Hornets Hype

Did it really happen?

It happened without Chris Paul. It happened without David West having a good game. It happened by dominating the boards. It happened against the team with the best record of this young NBA season. And it happened on national TV.

Oh my gosh, is my Marcus Thornton love veering into inappropriate and all-consuming territory? Ever since he first stepped onto the floor, I just knew this kid could play. In the first four games of the Post-Byron Scott era, the first of his young career in which he’s received non-garbage minutes, Lil Buckets is averaging an efficient 16 pts in 20 minutes. He just has the self-confidence of a kid who believes he’s going to be a player in this league. You can’t coach that. You can’t buy it. It’s something I wish Julian Wright had. In the first half, Buckets was taken down by an Amare Stoudemire flagrant 1. A little while later, he cuts to the basket along the baseline and lays it in, right in front of Amare.

mW: Wait, was that him just popping back up, or did I see swagger?
Ticktock6: That was totally swagger! I love it!

I was all forlorn when he tweaked his ankle late in the game. He was easily going to set himself a new career high (it’s only 20, after all– he’ll surpass that in the next few weeks I bet). He tried to walk it off, but Jeff Bower was having none of it, and called timeout. But, a few minutes later, there’s Lil Buckets jogging out of the locker room. He spent some time bouncing up and down, stretching it out, and clearly wanted to get back in the game. The coaches elected to sit him. But it just confirms what I suspected: Buckets is indestructible. He certainly crashes the boards in the shadows of much larger players like he is. In summary, my love for my pet rookie knows no bounds.

But. Lest Darren Collison feel left out, I will say that I am dazzled by his speed every time he runs the floor. On one fast break, mW turned to me and said, “He looks like he’s just jogging, and yet he beat everyone down the court.” And the Suns are a running team! He’s going to wreak havoc against unsuspecting bench squads when Chris Paul comes back. Believe that. And that driving layup that sealed the game was positively CP-esque.

Emeka’s block on Amare. Eeeek.

Peja for threeeeee… actually, I’m not going to dwell on that, like the national media did. We knew he still could. Him outrebounding everyone on the Hornets and the Suns? Well. All right. That deserves a shout out.

Loved the standing O from the crowd when the Suns called timeout three minutes in. Hornets were up 11-2, and it just goes to show that fans appreciate hustle. And, seriously, the Hornets best closer is not Chris Paul. It is, hands down, “Shout!” on the jumbotron. By my informal count, I am not sure the Hornets have ever gone on to lose after that song is played. “A little bit louder now… Hey-ey-ey-hey!” … Game over.

Earlier this season I began to have a sneaking suspicion that maybe Devin Brown has got some things going for him that go beyond what we see on the floor. Darren Collison in the paper thanking him for helping him out on the floor… he’ll throw out some genuinely intelligent quotes (one time he was the Shirtless Locker Room Interview on Hornets Tonight, a fact which caused me to be extremely put out… except what he said was so not-dumb I couldn’t even find it in myself to hate on it)… last night he was waving his arms pumping up the crowd. The very foundations of my world have been rocked. Devin Brown is shooting from three in a way that some might describe as anti-detrimental. Devin Brown, I have to say, played well last night. But… what would I do without Devin Brown mockery? What is my place in such a lonely, stark, and frightening new world? I feel lost and helpless, like a small sea creature caught up in the whirl of great tides that I cannot fight or understand.

Oh, Devin. Devin.