Hornets Hype

This is why ESPN.com will never have a chance at removal from the Shitlist. They have a scary ability to swing from bandwagon to bandwagon in a matter of days. Pure media schizophrenia, that is.

To wit,

The Weekend Dime. In which Marc Stein ranked “the top five story lines of the NBA season.” What were they?

1) Blockbuster trades (OK, fine, that one won’t kill me)

2) Dominance of the Western Conference (’cause this has never happened before)

3) Boston Celtics (I’m OK with this one)

4) Rockets streak (which, while impressive, has been a story line of the last one month, and the last time I checked, one month was not the season… FAIL)

5) Kobe Vs. LeBron. (NO. NO. NO. Absurd.)

For several reasons, the greatest of which is that Kobe vs. LeBron is basically a self-perpetuating delusion foisted upon us by the very media members who then go and write articles about how big a story the story they made up is. Anyone notice how about two weeks ago, it was a race between four guys– Kobe, LeBron, KG, and Chris Paul? And then… what? It was like all the big media guys got together and decided it was Kobe and LeBron. Did anything change to drop the other two out, like, oh I don’t know, actual statistics or perhaps these real things called games that are going on all the time? No. It was like the media gave its blessing and we were all supposed to fall in line, frothing at the mouth over the “battle.” The problem is, it feels like a manufactured battle. That’s because it is.

Then, in the sidebar, we get a picture of Chris Paul and this lovely bit of snark.

How big has this NBA season been? So large that Chris Paul, his can-do Hornets and the NBA All-Star Game still can’t get New Orleans into Stein’s top five stories of the season.

I don’t know, it seems like SINCE HE WROTE THE TOP 5, he could have put whatever he wanted in there. Don’t go acting like it’s the Hornets’ fault for not making your dubious top five. You could have made it less dubious had you chosen to.

Well. The problem with everyone getting together and deciding the Hornets are out?

Somebody forgot to tell Chris Paul.

No, really. That game last night? Incredible. CP3’s stats over the last several games? Incredible. And so this week we get this spurt of articles that are like, “Wait. Wait. Wait. Chris Paul is also making a case.” Like he hasn’t been all along. Like anything he’s done has changed. Today on ESPN, for example, Chris Broussard makes a case for Chris Paul.

Whatev, ESPN and co. We don’t need your blessing for our MVP candidate.

You want to say he’s back in? Fine. But remember, you were the ones to take him out.

We were the ones who knew it was him all along.

When I started this blog, it was out of a fit of righteous anger in January. I had just gotten into the Hornets. The Hornets were climbing to the top of the Western Conference. Media coverage of the Hornets’ rise was dismal at best. The Hornets’ new lease with the state had an attendance caveat: 14,735 fans per game, or an out clause could come into effect.

Surely the people of New Orleans would come.

But they didn’t. We’d look up at the stands and take stock, count up the empty sections up top, and say, “Well, should be at least 12,000 tonight. That’s better.” Meanwhile the Hornets made their statement by taking first place in the Southwest Division, then first place in the Western Conference. But what happens when a tree falls in the woods and no one’s there to see it?

I had just started to love the Hornets, and they were going to get taken away from me. It wasn’t fair.

Fast forward.

This is how it happens. Final seconds of the third quarter. 78-72 Hornets with the lead over the Lakers.

Chris Paul to a streaking Pargo. Pargo drops it back to Chandler.

Tyson Chandler soars.

Minutes later, attendance is announced at 18,199.

And as I sat there looking up, into the funnel of motion and screaming and color that was the New Orleans Arena, I thought, “This is it. I might as well stop blogging, because I have nothing more to say. Mission accomplished.”

That moment you were waiting for? That was it.

Oh, NOLA, I thought I knew everything about you. You love football, and you scorn outsiders. You party early, arrive late. How could I forget that you understand hope? You understand doggedly pushing on, and doing the things that no one thought you could do. You understand rising up.

New day.

Hornets 108, Lakers 98. The standings in the unbelievably tight West playoff seeding race juggle themselves a bit. Rockets up, Lakers down, Hornets up. There are 2.5 games separating #1 from #7.

New day.

You go outside in your bare feet, you pick up the paper off the lawn. The sun is beginning to shine on a muggy spring day in Uptown New Orleans, the steam just starting to build in the semi-cool air. The Times Picayune headline declares, “SHOWTIME, N.O. STYLE: Paul, Hornets show Lakers a few things about shooting stars,” an article about Deuce and the Saints relegated to the side column.

And you realize that maybe you do still have something to say after all. Because the Hornets still have plenty more ball to play. And you can’t wait to see what they do next. Anyhow, Ron says we can’t decide we have nothing more to say. Because then he’ll be forced to de-link us. So I have no doubt I’ll find something, as we follow these Hornets to uncharted places.

New day. Where do you go from here?

CrowdWatch: 1,000 past capacity. The people in the folding chairs behind us were gushing about how much fun they had, and asked if we could take their picture with our THE BACK ROW BELIEVES sign.

