SB Nation - Julian Wright

Lakers, Clippers: A Tale of One City

atthehive — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:55:56 -0000

A 28 points win a night after a 16 point loss. It was a pretty interesting Staples double dip for New Orleans, and we learned quite a few things. In no particular order, a double recap:

Emeka Okafor

It's tough to say he was bad. But he definitely wasn't good. Versus the Lakers, he put up a stat line of 10 pts (5-12), 14 rebounds, and a blocked shot. Versus the Clippers, he went for 2 points (1-2) and 6 rebounds. He played 26 and 25 minutes respectively on Monday and Tuesday. I'd argue that the Lakers' game was the poorer showing. Against the LAC, the Hornets' offense didn't really require him. As a result, Byron Scott drew up very few plays for him, certainly a wise move with the perimeter showing.

But against the Lakers, we finally saw some of the bad side of Emeka, some of the things that Charlotte fans have been complaining about for years. He had a couple cases of brick hands and missed at least four wide open layups. If this is going to be the season that he puts it all together- in the ilk of his first 6 games- then he'll need to have a short memory and forget this one fast. Not the best Los Angeles trip for the big guy- a poor showing one night, and then denied a chance to redeem himself the next.

JuJu, the Starter?

As much as we've bashed Byron over the last year, he has given Julian Wright a very fair shake this season. He's started him, he's drawn up plays for him, he's even defended him in the media after horrible games. For a long while, I hid behind the "Byron killed Julian's career by not playing him properly as a rookie/sophomore" argument. Now? I renounce it. Julian Wright is simply not very good at basketball right now.

He's struggled defensively, missing easy rotations. More annoyingly, he's just as tentative with his dribble now as he was his rookie season. Simply put, JuJu has not grown much over the last 2+ years. And the blame has gradually shifted from Byron Scott to Julian himself. It's absolutely the right call to bring him off the bench; nothing he's done warrants a starting role.

Peja, the Starter?

Stojakovic is showing that he's still got it. Of course, that was never really the question. The real issue was if Peja could sustain his health and shooting over the course of a full season, and that question won't be answered until, well, a full season is up. I don't see Peja as the long term answer at SF for that reason. I think we can really save him and his minutes off the bench. At this point though, who else can we plug in at SF? Posey? Songaila?

We're going to see some interesting lineup combos over the next few games. When the dust settles, I wouldn't argue if this was the final setup: Paul/Thornton/Posey/West/Okafor with Collison/Brown/Peja/Songaila/Hilton doing the bench work.

Rookies!

Neither Darren Dimes Collison nor Marcus Buckets Thornton played particularly well against the Clippers. What matters is they finally got off the bench, and they provided exactly the energy we all thought they would.

Thornton clearly has a sweet stroke. I'm impressed at how quickly he can release it, and how consistent it looks over defenders. He's clearly not gun shy either. I would like to see Byron commit regular minutes to him, and more importantly, draw up cutting plays for him. Thornton has the skill set to allow cuts of different sizes; he doesn't need to get all the way to the hoop since he can stop in the midrange area and pull up. At the beginning of the season, I felt a lot of the Jason Terry comparisons were cliche'd and obvious. The more I see Thornton, the way he moves, and the quick release on his shot, the more I like the comparison a lot. Of course, if Thornton plays even half as well as Terry- one of my favorite guys in the league- this year, it'll be well worth it.

As for Collison? He gets into the paint at will, that's for sure. As nifty as a couple of his up and under moves were, I foresee close range finishing as his biggest issue of the near future. In that vein, his scoring development should be similar to Chris Paul's. In the two games, Collison also showed great on the ball defense (well except against Baron Davis, which is excusable). If Collison can evolve into the full court press man that Jannero Pargo was, the Hornets' defense will be that much better. For now, he clearly has defensive fundamentals down pat, and far better than the majority of rookies. He moves laterally extremely well, and it's refreshing to see.

