the top to what happened last year usually take several rebuilding years. We should be very proud of what this team accomplished in such a short time as we hit all our goals. Hired a good GM + coaching staff, hit the attendance mark, made the playoffs, and, most importantly, apparently did enough to appease CP3.
Going forward, we can at least feel confident we have a future. It seems a great number of people including the NBA are dedicated in keeping the Hornets in New Orleans. CP3 sounds likely to stay so we have a wonderful selling point to FA’s. Demps appears to be a good judge of talent as evidenced by the early season moves that acted as decent seasonal band-aids. Monty is a good young coach who proved he can earn the respect of his players quickly and has a solid defensive understanding.
Can we improve? Absolutely. CP3 needs to regain “the best PG swagger” on a consistent basis. These playoffs proved that he still has it. However, despite an incredible TS%, he still seems to lack the confidence of being THAT guy. I mean 9 shots yesterday (2 at halftime?). Uh, not acceptable. I remember watching a post game conference the other night where he said he was motivated by Ariza’s performance. While that’s great and all, would any other top 5 player say that? Doubtful. He has to realize (for some reason he forgot?) that he’s the guy who needs to be the team’s motivational source day in day out. He has a world of talent on a team in desperate need of it. It’s great if he wants to be a distributor first, but it’s not acceptable if he wants to be considered one of the best. Let’s hope he overcomes whatever ails him this offseason.
As it was stated, Monty needs to develop a better sense on the offensive side of the ball. One, as many of us have harped over the entire season, the rotations were questionable too many times. Two, he’s got to better utilize having one of the best offensive weapons to don an NBA uniform. Forget all your sets, instead, focus on ways making CP3 the best player he can be on the court.
Want to personal thank everyone who contributed on this blog for creating a fantastic forum this season. Moving out of New Orleans 3 years ago was tough and I left behind a great number of friends. However, chatting here on almost a nightly basis has helped at least fill my Hornets void.
to CP3
I am a Laker fan, but I have also become a Hornets fan ever since I notice a 6ft point guard playing basketball with a ridiculous brilliance, and a heart of steel.
I have become a fan of CP3 through his up and down, and there is actually a little part of me that wanted CP3 to win this series, even against my Lakers, that’s how much I love CP3.
Whichever team he plays, CP3 will always be my number one basketball player. Even if he ever pull a “LeBron” on the Hornets, I’d probably will still be his fan. But I know my fav player wont.
thankyou for the legendary playoff tripledouble CP3! not even MJ ever done that!
also..
it will be a very while before we got to CP3 play again. thx to the lockout
I'd love to see us land
Samuel Dalembert or Tyson Chandler for our big.
Aaron Afflalo (likely pipedream) or Wilson Chandler (more likely) for our SG.
Some lesser guys to keep an eye on Chris-Douglas Roberts, CJ Miles and Josh McRoberts.
unfortunately
i don’t think they will pay a lot for a big because if we keep landry and west we won’t have a lot of money and they will not put emeka on the bench because of how much they are paying him
Respect.
"Phil Jackson seems to enjoy his status as 'NBA grand philosopher' and uses that platform to lob verbal hand grenades into other franchises or the league offices for fun." - Kurt Helin
Stalk, err, Follow me on Twitter: @bluefalcon916
Gotta hand it to you guys
Played with a lot of heart for the majority of the series. Nothing to get down about. Without West, some of the other guys stepped up when it mattered. Wish you the best.
"If you’re afraid to fail, then you’re probably going to fail. You know what I mean? Fuck it." -- Kobe "Black Mamba" Bryant
just stoping here to say
That i enjoyed so much the time i spent with you guys this year,the game threads were much more active and the content of the articles and fanposts just got much better with the new members.And as a fan, i will always remember that game 1 against the Lakers,maybe my best moment as a Hornets fan just behind that series against Dallas and SA back on 2008.
Keep up the great job Rohan! ATH the best Hornets blog!!!!!
by saintsbrasil on Apr 29, 2011 7:02 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs
Rohan
This article could not have been written any better btw.
Also
If Lakers vs. Heat is the NBA Finals, who do you root for?
I really, really hate Phil Jackson and how much the Lakers whine vs.every other team.
I really, really hate everything the Heat stand for and everything about Lebron James.
Geaux Thunder vs. Celtics!
please
I hope the Hornets adopt a more uptempo offense next season. at least change it up every so often. it was pretty difficult to watch the same slow pace every offensive set.
i wouldn't
want to go uptempo. I’d rather we build a team built on rebounders and slashers who average around 36% from 3s and play slow like our team now. Slow doesn’t mean ineffective.
by nikkoewan on Apr 30, 2011 4:02 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Considering Monty's background
where he learned the value of possessions from Pop/McMillan, we’ll never speed up the pace unless we can both control turnovers and always get back to stop transitions.
I think there is a way to change the pace
by breaking out on the fast break when they block a shot or make a steal sort of what they started doing when CP3 was goin good
strategies change
even Pop went faster and looser when he put Manu in the starting lineup and lessened the role of Duncan on offense, with Neal and Hill coming off the bench. maybe a major reason for their improvement this season.
I appreciate the patience
Monty preached on the offensive end all season long. But West wasn’t around to post up the Lakers and being smaller, Landry had to play further out.
I’m not talking run and gun all day, Warriors style. But you have two wings in Trevor and Marco who do well on fast breaks. Why not occasionally push the tempo after a defensive rebound?
we do push the tempo
when we get a steal or a block. i’m in the flock that says Marco is just average in fast breaks. so i’d rather we slow down because I want Marco to become a Ray Allen lite —→ awesome off screens
Have a hard time
thinking that Marco will ever emulate Ray Allen. I’d love for him to come off more screens too, but I feel it might be all for not. Marco will likely never have the most consistent jumper because he floats around too much. Just not enough str8 up and down outta him.
