I’m not worried about the Hornets. Today.
I suppose it was inevitable that the Spurs win a game. They didn’t win 4 championships by accident (you know, similar to how the Hornets tripped and fell into 2nd place in the West by accident). Not falling into a 3-0 hole was more urgent to them than grabbing this particular game on the road was to the Hornets. Still sucks, though. But all is not dire– this was a great game to watch, pretty much CP vs. TP duking it out, with the Spurs’ 3 point shooting and the Hornets’ lack thereof making up the difference in the final score. It was a close game, and they still couldn’t solve Chris Paul.
Hello, bench. Nice of you guys to drop by. Oh, wait. Not. We really needed a bigger benchspark-y performance by Pargo and Wells. They managed to combine for 4 of 15 and one Bonus!HeinousLateFoul that resulted in a 4 point play. And after Ely gave us some decent D in Game 2, he was nonexistent last night.
I know Chris Paul was amazing last night, etc., etc., with his 35 points and 9 assists. But does anyone miss Assisting Chris Paul just a little bit when Scoring Chris Paul is on the floor? Like maybe if it was 27 points and 17 assists the Hornets would have won. Now, I know Bruce Bowen was stifling Peja, which was smart coaching that finally appeared to work, but Mo Pete only took 3 shots, all threes, making one. We couldn’t have tried to find him on the floor, seeing as he was 5-5 in Game 2? I know at times CP3 took the shot because his options were taken out, but I don’t understand why the Hornets didn’t take advantage better when the Spurs were in the penalty early in the third quarter. Mo and Peja are shooters, but both can drive if they have to. And really, I thought they should have tossed Bonzi back in instead of Pargo, just to get more bodies down low. It was hard to tell, though, whether that was a lack of adjustment by the Hornets, the refs swallowing their whistles, or the Spurs playing carefully. And, oh D West. I love ya, but you kind of… sort of… OK, totally blew it at the end right when we could have gotten back in it. 3 missed free throws? And a couple of defensive plays where he looked like he gave up, marring an otherwise solid game.
The Hornets really need to prove they can win road games in the playoffs. Maybe on Sunday. In the meantime, let’s just sit back and watch the experts backpedal wildly on their overestimation of the greatness of the Hornets…
Byron Scott: I am intense.
Bonzi Wells: I am slightly blurry, possibly explaining why I miss open layups.
B. Scott: This tie chafes like Bruce Bowen on Peja. I cannot wait to change into my press conference tracksuit.
Bonzi: Must. Not. Lose. Headband. Ninja. Powers. Concentrated. In. Headband.
OK, that caption cost me a cup of coffee and a keyboard.
We gotta throw those texicans a bone, dont ya know. We’ll spank em but good Sunday.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who finds me dreadfully amusing…
It was bound to happen but there is good news though, this game was just like the others in almost every way. They started to struggle in the third but we didn’t take advantage of it this time, when they would waste trips down the floor we’d waste the same ones, it is understandable that people have bad games now and again so I’m not gonna sweat it but they need to pick up that fourth quarter defense and the bench has got to produce. They’ve shown that they can but they have to do it more consistently, and pargo has got to get his shooting going against the spurs.
I completely agree about missing assisting CP when he’s scoring so much. Of corse he’s amazing, but I do miss the assists, as much as the team, I guess.
Agree Vilmar. I think this is the first game where I personally didn’t get an assist from CP either.
It’s a team effort, I guess.
Hey Ticktock- There is an ass named Brett Edwards at the AOL Fanhouse site that seriously needs to be on the Shit list. He’s had two consecutive columns hating on the Hornets- First dising David as a player that “Talks Smack” but hasn’t accomplished enough to earn the privilege. Today’s column complained about the media’s undeserved adulation for CP3 and how Parker out played him last night. GGRRRRRRRR.
Ooh… we already ripped him a new one below for the D West comments, but I wasn’t aware there was a column today. I’m going to go read it now…
I’ve also got to shitlist ESPN for not cutting to the Hornets/Spurs game during the last 2 minutes of a 22 point blowout by the Celtics. Yet they cut away from one of the Hornets/Mavs blowouts last series.
I wonder what Edwards would say to these comments on Parker…
Well, this just means one more home game than we would’ve had. Think positive.
What bugged me about the game was that the Hornets had the Spurs in the penalty with like 8 minutes left in the third and failed to capitalize on that. They should have been mercilessly driving on the Spurs and making them terrified to touch us. That didn’t happen and the Spurs stuck around. And we all know where it went from there.
Spurs did awfully well in shutting down Peja and Mo by using Bowen on them… i think they let CP3 on the rampage but managed to clamp down on other players. I think only 3? Hornets players were in double figures? The next game, they need to solve the Bowen problem and make sure Peja’s threes are falling.
Game 4 belongs to the Hornets to take the series in 5.
If not, then it’ll be a looonger series.
So glad the Lakers lost today. SO glad.
Does Brett (formerly known as Edwards) need yet ANOTHER smackdown? I will be happy to spend the better part of a day writing his obituary as a sportswriter, guy and human. He will, alas, remain a complete tool no matter what I write, however.