Hornets 102 Spurs 104: Duncan Faced

by Will H. on Jan 23, 2012 10:52 PM CST

I was supposed to write a recap for this one, but I cannot bring myself to delve any further into this game. Tanking is one thing, but losing painfully close games one after the other is starting to wear on me. In short, Jarrett Jack played great and kept the team in it late when baskets were otherwise hard to come by. I know he still catches a ton of dung thrown his way, but Jack seriously plays 100% for every minute he is on the court. He did everything he could in this one, and the Hornets still came up short. His reverse layup late in the fourth was a thing of beauty. Carl Landry had his post game on point again tonight and if I was his coach I would make him run laps anytime he took a jump shot. Emeka had a solid game, despite Tim Duncan's 28 points. Mek's short jumper is apparently not a fluke, but a legitimate new weapon developed late into his career. Arizra chipped in all over the court, and the Hornets struggled when he (and Jack) were not on the court. The offense really struggled when Jack was out of the game, as Greivis Vasquez could not get anything going when he was the only ball-handler on the court. Xavier Henry did not play despite what we heard before the game. Ayon did not play either. That's it for now. I may update this with some rational thoughts in the morning once I get some sleep. Please pick up the slack for me and chime in in the comments.

Here's a box score.

Also, a rare bit of good news for the Hornets as Marc Spears from Yahoo! had this to say earlier in the night:

After talks w/Hornets, Eric Gordon tells Y! possible contract extension in hands of NBA commish Stern and he's awaiting word. Deadline Wed.

Gordon adds to Y! he is interested in re-signing & team doc says injured knee is structurally sound & bball activities can resume in 3 wks.

It would appear that both Dell and Eric (and his representatives) have signed off on a deal that would keep the 23 year old here for 4 or 5 years, and it is down to the matter of getting approved by the de facto owner of the Hornets, Commissioner David Stern.

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On the bright side

wer’re another loss closer to sprucing up the team photo with a unibrow!

"Sleeping on me probably in the coffin" - Tyga
Rally Squirrel will steal yo gurl.
SANI BOOOOOY!!!
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by OnPointLikeCP3 on Jan 23, 2012 11:03 PM CST reply actions

Hey

at least MIN lost.

In all honesty though, wonder when we’ll start giving the youngsters more time. Near future? After trade deadline? Part of me really fears that Monty won’t defer the kids ever because losses-for-the-sake-of-development aren’t in his DNA.

by RedHopeful on Jan 23, 2012 11:57 PM CST reply actions

Which Youngsters

Really need to be given more time? Henry was just cleared to play… too early to jump the gun on that. Ayon sure but as I mentioned in the game thread… his time will come when Landry and/or Kaman are moved at the deadline. Other than that…. Aminu’s OK but I don’t need to see extended minutes from him and nobody else on the team is worth getting 30 minutes of play. I don’t know if I prefer losing this way but I definitely don’t want the seem to trot out there like Detroit and Washington and have teams sleepwalk through games and destroy them.

"You play to win the game."

by MrWayneKeller on Jan 24, 2012 12:14 AM CST up reply actions

Misunderstood

I’m just musing in general, not talking about right this second. Once Henry is back will he need to climb a ladder like Aminu/Ayon? Since you mentioned it, not sure I agree the right time for Ayon will be when Kaman/landry are moved. He might be waiting quite awhile.

Oh, and no way we’d look as bad as DET or WAS regardless how Monty decides to divvy up the minutes.

by RedHopeful on Jan 24, 2012 12:41 AM CST up reply actions

I Agree

I’d rather Ayon than Kaman in there. But Kaman’s bigger and I think that’s why Monty uses him more. As for Henry, I’d imagine he has to work his way through the Summers (who I just don’t like) and Aminu rotation himself. It’ll take some time.

Monty seems the kind of coach where you really have to work to get on his good side and get consistent minutes. Sometimes that’s great and sometimes it’s frustrating. But right now…. Jason Smith, Kaman and Okafor will get their 15-25 minutes regardless. Then it’s either Landry or Ayon to clean it up. As for Henry, who knows. Monty still likes Belinelli (for some reason) and he plays Jack at 2 a lot as well.