Marco has shown
some talent in coming of screens. an offseason of incredible work out will help in his endurance, his agility and his strength. those 3, IMO, will help him come of screens better(strength to not be pushed, agility to run fast and endurance to do it all day long and not lose a step)..
Interesting Season Comes to End
It was a fairly decent season. Many ups and downs. A number of records were broken which goes to show you what an unusual season this was.
We had a pretty solid team and even fairly deep team this year, but the top 5 or 6 teams (including the Lakers) in the NBA are now deeper than they have ever been, which made it hard to break into the top echelon.
Pretty good coaching by Monty and some good decisions by Demps overall.
CP was not the same as he was in some previous season and that weighed on the team at times, but hopefully he’ll be better next season, but he had a couple of memorable playoff performances as the Hornets surprised the Lakers by stretching them to 6 games.
What comes next? Free agents to take care of and I guess we have that 2nd rounder in the draft. Hopefully CP will be more consistent next sason. Gray emerged as a solid backup center and maybe Ariza, Belinelli and Pondexter will have learned this season to make incrementasl improvements next season. Hopefully West comes back as good as new from the injury. Still, even with that, I think the Hornets will again be hard pressed to break into the top tier of playoff teams. On the other hand, unless strange things happen in the offseason, I see us having another competitive season next year and that’s something to look forward to.
Thanks for some fun (and controvertial!) discussions during this past season. I’ll be checking back in here during the summer. Have a good summer everyone!
Great season, great coach, great trades, great strategy
Unpredictable and overachieving, even got the Hornets to stay in New Orleans for at least one more season. Many successes & many thanks all around
by Grand Tanyon Sturtze on Apr 30, 2011 4:33 AM CDT reply actions
Looking at the salaries for the hornets
Here is the link http://hoopshype.com/salaries/new_orleans.htm
it looks like
Paul will make 16.4 mil
Emeka 12.5 mil
West if he takes the player opt 7.5 mil
ariza 6.8 mil
jack 5.2 mil
marco if he takes qualifying offer 3.4 mil
grey if he takes the player opt 1.1 mil
qpon 1.2 mil
total 54.1 mil
now if dwest gets his way then it might be 56.6 mil
that means going in to next season if the cap is near what was this year (which was 70.3 mil) we’ll be under by 13.7 mil if u factor in the rookie contract 12.6 mil
that will not be enough to get someone like
jason richardson unless he will take a pay cut
or Zach Randolph
but it should be enough to get someone like
grant hill,
marc gasol,
dalembert
jamal crawford
joel pryz
chuck hayes
Humphries
Now this isn’t including us grabbing landry but it looks like we could get almost anyone except a couple
hmm
That’s 54.1 million but that’s for 8 players. So the remaining 13.7 (speculative) would need to be split between 5 or 6 players. The team has stated that it wants to sign Landry and I think he could command 5 to 6 million. That would leave 7 to 8 million to split between 4 or 5 players, whcih I think would mean we probably can’t afford many of the players on your list.
The interesting question is Gray. I could see him taking the 1.1 mill player option because I think he like playing for Monty. On the other hand, I’m pretty sure there are teams out there who would be ready to pay him significantly more because they seem him as an emerging 20 minute-per game backup/part time starter.
hope they go over
the tax line next year cuz right now they are still missing that one or two pieces and in the draft what I am looking for for them to find either a guy who can rebound or a guy to shoot threes that is what I’d be looking for with that second round pick
Can't Go Over The Tax Line
Without an owner.
"You play to win the game."
by MrWayneKeller on Apr 30, 2011 5:40 PM CDT up reply actions
What rookie K?
I thought Hornets did not have first round draft pick. And where is Landry…are you assuming he is gone.
Jack at 5.6 million is way too high for back up guard who is erratic.
i really thought we had one late second rounder
also said now this is not assuming we bring back landry
by sd3 on May 1, 2011 3:08 PM CDT up reply actions
From one Laker fan to the Hornets and city of New Orleans
Thank you for a wonderful series and a wonderful time. I don’t live in LA, but live in Arkansas instead. The drive to New Orleans was great, and it was my very first visit to your wonderful city. I enjoyed it immensely. Everyone there was incredibly nice, and the traded barbs back and forth were fun, not hateful.
I was there for games 3, 4, and 6 and I saw your team push the Lakers hard and saw probably the best point guard I’ve ever seen play the game in CP3. I got to see a very underrated Carl Landry do some really good work on our bigs. I think you guys have a great future, and I’m happy to say I would recommend an NBA experience at the Hive to anyone/everyone.
I was lucky enough to get some really good seats for Game 6, and I took a lot of video/audio. It’s got a Lakers slant so I understand if you don’t want to see any of it, but for anyone interested, here is the link to the write up on ss&r.
http://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2011/5/1/2146936/behind-enemy-lines-game-6-in-new-orleans-courtside
Again, thank you to your city and your team, I do believe the past week has been one of the best in my life and you were a big part of it.
"All that is needed for evil to triumph, is that good men do nothing"
Awesome
Always great to hear opposing fans talk so positively about our team/city. Good luck to the Lakers the rest of the way.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on At The Hive
Related FanShots on At The Hive
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recent FanPosts
SBNation.com Recent Stories
In Association With
Ball Don't Lie - NBA - Yahoo! Sport
- The Orlando Magic finally part ways with both Stan Van Gundy and GM Otis Smith
- Mike D’Antoni breaks silence on New York Knicks exit: ‘An obstacle had to be removed’
- Adam Morrison looks great, everyone
- Create-a-Caption: Tim Duncan puts some stank on it
- LeBron James won’t even give Lance Stephenson half a bar