HypeMeter: Lakers/Hornets would have gotten mega play if it hadn’t been for the Houston Rockets extending their stupid 21-game winning streak against another woeful opponent. F the Rockets’ streak… I’ve read that Kobe Bryant is getting “MVP!” chants in other teams’ arenas lately. Memo to Kobe: That one last night wasn’t for you… Hornets: Feel-Good Story of the Year.

T.P. Watchdog: Hornets are the main story on nola.com this morning. Angry CP3 snarls, “MY BALL! MINE!” at not-angry-enough Kobe Bryant on the front page banner and the front page of the sports section. Chris Paul… so hot right now.

So, Tyson Chandler, Chris Paul, and an elephant walk into a bar…

Just kidding. It’s Tyson Chandler, CP3, and an elephant. It’s already funny just on principle.

Hey guys, is that an elephant in the room? Oh OK, it’s just the Lakers game tonight. NO BIG DEAL or anything.

Go Hornets! The BUZZ is in full force!

HypeMeter: ALL TIME HIGH.

Seriously. The crowd of 16, 300 booed the Spurs every time they touched the ball from the 3rd quarter on. Every single possession. I think, and I do not like to overstate these kinds of things and give us too much credit, that the arena singlehandedly caused the Spurs to drop the ball out of bounds at least twice. I am pretty sure this actually happened, and I would love to see some TV highlights. It all started when CP went down and got kicked by Bruce Bowen (is there tape on this? oh here, go to town), then actually got called for the foul. The crowd booed. And then they just didn’t stop. The team spun a 7 point lead into 13 and never looked back.

Mo Pete: “Our fans were unbelievable tonight. I’ve never seen an entire team get booed like that since I’ve been in the NBA.” More Hornet quotes!

You know, you gotta think the Spurs weren’t expecting that. I mean, yeah, they’re pros, they’re used to hostile crowds. But when you think about it, our last two games against them have been in San Antonio. They haven’t been to New Orleans since November, when the crowd was, what, 12,000? Yeah. I doubt they were prepared for it. Not from us.

I hope we scared them the hell out of our house.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Okay, there’s been a lot of TC-bashing in certain Hornets forums lately. Not doing enough of this or that…boo-hoo. The man is AVERAGING 12 and 12 in the basket and on the boards, adding a block and an assist, with a steal every other game. Funny how people see that Shaq gets 11 and 11 the other night and think this is good. Not to mention that TC is only 25, and thus still growing into his game. Could he work on his defense a little? Sure. Do we wish the man got more blocks? Sure. But I also wish CP averaged 40-20-10-10 and Peja averaged 15 three pointers a game. Guess what? Yeah. Not gonna happen.

The key question is how does TC contribute to victories? The fact is that most complaints about his D are about his help on penetrating guards. He’s done a pretty good job this year straight up. And while the question of whether he is an All-Star depends on how he can guard the Shaqs, Howards, and Yaos, the question of whether TC will have a monster game is often about the center, not the team. For example, without a dominant center, he probably would have done great against MJ’s Bulls, even though the Bees would have lost out. Like tonight, who can say who will win against the Spurs, but with 6′9″ Kurt Thomas listed as their starting center (pictured, getting rejected by a shooting guard, left), expect TC to have a big game.

I’ve yet to understand the love crush critics have on Kurt Thomas. He is at best mediocre. Besides the fact that I can’t stand teams that insist on putting 6′8″ or 6′9″ guys, even with bulk, at center, like that will help (picture T-Wolves Mark Madsen, forearm on Shaq’s back, his body at a 45 degree angle to the ground…yeah…), he’s just not that good. He played seven years as a Knick when I lived in NY, and let me tell you, we were not fans. We got to hear every game how he was the last collegiate athlete to lead the nation in both scoring and rebounding (at TCU…whatever…) , expected him to do something…and were repeatedly disappointed. The man averages 9 and 7, with less than a block, steal, and barely an assist per game. Hardly an impact player. (See picture of him trying to guard a real center at left).

Bottom line? TC will destroy him. Unless of course Pop wises up and puts him on West, who will then destroy him. Meanwhile, I would expect TC and West to combine to slow down Duncan. Prediction? TC will have a huge game, but the outcome will be determined by Peja and Mo’s shooting compared to the Bees ability to stop Ginobli and Parker.

I’ll be the one under the big blue sign screaming the whole game for them. Go guys!

Hyping the Hornets in his column in the T.P.:

And then the Hornets game came on TV. And I witnessed a phenomenon that I had associated only with the Saints for the past 25 years and it was this: Everyone in the bar was watching the game. And friends and strangers alike cheered, back-slapped, high-fived, hugged and toasted the team.

It was, dare I say, communal. It felt great. I watched and thought: I need to pay attention to this team.

And:

There is no question in my mind that the story of New Orleans’ recovery and rejuvenation has reached more Americans through sports telecasts than by any other means. The Saints’ return to the Superdome on Monday Night Football, Louisiana State University’s victory in the BCS Championship Game, the New Orleans Arena playing host to the NBA All-Star Game — they have all served as glowing, prime-time advertisements for our city, its charms and its resilience.

