Introducing... your new Hornets backcourt
Last night was huge for TEAM THORNTON. Huge. Hornets Hype’s favorite rookie (Can we make him our mascot? We could put him in the banner… would that be weird? No, OK. It would) came crashing out of the gates in his first NBA start, putting up 9 points in the first 5 minutes of the first quarter. He would quiet down after that, finishing with 19 on 8-12 shooting, but he and Darren Collison, in that crazy fast three-headed guard lineup that sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t, played a huge part in 10-1 run the Hornets went on in the last three minutes to squeak out yet another close game over the Blazers.
Highlights of Lil Buckets’ big debut night included a sick alley-oop from Chris Paul and a flagrant 1 foul when he elbowed Rudy Fernandez while fighting through a screen (whoops). Portland fans, feel free to come call me a Dusche Bagel, but he totally Euro-flopped. He whipped his head back and dropped like a rock, even though the replay showed Marcus’ elbow never even touched his chin. (Not the first elbow, the second one. Leading with the elbow into the chest was a foul, though flagrant is a stretch.) But enough on the foul because it didn’t end up being an issue; it was a solid debut and my favorite part of the night was the big smile on Thornton’s face when CST interviewed him postgame. Or maybe it was the rare smile on Chris Paul’s.
These close games, wow. WOW. When was the last time the Hornets were in a game that didn’t come down to the very last possession? (I checked. It was when they lost to the Spurs five games ago. Before that it was the Clippers win. People, that’s only TWO games out of the 14 they’ve played in January that weren’t close. And neither of them were by more than 8 points either. Between this team and the Saints the other night, I’m going to develop weird hand tremors and a heart condition.) But you know what? Don’t look now, but this team has become fun to watch. They’re coming out scrappy, and they’ve fashioned themselves into ice cold closers. With the West as crazy as it is– the Hornets are currently in a three-way tie for 9th place but are only 2 games out of 4th– they’re going to need these close games.
And finally. Chris Paul.
You know, I was going to elaborate, but what’s the point? Is there a verb that even describes what Chris Paul did last night? Or is he himself the verb? Yes. That’s what we’ll go with: The Blazers were Chris Pauled.
UPDATE: Lil Buckets shoutout on The Basketball Jones today! It’s at the very end after the Whoa Boy (which– I’m just gonna ruin it for you– is Chris Paul).
Posted in CP3 Will Eat Your Soul, Game Recaps, Lil Buckets, Lil Dimes, Rookies |
Mood Right Now:
Attack Mode
I gotta get a Mardi Gras jersey with Buckets on the back
Silly you. You can only get a Mardi Gras jersey with Chris Paul on the back. (LAME. I mean, I love Chris Paul, but doesn’t everyone already have two of him?) Let me know if you find a way to get a customizable one.
We need a ‘cold as ice’ emo with Thornton as the pic
The strange thing about this team is… they are not as good as last year’s team, yet they are far more fun to watch. Lil Buckets is a big part of that.
I think they’re SO much more fun to watch. Partly the rookies. Is it the hope for the future that they embody, or that they’re fast? I don’t know. It’s a very winning combination anyway.
You must have a strong heart if you haven’t already gotten heart issues from this season already.
“Lil’ Buckets” is about the stupidest, lamest, most insulting supposed-to-be-a-compliment nickname I can think of.
Chill out. It’s all in FUN. Heard of it?