Kelly Dwyer on Ball Don’t Lie:
These guys are really, truly, giving great effort. Jeff Bower has been the coach of the Hornets for about four months, and he’s had Chris Paul(notes) on hand for less than half that time, and yet he’s had this team playing .500 ball in the West. It’s a phenomenal accomplishment, because more than any other team with any other player, the ball really rolls right off the table once you take Paul away. Bruce Sutter-styled dropoff, my man.
But the Hornets worked their way back. These two rookies are unflappable, Darren Collison(notes) might be a bit excitable, but Marcus Thornton(notes) is as cool as … geez, don’t touch that! That’s freezing. Damn.
When are we going to start considering this kid for the Sixth Man Award?
And speaking of dropoff, after Collison, on the Hornet bench? Darius Songaila(notes), and Aaron Gray(notes). Every opposing announcing duo laughs at Gray when he comes off the bench. Seriously. Every one.
The Hornets are always there, though. So much respect for this team. Give ‘em a watch if you can.
I’m really glad someone else (besides our little band of Hornets fans) sees this. I know we’ve lost, what, eight out of the last ten, and it’s hard to get used to the losing. But damned if I’m not having so much more fun watching this team lose than watching last year’s group of disappointed vets. I’m now truly at the point where Thornton and Collison are worth the price of admission, and don’t look now but David West has actually done a pretty good job leading this team lately.
Marcus Buckets gettin more buckets
6th Man of the Year, though? I’m happy someone brought this up, although just like the rookie honors, I think we can blame Byron Scott for blowing Thornton’s chances early. From every indication, from LSU to summer league (led all rookies in scoring) to preseason (outplayed Devin Brown and Morris Peterson yet unfairly was the guy starting the year in a suit), he could have been doing this all along for the Hornets given the opportunity. However. For your consideration:
Buckets Post-All Star Break
30 minutes
21.5 points
4.2 rebounds
47.2% shooting … FROM THREE
48.5% overall
1.5 assists, 1.5 TOs, 1.1 steals
All off the bench
I think I speak for us all when I say, “Eeep.”
Still standing
This team has been infinitely more enjoyable to watch lose than that mess last year. The way they’ve been playing has made me think more and more that Bower, despite his aversion to centers, deserves a chance to coach these guys with a healthy roster and some offseason tinkering. Like it or not, getting your guys to play hard is half the battle of an NBA coach these days, and Bower has proven that he can get this group to compete. Something certainly has West “getting it” all of a sudden after some uninspiring play early in the year. Dude is battling with pretty much no hope of a playoff run and his team down 20. Something is there. Now, I wouldn’t look forward to all the “Hornets are too cheap to hire a real coach” articles that would undoubtedly pop up, but still…
By the way, Marcus is now tied for 5th among SGs in PP48 and 16th in the entire league. People should start to notice these things.
@lsuhornet17, if it works, you go with it right? If Bower is able to get more out of these guys than a big name would, then you might have to take a long hard look at it. Paying a big named coach might cost more but it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get better results. I noticed one of either those ESPN writers or maybe it was Yahoo’s Wojnarowski (can’t remember which one) recently wrote on his twitter about how hard the Hornets seem to be playing for Bower.
People love big names. The Thunder are winning games under Scott Brooks. The Grizzlies are winning games under Lionel Hollins. I don’t find those names to be very big.
I, too, would like to see Bower back as coach. The team looks better in almost every aspect than when under “big name” Byron. Tonight’s opponent, the Clippers, also had a “big name” in Mike Dunleavy. Look how that worked out.
I do, like ticktock6, wonder what Buckets and Dimes would look like if they’d been getting playing time all along. Consideration for ROY or 6MY? How many more wins would we have? We’ll never know thanks to Byron Scott. Thanks a lot, jackass.
I might be the minority but I don’t like Bower as a coach. I can’t stand how he sits our centers and go to that small man ball in the forth quarter. You can’t put a smaller man on a Tim Duncan cause he’s going to shot over his head and bank it off the back board. That is what has been costing us games recently is that we don’t have nobody in the paint to alter and block shots in the paint(cause David West sure as hell aint going to try to defend.) Then he’s not the real coach watch during the game and see how many times Tim Floyd is telling him what to do. I like him as a GM cause he can spot talent but I don’t want him coaching it.
And I bet Byron Scott is kicking himself saying If I had played them rookies I might still have my job.
You will not see me disagreeing with Bower and the going small thing. It drives me crazy and there is no way we can win in the playoffs with him if he’s not going to play a center. There’s just no way.
I do think the new coaching staff has gotten the team to play with effort like Byron Scott couldn’t do though.
The thing is, there is ALWAYS going to be something we don’t agree with whereas coaching goes. Fans all over the world complain about something they don’t like that their coach does. Especially lineups and rotations.