SB Nation - Peja Stojakovic

Lakers-Hornets Preview

DexterFishmore — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:00:20 -0000

When the New Orleans Hornets last came to visit, they were decomposing before our very eyes. It was early November. Their season was already heading south. They were the only team in the league to have lost to the Knicks. The players had stopped even pretending to play for tenuously employed coach Byron Scott, with franchise talent Chris Paul looking especially angsty. They were a wounded animal, barely clinging to life and staggering onto the highway just as the Laker 18-wheeler was starting to gather speed.

Sure enough, the Lakers splattered them all over the concrete in a gruesome 18-point blowout. The L.A. bench played almost half the game, and DJ Mbenga logged his only career double-double. Soon afterward, Scott was informed that his services as New Orleans coach would no longer be required.

The Hornets are back in town tonight, but the teams' lineups look a bit different than they did in November. Chris Paul is out with a sprained ankle, and Peja Stojakovic might miss tonight's game for personal reasons. The Lakers, on the other hand, are nearly at full health, with Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, whom the Hornets didn't have to face last time, back in action.

In other words, the highway's about to get bloody once again.

Just for giggles, though, let's start with some positives as far as New Orleans is concerned.

Weirdly enough, they've actually played pretty well without Paul. The Hornets have won four of their seven games with him on the shelf, and they're coming off a particularly impressive five-game stretch. Against opponents with a combined winning percentage of 0.634 (Phoenix, Atlanta, Miami, Milwaukee and Sacramento), they've held their own, going 3-2 in those games while both scoring and allowing 1.08 points per possession. Not bad for a team missing its only A-list talent.

New Orleans' strong recent performance is due in large measure to their promising rookie guards, Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton. These two hardly played at all under Scott, who for reasons unknown preferred the dubious veteran charms of Bobby Brown and Devin Brown. With Paul out and Scott gone, Collison and Thornton have seen substantially increased minutes, and both are proving they belong. Local boy Collison has posted strong assist and turnover rates at the point, while Thornton has shown the shooting touch that made him SEC Player of the Year.

Collison will start tonight and Thornton will come of the bench, with both of them playing 30 minutes or so. The leftover backcourt playing time will get soaked up by the two Browns. Don't worry, they're still horrible. They're both worse than Shannon Brown, and maybe even "Club MTV" hostess Downtown Julie Brown.

I'm gonna stop saying "Brown" now.

Up front, the situayshe for New Orleans is pretty blah. David West has had a couple good games recently, and there are worse centers around than Emeka Okafor, but those guys are overmatched against the towering Laker bigs. As mentioned, Peja might not go - he missed Sunday's game in Sacramento and is questionable for this one - but it's not like he's some super-scary weapon anyway. If he's out, expect lots of minutes for James Posey and Darius Songaila.

Stop laughing. It's not polite.

The Hornets aren't that great offensively, ranking 16th in the league in offensive efficiency, but man, they just suck on D. (A full stat comparison is at the bottom of this post.) Especially with master thief Paul out of the lineup, they don't have much hope of slowing the Laker attack. Gasol and Bynum will get plenty of tasty looks in the paint, and Kobe Bryant should have another 30-point game if he wants it.

Their solid recent play notwithstanding, the Hornets just don't have the talent to hang with a Lakers team that's been looking increasingly sharp and merciless. Expect first-half pwnage, followed by garbagio time, and then the usual "How much of this lead will the bench fritter away?" festivities.

A true test of the Lakers will have to wait. For now, they continue to munch on low-hanging fruit.

	Lakers	Hornets
*RECORD*	13-3	7-10
*NET POINTS*	+7.9 (2nd)	-4.0 (21st)
*PACE*	98.2 (6th)	94.6 (18th)
*OFFENSIVE RATING*	104.4 (14th)	103.8 (16th)
Turnover Rate (Off.)	13.1% (7th)	12.8% (4th)
FTA/FGA (Off.)	0.25 (26th)	0.26 (25th)
Free-Throw %	73.4 (23rd)	78.8 (5th)
Effective FG% (Off.)	50.1 (12th)	48.7 (21st)
True Shooting% (Off.)	53.4 (16th)	52.8 (21st)
Off Rebounding Rate	28.0% (8th)	27.8 (9th)
*DEFENSIVE RATING*	96.5 (3rd)	108.1 (27th)
Turnover Rate (Def.)	14.7% (10th)	12.7 (25th)
FTA/FGA (Def.)	0.27 (6th)	0.26 (5th)
Effective FG% (Def.)	45.4 (1st)	51.6 (24th)
True Shooting% (Def.)	50.0 (1st)	54.8 (22nd)
Def Rebounding Rate	72.4% (21st)	70.8 (28th)

All statistical terms explained here. Parentheses indicate league rankings. Numbers are courtesy of excellent sites Basketball Reference and HoopData.

