Hornets Hype

Some scattered thoughts on Game 1:

• Over on At the Hive, someone coined the term “Douchethuggery.” I find it rather eloquently descriptive of the Denver Nuggets, so I’m totally stealing it for the rest of this series. It’s at least descriptive of Kenyon Martin and Chris Anderson. Lord, but that’s a trashy-looking frontcourt with an obnoxious attitude.
• We’ve said all year the Hornets winning formula is Chris Paul + David West + one shooter. Well, last night they had no shooters and no David West. They can’t win with that.
• This is going to come down to how well this team can channel anger. If they can do it like they did against Dallas last weekend (after the Mavs showboated and posed and generally acted a fool in Part One of the home and home), or the Orlando Magic Christmas Massacre payback game, or the two home victories against the Spurs this season, they’re golden. What they cannot do is fall apart emotionally.
• It worries me that no player on the Hornets team can get a whistle except Chris Paul. Especially the bigs. It worries me that no player can take a charge except James Posey. These worries were pretty much encapsulated by the one play in which Hilton Armstrong was barreled into and did take the charge but then, of course, the call went the other way.
• Speaking of Hilton Armstrong, he used to be able to hit free throws. The hell?
• Speaking of James Posey, the boxscore says he played 21 minutes, but I didn’t notice him out there. Which is generally a bad thing.
• There is really just nothing more I can say about Devin Brown. Someone on Twitter asked me, if it was just me and Devin Brown in an elevator, what would I say to him? (If you’re not on Twitter, you might guess that I was snarking/ranting about Devin all game. If you guessed that, you would be right.) And you know, he might not be a bad guy. And I would never say the things I say about him to his face. But it’s like, don’t hate the player, hate the game. So. I don’t hate Devin Brown. I hate that Byron Scott thought he was a key reserve in this game.
• (Some*) Denver fans have about as much class as their team. Someone threw a beer bottle at the Hornets bench at the end of the 4th quarter. And apparently someone also threw a towel in Chris Paul’s face. To their credit, the fans around the bottle-thrower ratted him out and then booed him as he was escorted out. *Edited to reflect that a couple of Nuggets fans have found their way to New Orleans blogs and forums to apologize on behalf of that guy. Thanks, guys. We’re cool.
• Byron Scott called the fan who threw the bottle an asshole on national TV in the post-game interview. Heh.
• Melo’s postgame reminded me that I really want to buy a menswear-ish vest, and keep forgetting. Like for instance, a pinstriped vest would look fab over the outfit I am wearing today. I do not, however, covet his loud magenta shirt or anything the shade of it.
• I can’t believe this game was officiated the way it was with David Stern physically in the building. I can only conclude he just doesn’t care about the sad state of things. You don’t call the Hornets bigs for touch fouls (well, except in the case of Sean Marks, who didn’t actually touch anyone on the replay), and then try to make up for it on the other end by whistling Denver for a phantom charge or reach-in by the three point line. How about calling some of the contact in the paint? Meanwhile you have your TNT announcers perpetuating this nonsense by saying, “Now this is playoff basketball!” as players are wrestling with each other for position and people are getting clobbered over the head on the way to the basket. No. This is how people get hurt.
• Chauncey Billups won’t have that game again. And I’d like to say David West won’t either. But he was covered pretty thoroughly. What he has to do is hit those open jumpers. Those were the shot he was consistently given, and if that’s what they’re going to give him, that’s what he has to knock down.
• Watching Sixers/Magic (How much does Andre Iguodala desparately need a nickname that’s not “The Other AI”? They’re not remotely similar players. It’s just geography and coincidence. Sad) reminded me that there are teams out there who actually have rookies and young guys playing major roles. I so wish the Hornets would refocus on building with youth next year instead of Byron Scott’s favorite building-with-32-year-old journeymen. At the very least, you’re getting energy even if you’re not getting talent. What our bench has right now is a lot of neither.

This is excerpted from the Minnesota Star-Tribune:

Byron Scott won three NBA championships when he played for the Lakers and he coached the New Jersey Nets to the NBA Finals twice. He is a worldly guy who can talk intelligently on a variety of subjects.

