A lot of people aren’t particularly impressed with the Hornets winning seven out of their last eight games. The margin of victory, until last night’s blowout of the Clippers, was never more than five points during their six game win streak.
And there was much rejoicing.
The numbers do not reflect a significant improvement on offense or defense. The streak might end up being just a bunch of fool’s gold. And it’s true, they’ve been close, up-and-down, streaky games, and sometimes it just seemed like an accident that when the 48 minutes were up, the Hornets were on top.
If that’s an accident, it’s the sort of accident championships have been based on. Am I saying this is a championship caliber team? No way. But what I’m saying is there are a lot of teams in this league that are more or less equal in terms of talent/record/whatever. And it is the small, almost accidental things that put teams over the top of each other in the standings. You can break down stats and make arguments, but it just is. There is no such thing as “you didn’t deserve to win that game.” There is only “you won that game,” or “you didn’t.”
Meanwhile, don’t look now but, although he started about an assist and a half behind him last month when he came back from his injury, last night Chris Paul tied Steve Nash to lead the league in assists with 11.2. His jumper has started to come back on, as well. And he and Emeka Okafor have really started to click in the last few weeks. David West and James Posey, two players who started out the year below expectations, have turned it up a few notches during this streak. Peja’s been having some sweet first halves. Marcus Thornton is, wonderfully, back to his crashing, shot-swishing self that was on display in November. Last night he actually got an and-1 on one of his drives to the basket. The poor kid gets mugged under the basket on a nightly basis and rarely gets calls– such is the life of a second rounder– and yet he’s always back at it, crashing the boards and trying his best to finish amongst a lot of guys a lot taller than he is.
And– at the risk of going all Bill Simmons on you– the team looks like they like each other again. A few games ago, after a particularly vicious block, I saw David West reach over and give Okafor a back-of-the-head slap that almost send him into next week. Bobby Brown, say what you like about his shot selection, is infectious in his excitement when he leaps around the bench after a big play. Players are talking on the floor. Everyone on the team was messing with Posey when they announced on the jumbotron that it was his 33rd birthday last night. Chris Paul is smiling as he weaves in and out of the ranks of his competitors on his way upcourt— shut up. I’m just playing. Of course he’s not.
And now I remember how much I love pulling for this team. I’ve seen them shine, I’ve seen them fall, but damned if it’s not fun to see them climb.
Whoo!
Happy
Winning always helps with team chemistry. Just look at LeBron during the season. Then after he bounces from the playoffs. Hopefully we can keep this up during times of difficulty.
I’m still skeptical, like I said on 247, because these are teams we have to win to stay relevant. During our 56-game tear, we took advantage of teams inferior to us, and battled against teams equal/superior to us. This isn’t a 56-win team, but I’m rooting that we develop an underdog mentality that’ll allow us to dominate teams we’re supposed to dominate and dog it out against teams we’re expected to lose.
Fun fact: (L)Eastern/Western conference strength aside, if you miss the playoffs, you’re on the bottom raw 47% of the league, worse than average.
Work is so much less painful after attending a blowout win the night before. If we get these next 2 games, I’ll be really looking forward to (not) watching the Spurs game on Monday to gauge this team. Freaking 2:30 game, I hope 106.7 broadcasts online.
That blowout was good for the soul.
If you look at this season, the Hornets have actually had several wins (post-Scott) against teams they shouldn’t have beaten record-wise. (Atlanta, Phoenix, Denver, Dallas, Houston) It’s the “equal” teams I worry about. Those are the games they’ve been dropping. Well, before the coaching replacement they weren’t competitive in hardly ANY games, combined with one of the strongest schedules in the league. But I’m talking about in the last month or so.
Fun Fact: If you DO take the East/West disparity into account, it’ll just depress you, because we’re a 5th seed in the East. The West is just that stacked.
Good point. I’m not complaining about a win streak, I just remain skeptical, likely since I’ve still not fully taken into consideration of the coaching change.
I’ve yet to factor Devin Brown’s sudden decision to stop sucking also. That one will take awhile.