Udonis Haslem and Dwyane Wade lead Heat back to victory

DolPhanDave — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:35:35 -0000

by Alan Diaz - AP

Get up here and high-5 me Rio

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As the game began there was one thing I was looking at and that was how the Heat would look defensively. After getting a turnover on their first defensive possession, Miami committed back-to-back fouls resulting in 5 points. Meanwhile at the other end Dwyane Wade and Michael Beasley both failed to finish on seemingly easy layup attempts. My main knock on Beasley remains the same...he needs to be able to finish drives consistently.

Jermaine O'Neal was very active early in the game, scoring 6 of the Heat's first 12 points. Then on back-to-back plays he was fouled and despite them not counting, hit a couple tough shots. Definitely the most active he'd been in the 1^st quarter of a game since opening night. A scary moment though as O'Neal was seen heading into the Heat's locker room with 3 minutes left in the quarter, but he would return soon after.

Mario Chalmers was all over the place in the first quarter, showing us how good he can be when he gets aggressive with the ball. He had 7 early points, slashing and cutting all over the floor. D-Wade was also super active in the 1^st half, playing like the superstar he is. 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting in the opening half for Wade, who hit his only three-point attempt and stepped it up defensively with two blocks.

The Heat continued scoring at will in the 2^nd half led by D-Wade, who was getting in the paint much more then he had been in the past week. Maybe a little too aggressive (if that's possible for Wade) as he missed 3 dunks, throwing them down a little too hard and clanking the ball off the back iron.

Turnovers were becoming a problem for Miami and that is what was keeping the Hornets in the game. Half way through the 3^rd quarter the Heat already had 10 turnovers. New Orleans was being led by Marcus Thornton, who scored 5 big points at the end of the quarter. Overall New Orleans used a 10-2 run to close out the 3^rd, drawing within 3 points of the Heat.

The 4^th quarter began pretty poorly for Miami. A missed shot and a turnover for Miami turned into 4 quick points and the lead for New Orleans. It didn't last though as Michael Beasley hit his first trey of the game to put the Heat back up by 2, but then the back and fourth game continued when former Heat player James Posey hit back-to-back triples, and half way thorough the fourth the Heat were down by 5. Maybe the 4^th quarter wouldn't have gotten so exciting if the Heat hadn't missed 7 of their first 9 field goals, but I digress...

Bringing the Heat right back was D-Wade who continued his dominance. He hit a couple of treys to get the Heat back in front, the first time this season Wade made more three-pointers then he missed. As the game winded down the Hornets kept shooting from beyond the arc and Peja Stojakovic hit a big one to put N.O. up by 2 in the final minute.

Responding for Miami was Udonis Haslem, tying the game up at 100 with 44 seconds left. Then after Marcus Thornton hit one-of-two from the foul line, Udonis hit another huge jumper, this one off glass, to put the Heat up by 1 with under 15 seconds left. The Heat would then clamp down defensively, forcing David West to take an ill advised jumper (to put it nicely) at the end. The shot didn't fall and the Heat would get a much needed win.

The Heat hit just 6 field goals in the 4^th quarter but still managed to come away with the ‘W'. Michael Beasley and Dwyane Wade each had a pair of triples and Udonis Haslem hit the two BIG jumpers in the final minute. Wade finished with 31 points, 6 boards, 3 assists and 3 blocks. Beasley finished one rebound shy of his 3^rd double double this year, recording 17 points and 9 boards. It was the third time this season that Beasley came up one rebound short of a double double, and his average of 6.2 per game is almost a full board more then he averaged last season (5.4).

GAME NOTES

The Heat put up 59 points in the first half (on 57% shooting), their highest scoring output in a half this season.

Finally the Heat were able to win a game when allowing their opponent to score 100 points. Defensively, Miami held New Orleans to just 39% shooting, but the Hornets hit 12 three pointers which kept them in the game.

With his second trey of the 4^th quarter Dwyane Wade tied Steve Smith for 13^th on the Heat's all-time 3-pointers list.

Jermaine O'Neal had a tough rebounding night, finishing with just 4. He was stuck on just two boards for a while, grabbing two more in the games final 5 minutes.

Daequan Cook came down with an uncharacteristic 6 rebounds in limited minutes but still found himself on the bench during ‘crunch time'. It's going to take a little while before Spoelstra feels comfortable with Cook on the floor down the stretch; maybe when he starts drilling shots on a consistent basis.

Quentin Richardson missed his second straight game with a lower back strain. He's listed as questionable for the Heat next contest on Wednesday in Orlando.

Coach of the Year? You're Fired!

Zorgon — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 01:16:06 -0000

More photos » by Bill Haber - AP

Me? Fired?

