Recaps
Game 13: Hive Live
by hldomingue on Nov 19, 2009 11:25 PM CST
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Phoenix 103 (10–3) | New Orleans 110 (5–8)
Wow, right? How did that happen?
I have to admit, 15 minutes before the game tonight I sat down in my seat at the arena and thought, "Oh yeah, this is a TNT game. Now everyone will get to see the slaughter. Like the Christmas Day Massacre all over again."
And why not? Despite beating the Clip Show the other night, we've been playing some pretty uninspiring ball. Not to mention that the glue that holds this team together is sitting on the sidelines in a (formidable) suit. Take that and throw it out against the team with the best record in the conference and who do you think walks away with the W? Thankfully, no one on the Hornets was buying my sour nancy act.
The Suns scored first, but then Hornets rattled off 15 unanswered points, capping an improbable run that brought the previously listless crowd roaring to their feet. 15 points for the Hornets, 2 for the Western Conference-leading Suns. (I would like to reiterate that CP3 did not play. At all.) Sure, those numbers were unsustainable–Phoenix had to start hitting shots at some point–but the by then, the buzz in the arena was flying. It almost felt like home-court advantage again. Like, dare I say, 2007. More correctly, it was fun in a way that the previous 10 or so games hadn't been.
At any rate, Phoenix closed the gap and even took the lead a few times, but Hornets dominated in a few key areas to seal the deal. For starters, we rebounded like crazy tonight. 56 to 38 was the final tally, but more importantly we finished with a 51% rate on the offensive glass (that would be 25 to 14) which led to a 31 to 13 advantage on second chance points. It probably didn't hurt that we shot high percentages from deep (52%) and the stripe (83%), but it was our aggression on the boards that gave us the real advantage. Oh, that and we finally played like a "team" (Devin Brown passed! Like 5 times!). Byron had run that notion out of the locker room, so it's nice to see it make a return.
Bullets after the jump.
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Jeff Bower Gets First Victory; Hornets Beat Clippers
by atthehive on Nov 18, 2009 3:12 AM CST
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The Jeff Bower era has produced its first win! It feels good to get back in the win column. As terrible as the Hornets have been, the Los Angeles Clippers proved to be the perfect antidote, yet again.
At 4-8, the Hornets aren't looking great right now. Over the next three weeks though, we get six games against Minnesota (2x), Sacramento (2x), New York, and Milwaukee. None will be absolute roll-over games, and Miami, Phoenix, Atlanta, and the Lakers are the other four opponents... but we're really getting a break here. We could potentially go 6-4 over the next 10, without Chris Paul. If the 3-4 week estimates are anywhere near correct, we could get CP back for a December 14th game at Dallas, or roundabouts. As horrible as it is to see him down for an extended period, there may not be a better time, schedule-wise, for the injury.
And hopefully tonight sets the tone for the team to pick up victories against bad teams. It was an ugly game for sure, but plenty of struggling players stepped up. Chief among those was David West; after arguably the worst game of his 7 year career at Atlanta, West responded with 24/10/5 tonight. Impressively, those 24 points came on just 14 shot attempts. He also finished with 6 offensive boards.
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Game 10: Hive Live
by hldomingue on Nov 14, 2009 1:26 PM CST
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Portland 86 (7–3) | New Orleans 73 (3–7)
Well, that could have gone better.
Sorry I'm so late with the recap. I'm on the road all day, so this one will be short. Then again, most of us probably just want to forget about this game all together, so there's that.
For the Hornets, last night was a game of new coaches, bricked shots, an injury which we shall not reference (lest it become more serious), and a couple of rookies running all over the place. For the Blazers, last night was about bricking shots but still finding a way to win.
By the way, I don't think I can over emphasize the amount of poor shooting we saw in this game. Both teams combined to miss over 100 shots... without factoring in the clangers from the charity stripe. Combined percentage from the field for both teams: 37.3%. Even worse, from deep both teams managed to hit only 5 of 27 shots from deep (which is roughly 18.5%)... Oof.
You know what? This is depressing. Let's just move on to the bullets.
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Lakers, Clippers: A Tale of One City
by atthehive on Nov 10, 2009 3:55 AM CST
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A 28 points win a night after a 16 point loss. It was a pretty interesting Staples double dip for New Orleans, and we learned quite a few things. In no particular order, a double recap:
Emeka Okafor
It's tough to say he was bad. But he definitely wasn't good. Versus the Lakers, he put up a stat line of 10 pts (5-12), 14 rebounds, and a blocked shot. Versus the Clippers, he went for 2 points (1-2) and 6 rebounds. He played 26 and 25 minutes respectively on Monday and Tuesday. I'd argue that the Lakers' game was the poorer showing. Against the LAC, the Hornets' offense didn't really require him. As a result, Byron Scott drew up very few plays for him, certainly a wise move with the perimeter showing.
But against the Lakers, we finally saw some of the bad side of Emeka, some of the things that Charlotte fans have been complaining about for years. He had a couple cases of brick hands and missed at least four wide open layups. If this is going to be the season that he puts it all together- in the ilk of his first 6 games- then he'll need to have a short memory and forget this one fast. Not the best Los Angeles trip for the big guy- a poor showing one night, and then denied a chance to redeem himself the next.
JuJu, the Starter?
As much as we've bashed Byron over the last year, he has given Julian Wright a very fair shake this season. He's started him, he's drawn up plays for him, he's even defended him in the media after horrible games. For a long while, I hid behind the "Byron killed Julian's career by not playing him properly as a rookie/sophomore" argument. Now? I renounce it. Julian Wright is simply not very good at basketball right now.
