SB Nation - Ike Diogu

Mavericks Vs Hornets: Game 25 Preview

Phillip Baggett — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:04:51 -0000

THE MATCH UPS:

If Kidd was in his prime this would be an unbelievable match up, but in 2009 this is not much match up. Kidd is simply just too slow for Chris Paul. Oh by the way, Chris Paul IS the Hornets and without him they are worse than the Nets.

Edge: Hornets

The Mavericks continue to mix and match pieces here at this spot until Josh Howard can return to a full time starter. So far what they have found that the coaches seem to like is JJ Barea. Now I am not a huge fan of Barea's but in the last few games he has filled the spot nicely, but he has been streaky, it all depends on which end of the streak he is on. As for the Hornets they have relied quite a bit on Devin Brown the 31 year old journeyman to fill this roll. If your looking for "PTPers" well don't look here, cause there is not anything special going on here.

Edge: Even

Shawn Marion showed us a glimpse of the explosiveness that we used to see frequently from him in years past, was that a sign of things to come? I sure hope so, but much like his counterpart in tonight's game age has changed their games. Peja Stojakovic still has the ability to score in bunches, but both time and many nights with porn stars has limited his successes this year.

Edge: Mavericks

Dirk continues his push to change the "soft" label that has been placed upon him. For the first time in his career he is in position to be voted a starting forward for the West in the All-Star game. David West on the other hand much like his teammate Chris Paul continues to drown in the misery that is the New Orleans Hornets. David West has struggled this year, every major stat line is down for him this year. The Hornets are going nowhere fast, and it's two top players are unhappy.

Edge: Mavericks

Erick Dampier continues to impress, in his last two games he has averaged 17 points and 17 rebounds, where the hell has this player been the last 5 years? This is the guy the Mavs thought they were getting before the 2004-05 seasons began, amazing what money will do. Emeka Okafor the former second overall pick of the Charlotte Bobcats continues to be nothing more than an average NBA center. The Hornets thought they would be upgrading significantly over Tyson Chandler, unfortunately for them it just has not worked out so far.

Edge: Mavericks

Injuries/Suspensions

New Orleans Hornets

OUT - Ike Diogu

Dallas Mavericks

OUT - None

Prediction: The Hornets rank in the bottom half of the league in both PPG and PPG against, while the Mavericks rank in the top 10 in both categories. This game will be close for about 2 ½ to 3 quarters then the Mavs bench will take control.

Final Score:

Dallas Mavericks: 110

New Orleans Hornets: 97

RUMOR: Warriors and Bobcats looking for big men

Atma Brother ONE — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:11:26 -0000

The secret is the Dubs need some bigs!

Jump for the 411!

From Y! Sports Adrian Wojnarowski's twitter feed:

Golden State and Charlotte front office's still scouring landscape for bigs, league execs say, but struggling to find do-able deals.

The good news is that the Warriors have a multitude of very tradable assets from young players with (mostly mythical) upside to several nice role players (Andris Biedrins, Ronny Turiaf, Corey Maggette, C.J. Watson) to a potential All-Star (Monta Ellis) to a plethora of expiring contracts to make the numbers add up (Raja Bell, Speedy Claxton, Devean George, Mikki Moore, and C.J. Watson).

The bad news is of course that the Warriors desperately need some bigs and the rest of the league knows this. The center duo of Andris Biedrins and Ronny Turiaf has given the Warriors very little this season mostly because of injuries. When they do finally come back, the reality is that they're output offensively and defensively is not exactly All-NBA quality. 3rd string center Mikki Moore is... a 3rd string center. At the 4 spot the Warriors haven't really gotten that much this season from Anthony Randolph despite what the numbers may indicate. My man Feltbot breaks this down:

Anthony Randolph vs. Himself: We've all seen flashes of Randolph's insane upside. Unfortunately, tonight's performance put the emphasis on insane. Anthony Randolph picked up his second melted brain of the year in this game, but this time it was his own. Pau Gasol was simply too much for Anthony Randolph to handle. He picked up two quick fouls trying to guard him in his first minute on the court. He couldn't keep Gasol off the boards either, even giving up an offensive rebound on a free throw. And he couldn't get anything against him on the offensive end. He was forced to settle for jumpers, and he didn't hit them, earning himself a quick hook from Smart.

In the second half, Randolph's frustration grew to the point that he took the matchup personally. After knocking the ball away from Gasol, he dived into the front row after the ball, completely wiping out three fans. Without a glance back, let alone an expression of concern for the fans he had just concussed, Randolph rushed back onto the court and began jawing at Gasol. When the refs and then Kobe interceded, Randolph lit into Kobe. If you've never seen a 20-year-old player tell the face of the NBA to "Back up!" I recommend you replay this tape and employ your amateur lip-reading skills. You'll see it, and possibly a choice epithet to boot.

Keith Smart wisely pulled Randolph from the game, and left him on the bench until garbage time. Will this performance cause the Bay Area media to lower the heat on Don Nelson over Randolph's playing time, and seriously consider Coach Smart's insinuation that Randolph is not NBA-ready? Um, I wouldn't count on it.

Brandan Wright is also out for the season, not that he's been that good to begin with.

The Dubs biggest weakness right now (aside from owner Chris Cohan and president Robert Rowell) is up front.

But enough of the diagnosis, what's the solution? Using ESPN's Trade Machine post your trade ideas to upgrade the Dubs' frontline in the comments.