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As all of you know, Byron Scott has recently been fired by the New Orleans Hornets. This should come as no surprise if you've followed the Hornets in the past. George Shinn is a guy who can assemble winning teams, but in all cases, profit comes before winning. In this case, he's gotten rid of a successful coach, so he can hire Tim Floyd to ghost coach as an assistant, while Jeff Bower serves as a puppet so Tim Floyd doesn't get as much money.

But, that's not the point of this article. The point of this article is to point out the drastically bad luck recent coaches of the year have had when it comes to keeping their jobs. Lets just go on down the list, shall we?

2003-2004: Hubie Brown, Memphis Grizzlies

He got this win after providing a 22 win turnaround to propel the Grizzlies to a 50 win season and the playoffs. They got swept out of the first round by San Antonio, but it was probably the best season in Grizzlies history up to that point. The next season, he started 5-7, had some, "Health Issues" and walked out the door. The team went on to make the playoffs again under Mike Fratello. Granted, this isn't a matter of bad coaching or anything, but all curses have to start somewhere, right?

The obligatory totally awesome Mike D'Antoni picture.

2004-2005: Mike D'Antoni, Phoenix Suns

Mike D'Antoni and his fast break offense had done endless positives for the Suns, especially after their trying to find an identity Post-Jason Kidd. He took a roster of aging players like Anfernee Hardaway, Stephon Marbury, Tom Gugliotta, Howard Eisley, and Antonio McDyess and made success with a completely new roster, featuring players like Steve Nash, Shawn Marion, Joe Johnson, and Amare Stoudemire. It was quite the accomplishment. But after two seasons of Semi-Finals losses, a Conference Finals loss, and a loss in the first round after Shaq was brought to town against D'Antoni's wishes, the Suns kicked him out the door. Now, how many times does that happen? Now he coaches the tanking New York Knicks. Talk about bad luck, and the start of a trend.

Things Avery Johnson don't lack are energy, tenacity, or a big mouth.

2005-2006: Avery Johnson, Dallas Mavericks

Avery Johnson won this award after inheriting an under achieving Don Nelson team. He forced them to play regular basketball, and as a result, they became one of the best teams in the NBA. But, after an embarrassing loss in the Finals after being up 2-0 on the Heat, an embarrassing (albeit totally awesome) loss to his predecessor's Golden State Warriors in the first round, and an understandable loss in the first round to the Hornets after a bad move for Jason Kidd, he was out on the street, and hasn't found another coaching job since. That's even worse luck.

2006-2007: Sam Mitchell, Toronto Raptors

The Raptors weren't extremely impressive under him, but getting the Raptors to the playoffs is, in itself, an accomplishment. The even bigger accomplishment was taking a international roster with many players who spoke entirely different languages, and making them work as one, cohesive unit. The future looked bright for him next season, but he lost Morris Peterson, an integral part of the teams success. He finished 6 wins lower at 41-41, and was booted out of the first round. Next season, it got even worse. He got an injury-prone Jermaine O'Neal, and lost a lot of his international talent, leading to a lack of team unity. After a 8-9 start, he was out of a job. His successor, Jay Triano, processed to poop the team into oblivion with a 25-40 record. This year, they look to be pretty good with the additions of players like Hedo Turkoglu, Demar DeRozan, Jarrett Jack, and Amir Johnson. Sam Mitchell hasn't found a job since, and has to be licking his chops at what he could have had. Bad luck strikes again.

2007-2008: Byron Scott, New Orleans Hornets

Byron Scott is the latest victim of this curse. He won the award after battling through two injury-laden seasons in Oklahoma City to finally become a playoff contender in New Orleans. He was gifted with Chris Paul, Peja Stojakovic, and Morris Peterson, while lucking into surprise stars in David West and Tyson Chandler. Unfortunately, his luck would turn sour as Morris Peterson, Peja Stojakovic, and Tyson Chandler suffered long injuries. As a result, the team finished 7 wins below last season at 49. They were promptly kicked out of the playoffs by the Denver Nuggets. Yet, I didn't feel that his job was on the line. But after a 3-6 start with Emeka Okafor in place of Tyson Chandler and Peja Stojakovic starting to show his age, Byron Scott was given the good 'ol pink slip. I'd hire him as my team's coach any day, but for right now, he's probably stuck as jobless until next year.

The Future:

Could Mike Brown be on the street, selling his stylish glasses for food?

2008-2009: Mike Brown, Cleveland Cavaliers

Will the curse continue? I say yes. Shaq promised to retire after this season, LeBron James is going to be a free agent, and without those two, the Cavaliers couldn't possibly be worth more than a low playoff seed at best. Which could lead to Mike Brown bringing the unluckiness streak to 6, and having people around the league start to believe that the award really is cursed.