The Defense

Well, there's plenty of work to be done here. New Orleans has attempted a hybrid zone/man at various junctures, especially prominent in this LA back-to-back. In my mind, it's not a good idea. Zone is a very difficult defense to play, even with very good personnel and coaching. Can the Hornets pull it off? I wouldn't put it past them, but it would be tough to use it consistently.

Thus far, the rotations have been very poor all around. With the red hot Phoenix Suns on tap, we're going to need to figure out something, fast.

Ike Diogu and Sean Marks

This one perplexes me. In the very negative news department, it appears Diogu will be out at least a couple more weeks, with Rotoworld claiming his season could be in jeopardy. As a huge Diogu proponent over the offseason, that would be devestating news for me.

As for Sean Marks? He's apparently had a "sore neck" for approximately the last month. So either something is up and the team simply likes Hilton Armstrong over him or his neck is in very poor condition. Armstrong did have a strong showing against the Clippers, so I'd expect Marks' neck to be "sore" for at least a couple more games.

The Pick and Roll

I'm probably going to devote an entire post to this at some point, but for now, it's clear out dependence on the pick and roll has diminished drastically. Some see this as a negative, pointing out how many easy dunks we got with Chandler and Paul. I see it as a positive for sure. The 2008-2009 offense just became ridiculously over reliant on the P&R. It got to the point where our offense literally could not run anything else (the Christmas day Magic game was a prime example of this). This year, the pick and roll hasn't been run because Emeka isn't as good at it. But as a direct result, the offense has become far more varied. We saw maybe a dozen successful back cuts all of last year. In the LA series, I already saw a couple well executed ones by Bobby Brown, Devin Brown, and Peja.

The pick and roll will be something Paul and Emeka work on behind the scenes, I'm sure. The West/Paul pick and roll will still be run at similar levels. But while the P&R sorts itself out, the offense is becoming more diversified than it's been in years, and that's a very good thing in the long run.

Chris Paul

The man is simply brilliant. Leads the league in three point percentage, PER, true shooting percentage, eFG%, Win Shares, and is second in assist percentage. He absolutely toyed with Baron Davis last night; if Okafor and others had done a more competent job on Monday, he could have kept his team in the game a while longer. There's absolutely nothing Paul can't do right now- stretch the defense, pass, rebound, man defend, help defend, knock down fadeaways to beat the shot clock, drill threes... let everyone talk about Kobe and LeBron and Carmelo. We're watching the best player in the league on a nightly basis. Enjoy it.

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!

Orlando Magic 121, New Orleans Hornets 86

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

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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.

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

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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

Let's Keep Quentin Richardson on the Move, Shall We?

Ben Q Rock — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:00:20 -0000

More photos » by Fernando Medina - NBAE/Getty Images

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Monday afternoon, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Minnesota Timberwolves engaged in a fairly inconsequential trade. You can read more analysis at Clips Nation and Canis Hoopus, but the gist is this: L.A. shipped Quentin Richardson to Minnesota, receiving Sebastian Telfair, Craig Smith, and Mark Madsen. In Telfair, the Clippers have a solid backup point guard to Baron Davis, while Smith adds depth to a fairly beefy front-line which already includes Marcus Camby, Chris Kaman, and #1 draft pick Blake Griffin. Minnesota? It gains Richardson's $8.7 million expiring contract while simultaneously filling a void at shooting guard and small forward, a void created when it dealt Mike Miller and Randy Foye to Washington for the 5th overall selection in this year's draft. Two lottery teams are now slightly deeper and better off financially. So why do we care?

Because it's, frankly, amusing that Richardson has changed teams three times in the last three weeks. New York, for which he's played the last 3 seasons, traded him to Memphis for Darko Milicic. The Grizzlies, in turn, sent him to L.A. for Zach Randolph. Now, he's Minnesota-bound. The novelty of a career role-player being a hot commodity on the trade market appeals to us irony-craving folks, especially in the doldrums of the NBA offseason, with few marquee free agents left to sign and with most contenders having already filled out their rosters.

Richardson's third move in three weeks blew up the NBA Twitterverse. Richardson (@QRich), for his part, is taking his latest move in stride:

Round and round I go on this NBA tour. Where o where will it stop no one knows. Lol. Right now I'm a t'wolf. Tomorrow? Who knows? Lol.