Some of the other teams out there that need a roster shakeup are the Indiana Pacers (poor Danny Granger- aren't you glad former Warriors executive Chris Mullin passed him up to draft bust Ike Diogu?), Toronto Raptors (wildly overrated Craptors in every sense of the word- FREE CHRIS BOSH!), Detroit Pistons (their Bad Boys were just bad signings), Washington Wizards (I'm surprised they aren't better), Philadephia 76ers (make sure to read Philly's dirty little sports secret- fascinating stuff), New York Knicks (not signing Allen Iverson was just foolish), New Jersey Nets (going for the record!), Sacramento Kings (Jason Thompson is owning the sophomore battle with Anthony Randolph thus far), LA Clippers (cursed), New Orleans Hornets (Speedy Claxton + expiring contracts for Baron Davis- ooops, I mean Chris Paul anyone?), Memphis Grizzlies (starting Mike Conley over Iverson was a joke), and Minnesota Timberwolves (the triangle isn't so special without MJ, Scottie, Shaq, or Kobe now is it?).

For more on the Charlotte Bobcats check out Rufus on Fire

99% of rumors never happen, but 99% of them are fun to talk about!

Poll

Do the Warriors need to upgrade their frontline?

YES: Upgrade like Beyonce would say

802 votes

NO: Stick with this collection of 4's and 5's and it will work out

180 votes

982 votes | Poll has closed

Dunleavy's Return More Certain Than Granger's

Tom Lewis — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:55:32 -0000

Mike Dunleavy's return could be any day now, which is a nice boost considering Danny Granger's knee makes his return date unknown at this time.

Bruno's Scouting Report for tonight's game against the Dallas Mavericks focuses on the positives of the possible rerturn of Dunleavy, while it appears no one has more to offer on Granger's return.

With Danny Granger's status uncertain due to a sprained ligament in his left knee – he's listed as day-to-day – the timing of Dunleavy's return, be it Friday or during next week's four-game Western Conference road trip, is fortuitous.

"I anticipate he should not be out much longer," said Coach Jim O'Brien, "and I would say based on what Danny's situation is, I would suspect he needs to get back to the court."

So both Granger and Dunleavy are considered day-to-day but their looking forward to Dunleavy's return because Granger's day-to-day status could last longer. That leaves volumes of content between the lines to read on Granger's status.

I'm not expecting to see Dunleavy tonight against the Mavs, but during next week's roadie would be real nice. And who knows? Maybe the basketball gods will shine on the Pacers (we're waiting...) and Granger's knee issues will clear up so he can join the action at some point on the road next week, too.

After the jump, a few more links of interest:

Dunleavy's return to lineup nears
Mike Dunleavy reports on Mike Dunleavy creeping closer to a return which the Pacers need with Danny Granger's uncertain knee.
Dallas Mavericks at Indiana Pacers preview | Dallas Mavericks News
XL 950 Sports Talk - The Zone Podcasts
Jarrett Jack was on The Zone with Derek Schultz prior to the Pacers' game in Toronto. Just another classy Jack interview with plenty of love for Indy.
Game #13 Recap: A Different Set of Eyes
Tim Donahue watched Wednesday's win through the eyes of his son and left the game with plenty of reasons to give thanks.
NBA Power Rankings, Week 4: Where The Lakers Are Repeat Winners - SB Nation
The fresh SBN NBA blogger rankings are out.
Ike Diogu, Sebastian Telfair, Yi Jianlian still can break out - Mark Montieth
Mark Montieth looks around the NBA for some hidden gems still looking for success in the league.
Eric Gordon enjoys a get-together
Lisa Dillman has a nice story on Eric Gordon spending some time with family and friends while back home in Indy for Thanksgiving. Sounds like little bro, Eron will be making a name for himself in a few years.

GAME PREVIEW: SUNS VS. HORNETS (less Chris Paul and Byron Scott)

Wil Cantrell — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:26:56 -0000

More photos » by Bill Haber - AP

See, Sean Marks everyone! (AP Photo/Bill Haber)

Browse more photos »

My how the mighty have fallen. The New Orleans Hornets plight is one that every Suns fan can relate to. Sucking, then becoming a contender, and then sucking again. Going through a coaching change, etc. Of course the Hornets descent from up-and-comers to down-and-outers was much shorter than the Suns. What in God's name happened to these guys? In 2008 the Hornets picked up 56 wins, and barely lost in the Western Conference Semifinals to the dreaded San Antonio Spurs. That team was 5th in the league in offense and 6th in the league in defense. That lineup included the youngster CP3, the up and comer David West, the tenacious Tyson Chandler, and Peja Stojakovic. On the bench was Pargo and Bonzi. That year they owned the Suns, taking all 4 of the match-ups.

But last year the Hornets were one and out in the playoffs. Tyson Chandler fought the injury bug. CP3's main target for assists was gone, leaving David West to shoulder the scoring burden, while the gimpy Peja Stojakovic and James Posey attempted to carry the offensive and defensive load.

Of course all that is ancient history, which leaves the Hornets in the here and now. The Suns destroyed New Orleans nearly a week ago, which may or may not have slammed the last nail in the coaching coffin of Byron Scott the following day. HMM. I suppose the Suns alone cannot take credit for the Hornets debacle of a season thus far, we didn't injure CP3, and the internal problems existed beforehand.

Now, the Hornets are led by Jeff Bowers, who recently picked up his first victory against the Clippers. The win was ugly, but as we all know a W works much better than an L. One a one game winning streak, these Hornets could be dangerous. Yet after looking at the remains of their roster, I gotta admit, I'm not too scared, and I hope I don't have to eat my words (of course it wouldn't be the first time).