One could point out that the award is given to coaches that are just the hot commodity at the time and not to stable, long term coaches, but that would ruin the fun! Plus, guys like Pat Riley, Phil Jackson, Gregg Popovich, Don Nelson, Larry Brown, and Phil Jackson have all won the award. So quiet, doubters! The new Madden Curse is upon us! I pity the man who receives the next Coach of the Year Award!

Lets hope that Scott Brooks never gets it.

Poll

Do you see Mike Brown following the curse any time soon?

Definitely, especially after next off-seasons departure of Shaquille O'Neal and LeBron James.

72 votes

Possibly, it could happen.

37 votes

Not likely. LeBron will stay in Cleveland, and as long as he's there, Mike Brown can do no wrong.

23 votes

132 votes | Poll has closed

Game 10 Preview: Blazers vs. Hornets

Dave — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:22:45 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

Chris Paul and Bobby Brown discuss the pitfalls of being known as CP3-6.

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Game Time: 5:00 p.m. Pacific TV: Comcast

As anyone who's ever spent any time playing first-person shooters, asking out girls, or passing gas can tell you, timing is everything. At first glance the 3-6 Hornets might look like easy prey for the surging Blazers. But Portland is catching them at the rottenest of rotten times.

As Ben informed us earlier today (and by the way, if you haven't given Ben a hearty round of applause lately for being all over everything, you should, because he is) the Hornets have bid adieu to former Coach of the Year Byron Scott and have replaced him with current "Wait, He's a Coach?" Jeff Bower. Down the road this is likely to be an issue. But there's an immutable law of the universe which reads that every NBA replacement coach wins his first game. The universe apparently likes to hear fans say, "Whew! Thank goodness that worked out!" just before they stumble backwards into a bottomless pit. The universe is cruel that way.

Adding to the bad timing ledger: the Hornets just got their dorsal ocelli gouged out by the Phoenix Suns. The 20-point blowout marked their fifth double-digit loss of the season in nine games. Caution #1 is that four of those five blowout losses have come on the road against good teams. Caution #2 is that, even though they're understandable, being swatted like that is going to make them as mad as...well...you know. Beating the Blazers isn't exactly a signature win yet but it's a good one. They're going to want it and Portland is going to bear the full brunt of their attack.

What does that attack look like? Pretty much like you remember, with a caveat or two. Chris Paul is hitting everything he puts up from everywhere on everyone. The guy is his own three-guard lineup. Need a point guard? 9.3 assists per game and a 4.2 assist/turnover ratio. How about an off-guard? 62% shooting from the field, 65.5% from three, 85.7% from the line, 26.1 points per game. A small forward? I wouldn't put it past him if they asked. If he served up any more facials he'd need cucumbers, mud, and a loofah. He runs. He shoots. He dishes. He can make homemade salsa in less than 30 seconds and then mix a margarita with just the flip of a switch! And he can be all yours for just six easy payments of $19.99. Million, that is. Only the L*kers have been able to slow him down and they did it by pressuring and hacking him.

L.A. might have actually been on to something there, concentrating on Chris and letting the other Hornets go. So far this year nobody has been able to help him on a consistent basis. Forward David West is always good for some points and he's shooting near his normal percentage but he's taking far fewer shots than he did last season and he's only producing 15 points per game instead of 20. Peja Stojakovic is moving like a Hutt and shooting like a stormtrooper. Mo Peterson is playing so poorly that ex-coach Scott figured he was better off getting fired for playing a 22-year old named Julian than letting ol' Mo Pete suit up. The bench players produce enough points to be considered legitimate superstars...in soccer. It ain't going good in the offensive department.

Adding to the problem, most nights the Hornets defend like generic Kleenex. They have Emeka Okafor in the middle but he's not enough to hold the fort despite some impressive blocked shot totals. He doesn't always move to the best advantage and his teammates aren't showing him in the best light. He's a good rebounder, though mainly on the offensive end. He's about the only consistent defensive rebounder the Hornets have but again, he's not near enough. James Posey was supposed to help with defense and rebounding but he signed a contract with New Orleans and immediately disintegrated. He's under 20 minutes per game this season. Okafor and Posey don't help the offense either. You can play with a post center in the run and gun but he better be able to pass. That's not Emeka's game. He holds it and clogs it, allowing defenders to sag, thus foiling penetration in the halfcourt. Too often New Orleans' offense becomes "gun and gun". That's not the way to win no matter how good your perimeter shooters are. You do have to watch Okafor's finishes but he himself is not enough to tip the balance for the Hornets.

All of that aside, New Orleans can still bust on you offensively. They've been above 100 four times this year, scoring 111 on the Knicks, 114 on the Mavs in OT, and 112 on the Clippers. Somebody on the roster has popped off for 25 or more in seven of their nine games. The lesson here is that if you don't defend them the can still spank you. This isn't Minnesota. You better come with some respect.