So it is in that spirit we suggest ways to get Richardson to the 26 teams of which he hasn't been a part this summer, with commentary on select trades. It all follows the jump.

to Atlanta for Jamal Crawford

The Hawks themselves just acquired Crawford, and he fits coach Mike Woodson's "type" as an undersized shooting guard who can shoot from distance, so it's doubtful they'd give him up. Then again, with no progress in their hopes to re-sign Marvin Williams, their starting small forward and a restricted free agent, they could pull the trigger on this deal for Richardson and hope to explore sign-and-trade avenues with Williams.
to Boston for Kendrick Perkins and Brian Scalabrine

Nope, I can't even reach for a basketball reason here: the Celtics have no need for Richardson, nor would they be inclined to part with Perkins, an outstanding post defender whose NBA experience (364 games over 6 seasons) belies his age (24).
to Charlotte for Boris Diaw

Not much of a reason for Charlotte to unload Diaw if all it's getting is Richardson, although it might enjoy divesting itself of Diaw's deal. The Bobcats have a lot of long-term money committed to mediocre players, so losing Diaw--although he's an above-average player--might be worth the financial flexibility down the line.
to Chicago for Kirk Hinrich

Well, Richardson's a finished product, so I'm not sure why the Bulls would want him. They tend to be more interested in younger players whose growth they can stunt, am I right, Matt and Kelly? Zing!
to Cleveland for Daniel Gibson and Delonte West

Yup, it'd be crazy for the Cavs, a championship contender, to part with two decent, young combo guards. Clearly, they're not worried about saving money, having traded for Shaquille O'Neal (owed $20 million) last month. But sources did tell Marc Stein last week not to be surprised if the Cavs traded West this season... wait for it... in order to save money.
to Dallas for Greg Buckner and Matt Carroll

Hey, the Mavs can add another thirtysomething to their rotation! Buckner, 32, has the age, but won't play for Dallas. Richardson? He could conceivably see the floor as a situational shooter, and will turn 30 in April. As a bonus, he could join homophonically named Quinton Ross on the roster.
to Denver for Nene
to Detroit for Tayshaun Prince
to Golden State for Stephen Jackson and Marco Belinelli

Jackson is a favorite of Ws owner Chris Cohan, which is why he got a hefty extension last season despite still having a few years left on his deal as it was. Given how awful the Warriors are now, it's probable that even Cohan would be willing to part with Jackson's silly deal in exchange for Richardson's cap relief. Plus, Richardson's three-point marksmanship--he's a career 39.8% shooter from beyond the arc--would blend well with Golden State's trey-happy offense.
to Houston for Brent Barry and Shane Battier

Houston will likely hit the lottery this season, having lost Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady for the duration. Richardson's expiring deal would give Rockets GM Daryl Morey plenty of flexibility next summer. Morey? With options? Frightening, and that's not me being pithy.
to Indiana for Jamaal Tinsley
to the L.A. Lakers for Adam Morrison and Sasha Vujacic
to Miami for Mark Blount and Yakhouba Diawara
to Milwaukee for Charlie Bell and Dan Gadzuric
to New Jersey for Keyon Dooling, Jarvis Hayes, and Eduardo Najera
to New Orleans for Rasual Butler and Morris Peterson

This potential trade is notable for its being comprised entirely of three players who Tweet regularly. We previously linked Richardson's account. Here's Peterson (@mopete9) and Butler (@RasualButler45). Also, the Hornets wouldn't be the Hornets if they weren't stocked with swingmen (don't forget James Posey and Julian Wright!) while their frontcourt is so barren they're forced to play Sean Marks and Melvin Ely heavily.
to Oklahoma City for Chucky Atkins and Nenad Krstic
to Orlando for Mickael Pietrus and J.J. Redick

Magic GM Otis Smith values flexibility as much as the rest of the league's executives, but not even he's willing to part with Pietrus, his starting small forward, for a few extra bucks next summer.
to Philadelphia for Willie Green and Louis Williams
to Phoenix for Leandro Barbosa and Jared Dudley
to Portland for Steve Bake and Martell Webster
to Sacramento for Beno Udrih