Match-Ups

Guards

Devin Brown and Darren Collison do not strike fear into my heart. Collison is the CP3 replacement, a rookie from UCLA who may end up being a nice player, but I see Steve Nash taking him to school tonight. Devin Brown picked up 16 points, dopwning three of six from three point range in the Clipper win, but Jason Richardson is far superior. I predict Rich posting up Brown whenever he can and raining three pointers once Brown begins to anticipate Richardson's intentions. On the bench is Bobby Brown, who evidently has put down the microphone for good, recovered from his ugly divorce with Whitney, lost some serious weight, and has now embarked on an NBA career. Kudos to him, although I really enjoyed his reality show. Another youngster on the Hornets roster is Marcus Thornton, a 2nd round pick from LSU. He has played in 7 games and hasn't done too much exciting stuff. Still, atthehive.com reports that he can "fill it up." So perhaps we'll have to watch for that.

Forwards/Center

David West and Peja Stojakovic are the only real offensive threats on this Hornet squad right now. With Chris Paul out, the onus of scoring falls on these two players. While West is capable of going for 30 on any given night, there's much less of a chance without Paul around.

Peja is averaging way below his career mark of 17.6 points per game. He's shooting 37% from the field and 33% from three point range. The injuries have taken their toll on him. Still, he has a career mark of 17.8 PPG against the Suns. While he certainly isn't having close to an All-Star season, he is always capable of getting hot and doing damage to the opposition.

James Posey is also a capable Forward/Guard who can shoot from long range, but like most of the Hornets, is struggling. At 3.9 points per game, I cannot say I'm real worried about him all of a sudden pouring in 40 to make the difference in this one. Emeka Ofafor is a quality player. He battles on the boards and is an opposing figure in the lane. But he is a waste in New Orleans. He is averaging a career low in points and rebounds per game. It's fairly clear he hasn't assimilated in New Orleans and it's too bad. At the Hive is speculating he could be dealt. I'd love to have him on the Suns.

How many of you knew Sean Marks was still playing in the NBA? Gotta admit I had no clue. He's a Hornet as is Ike Diogu. Will either make any difference? Will either see any playing time. Doubt it. Diogu though makes me wonder. He's now on his fourth team in four seasons. The former Arizona State product was the 9th pick by the Warriors in the 2005 draft. What's the deal? Are the Warriors that awful at scouting college talent, or is Diogu just not NBA caliber. I know he's struggled through some injuries, but to be picked 9 and amount to nothing is kind of odd in this day and age. I realize it happens....Oh well, best of luck Ike...

Predictions

Unless the whole Suns team suffers food poisoning, I don't see us losing this one. In fact I'm predicting a blow out. I don't like to make such predictions, so I'm knocking on wood, but really, the Hornets are down and out. CP3 is the engine that makes the Hornets go, and he's gone. At this point they have no suitable replacement for him. And while Peja, West, and Posey are capable scorers, someone has to consistently get them ball. While opponents had to worry about CP3 taking the ball to the rim and shooting from the outside, they also had to concern themselves with him feeding the scorers. Forget about all that, there's no way we should lose this game.

Pregame Links

Orlando Magic 121, New Orleans Hornets 86

Ben Q Rock — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:51:46 -0000

More photos » by Kelly Glasscock - AP

Browse more photos »

Due to a decisive edge in rebounding and three-point shooting, the Orlando Magic routed the New Orleans Hornets, 121-86, in a neutral-site game in Wichita, Kansas. Orlando sank a remarkable 19 three-pointers, and outrebounded New Orleans by a 44-25 margin. Power forward Ryan Anderson, getting his first-ever preseason start for the Magic, led all scorers with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting (6-of-9 from three-point range). Michael Pietrus was the second-highest man, with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting (5-of-6 on threes) in 25 minutes. He also had what might be the most eye-popping number in the boxscore: a plus/minus rating of +48, meaning the Magic outscored the Hornets by nearly two points per minute during Pietrus' time on the floor.

Team	Pace	Efficiency	eFG%	FT Rate	OReb%	TO Rate
Magic	90	134.8	75.8%	37.5	27.6	25.6
Hornets	90	95.6	43.8%	31.9	10.0	15.6

For me, the biggest takeaway from this game is defense. The Magic limited Chris Paul, the game's best point guard, to 13 points and 6 assists in 23 minutes, forcing him to shoot 2-of-8 from the field. Only David West, Julian Wright, and Marcus Thornton managed to shoot better than 50% from the field individually for the Hornets, and the rest of the team connected on 15 of its 52 shot attempts. I hesitate to read to deeply into preseason performances, but the Magic should be pleased with their defense in general. Over 5 games, the Magic have yielded 464 points in 462 possessions, for a defensive rating of 100.4; additionally, they've only allowed an effective field goal percentage of 43.8%. That's tremendous.

What isn't so tremendous, however, is the offense, or at least portions of it. Turnovers continue to derail the Magic. Look at the four factors chart above: doesn't it boggle your mind that the Magic managed 134.8 points per 100 possessions while turning it over more often than one-in-four times down the court? It makes me wonder what the victory margin would have been like were they not to waste one-fourth of their possessions. Really, think about that for a second.