Pivotal Points of the Game

1. The Hornets will probably rabbit out of the gate. Don't let that throw you. Keep playing hard, reel them in, and try to convince them by the middle of the third that this is going to be another loss. If you get up before that point keep stomping them until the final horn sounds. They are dangerous.

2. Okafor and West are good offensive rebounders. Keep them off the glass and you'll limit the extra points that the Hornets rely on.

3. West versus Aldridge may be the biggest matchup of the night. Chris Paul will do what Chris Paul does. It's the second scorer you want to either inhibit or match. LMA will need to be active tonight on defense and make West pay on the other end.

4. Don't let them run!

5. Again we face a team with a combination of no shot blocking and poor perimeter defense, not only in the sense of staying in front of dribblers but also in hawking the passing lanes and recovering to outside shooters. What does that spell, children? Drive and get fouled or drive and dish. Do not be intimidated. Take it to them. No early jumpers off the dribble! There is no need.

6. If we do get into a situation where Roy needs to take over, be cool with that. Play defense, rebound, and make yourself available for his passes, keeping your head in the game. Brandon has the kind of game that either will produce points at the rim and foul line, make them keep a non-scorer on the court to watch him, or make them devote multiple people to stopping him. Any of those are to your advantage but he has to threaten to make them work.

7. Bench points = easier victory.

Final Thoughts

This is a winnable game but not a game in which you necessarily expect a win. It features some extreme mismatches in the backcourts and some awesome head-to-head matchups in the frontcourt. Putting up a good fight would be a good sign for the Blazers. Winning would be a great one.

Check out the Hornets' story at At the Hive and Hornets247.

Don't forget to enter the Jersey Contest here.

ALSO DON'T FORGET that this is the opponent we'll see on January 25th for Blazersedge Night at the Garden. We're looking for people to help send kids who otherwise wouldn't be able to attend a game. We're closing in on the 400 tickets we set out to donate but there are still some remaining (and plenty of kids waiting to hear if they can go). For details see this post and please help send a kid or two (or ten) if you can.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Lakers-Hornets Preview

DexterFishmore — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:00:35 -0000

Remember when the New Orleans Hornets were the next big thing? It wasn't that long ago, although to a Hornets fan it must seem like the Carter administration.

In the spring of 2008, the Hornets challenged the Los Angeles Lakers for best record in the Western Conference. They fell one game short of the conference's top seed, and then one game short of meeting the Lakers in the conference finals. With a seemingly young core of Chris Paul, Tyson Chandler, David West and Peja Stojakovic, the Hornets appeared on the verge of securing a more or less permanent seat on the NBA Security Council.

I say seemingly, though, because within that core group only Paul was really on the upswing of his career. And sure enough, last season involved some textbook-quality regression to the mean. Paul remained awesome, but West's play slipped a touch and Chandler and Peja missed substantial time with injuries. The Hornets tumbled to seventh in the conference and got roundhouse-kicked out of the first round by the Denver Nuggets.

On Sunday night they arrive at Staples with a 2-4 record and looking not terribly formidable. There's no more telling indicator of their decline than this: the Hornets are the only team in the NBA to have lost to the New York Knicks. And when someone's losing to the Knicks, I assume they're either butt-awful or point-shaving. The two aren't mutually exclusive, I suppose.

On the other hand, one of New Orleans' wins came against the Dallas team that blasted the Lakers, so they have that going for them. Let's go to the numbers, with the usual caveat about small, early-season sample sizes:

	Hornets	Lakers
Net Points Per Game	-6.3 (25th)	+3.5 (11th)
Pace	93.5 (22nd)	95.4 (15th)
Offensive Rating	105.2 (12th)	104.6 (14th)
Defensive Rating	109.9 (28th)	99.6 (9th)

(For those unfamiliar with the above terms, Pace means average number of possessions per 48 minutes. Offensive Rating is the number of points scored per 100 possessions. Defensive Rating is the number of points allowed per 100 possessions. League rankings are in parentheses.)

Like the Grizzlies team the Lakers just faced, the Hornets have been decent on offense and an utter catastrophe on defense. Their strength has been their shooting, or rather Chris Paul's shooting. He's been unreal in the first six games, making 62% of his two-point attempts, 72% of his three-point attempts and 87% of his free throws. Solve Paul, and you've solved the Hornets.

It would help if anyone had any clue how to do that. Paul is a point guard of surgical brilliance. With the ball in his hands, which is almost always, he goes wherever he wants to go, and he's a master when it comes to passing out of the pick-and-roll and drive-and-dish. Laker fans who watched the Houston game last week will recall how Aaron Brooks repeatedly sliced into the lane and found the Rocket big men for easy hoops. Well, Paul makes Aaron Brooks look like Smush Parker, and he makes Smush look like you and me.

Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, who have the size to make Paul's forays into the paint less inviting, won't play tonight. DJ Mbenga has similar size and even better shot-blocking facility, but he'll need to play with discipline and stay out of foul trouble. The Lakers will also need some plan to slow Paul on the perimeter, before he gets a head of steam en route to the basket.

I'd argue that Derek Fisher hasn't been that bad on D this year. He got torched by Brooks, but I thought he did a respectable job guarding Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City. That said, asking Fish to guard Paul has the potential to be a complete, NC 17-rated horror show. It thus wouldn't surprise me to see Kobe Bryant draw the assignment at times. New Orleans has the worst set of shooting guards in the league - according to our sister blog At The Hive, someone named Devin Brown will start at the 2 tonight - so Phil could easily dial up that defensive switch.

(Devin Brown, by the way, could be the worst player to start an NBA game this year. I do not exaggerate.)

The central problem for the Hornets is the gaping void of roster talent after Paul. David West and Emeka Okafor (the latter obtained in a trade that sent Chandler to Charlotte) are above average for their positions, but they're not quite All Star-caliber, and everyone else is either a has-been or never-gonna-be. Peja isn't anything like the threat he was during the LA-Sacramento holy wars. He can still hit threes but does nothing else on the court except be old.

Will the Lakers need another 40-point Kobe explosion to win this one? If the bench plays as well as it did against Memphis or nearly so, and if Ron Artest continues his stellar work on both ends of the floor, the answer is no. Even down Bynum and Gasol, the Lakers have enough talent and system to get to 6-1.

But if the reserves fumble around incompetently as they've been known to do from time to time, or if Paul runs wild for 40 minutes, things could definitely turn sour.

In conclusion, how cool is it that New Orleans has an actual place called the Voodoo Spiritual Temple? If I ever get married that's where it's going to be.

Game 5: Hive Live

hldomingue — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:33:17 -0000

More photos » by Chris Graythen - Getty Images

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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.

As we've noted, Chris Paul, who became the third-fastest player to tally his 3000th assist on Monday night, is freaking amazing. As such, it was no surprise that he finished the evening to the tune of 39 points (on 61% shooting), 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and perfect from the stripe.
Jason Terry was also on fire tonight. He single-handedly kept Dallas in the game and made me write a plethora of expletives (in all caps, mind you) in my little notepad. When an opponent drops 35 points (on 66% shooting) on us, I tend to get annoyed. Must be what everyone else in the league feels about CP.
Front court was solid for the Bees tonight as well. Sure, they got jammed up a few times playing zone D (though it looked like we played a fair amount of man to man as well), but Emeka and DX combined for with 36 points (on 60% shooting) 23 boards, 8 assists, 4 steals, 3 blocks, and 3 turnovers. Damn, that feels good.
While we're singing their praises, I'll go ahead and thank both of our starting bigs for the superb job they did locking down Dirk. The Big German finished the night with only 12 points and went 4 of 15 from the field. The refs were letting the boys play under the hoops, which led to a few tiffs, and ultimately, I think Dirk's frustration won out. His shortcomings (and his 6th foul with two and a half minutes to play in regulation) was as crucial to the W as those missed FTs from Terry and Berea.
Shawn Marion was also not much of a factor in this game. 8 points (on 33% shooting), 6 boards, 2 blocks, and 5 turnovers. I wasn't expecting "The Matrix Reloaded" or anything, but that's pretty mediocre/bad for a guy who logged 39 minutes.
Bobby "My Prerogative" Brown continued to launch shots (some of which were ill-advised), but managed to sink more than half of them, finishing with 18 points. I still think we're doing a disservice to Collison by letting someone as irresponsible as Brown live ahead of him in the depth chart, but for tonight, Brown was worth his salt (even if I cringed for every shot he took).
And one final thought: late in the game Emeka picked up a loose ball after a missed CP layup and slammed it home. After I was done clapping, though, I realized that we really don't dunk anymore. Ever since Tyson left, it just doesn't happen much. Of course, I'll take Mek's post moves any day over a guy who has to be under the hoop to score, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss the excitement.

Composed to: It's My Life by Talk Talk

The Opponents Take: Mav's Moneyball

Mavericks at Hornets: Game 5 Preview

Phillip Baggett — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:16:37 -0000

The Mavericks will roll into New Orleans Arena tonight still riding high from the emotional come from behind win over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night. While the win over the Jazz was ugly for three quarters the last 8 minutes were simply amazing. Can the Mavs keep their 3 game winning streak going?

Point Guards:

Kidd: Kidds defense has been exceptional even when his shot has not been falling and he will need that defensive effort again tonight against the best the league has to offer. Jason broke out a little last night scoring a season high 19 points, it was good to see the "old man" knock them down. Jason's work in the two man game with Dirk last night was fabulous need to see more of it tonight.

