Yeah. Hollinger believes this week.
And that’s a perfect metaphor for Tuesday’s game. These guys didn’t go away, and instead they stole a game they had absolutely, positively no business winning. As a result, they’re still shockingly on top of the West — and games like this make it seem increasingly plausible that they’ll hold that spot til the end.
That spot you said they’d lose and end up 5th?
Bandwagoner.
Nah, just kidding. There’s room for you, ESPN! This thing is rolling.
Great article! Geaux Hornets!
Ah, but on the other hand, I was listening to ESPN radio this morning because they were going to preview the upcoming games this sunday on ABC (Bees V. Warriors & Suns V. Mavs). And to paraphrase it, their preview went down like this:
Mike Greenberg said that he has to go with Jason Kidd, that Dallas had to win a game against a club with a winning record sooner or later. Mike Golic said he had to go with Shaq, and that she Shaq experiment has been working lately (uh, yeah, anything works against the Seattle/OKC Sonics)
They didn’t even MENTION the Hornets/Warriors game at ALL!!!!!!!!!
*Colorful Expletive* ESPN!
You know, Chris’ year is reminding me a lot like some of Shaq’s prime years. Hear me out now. It’s like, ho-hum, tonight CP only put up 19 and 11 and 2. His averages are 22, 11 and 3 (rounding). These are numbers no one’s even averaged (and as one fellow NOH blogger pointed out, even if CP only finishes with 20-10-2.7, no one’s ever done that…the threshold of 3 is only a soundbite). So how many other point guards in this league with they could put up 20-10-2 or even 15-10-2? Let’s not forget the mind-boggling stat that CP has had ten 20-15 games while the rest of the league combined has eight the last time I looked.
Similarly, Shaq for at least a five to eight year stretch was the most dominant figure in the league. Night after night he was unstoppable on the O and a monster on D. Yet when it came time to vote for MVP, it was kind of like, well Shaq’s just Shaq, no one can compare to him, but who else had a good year? I’m still at a loss to explain how he only has one MVP when Malone, Duncan, and Nash each got two. Not to take away from those guys, but rules got changed because of Shaq’s dominance. We hadn’t seen that since Wilt. Plus, history has shown the Magic were nothing when he left (from a Finals participant) and the Lakers, even with Kobe had similar problems (after being a 3-time champ and Finals participant thereafter).
Now consider CP seems to be getting the same treatment in only his third year! We’re not talking about an established superstar. We’re not talking about a proven champion. We may not even be talking about someone at the top of his game. And already we take him for granted. Even when his numbers aren’t his best, he’s a key contributor to victories. A stark contrast to Kobe who can put up 50 in a loss to one of the league’s worst, or Lebron who can score at will but leave the opposing team enough time to put in a subsequent winning basket. CP, even when his numbers aren’t freakish–which is most nights–is simply put the most VALUABLE player in the league right now.
Barring some calamity, the award should be his to win. If sportswriters can’t see that they’re must not be watching any Hornets games. As his fellow teammate, Tyson Chandler, said after one game: “I tell you if this man doesn’t win MVP it’s a damn shame.”
You should just make this a post on its own. Word.