Finally, how about Brandon Bass and Marcin Gortat? The Magic's reserves at power forward and center, respectively, combined for 21 points and 20 rebounds. Indeed, that twosome approximated New Orleans' entire rebounding total on its own, and they're bench players on this Magic team. Performances like tonight really illustrate Orlando's depth relative to that of the other above-average teams in the league, although we should not that New Orleans' front-line was exceptionally thin tonight, as starting center Emeka Okafor and reserve power forward Ike Diogu sat out with injuries. Still, impressive performances from Bass and Gortat, and everyone else in Magic pinstripes. What a game.

CJ Watson - Storm-a-brewin'? :: 2009-2010 Golden State Warriors Player Recaps and Previews

dj fuzzylogic — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 07:00:25 -0000

(I wonder if people really know who CJ Watson is...)

Despite a somewhat lackluster free-agent class of summer 2009 where Trevor Ariza was the headliner, the NBA off-season was still pretty exciting nonetheless. Richard Jefferson switched conferences and makes me think the Spurs will continue their every-other-year championship a reality. Vince Carter finally got to move back home. Hedo Turkoglu got to go home as well...at least as "home" as the European city of Toronto can be for an Eastern European dude. Upper-echelon teams wondered and battled over whether they should hold onto their team leaders (Turkoglu, Andre Miller, Carlos Boozer) or succumb to the restrictive pressures of the economy. Teams strategized. Teams made moves for the betterment of their short term and long term futures.

And then, you had, what I would like to call, Watson-gate.

Honestly, the tug-of-war battle between our Golden State Warriors and the Orlando Magic over CJ Watson's services as a back-up guard might have been the most head-scratching and least inspiring drama of the whole summer. I mean, really, was this battle over CJ Watson really something to get personal about, as Orlando GM Otis Smith felt about the whole situation. In one word, I would describe this ordeal as "unnecessary." But I guess that's typical Warriors fashion to piss off their own players (Marc Jackson).

Watson is a solid back-up shooting guard (since he doesn't do much distributing) and has the one thing that Warrior players never seem to have: a mid-range game and a mid range jumper. But aren't undersized, shoot-first point guards as plentiful in the NBA/NBDL/CBA/PBA talent pool as say the annoyingly unathletic tweener PFs (Ike Diogu ...)?

So what value does he have for a Warriors team overloaded with shoot-first players - especially at the 1-3 positions that all guards have to play under Nellieball? Is there something we don't know about Watson's future with the Warriors?

Check after the jump

Watson plants trees, but is unsure about planting roots in the Bay Area

(photo via V.O. ala MO)

Apparently, CJ Watson can play at least 4 positions on the Warriors:

The point guard slipped during the team's very first workout of camp. Interestingly, the 6-foot-2 Watson had one of the funnier comments of opening day, boasting, "I re-signed here because I knew I was going to get minutes. I mean, I might play power forward here." (via Yahoo! Sports)

Is THIS why Otis Smith was rushing to sign all these Warriors? OR is CJ Watson the insurance policy now that Brandan Wright is out again with shoulder injuries??

But jokes aside, Watson clearly didn't want to be here. As some reports note, with the glut of point guards, minutes might be hard to come by. Instead of going for the longer term stability that the Warriors offered (3 years at $5million), Watson took the one year qualifying offer of $1.05 million. He even rejected the Philly 1 year offer of $2.3 million.

All this is to say that with Watson's 2010 unrestricted status, next year's free-agent class - Lebron James, Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade, Dirk Nowitski - just got more amazing (hehe...).

The other subtext is how bad are the Warriors that when guaranteed money is as hard to come by as it is in this economy, that people are more willing to opt for the "freedom of choice."

Anyway, back to CJ Watson. I'm impressed the Warriors showed some restraint and resigned him for some minimum dollars. For most of the season, he was a one trick pony. Score in bunches, do little else. And maybe that's just what was asked of him.

But in the last month of the season, when the Warriors starters were either resting up or out with injuries, Watson ended up, surprisingly averaged 17ppg, 5.5 asts, and 4 rbs a game. Stats-aside, Watson was probably one of the few ball-handlers on the team that could dribble proficiently with both hands. Although he often dribbled too much, you won't expect him to make a telegraphed pass Monta Ellis--style or to dribble into a triple team expecting-a-foul-only-to-get-stripped (see Stephen Jackson and Corey Maggete). And unlike all the rest of the Warriors, Watson actually makes his free throws! Check his last season stats:

Year	Team	G	Mi	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG

2008	Warriors	77	0	3.3	7.3	45.7	.600	1.6	40	2.2	2.5	87	.500	2	2.5	2.7	1.2	1.2	.100	0	9.5

I guess we could say that CJ Watson is minimal risk to the Warriors. I admit, I get scared watching Monta or Jax bringing the ball up the floor. This is the relief that Watson brings to the Warriors.

So what can we expect from this somewhat disgruntled players who's forced to stay one more year in Oakland?

I imagine that CJ Watson will put up about the same numbers he did last year. It's highly unlikely that he'll be able to duplicate the numbers he put up in April unless his teammates get as injured as they were last year. Expect him to play the instant offense role off the bench. Or maybe he'll start at power forward when Nellie re-invents 'small-ball.'

2009-2010 Golden State Warriors Preview

Anthony Morrow: Ammo + Chocolate Rain
Stephen Jackson: O Captain, My Captain
Speedy Claxton/ Devean George, Acie Law: Wouldn't Count on It
Brandan Wright: Injury Prone
Stephen Curry: Let There Be Hope
Monta Ellis: Back in the Saddle
Corey Maggette: The 6th Wonder of the Oracle
Anthony Randolph: Hope Beyond the Hype
Andris Biedrins
Ronny Turiaf
C.J. Watson
Mikki Moore
Kelenna Azubuike

Coming 10.26.09 to a web browser near you...