"You play to win the game."

by MrWayneKeller on Jan 24, 2012 12:46 AM CST up reply actions

Monty

has said it himself, he plays guys who know the system. Once Gordon gets back and Henry up to speed, theoretically, Beli’s role should be reduced substantially.

by RedHopeful on Jan 24, 2012 9:35 AM CST up reply actions

The Losing

Is starting to take its toll on even me now at this point. I can only imagine how tough it is on the players. I watched the entire game fearing that what happened to close the game would close the game. I even told a friend at the end of regulation that I would rather the Hornets lose in overtime than have someone hit a clutch shot for the Spurs. Then Tim Duncan delivered. That the team who ruined the best season in franchise history for us still can dig daggers in us… it frustrates me. Add on the mounting opportunities that have been there for the Hornets to take these games and it’s got to have an affect on the players. They didn’t panic tonight… but there has to be a level of panic settling in with the team. Watching Jack, Ariza and Okafor play such inspired basketball tonight was something to behold really. And Belinelli even showed up tonight! They shot well (still there was nothing easy) and although you’re right that Landry played a good overall game…. he disappeared in the second half. I want to say that 15 of his points came by halftime. The Hornets couldn’t deal with the size in the end as Duncan got a key put back in the closing minutes and Splitter frustrated Landry on the other end. But that’s what happens when the two best front court players are so small.

It’s even to the point where I don’t want to smile and joke about how this is getting the team closer to this college player or that college player or this draft pick or what Minnesota’s doing…. I just want to see this team’s efforts rewarded.

"You play to win the game."

by MrWayneKeller on Jan 24, 2012 12:12 AM CST reply actions

Lottery! Lottery! Lottery!

As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t have the opportunity to watch these games, so I can celebrate these games as the best possible result: we played hard, we kept it close, individual players had good games… …and we still ended up one game closer to good ping-pong ball odds. Even when they’re not winning you can still like this team – they’re not dysfunctional, they’re playing dumb, they’re not disappointing us much by failing to meet pre-season expectations. As long as Washington and Charlotte continue to play crappy basketball, I say let the losing continue. (Minnesota? Feel free to lose all you want).

#2 Sean Marks fan on the blogs

by Icebird on Jan 24, 2012 12:27 AM CST reply actions

Monty Bit

Lessons From Pop: Hornets coach Monty Williams was in his third NBA season in 1996-97 when he played for a Spurs team that finished 20-62.

Now in the midst of a similar losing season in New Orleans, Williams finds himself leaning on lessons he learned from Popovich, who took over for Bob Hill 18 games into the 1996-97 campaign.

"The one thing was just watching how he stayed the course," Williams said. "He had a plan in place. He developed his young guys. It was big for me, because it gave me a chance to play a lot of minutes."

Williams averaged nine points a game that season. That following summer, the Spurs won the draft lottery, giving them the right to draft Duncan.

Spurs Nation

by RedHopeful on Jan 24, 2012 12:35 AM CST reply actions

Monty Williams coach of the year

I am half-serious. Most teams near the bottom are getting blown out. The Hornets are losing cause they are not good enough to win at crunch time, but they are playing hard, and a lot of credit for that goes to Williams for keeping a steady keel. I personally love the guy and hope he is the head coach for a long, long time.

A few other notes- Aminu needs to play about 5 minutes a game more. His ball-handling is improving, as is his rebounding and defense. Ariza could use some more rest so he could finish strong. Aminu could use some more confidence.

Players like Summers and Kaman have no future with the Hornets. I love Landry’s attitude, but he would be a better fit for a contender’s as a backup tpower forward than as the Hornets future at that position.

I don’t know what to say about Jack. His turnover to assist ratio is beyond bad, he misses a ton of open teammates, but he has heart to spare, he is relentless (good and bad) and he earns his paycheck. Keep him as a mentor for whomever the point guard of the future is.

I think the only reason Henry and Ayon did not play last night is Williams realy wanted to beat the Spurs and the team that was playing kept the egame close to the end. Nothing more than that.

Oh, and I just cut and pasted from my many other posts—Kaman is turnover machine, and when he isn’t he takes a ton of questionable shots. He was a big reason the Hornets lost some momentum early in the 4th quarter.

"I've seen George Foreman shadow box, and the shadow won." Muhammad Ali

by BenDerDonDat on Jan 24, 2012 2:57 AM CST reply actions

Just a few comments on your comments

re: Jack – “his turnover to assist ratio is beyond bad”

- watching him, i think he gets too much flak because we we’re spoiled by the best PG in the last 5 years. Yeah he does commit a lot of turnovers that aren’t counted as turnovers, but there are also times when he doesn’t credit for things that he made happen. I for one think he’s playing the best ball he can. I agree he isn’t the answer at the 1 for the next team of Hornets championship contender, but , like you, I’d like it if the Hornets kept him as a mentor to the future youngsters. He just exhibits pride, passion and purpose, 3 things we want from our players. For what it’s worth, Jack is 11th in AST/TO ratio for PGs that play more than 25 minutes/game. That’s a HUGE thing..

re: Summers – i think he can be a part of the future, as a backup SF. he has the size to defend, the skills on offense. What we need from him is consistent effort and responsibility.