Paul: What else can you say about this guy? He is the best point guard in the league in all facets. Even on an off night he causes serious problems for opposing teams. Look for the Hornets to try and get him going early to force the Mavs into the early double allowing Okafor and West to get open looks. Edge: Hornets

Shooting Guards:

Ross: Quinton suffered an injury early in last nights game and he did not return. If Quinton does not play tonight look for our old buddy Matt Carroll to get his first start of the season. Even if Ross starts it is probable that Carroll gets quite a few minutes tonight, due to his shooting ability and length.

Peterson: Morris is a big combo guard-forward. While he is not likely to pour in a bunch of points, he does a lot of the little things that coach Scott likes. However he is only averaging about 15 minutes per so expect to see a ton of Peja. Edge: Mavs

Small Forwards:

Marion: Shawn is continuing to grow on this team and looks to be a 15 and 8 guy. I would like to see Shawn (and the rest of the team for that matter) have more off the ball movement to allow Kidd to get him the ball in better scoring situations. Shawn continues to play excellent defense and is a key reason the Mavs are #2 in the league.

Wright: The 2007 first round selection from Kansas has not had much playing time in his short NBA career until now. He is a very talented player with a large upside, but he is young and this maybe the opportunity the Mavs have needed to get Marion going. Edge: Mavs

Power Forwards:

Nowitzki: I think he might have found his touch last night what do you think? 29 points in 8 minutes would suggest such a thing, and thank goodness he took the summer off because I am sure he is feeling the effects of the intense game last night. Dirk will be ready come 8:30 tonight though and more than his offense his defense will be very much needed tonight against David West.

West: Other than Dirk one of my favorite forwards in the league right now, teamed with Paul he can be down right deadly. Dirk will have his hands full with West tonight should be a great battle. Edge: Mavs

Centers:

Dampier: As much as we all have gotten on Erick over the years I must say that when the guy wants to play he can be... well good. Erick has been that way all year so far and let's hope it continues tonight in New Orleans.

Okafor: Okafor was all alone in Charlotte but now in New Orleans he is surrounded by a qaulity team, this could spell trouble for the rest of the league once he and Paul get on the same page. In the Hornets last game against the Knicks it appeared that the two got a little closer, as Okafor poured in 24 points on 69% shooting. The Mavs must keep him under wraps. Edge: Hornets

Prediction: The second game of these back to backs is always tough but even tougher the night after having to expend as much energy as they did last night. However I think the Mavs are just too strong for these Hornets right now. Look for Marion to get some good looks tonight to ease the work load on Dirk.

Mavericks - 105

Hornets - 97

Sorry for missing the preview last night, I will try to do better. GO MAVS

Preview: Kings at Hornets

Exhibit G — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:00:33 -0000

Before we get to the preview for your Sacramento Kings versus the New Orleans Hornets, I think I must first make an important public service announcement regarding the season opener:

We've been through one game. It did not go how we had hoped it might. But it was one game. This game is the second game. After this, we have 80 more. You'd think we be able to handle a loss a little better after we all endured last season, but apparently we still need to talk a few folks away from the edge.

Let me say that this will still be a long season for us as fans of this franchise. We'll enjoy the highs, we'll look for silver linings in our losses. Just remember that we cannot live and die with each win or loss. All signs point to the idea that we will experience more losses than wins this season. Look for small victories where we can.

Along those lines, was anybody not a little bit inspired with the way Casspi played last night? Look for those little things. Those are the aspects of the game that we can enjoy, even in tough losses.

All that being said, yesterday's recap thread was incredible. Great discussion all around. Kudos to everyone. That's the sort of thing that makes me proud to be a member of this site.

Now, on to the preview of tonight's game.

Opening Thought

This should be a compelling match-up. Both teams are on pace to end the season 0-82. But after this game, one team will be on pace to go 41-41. I'm no mathematician, but that seems like a sweet deal.

Thoughts I Stole From Section214

Section was once again kind enough to leave his notepad out on his desk. Ya'll know how much I enjoy stealing things, so here it goes...

Tonight's coaching match-up will be a showdown between what is and what might have been. Byron Scott's name was bantered about during this summer's coaching search. Considering he was still under contract to New Orleans at the time, you've got to imagine that his seat might be feeling a bit warm if they end up 0-82. Scott should hope they end up on pace for 41-41.

Former King Peja Stojakovic is now coming off the bench for the Hornets. As Section noted, this is a bench that scored only 20 points and collected only 9 rebounds in 95 minutes against the Spurs. For all the criticism that has been heaped upon Geoff Petrie in regards to overpaying players, I think we should recognize that Petrie successfully unloaded Peja, got assets in return, and didn't overpay.