Golden State Warriors 2k9-2k10 Super Preview Blowout Special!

Thunder Gameday: Oklahoma City Thunder at New Orleans Hornets

Mr Pappagiorgio — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 13:30:22 -0000

The first thing you need to know about tonight's second pre-season game is that it isn't "tonight's" game at all, its actually an EARLY afternoon game, which tips off at 1pm Local time. Once again, the game won't be televised, and you're only chance to watch this one is going to be listening to WWLS, The Sports Animal, on FM 98.1 / AM 640 in the Oklahoma City area, or on 97.1 FM in the Tulsa Area. Again if there is anyone out there with a little bit of pull or power that wants to push for all the pre-season games to be televised next season, we'd certainly appreciate it, and I think just by me watching the game it'll have better ratings that "Matlock" and "In the Heat of the Night" which apparently was more important for KSBI to broadcast than showing a Thunder pre-season game. So if you can get that taken care of for us, I'm sure all us die hard Thunder fans would appreciate it.

As the Oklahoman points out in this article, essentially four players are battling for one roster spot. Those guys are Ryan Bowen, Mike Harris, Tre Kelley, and local boy Michael Ruffin. In the Thunder's first pre-season game the other night against the Memphis Grizzlies, Ryan Bowen got a nice chunk of playing time to show what he could do, while the other 3 guys watched from the bench. Bowen got 21 minutes of playing time which he used to take just 2 shots, both of which he missed (1 of which was a 3 point attempt), grab 3 rebounds (1 offensive), block 1 shot, and turned the ball over just once. All in all, just looking at the stat-line its hard to judge his performance, especially when we didn't get to see the game since it wasn't televised, but he didn't have too bad of a game, considering he's making an attempt at being the last guy on the bench, so to speak. From the article linked above, it was his hustle that really stood out, and I think one thing all Thunder fans love, and me especially (which is why I love Nick Collison so much), is hustle. Today's game should give one of the other three an opportunity to prove what they can do. Click the jump link to hear some more about today's game and what we are hoping to see.

The first thing I'm looking for in today's game is Russell Westbrook, and whether that 10 assist effort the other night was a fluke, or if he's improved his style of play so much this off-season that he's already going to be one of the leagues better point guards this season. He took just 4 shots, and racked up assist after assist to go along with 4 rebounds and only turned the ball over twice. Sure, we're used to RW0 racking up at least double digits in points, but with the addition of James Harden to the mix, perhaps that pressure for him to score upwards of 20 points per game is being lessened, significantly. If that's the case, imagine how many double doubles the kid is going to have this season, seriously! If he can keep up distributing the ball like this he'll be pushing the double digit assist mark all season, and I think we can pretty much bet that he'll be at least double digit in score on a nightly basis as well, and that's not even mentioning his rebounding which can sometimes pop up there into double digits as well.

The next thing I'm looking for is Jeff Green, and a much a improved outing for him. In Wednesdays game he had probably his work game, at least statwise that I can ever really remember seeing from him. Again, its hard to know what else he was doing on the court just from listening to the game, but, in 26 minutes of play, he managed just 6 points on 3-10 shooting to go with only 2 rebounds and 2 steals. This is not the Uncle Jeff we know and love, and this is not the guy we expect to see on a nightly basis this coming season. So it'll be interesting to see how he responds today and what kind of game he has. I'm banking on a 16-20 point performance with 5-7 boards today for Jeff Green. Let's see if he can do it.

Thirdly, is that even a word? I guess so since spell-check didn't change it, anyway, we're going with it. Thirdly, I want to see more of the young guys, Serge Ibaka, James Harden, D.J. White, and Kyle Weaver. I want to see what Ibaka can do with 20-30 minutes if he was able to score 4 points (2-2 shooting) and grab 2 rebounds in just 4 minutes of playing time. I want to see if D.J. White can continue to perform at such a high level in back to back games, and against good competition. Perhaps throw DJ out there early in the first quarter to get him some time against Nola's starters and see what he can do. Of course to do that, you'd likely have to cut into Jeff Greens time early, but hey its pre-season, why not start D.J. and throw Green out there late in the first and let him work the remainder of the 1st and most of the 2nd before bringing D.J. back in with the rest of the starters to clean up the end of the half? Look at me trying to be coach here. Anyway, I'm just intrigued by the way D.J. played on Wednesday and want to see what the kid can really do, as I'm sure Uncle Jeff's performance was just a fluke, we all know what he's capable of.

Finally, I'm just interested to see what Brooks plans on doing today. Is he going to give starters 25 minutes of playing time again? Is he gonna play with the rotations more? Work some of the young guys in with the starters to see how they will work with our premier players and against better competition? What's he gonna do? How is he going to continue to get this team prepped for the season opener which is already less than 3 weeks away! Can you believe that? just 18 more days until live regular season Thunder basketball! Man I'm excited, so turn that radio (come on guys, its the Hornets!) on at 1pm today and Thunder UP!

