We’ve called for Mo repeatedly. No offense to Devin Brown or Rasual Butler, but Mo is the best two guard the Hornets have. (Rasual is second. Sorry, Devin. I love you, but sit down.) We have bitched in every forum we could find. And tonight? Redemption. Byron Scott is renowned for making sure his guys are conditioned properly, so I wasn’t overly optimistic about Mo getting a lot of time after his recent bout with the flu. But tonight presented a pleasant surprise, courtesy of the aforementioned Byron Scott and his acknowledgment and/or acquiescence to the phenomenon that is Mo Pete.
Mo slipped into the line-up some time in the second quarter, and TT6 and I were on our feet, yelling and clapping as loud as we could. We love Mo. He had a quiet few minutes. Until the Kings slowly stole the lead from us. The bastards. And then CP drove to the rim as the clock expired in the first half and dished to the wing. To Mo. In the corner. For three. Money. Tie game going into the half.
Huge emotional lift. And listen, I’ve been a huge critic of Byron for being stubborn, and not recognizing the hot/cold hand, but he proved me wrong tonight. With Devin and Rasual going 1-13 from the field and 0-8 from deep (Rasual hit one lay-up cutter to start the game. It was quite nice, but all downhill from there), Byron played Mo most of the second half. The man responded. In spades. He ended up with 4-8 shooting on the night, and was 2-4 from beyond the arc; adding also 2 rebounds–which I feel compelled to say were timely rebounds, when we really needed them, he just happened to be in the right place.
When playing with the second unit, Mo kept us afloat. When playing with the starters, he fit right in. Moreover, what those stats don’t show are all the hustle plays he made on both ends of the floor, getting into the right spaces on offense, and sliding into the right places on defense, including key stops on Salmons. I think Salmons had about 18 at the half, but only finished with 26. Nice job Mo.
The moral of the story? Mo is back. And he’s money. Hopefully Byron took notice. Because we sure did. If the Hornets struggled without Peja, they surely missed Mo too. Having him back helped seal this win against a pugnacious team that was unwilling to go away, but ultimately was shown the door. I can only feel that this win, and Mo’s role in it, signal the best is yet to come.
I was out of my seat! I love Mo!!
Quote of the Night, via Sactown Royalty:
“We got CP3ed.”
“I think you mean CP30ed.”
I love him too. Give him his spot back now so he can do his thing.
Last week, Byron must have been like “Ok, since you’re not playing, why don’t you go make the Jingle Bells song for them to air next week.”
Big win. This is probabbly the first time this season where I’ve had sustained levels of excitement that matched last season.
Instead of freemopete.com, maybe we should make devinbrownpleasestopdrivinginthelaneonlytobotchapassorgetblocked.com
Just a thought.
Oh, and check out Mr. Stein’s weekend dime. Might be time to add him to the sh*t list.
mopete is the man. i hope this means that he is freed. we need a:
devinbrownpleasestoptaking3pointerswhenyouareshootingabout20%ontheseason.com
devin played extra suckier as the season has progressed. from now own we should use devin in spot situations. mopete has shown the ability to slash off the bench.
I feel ya mW. While Mo Pete isn’t the first, second, or third option on offense, he still is not a starter, but our starter. I’m a big fan of Rubu (Rasual) and D Brown and only wish they could get more minutes, but Mo Pete is still our starter.
I’m perplexed on his recent lack of PT, even with our consistent playing last few games. He was sick/injured, sure, but ‘DNP – Coach’s Decision’ while he’s presumably healthy? That hurts, no matter who you are. Glad to see him shine, now it’s up to coach Scott to recognize. Keep at it Mo Pete.
Now for my second demand, more Ely and Bowen… haha.
Everyone is good at different things. Mo perfectly fits this offense and what we need to win games. Rasual can fit that same bill. So I like those guys as our first two shooting guards. I do like keeping Devin around, though, because having someone that can come off the bench and slash or create some energy offensively, like Bowen does defensively, would be nice.
Oh, and hldomingue, saw the Stein article. He was immediately shitlisted for his Hornets-hating.