Check out the rest…

Plus an interesting dust-up in Dallas over bloggers’ credentials, as recapped on True Hoop. It’s not like I’m ever going to have a media credential for anywhere, but this is the sort of thing I like to keep an eye on. I think Mark Cuban & co. might be taking a stance here that they’re going to regret.

Bill Simmons plays “What If?” on ESPN’s Page 2, listing the Top 15 What Ifs? of the last decade in the NBA. The Hornets-related highlight:

Anyway, if Portland takes Paul, that sets off a crazy chain reaction: New Orleans ends up with Deron Williams instead of Paul; Utah never gets its franchise point guard; Oden and Aldridge land in other cities; maybe Roy doesn’t turn into a franchise guard playing second fiddle to Paul; and maybe Paul isn’t quite as driven because he’s not as ticked off for the next few years after three teams passed on him. I have to say, I like the way it worked out.

And ABC picks up another Hornets game, this time the home game against Golden State on April 6th. Tipoff has been moved to noon for TV, so make sure to mark your calendars!

Well, folks, we have a short lag in Hornets games, as the Bees lick their wounds from Houston and prepare for San Antonio at the Hive on Wednesday. So nonetheless poking around the Hornets website I found an unexpected gem. Team owner, George Shinn’s, son, Chris is a rock star. Well, I’ve seen him at games before. I knew that. What I didn’t know is that he is fairly amazing at what he does.
A little history first. Apparently Chris moved to L.A. and had a record deal within a few months. That’s impressive. But then the band’s house burned down, destroying all their instruments and recorded material. Devastating. But Chris didn’t give up. He ended up forming a new band: Unified Theory, with two guys formerly of Blind Melon and the original drummer of Pearl Jam. They’re amazing! You can check out their myspace page here. Unfortunately, the band has since separated.

Never one to throw in the towel, Chris worked with family to start a new recording label and resurfaced with a new band, Everything is Energy. Another impressive showing. While being a Hornets fan doesn’t obligate us all to like what Chris and company do, I think it does behoove us to at least take a listen. It’s all free samples on the internet, baby.

There’s not a lot of genuine talent out there in the bland re-trod radio rock world where anything that sounds close to something else will sell to someone, but Chris is one of those talents. I for one, love both of these bands and will get all of their albums as soon as possible.

Kevin Martin vs. Chris Paul in the Battle of the Babyface.

This morning we were watching last night’s highlights on NBA TV, and they referred to Kevin Martin of the Kings as “The Baby-Faced Assassin.” Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold up. Clearly they are mistaken, for everyone knows Chris Paul is The Baby-Faced Criminal.

Really, I think there are two major questions we need to ask here. First, who is more baby-faced? For your convenience, the head to head comparison. I don’t know, guys. I don’t think you can get any more baby-faced than Chris Paul. Look at him! Second, who is the bigger assassin/criminal?

Here’s what I’m saying: JUST WHO DO YOU ASSASSINATE IF YOU PLAY FOR THE SACRAMENTO KINGS? I mean, they aren’t that terrible, but they’re eight games under .500.

Also, I don’t think you are really allowed to call someone a baby-faced assassin who scores 48 points in a loss to the T-Wolves. In fact, the Kings are two of Minnesota’s 13 wins.

NBA TV, you fail.

In which we find out I should never make predictions again… because I suck at it! Let’s revisit those.

• How many beers will ticktock6 consume at the season ticketholder Beer Garden before her fingers fall off from the cold? 1.5. Was that beer I was swallowing? I couldn’t feel my throat. So cold they closed the beer down early. 0-1.
• Will D West’s bench-sitting outfit involve colors besides black or gray? David West wasn’t on the bench. ?? Therefore, since it is impossible to say whether he wore color while… being wherever he was that wasn’t at the game, I am counting this one as neither wrong nor right. 0-1.
• Will the Back Row Believes sign get on the jumbotron, despite being the awesomest sign in the New Orleans Arena? I told you. 1-1.
• Will Super Hugo drop kick the basketball into ANY SECTION BESIDES 101? There was no Super Hugo tonight. BUT. There was a signed football. GUESS WHICH SECTION THEY THREW IT INTO. I don’t make this stuff up. 2-1.
• Will Birdman dress? He dressed but didn’t play. 2-2.
• How many CP-TC alley oops tonight? Three. But! Julian Wright was out there stealing Tyson’s fun and oh yeah, like, pretty much the whole show, racking up 20 points and 8 rebounds. He also threw down three alley oops, bringing the total to six. So I wasn’t technically right, but who expects Julian Wright? (See title. He’s like the Spanish Inquisition.) 2-3.

I go 2-3. The Hornets go to 42-19.

Chris Paul has 23 pts, 16 assists, 3 steals (Yawn. How routine). Tyson Chandler, out to prove there is more to life than being really, really, really, ridiculously good looking, adds 19 points, 10 rebounds.

CrowdWatch: 17,225. Sellout! That’s five out of the last eight, dating back to the Memphis game before the All Star break. I love the Hornets, but it is not enough that I love the Hornets. Everyone must love the Hornets. I have declared this. Higher and higher!