Oklahoma City Thunder Roster

	#	Pos.	DOB	W	H	College
Ryan Bowen	40	F	11.20.75	218	6-9	Iowa
Nick Collison	4	C	10.26.80	255	6-10	Kansas
Kevin Durant	35	F	9.29.88	215	6-9	Texas
Jeff Green	22	F	8.28.86	235	6-9	Georgetown
James Harden	13	G	8.26.87	220	6-5	Arizona State
Mike Harris	-	F	6.15.83	240	6-6	Rice
Serge Ibaka	9	F	9.18.89	220	6-10	None
Tre Kelley	6	G	1.23.85	188	6-0	South Carolina
Nenad Krstic	12	C	7.25.83	240	7-0	None
Shaun Livingston	14	G	9.11.85	185	6-7	Peoria Central HS
Byron Mullens	23	C	2.14.89	260	7-1	Ohio State
Kevin Ollie	7	G	12.27.72	195	6-2	Connecticut
Malik Rose	9	F	11.23.74	255	6-7	Drexel
Michael Ruffin	51	F	1.21.77	248	6-8	Tulsa
Thabo Sefolosha	2	G	5.2.84	215	6-7	None
Etan Thomas	36	C	4.1.78	260	6-10	Syracuse
Kyle Weaver	5	G	2.18.86	201	6-6	Washington State
Russell Westbrook	-	G	11.12.88	187	6-3	U-C-L-A
D.J. White	3	F	8.31.86	251	6-9	Indiana

New Orleans Hornets Roster

	#	Pos.	DOB	W	H	College
Hilton Armstrong	12	C	11.11.84	235	6-11	Connecticut
Earl Barron	55	C	8.14.81	268	7-0	Memphis
Bobby Brown	6	G	9.24.84	175	6-2	Cal State Fullerton
Devin Brown	23	G	12.30.78	210	6-5	Texas-San Antonio
Darren Collison	2	G	8.23.87	160	6-0	U-C-L-A
Ike Diogu	1	F	9.11.83	250	6-9	Arizona State
Sean Marks	4	C	8.23.75	250	6-10	California
Emeka Okafor	50	C	9.28.82	255	6-10	Connecticut
Larry Owens	25	F	1.8.83	210	6-7	Oral Roberts
Chris Paul	3	G	5.6.85	175	6-0	Wake Forest
Morris Peterson	9	G	8.26.77	220	6-7	Michigan State
James Posey	41	F	1.13.77	217	6-8	Xavier
Darius Songaila	9	F	2.14.78	248	6-9	Wake Forest
Peja Stojakovic	16	F	6.9.77	229	6-10	None
Marcus Thornton	5	G	6.5.87	205	6-4	L-S-U
David West	30	F	8.29.80	240	6-9	Xavier
Julian Wright	32	F	5.20.87	225	6-8	Kansas

NBA Previews- The Hornets

atthehive — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 08:23:30 -0000

More photos » by Gregory Smith - AP

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As part of CelticsBlog's annual round of previews, it's the Hornets' turn.

Team Name: New Orleans Hornets

Last Year's Record: 49-33

Key Losses: Tyson Chandler, Rasual Butler, Antonio Daniels, Ryan Bowen, Melvin Ely

Key Additions: Emeka Okafor, Darren Collison, Marcus Thornton, Ike Diogu, Morris Peterson, Darius Songaila

1. What Significant Moves were made during the off-season?

New Orleans did its fair share of wheeling and dealing. Tyson Chandler for Emeka Okafor was the headliner, with the Hornets swapping out a defensive ace with injury questions. Okafor enters the season nursing his own injury, but the hope is he can offer more consistent minutes than Chandler did in '09. The Hornets also saved money by offloading Rasual Butler and Antonio Daniels. Via the draft, Chris Paul's new backup- Darren Collison- joined the team, as did Marcus Thornton, a potential scoring threat off the bench. Toss Darius Songaila into the forward mix, and the Hornets enter 2009-2010 with a significantly different look and feel- three new players will step into the starting roles (Peterson, Julian Wright, Okafor), and a plethora of backcourt and frontcourt minutes should go to Collison and Diogu.

2. What are the team’s biggest strengths?

The point guard position. Obviously, that's been the strength since 2005; however, the Hornets seem to have the backup PG position locked down for the first time in a while. The organization has shown continual confidence in UCLA's Darren Collison. On draft night, they took him over a variety of front court options. They unloaded incumbent 2nd string PG Daniels relatively early in the offseason. And instead of bringing in a veteran 3rd string standby, they decided to roll the dice on Minnesota's Bobby Brown. If things go according to plan, not only will Chris Paul be awesome, his backup will allow him a couple more minutes of rest a game.

3. What are the team’s biggest weaknesses?

One of New Orleans' biggest issues last year was an utter lack of offensive rebounding ability. Only 5 teams went one and done more often last year (now, granted 2 of those were Orlando and San Antonio... but they made up for it in many other areas). Granted, a lot of the problems had to do with severe injury issues. However, neither Okafor nor Ike Diogu is an o-rebounder in the ilk of a healthy Chandler, so that weakness could persist.

On that same note, front court depth was another huge issue. While the addition of Diogu should help, Sean Marks and Hilton Armstrong still figure to get decent minutes off the bench. That shouldn't need much elaboration. The bench sucked in general last year, but more on that under Question 5.

Finally, the team still lacks a creative scorer outside of West and Paul. Obviously, having three marquee scorers on one team might be a little too much to ask for, but having a creative wing would help snap the stagnant stretches the offense is prone to fall into. Some have hyped Thornton into the role. I'm not saying a 6'0" shooting guard can't get that job done; there are a few examples across the league. But I'll believe it when I see it.