The Kings would accept this deal faster than Mavis Beacon can type "Richardson." Udrih, with a career Player Efficiency Rating of 12.9, is owed $26.7 million over the next 4 seasons.
to San Antonio for Matt Bonner, Michael Finley, and Roger Mason
to Toronto for Marcus Banks, Patrick O'Bryant, and Antoine Wright
to Utah for Mehmet Okur
to Washington for Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson

Vegas Summer League Recap: Day 10

Jon L — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:00:42 -0000

Gary Forbes. Coby Karl. The D-League was running things in Vegas.

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Well this is it: the final day of the 2009 Summer League season. All the players, coaches and journalists have left Vegas by now, and all of them have some evaluating to do. RU is no different, and we'll have some analysis in the coming days, but there's one more full slate of games to go over first, so let's get to it.

D-League Select 74, Portland Trail Blazers 73

Portland Trail Blazers, you just made a fool of yourself in front of T-Bone. On a day when no one on the D-League team played particularly well, the game was won on a Marcus Hubbard buzzer-beating three. Othyus Jeffers and Trey Johnson missed their third straight game and were joined by Walker Russell, meaning the Selects had just seven guys available to play.As I've said before, these guys are working harder than everyone else, fighting to show what they can do until the clock hits zero. Kurt Looby was decent off the bench with five rebounds and two blocks in a little under 18 minutes and seven points on 3-5 shooting, though he also had five fouls in that brief period. Jasper Johnson hit all three of his shots from behind the arc and shot 6-11 overall for 16 points. Will Frisby had some nice moves down low and finished with six rebounds, though he also needed 13 shots to score 16 points.

Jerryd Bayless also sat out this game meaning Pooh Jeter got the main point guard responsibilities, and while he finished with seven assists he also shot the ball pretty terribly. Dante Cunningham shot 7-14, though he didn't get to the free throw line much and shot just 40 percent when he did, though he also grabbed seven rebounds. There's not much else to say about the Blazers because did I mention that they lost to the D-League team that was without three of its best players?

The rest of final day's action after the jump.

Denver Nuggets 107, New Orleans Hornets 105

This one went to three overtimes, which I can't imagine anyone wanted. Not too many players shot the ball efficiently overall, but a lot of the misses game as the game dragged on and on, so I'm willing to cut some slack here. Ty Lawson started out Summer League with some poor performances but he picked it up towards the end, and yesterday he had 24 points on 17 shots, six rebounds and four assists. CJ Giles played fairly well, with 13 points on nine shots, 10 rebounds and three blocks. Julian Wright missed all five of his three-pointers but was otherwise solid, with 24 points on 21 shots, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals, a block and only two fouls and one turnover. Sonny Weems had a nice game, with 28 points on 23 shots and nine rebounds. Same goes for Coby Karl, with 19 points on 13 shots and five boards. Earl Calloway has had some nice moments in Vegas, and yesterday he had 13 points on 10 shots and six rebounds. Brian Cusworth hasn't played a whole lot, but yesterday he had 11 points on 5-8 shooting and five rebounds in less than 17 minutes.

Phoenix Suns 87, Los Angeles Clippers 70

Nik Caner-Medley has had some really solid Summer League performances, and yesterday was no exception with 13 points on nine shots, 10 rebounds and a pair of blocks. Goran Dragic may be sensing that his roster spot is on the line (or at least his spot in the rotation), and he stepped up with 21 points on nine shots, seven assists and five rebounds, though he also picked up six assists so perhaps he was trying a little too hard. Jiri Hubalek had another good-rebounding, mediocre-shooting day with seven points on seven shots, but also six rebounds in 15 minutes. The box score says that Hyland Jordan picked up two techs, but there's no Hyland Jordan on either roster. Do they mean DeAndre Jordan? Jordan shot the ball okay, nine points on 4-6 shooting, but he was better in other areas with eight rebounds and two blocks in a little under 23 minutes.