re: Henry and Ayon – i agree with commenters, i think Monty is the type of coach who lets new players earn their minutes (unless pressed into a corner). And I love that about him. You got to earn his respect. Play hard, Play smart. Thornton never really got into Monty’s good grace (and as we can see from Sac Royalty, Monty’s issues were real). Bayless barely played. Jack barely played his first few games. Landry played so much then because we didn’t have a choice (an unimproved Smith and a David West who was not with the team at the time). and so on.. My point is, if he had a choice, he’d want you to earn your minutes. and that’s great. So i’m happy Henry is in the active roster, but i’m going to trust in Monty WHEN he’s going to put Henry in. Maybe once Beli hits his usual “slump”, he’ll put Henry in.

by nikkoewan on Jan 24, 2012 8:26 AM CST up reply actions

Unless we move Ariza

I just don’t see a spot for Summers on this team.

by RedHopeful on Jan 24, 2012 9:38 AM CST up reply actions

Well put Nikko...

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

I am personally very happy with the way Jack has been playing: Passion, Purpose and Pride!!!

It needs to also be acknowledged that Jack is playing this year without any sort of true shooting threat on the court. Belli is our best shooter in the starting lineup and that speaks for itself. And, he has been shooting poorly all season. I would love to see a Jack with another two options on the court…say a Gordon and (draft choice or free agent) to see how he would preform. It would probably ease the load if he had players he could dump it to that were true scoring threats.

by Downtowndave78 on Jan 24, 2012 9:58 AM CST up reply actions

Don't fear

about Landry being the future at the 4. There was a good reason why he only got a 1 year contract from us. Guarantee he won’t even be Hornet next season.

by RedHopeful on Jan 24, 2012 9:37 AM CST up reply actions

I'm not commenting on Gordon anymore....

His situation is a soap opera and I don’t care for them. He’s a good player who’s injured at the worst possible time in our season. Not mad at him because injuries are part of the game. Just like he has to have patience to sit out and take hits at his big time potential salary increase, we have to have patience too. It just hurts all around when we lose by close margins knowing if Gordon was out there, those close “L’s” would be “W’s”. Anyone who passes to Kaman outside the paint needs to run laps with him. I would have liked to have had J Smith on Duncan in the final minutes of the game just for the height difference and maybe just maybe a shot or two could have been altered. Most teams with losing records like ours have their coach to blame for whatever reasons. Monty is exact opposite. I may not like his rotations sometimes BUT based on what he has to work with, you can see he really cares about the game and about giving the fans’ their monies worth eventhough we’re losing. He didn’t ask to be put in this situation and you can see he’s not taking it laying down.

by fshabazz on Jan 24, 2012 7:00 AM CST reply actions

+ 1

I hope the new management doesn’t fire Monty and Dell until they have screws so bad, you can’t forgive them. So far, both of them are doing good jobs relative to their situation. This year is when we’ll TRULY see how good Dell is. Without the pressures of “win-now” Paul and West in the roster and a slew of assets (Kaman, Landry, 1 possible lottery pick, 1 possible top 4 pick) , can he build a team that’s not a mediocrity joke but can actually contend for a championship for years? This and next year will be Dell’s litmus paper.

And that goes hand in hand with Monty. Does Monty – without the gift of the best PG and a perfect compliment PF to his best PG on the team – can he build a culture that’s suitable for winning, one where in we can find and develop players who buy into this system, build chemistry and create a winning atmosphere? This year’s 3 – 14 record is not a good measure for what Monty really is as a coach. Next year will be his true test – a year removed from CP3 drama, an off season to work out with youngsters (Aminu, Henry, Gordon, Davis, Gilchrist, Ayon, Vasquez) and a clean record of 0-0. If he can make the team competitive next year, then we have ourselves a great coach-GM combination :)

by nikkoewan on Jan 24, 2012 10:42 AM CST up reply actions

To quibble with one of your points...

How is this the worst possible time for Gordon to be injured? From a business perspective, perhaps yes, when the Hornets are trying to sell a product without their two star players of the past 5 years. But from a basketball perspective, isn’t this the best possible time for Gordon to get injured? Early on, in a season where we were always unlikely to make the playoffs, and had almost no chance of progressing deep into them?

Let’s face it – even with the closest thing we have to a star player injured, the Hornets have had to work really hard to earn their current lofty draft position. There are bunch of other teams out there also sucking mightily, without the excuses the Hornets can use this year, and I think the battle for ping-pong balls is going to go right down to the wire.

It’s a disappointing that Gordon is injured – but if the trade-off is that he’s healthy when we actually want and need to win games – I’ll take it.

#2 Sean Marks fan on the blogs

by Icebird on Jan 24, 2012 11:50 AM CST up reply actions