4. What are the goals for this team?

Hard to say. From a media perspective, the Hornets certainly won't have too much expected of them after last year's disastrous ending. From a player perspective, I'm sure a few guys are feeling some pressure. David West will be 29 next year. Chris Paul's only 24, but his chances at a title have taken a step back from 2007. From a fan perspective, I feel like a first round series win would satiate the majority of New Orleans appetites. Realistic goals will only become clear at least a couple weeks into November. Between Okafor, Wright's starting job, Collison, and Diogu, there are simply too many new pieces to say for sure.

5. Will the bench suck as badly this year?

The second unit was arguably the Hornets' biggest shortcoming last year. Antonio Daniels is the only guy I can possibly defend. Julian Wright, serious step back. James Posey, mediocre. Morris Peterson, invisible. Sean Marks, eh. Melvin Ely, bleh. And that's without even getting to the unmentionables, Hilton and Devin. Speaking of which, we should combine them into one player this year. Delton Browstrong. Okay, that sounds way cooler than this combo player possibly deserves to. Helvin Brownarms. There we go. Helvin Brownarms.

The overall point is that the bench can't possibly be this bad again. I mean... it could. But it can't.

Darren Collison is a respectable player by all accounts. Ike Diogu can be rock solid if healthy. Peja Stojakovic could have a rebound year and keep his back healthy, coming off the pine. Of course, Marks, Armstrong, and the rest are going to pick up some minutes. But a second unit of Collison/Thornton/Peja/Posey/Diogu with light servings of Bobby Brown and some Kiwi sprinkles should easily outperform last year's. It simply has to.

So to answer the question, no the bench will not suck as badly.

Projected Finish: 53 wins
Projected Finish Rationale: None whatsoever

Spoiler Alert: New Orleans Hornets Preview

djturtleface — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 18:05:20 -0000

More photos » by Bill Haber - AP

Keep flexing Chris, maybe one of these days somebody will notice that you're the most important player in the NBA. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)

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If the Cavaliers didn't have LeBron James, they probably wouldn't be very good. If the Lakers didn't have Kobe Bryant, they would still be passable. Without Carmelo Anthony the Nuggets would still make things work, though they definitely wouldn't be contenders.

Can you imagine the Heat without Dwayne Wade? Nope. They would be horrendous. And there is one player in the NBA that is more important to his team then Wade. His name is Chris Paul, and he is the New Orleans Hornets franchise.

Preview

But what about David West? West is an All-Star, yes, but he wouldn't carry the Hornets within a sniff of the playoffs without Chris Paul around. Other Hornets like Peja Stojakovic, Julian Wright, James Posey, and Morris Peterson can contribute at times, but are generally somewhere between ineffective and unreliable. They certainly aren't an average playoff roster in the always stacked Western Conference.

The Hornets were once considered an up-and-coming title contender, way back one season ago. Back then their team seemed well-rounded. West seemed to have unlimited potential. Tyson Chandler appeared to be a reliable double-double. And Peja hit every open shot that Paul created for him. Some thought that adding Posey would put them over the top.

Turns out that David West pretty much is what he is--a jump-shooting power forward who doesn't rebound quite as well as you'd like. Tyson Chandler and Peja couldn't stay on the floor, and looked increasingly like liabilities when they were out there. James Posey's impact was minimal.

"On a recent episode of antique roadshow, Peja and Mo Pete were valued well under their cost of $20 million."

This season Tyson Chandler was flipped for Emeka Okafor, who won't be slamming the 'oop quite like Chandler could, but is arguably a bit more reliable and gifted offensively. Lots of Peja's minutes are probably going to be taken by Julian Wright, who will need to prove that his talents can translate into effectiveness. They've finally secured a backup for West in Ike Diogu, and have a couple jitterbugs in Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton.

How much does that matter? Maybe a whole lot, maybe not much. A true blue superstar like Chris Paul can only bring a team so far. His surrounding cast needs to do the rest. And this might just be the year that the Hornets rally around their young leader.

Fantasy Preview

Breakout: Emeka Okafor- Free from the anemic Bobcats, Emeka Okafor is going to absolutely flourish. David West occasionally draws a double-team, and will move the ball around until the big man is found right under the hoop. If I told you that Emeka Okafor could score over 15 points per game, block almost 2 shots, and grab about 10 rebounds, all while playing over 70 games, where would you draft him? Probably well before 72, which is where ESPN has him ranked.

Bust: Small Forwards- Julian Wright, Peja, and James Posey will all kill each other's value. Take note and don't draft any of them, not even as 3-point specialists, which is the only place they have value.

Useful: Chris Paul, David West- If I have the #1 pick, I'm taking LeBron for the first time this season. But if I have the #2 pick I'm taking Chris Paul without a thought. David West is a bit overrated at #22. He'll see less minutes this season, and I think his scoring average dips below 20 points per game. Still useful for his FT% if you're a guard-dominant team, but you're probably in bad shape if he's your third best player.

Predictions

My Prediction: 51-31 (ESPN: 47-35) Chris Paul is the most valuable player in the NBA. He is the best basketball player in the NBA. With a new, younger supporting cast, Paul is going to make the Hornets look like a top team again, but don't get any big dreams. As long as this team is saddled by the enormous Peja Stojakovic contract, they just won't have the cap-space to add enough talent to make championship waves.

Check out 'At the Hive' for more Hornets coverage.

Poll

How many games will the Hornets win?

Over 51 wins.

6 votes

Under 51 wins.

