So. How was your week?
You wish there was a moment to stop and take a breath, but it’s the Lakers up tonight, the Jazz tomorrow, Mardi Gras in full effect till Tuesday. On the other hand, I’ll argue that we learned things about this team in the whirlwind of the past three crazy days. And they are good things.
We watched as, instead of collapsing, the Hornets won two games in the wake of the Chandler trade.
We learned who the leaders are. True, it wasn’t really surprising. But we saw David West speak up. (If there’s any word to describe D-West, outspoken is not it.) On a night when the Hornets organization seemed to be bombarding the fans and the press with cheerfully spun declarations about how they traded for two shorter guys to improve their rebounding, he was the one voice to say that the trade wasn’t a basketball decision, and he wasn’t happy with a move that would seriously handicap their playoff chances. I will always admire him for that. We saw Chris Paul tell the press, “Me and D-West talked about it before the game last night — if we go down, we’ve got to go down fighting.” And we were heartened by it.
We learned that the fans of New Orleans, despite comments to the contrary, are going to support this team, coming close to selling out the arena on a parade night with many fans bitter about what they saw as purely a cost-cutting move. And those fans were treated to a late Christmas present.
We learned that, when implemented wisely, the Hornets’ assortment of backup bigs can stand up to Dwight Howard. I don’t know what that says about other future games, but it’s not a bad thing.
We learned that, once every few months at least, John DeShazier and I will agree on something. I know, right?
We learned that we will follow Chris Paul wherever he leads us. And so will this team.
I’m not going to worry about the whole failing-the-physical thing right now, because there’s no point. Let’s focus on the short term. Tyson is the guy we have. And he says he’ll be back Monday or Wednesday. That’s enough for me.
What the Hornets got Wednesday night was one last chance to get it done with the guys on this roster.
They have to take it.
Posted in Around Town, CP3 for MVP, D West Mothaf*@kas!, Tyson is a Beast |
Mood Right Now:
Thoughtful
It took 3 guys and 1 off night to take down Deebo. While that’s some perspective, it gives hope. CP’s quote is on target. Effort’s all I’m expecting.
And I don’t really understand what happened to spurn such animosity from the Chandler trade (both sides), but it only emphasizes the emotion our fans have invested in the organization. Truly, a hive mentality.
Great post, TT6. I think you nailed it. The people are happy. They players are on a mission. This will end well.
I saw 7 or 8 people at Muses last night with the Chandler 6 jerseys on. It made me smile every time. This city gets it. If this had happened early last season or before Katrina you wouldn’t have seen any.
I think last year I WAS the only person in New Orleans with a Chandler 6 jersey, for one thing!
It makes me happy to see people at parades in Hornets gear.
Okay two minutes to go in the third, down ten……BYRON SCOTT DAVID WEST AND CHRIS PAUL BETTER BE ON THE FLOOR IN THE FOURTH QUARTER DAMN IT EVERY GAME COUNTS SO QUIT WITH THE CRAP!!!!…..seriously we need to take advantage if LA benches their starters to start the fourth cause people are not defending the way they should.
How many times do the lakers have to win games with free throws while other teams don’t get calls before someone says WHAT THE FUCK AND DOES SOMETHING ABOUT IT JESUS!!!!
Cp3 blew a four on one. Sorry, but the game was over if he passes. That will never happen again in his career.
James mothafuckin POSEY brought it tonight. Hilton muthafuckin ARMSTRONG brought it tonight.
The Hornets will not be down over this – this was a great moral victory.
Yeah, Youngfella, I’m 100% right there. I never thought I’d say we lost a game because CP didn’t pass!
Yeah, atthehive put it best over at his site. Paul makes that mistake once in a thousand times down the court. Hard to get too mad over it. Just a little sad. Although, I was surprised he stayed on the perimeter on that last play in regulation. If he went in, you think he would have either drawn contact or made the closer shot. Oh well. I too take this as an indication that we can beat any team.
This site is becoming way to laker obsessed, nobody thinks it’s odd that they take twice as many free throws as us or that certain calls happen over and over. Half the time it felt like the refs were stopping to watch that bitch bryant lay it up there and if anyone is within a foot of him they blow the whistle once the ball goes in……why is it when most people think that at the end of a game the refs let it go more physical but not with these f’n lakers…..so tired of this shit in the nba it’s hard enough that teams from smaller cities have less money to spend but then to have to deal with this the nba should work on some sort of foreign exchange system with the refs seriously. If you are calling it one way on one side of the court to not do the same on the other is hypocrisy and it drives me freakin’ crazy.
If the right call was made, Fisher was fouled out and we lead by more that 3. CP3 drew contact on the 3-point shooter that has been killing us, the refs just gave the call to the home team, and it wasn’t even close to the right call. Five minutes before they called a charge on Fisher, and the announcers wanted to call it a block even though Posey was camped in place. On that 4-on-1, Fisher was sill moving the whole time,
The debate of individual calls can go on endlessly. But for what its worth, Fisher flopped, was still moving AND his movement was AWAY from the basket INTO CP’s body. The feet don’t necessarily have to be set if you are defending the basket, but Fish just shuffled himself in front of CP to force contact. Blocking foul. At worst a no call. But maybe the ref was so suprised Chris didn’t give up the rock like he probably should have) he just spontaneously blew the whistle. Oh well – there were options not to put it in the hands of an official’s call. That would’ve been better.
Well said, let’s go!
No doubt that charge was a bad call. So was the 6th on CP. But overall, I thought the game was well called. The fact is, we had two chances in regulation to win it. If CP passed that ball, instead of heading into Fish, we score; or had he pulled it back and dribbled it out, they would have been forced to foul him. Then CP missed the end shot.
I can’t fault the Lakers or the refs for either. We should have won, but we didn’t. I take from it we need to have a nice lead before the final buzzer. Prevent the refs from having a chance to take it away. I’m more worried about the drubbing the Jazz gave us. Sure, their owner just died, and the Jazz were emotional, and maybe our guys were tired from the Laker-game, but man, if we had come out and hit them in the mouth from the get go, the team might have folded and and our fatigue wouldn’t have been an issue.
Let’s hope the Kings prove the remedy we need.