He's struggled defensively, missing easy rotations. More annoyingly, he's just as tentative with his dribble now as he was his rookie season. Simply put, JuJu has not grown much over the last 2+ years. And the blame has gradually shifted from Byron Scott to Julian himself. It's absolutely the right call to bring him off the bench; nothing he's done warrants a starting role.
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Game 6: Hive Live
by hldomingue on Nov 7, 2009 12:42 PM CST
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Toronto 107 (3-2) | New Orleans 90 (2–4)
Oof. That wasn't pretty.
The game was actually pretty close throughout the first half, but then the Raptors (who are the third highest scoring team this year) went bananas in the second half, shooting almost sixty percent and draining what felt like an endless barrage of threes (they finished with 14 to our 6... but they made theirs 50% of the time to our 30%). Credit the Raptors for shooting so well, but don't forget to thank the Hornet's new defensive scheme called "the sieve."
But seriously, though we did look pretty helpless on defense, the Raptors were simply on fire. For instance, there were several series where Emeka played Bosh really well on D giving him no space and always getting a hand in his face during shots. But Bosh seemed to sink every one of his shots anyway. And when I say every one, I mean every one. Bosh was a perfect 10 for 10 on the night (including a trey) and also managed 8 for 11 from the stripe. The guy was an absolute beast.
Our offense, on the other hand, looked so ineffective on the court that I was surprised when I looked at the box score and saw that we shot 48% from the field. If we could just cut down on the turnovers and play something that resembles defense once in a while, we might actually start winning games. You know, like in a row.
Bullets after the jump.
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Game 5: Hive Live
by hldomingue on Nov 5, 2009 1:33 AM CST
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Dallas 107 (3–2) | New Orleans 114 (2–3)
Great game. Any win at all would have been acceptable; however, the Hornets dialed it up a notch and found a way to win even in the face of adversity (aka Dallas, which is a way better team than Sacramento).
After flying out the gates and finishing the first with an 8 point lead, the Hornets started to sag while the Mavs, who started cold, began hitting open looks all over the court. The lead continued to change hands for the rest of the game until the end, when the Mavs were up 4 with 16 seconds to play to play. Things looked pretty bleak from section 325, and the Hornets seemed to be headed to yet another loss; a hard fought loss, yes, but a loss all the same.
One CP offensive foul and 4 missed Dallas free throws later, the Hornets find themselves down by 3 with 9 seconds to play and deem Peja "0 for the night and then some" Stojakovic the man to fire the tying shot... and he drains it. Un.be.lieve.able.
The Mavs went ice cold in OT, and really, that's all she wrote. The Hornets finished the contest with the advantage in every statistical category but blocks and three-point percentage. Perhaps the most important part was the Hornets owning the paint in the second half. They were able to penetrate and out duel the Mavs to the tune of 26 to 14 down low.
Bullets after the jump.
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Hornets Defy Expectations, Find Lower Gear
by atthehive on Nov 3, 2009 3:22 AM CST
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The New Orleans Hornets have played four games. They've won one time, unconvincingly squeaking by the Sacramento Kings, perhaps 2008-2009's worst team. They've now lost, rather convincingly, to one of the perennial losers of the NBA. Unequivocally, the Hornets have stumbled out the gate.
At this juncture, the optimist points to the small sample. Yes, the Hornets have played 4 games. Yes, Ike Diogu and Sean Marks are hurt. Yes, the team will still gel and understand each other and play as a team.
Statistical fluctuation happens in small samples. It's why Alex Rodriguez was a playoff "choker," why Peyton Manning could never win the big one, and why Juan Pierre can get a hit off Tim Lincecum. The common thread in all these examples is the uncertainty. Increase the sampling, and the uncertainty is diminished from an overall sense. In basketball terms, this uncertainty can manifest in shots rimming out, low percentage players going on hot streaks, basketballs slipping out of hands, or any number of other possibilities that we've all seen happen.
These first four games will not define our season, obvious as it may sound, because they are just four games.
At this juncture, the realist steps in. Yes, these are just four games. Yes, a team with Chris Paul and David West and Emeka Okafor will not go 20-62. But even in these four games, there are signs of systematic flaws, flaws that are not merely a function of statistical fluctuation, but rather of longer term issues.
The optimist says the team will eventually hit its stride and that these first four games, though harmful, may prove more illusory than absolute.
The realist also says the team will eventually hit its stride, but that in these first four games, we've seen moments and plays that aren't entirely illusory, that aren't simply products of a small sample size.
What are those moments and plays? I think you know.
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Game 2: Hive Live
by hldomingue on Oct 30, 2009 11:32 PM CDT
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Sacramento 92 (0–2) | New Orleans 97 (1–1)
It would have been nice to win this one by a larger margin but a W is a W, especially after the Spurs dismantled us to start the season a couple days ago.
The Kings started strong (and we started weak), and held the edge in points for most of the first quarter. After the Hornet's first lead (with about 3 minutes to go in the first), the lead jumped back and forth with no team ever leading by more than 7. Our 5 point margin of victory was actually the biggest lead we had all night.
The Hornets were able to put this one away thanks largely to their efficient shooting (45.5% from the field) and their ability to get to the line (26 of 32 from the stripe compared to Sac's 13 of 20).That aggression down low led to a 40 to 30 advantage for points in the paint. The Kings, despite way out rebounding us on both ends of the court, were ultimately undone by their inability to hit any manner of shots (poor percentages across the board).
There's a lot of talent on this Hornet team and, frankly, I like the way things are shaping up for us, but I also think it's going to take some time before we find out sea legs. The guys are still getting used to playing with each other and it was pretty evident that we haven't quite adapted to this new zone defense. It'll be interesting to see what happens when we start firing on all cylinders.
Bullets after the jump.
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