15 votes

21 votes | Poll has closed

Around the Association: 2009-2010 New Orleans Hornets: Two first names, one great point guard.

jae — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:00:17 -0000

More photos » by Jack Dempsey - AP

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In 2007-08, no team surprised the masses more than the up-and-coming New Orleans Hornets. Their full-time return to the Big Easy after two years as post-Katrina refugees saw them win 54 games and narrowly miss the #1 playoff seed in the jam-packed competitive Western Conference. They were a team on the rise. 2008-09 saw a modest dip in wins (oh what the Warriors would give to 'slide' down to 49 wins), but a seemingly greater slide in future expectations. Has the lustre of hope gone? Are the Hornets still a team to fear? Or are they but another of the strong but still flawed Western Conference not-elites, hoping for a miracle to challenge the true contenders?

(more after the jump)

Offseason Additions:

Darren Collison (draft #21 pick PG from UCLA)

Marcus Thornton (draft #43 pick G from LSU; acquired in trade from Miami for future picks)

Rasual Butler (addition by subtraction, traded away to the Clippers for a future 2^nd rounder)

Emoke Okafor (C/PF, trade from Charlotte Bobcats)

Bobby Brown (G, trade from Minn)

Ike Diogu (free agent)

Offseason subtractions:

Tyson Chandler (to Charlotte)

Antonio Daniels (to Minn for Songalia and Brown)

Darius Songaila (F, trade from Minn, subtraction by addition)

Outlook:

All hope and success for the Hornets starts with all-star point guard Chris Paul. Paul is one of the very few truly elite players in the game. The do-everything guard was equally adept shooting (22.8 ppg on 0.599 TS%) and passing (11.0 apg) and his diminutive size did not accurately predict his penchant for rebounding (5.5rpg) from the back-court. Indeed the man with two first names is one of the few players who can realistically be included in discussions about the league's best along with Dwyane Wade, Dwight Howard and, of course Lebron James. And at 24 years of age, he may yet still see some improvement in his already stellar game. Whenever you have a player as good as Paul, you have a shot.

Paul is not a one-man team. PF David West is now a two-time All-Star. However, this probably somewhat overrates his actual contribution as his 21ppg came at only average efficiency and 8.5rpg in 39 minutes on the court is somewhat substandard for a frontcourt player. While still one of the rare "4"s who can provide that sort of scoring punch and allows for a true inside-outside game with Paul, but Karl Malone he isn't.

Unfortunately, the drop-off between Paul and West was mild compared to the drop-off between West and the rest of New Orleans' squad. At least some of the team's regression can be attributed to the loss of rebounding force and solid defensive center Tyson Chandler. Chandler was injured for large parts of the season and, in what appeared as entirely a salary move, Chandler was traded mid-season to the OKC Thunder, only to have the move rescended shortly thereafter when Chandler failed his physical. In the off-season he was again traded, this time successfully, to Charlotte for C/PF Emoke Okafor. Okafor, like Chandler is somewhat limited on offense, but a solid rebounder and defender. Okafor has also been hit by the injury bug in the past. Still, even moderate health from Okafor will be an improvement over the half season the Hornets were forced to make due with Hilton Armstrong, Melvin Ely and Sean Marks.

Wing play was similarly sketchy. Gone for 2009-10 is Rasual Butler, perennial contender for worst regular rotation player. How he managed to garner 32 minutes per night with a lone skill (+39% from beyond the arc) remains a mystery. James Posey was more effective, but played less. Peja Stojakovic is rapidly becoming nothing more than a spot-up 3 point shooter, and while still effective in that regard (and still seemingly unaffected by defensive pressure, hitting close to 40% whether wide open or closely guarded), he is not the player he once was in Sacramento. While the collective 2/3 play of the Hornets could light it up from beyond the arc, they will have to get more dynamic play from someone. With Posey and Peja already in their early 30s, the lone internal candidate will be Julian Wright who is still a mostly unknown entity. Also in the mix at the 3 will be combo forward Darius Songaila, acquired from Minn for Antonio Daniels. Unfortunately, Songalia is one of the few players who might not be an upgrade over Butler.

Prognosis:

Chris Paul, continued solid play from West, and more minutes at C manned by Okafor than they got from Chandler will boost New Orleans a bit, but they should still fall short of the top of the Western Conference.

54 wins.

(Warriors connection: Ike Diogu, proclaimed by Indy to be the "key" to the deal that sent Dunleavy and Murphy away from the Warriors, will join his 5th team in as many NBA seasons.)

For more on the New Orleans Hornets check out At the Hive:

2009-2010 Around the Association

Introduction
Atlanta Hawks: Sorry, Mrs. Jackson. The Hawks are for real.
Boston Celtics: Sheed in Green + Another Answer
Charlotte Bobcats: They Do Exist
Chicago Bulls: Ring Around the Rose-y
Cleveland Cavaliers: Now or Never
Dallas Mavericks: The Curse of the Dampier
Denver Nuggets: If it ain't broke...
Detroit Pistons: The Return of the Bay Boys
Houston Rockets: Yao-ch!, that's gotta hurt
Indiana Pacers: A One Man Show
Los Angeles Clippers: Warriors South No More
Los Angeles Lakers: Big Brother, Little Brother
Memphis Grizzlies: Going Back to Vancouver
Miami Heat: Need to get the point
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Jersey Nets
New Orleans Hornets
New York Knicks
Oklahoma City Super Sonics
Orlando Magic
Philadelphia Sixers
Phoenix Suns
Portland TrailBlazers
Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards
Rewind