Washington Wizards 89, New York Knicks 84

JaVale McGee had another very solid game, with 31 points on 16 shots (he shot 9-10 from the free-throw line), eight rebounds and four blocks. Jordan Hill had a fairly good game as well, particularly compared to some others he had in Vegas, with 21 points on 9-17 shooting and seven rebounds, though he also picked up six fouls. Nikoloz Tskitishvili did almost all of his shooting from behind the arc (six of his seven field goals were from three), but his aim was pretty true and he finished with 12 points and eight rebounds. I've been fairly impressed with Warren Carter's rebounding ability, and he had five in a little over 15 minutes yesterday. Tyrese Rice had his best game of Summer League, with 17 points on 7-10 shooting, though he still doesn't pick up a ton of assists and he still dribbles the ball way too much

Chicago Bulls 93, Minnesota Timberwolves 85

Kevin Martin or no Kevin Martin, Garrett Siler had another efficient game with 12 points on five shots along with five rebounds and two blocks, though he also had six fouls. James Johnson had a nice game for Chicago with 18 points on 12 shots, seven rebounds and four assists with only two turnovers. DeMarcus Nelson had a really nice game with 18 points on 10 shots, though the rebounding wasn't there the way it has been in the past. Oleksiy Pecherov had an off shooting night, but he still managed to corral eight rebounds in 17 minutes. The same goes for James Augustine, who was held scoreless while grabbing nine rebounds in 21 and a half minutes. Jonny Flynn also had a poor shooting day after a fairly impressive Summer League, though he also picked up seven assists in 23 minutes.

Memphis Grizzlies 76, San Antonio Spurs 75

DeMarre Carroll's performance hasn't impressed me much (though perhaps he's looked better in person), but he was able to capitalize on his versatility yesterday, as he had 16 points on nine shots, five rebounds and three steals. Ian Mahinmi's been inconsistent in Vegas, but yesterday he finished with 15 points on nine shots, nine rebounds and four blocks, though he also had six fouls. Romel Beck had nine points on six shots, which is nice, but he also grabbed five rebounds, which he hasn't really done much of during Summer League.

Vegas Summer League Recap: Day 9

Jon L — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:00:30 -0000

Curtis Stinson running the point for the D-League Select team.

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Denver Nuggets 94, D-League Select 90

Jasper Johnson led the Select team with 21 points on 7-13 shooting. He shot 3-7 on threes, which means he actually shot 66 percent inside the arc. He also had four rebounds. Kurt Looby still has some work to do on the offensive end, as he shot 3-7 from the field and 4-7 from the free-throw line, but he also had 11 rebounds and three blocks in 23 minutes. Only one rebound and one turnover, too, which is a positive. Gary Forbes has played very well the last few games, and yesterday he finished with a solid line of 19 points on 5-9 shooting, five rebounds, three assists and a steal. Coleman Collins didn't have a great shooting night (3-8), but he had seven rebounds in just under 17 minutes.

One could argue, though, that with so many D-League players on Denver's roster this was a win for them anyway. Ronald Dupree was excellent for the Nuggets team, shooting 10-15 and scoring 23 points, with four rebounds and only one turnover. Coby Karl wasn't bad in Orlando, but to me it feels like he's improved since then, or at least put together some all-around solid games. Yesterday was one of those, as he shot 5-9 and added nine rebounds, four assists and only one turnover. Richard Hendrix played only six minutes (anyone out there know why?), but he had four rebounds in those six minutes along with four points.

The rest of the games are after the jump.

New Orleans Hornets 100, Minnesota Timberwolves 96

Anthony Tolliver shot 100 percent in this game. For serious. He made all of his threes, all of the rest of his field goals and all of his free throws. Yet another Anthony (in addition to Randolph and Morrow) who's had a scoring achievement in Vegas. He ended the game with 20 points on five shots, four rebounds and two assists. Jonny Flynn's been playing well for awhile, and he had 24 points on 10 shots, including shooting 4-5 from behind the arc, and he had four rebounds and four assists, though also six turnovers. Julian Wright had a solid game with 19 points on 12 shots, four rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. Darren Collison also played well, with 18 points on eight shots (in a little under 16 minutes), though he only picked up one assist. Devin Green didn't have a great shooting night, going 2-5 (for seven points), but he had six rebounds in 20 and a half minutes, which is decent for a guard.