Speaking of which, interesting to note that Peja is joined on the Hornets by former Kings Darius Songalia, Ike Diogu and Bobby Brown. Ah, memories.

Section214's match-up to watch: Spencer Hawes vs. Julian Wright. Although we probably won't see them face off head to head, recall that Wright was on the board when the Kings drafted Hawes. Take a gander, see what we might have ended up with instead, and make of it what you will.

Tyreke Evans' debut was less than stellar. Whatever the cause, a match-up against Chris Paul is a less than ideal second test. CP3 will make Evans look bad at various points throughout the game. Try to recall the context when lambasting our rookie. If Bobby Brown makes Evans look horrible, you may throw the context in my face as you lambast the rookie.

In the preview for the season opener I mentioned that the frontcourt for the Thunder would be kinder to the Kings than most match-ups this season. I don't think the statement was wrong, I think it just shows us the state of our current frontcourt. It is...less than good. Facing Emeke Okafor and David West will probably demonstrate this to us again.

The Kings lack of frontcourt depth is rivaled by the Hornets, who bring Songalia and Hilton Armstrong off the bench. Our best hope is that Okafor and West, the untalented defenders that they are, resort to a hack-a-Sean-May defense early and often.

Diogu could also potentially come off the bench, but since this is the second game of the season and not the last 2 games of the season, we should be ok.

For Your Added Entertainment

Mr. Section214 also devised a fun game for your viewing pleasure. He suggests picking when you believe the following events happen. I also believe that this could be a hell of a drinking game if you don't particularly feel like being conscious for the second half.

Pick the time in the game that the following will happen –

Sean May gets his first rebound of the season.

Tyreke Evans shoots a layup.

Tyreke Evans makes a layup.

Jason Thompson gets called for his first foul.

Jason Thompson actually commits his first foul.

Spencer Hawes enters the game.

Spencer Hawes pisses off someone within the game thread.

Kevin Martin draws his first foul.

Andres Nocioni draws his first blood.

We make our first basket.

We call our first timeout.

Emeka Okafor and David West are officially inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame.

Omri Casspi and James Posey square off.

Mario Elie and Byron Scott square off.

The Details, in Which I'm Told The Devil Is In

Game is at 5:05 PM PDT. Televised coverage on Comcast Sports Net. Go Kings!

New York Post: Bird Ready To Leave Pacers After Season

spstevenson — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 13:37:57 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

Sources told the New York Post that Indiana Pacers team president Larry Bird is entering his final season with the Pacers organization.

Browse more photos »

Larry Bird has been telling everyone with a microphone that he'll be back in Indiana next season. But new information (i.e. a nasty rumor) is whispering something different.

According to New York Post and NBA columnist Peter Vecsey, two NBA management sources have confirmed that Bird is set to leave the nest after this season, citing health and lack-of-enjoyment issues. Bird, who signed coach Jim O'Brien to a contract extension this summer, has only one year remaining on his contract as team president of the Indiana Pacers.

Bird and owner Herb Simon have consistently stated during the offseason that Bird would return next season to continue what he's started -- the rebuilding of a fallen franchise in his home state.

Vecsey's column, which only briefly mentions the Bird situation at the beginning of his multiple notes on the league, also cites a source claiming that "our players were sick when they heard about the extension," referring to O'Brien's one-year deal completed just before the training camp began.

Vecsey has obviously had a checkered past with writing and printing rumors that swirl around the NBA. I don't doubt for a second that Bird wonders if he should return or is burned out by the lack of success in recent years...but, does Bird seem like the guy who would consistently, in interview after interview after interview, say that he's staying in Indiana until he gets the job done and then not go through with it? After reading his three books, following his career as a coach and a team president, I'd be hard pressed to find times when Bird consistently and unequivocally says one thing and does another. Obviously, people change their minds. And maybe this is that occasion. But, I'm going to guess that the Indianapolis Star's Mike Wells, and others, will find plenty of sources who dispute Vescey's claims.

But until then, the rumor is that Bird's tenure with the Pacers is on its last leg. Check out the jump for links to last night's Pacers loss to New Orleans and other Pacers related content.

The IndyStar printed the AP version of last night's game, which highlights Danny Granger returning home in a preseason loss.
Here is the box score for the game.
For the Hornets take, here is a link to a story highlighting Peja Stojakovic's brilliant return against his former team.
Also buried in Vescey's column today is a brief on former Pacers point guard and current free agent Jamaal Tinsley. Vescey says that Tinsley turned down a non-guaranteed, veteran minimum deal with the Heat. Very interesting. Tinsley is already receiving millions of dollars from the Pacers this season. Vescey also pinpoints the Cavs as a team that might take a chance on the troubled veteran.

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