Washington Wizards 74, Los Angeles Clippers 64

JaVale McGee was fantastic in this game, particularly on defense against DeAndre Jordan. McGee never bit on pump fakes and ended up with seven blocks, along with 19 points on 9-11 shooting, though only four rebounds. Dominic McGuire did most of the rebounding for the Wizards with 11, and he added three steals, two assists and a block of his own. Blake Griffin's final line looks okay, with 19 points on 16 shots, 10 rebounds and four steals, though Washington essentially made it their business to stop him, and Griffin got most of his points in transition and off of broken plays. Nik Caner-Medley played fairly well once again (it's happened a few times in Vegas), with 13 points on eight shots, eight rebounds two steals and a block. Nick Young had an okay day, with 19 points on 14 shots, though he made only two of his eight three-pointers

Chicago Bulls 90, New York Knicks 84

Brandon Costner had a good game off the bench, with 21 points on 11 shots, including going 3-5 from behind the arc, and he had three rebounds as well. DeMarcus Nelson had a nice game of his own 14 points on 5-8 shooting, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Jordan Hill has struggled with his shot in Summer League, but yesterday he straightened it out somewhat and scored 14 points on eight shots,. He had nine rebounds and two blocks as well, but also nine fouls. Nikoloz Tskitishvili had a game that was mostly positive, with 14 points on eight shots, seven rebounds and two blocks, though he also missed all four of his three-pointers. Ron Howard had a rough game a few days ago, though his scoring improved in this one with 11 points on seven shots.

Memphis Grizzlies 97, Phoenix Suns 60

Sam Young's had an up-and-down Summer League, but he was up yesterday with 20 points on 7-12 shooting. Trey Gilder had a nice game, shooting 4-5 for 10 points and grabbing four rebounds in 16 and a half minutes. Hamed Haddadi grabbed six rebounds in 10 minutes. Goran Dragic hasn't been very consistent, and some have even said that Zabian Dowdell may have made a case to usurp his backup role once the season starts (though Dowdell hasn't shot the ball particularly well), but yesterday Dragic had 17 points on 6-11 shooting. Only two assists, though. Marcus Williams didn't have a great game scoring-wise, though he picked up nine assists and six rebounds. Jiri Hubalek came down to earth a little bit from the other day shooting-wise, though he did have seven rebounds in 17 minutes. Erik Daniels finally got some Summer League run, and he shot 2-3 for four points with three rebounds and two assists in 13 minutes.

Portland Trail Blazers 91, San Antonio Spurs 74

Jeff Pendergraph ended the game with 14 points on six shots, 10 rebounds and three assists, and he played fairly solid defense throughout, particularly on DeJuan Blair. Blair, by the way, grabbed 11 rebounds in 25 and a half minutes, though he shot only 6-16. Pooh Jeter played solidly again, with 19 points on 8-13 shooting, four assists, three rebounds and only one turnover. Jerryd Bayless had 18 points on nine shots and five assists, though he also turned the ball over seven times. San Antonio's problem in this game (or one of them, anyway) was that they didn't share the ball. George Hill's three assists were a team high.

Dallas Mavericks 73, Oklahoma City Thunder 54

Roddy Beaubois hasn't played very well the last few games for Dallas, but he bounced back yesterday with 23 points on 9-12 shooting, including 4-6 on threes. Ahmad Nivins shot a perfect 4-4 from the field and added a free throw for nine points, and he also had four rebounds and two blocks. Oklahoma City has been scuffling in Vegas. I believe it may be fatigue from playing in both Summer Leagues (and the absence of Russell Westbrook), but I haven't been watching the games so there may be something else going on. They had only two players score in double figures yesterday. The best performance on the team was probably DeVon Hardin's, with 10 points on four shots, eight assists, two steals, an assist and a rebound.