But if you want to see his head explode, just ask the New Orleans coach if he has a team policy on tweets and tweeting.

“A what?” he asked, his eyes widening…

[...] “Who did? Charlie Villanueva?” Scott asked, unaware of the latest issue inside an NBA locker room. “No, I don’t have a policy on that. I don’t know what the hell tweeting is.”

When told he has a player who tweets, Scott cautiously said, “O.K. …” When told it was Chandler, he said, “I know he has a blog. Is that the same thing?”

Of course not, silly.

“Oh, hell,” Scott said, “I don’t know.”

But if you want to really laugh, read the article to see what Kevin McHale said. And, by a series of alarming coincidences, Hornets 247 also has a post today on Twitter and who Hornets fans should be following. No worries, Coach, Tyson hasn’t Twittered during a game yet. But you might wanna tell him to keep his clothes on after big wins, and stop dropping snarky jokes about the OKC debacle. Haha…

They’re just fucking with me now, aren’t they?

www.iwillnotrestuntildevinbrownhasabigfatDNPCDnexttohisname.com

www.turnsoutmyunclehasNBATVsoisaweveryexcruciatingminute.com

www.wearethindepthwisesowhydontweuselineupsthatplaytoourstrengths.com

www.devinbrownrebuildingneworleansfourbricksatatime.com

www.whatmoredoesmopetehavetodotogethisminutesback.com

www.cp3canrunincirclesaroundyourdefense.com

www.whypejawhy.com

www.wearegonnagetoutcoachedintheplayoffsbygoodteams.com

www.wowjamesposeyisactuallykindofadouchebagbutijustlovehimmore.com

I tried to get www.ihatethelakers.com, but no luck. Someone already had it.

Pacing the sideline in an eerily quiet TD Banknorth Garden, with his team gutting out a small lead, Byron somehow found a way to ignore every instinct a coach should have and went with absolutely mystifying decision after mystifying decision.  In one of ESPN’s “Wired” segments, he told his guys that they couldn’t guard in transition.  Hubie Brown followed it up by saying they should kick out to guys on the three point line, because that’s the Beaners one weakness.  Funny, that’s something we do all the time.  Except for last night.  You’re going to start seeing a trend here.

That quiet crowd wasn’t going to stay down all night, and neither were the Celtics.  As is now no secret, the Celtics went on to beat the Hornets.  Some saw in this loss hope.  Hope that the Hornets could take the World Champs for half a game, thereafter take their best effort, and still only be seven down late, on the road, with the unerring belief that a comeback was just a few shots and stops away.  That may be true.  But that’s not really what I took away from this one.  I saw it as a tough, grind-it-out game that we could have won.  Just as we looked bad because they had a great defensive effort, they looked like, well, a typical Eastern Conference team for quite awhile because of our stout D.  That said, I think what turned the tables was our coach lost in the effluvium of his own success and making insane mistakes.  It wasn’t a matter of Doc outcoaching Byron.  Nope, our COY Itossed this one away with his stubborn rigidity to whatever his master plan is.

The mistakes started before the game.  No Tyson, due to injury.  So you’re down a big.  Logically, you activate your extra forward, Bowen, right?  Nope.  Instead he dresses new acquisition Antonio Daniels.  I mean, I’m excited to see him play in due time, but when you’re 99.9999999% sure has no chance of hitting the floor, what’s the point of dressing him.  Maybe Bowen rides the pine anyway, but maybe he doesn’t.  Last time we saw him (the only time we saw him), he looked sharp.  So I don’t get that one.

Also, the starting line-up.  I love that Byron trusts Butler, I love him too.  But Mo is your starter.  He obviously had it all going the other night, cranking out 16 while Butler was finding rim, so why not put him back into the starting lineup?  Even if you don’t, why the hell is Mo riding the pine?  He should be your first guy off the bench.  But instead we see Devin Brown.  Yes, yes, I love that he drives to the hole, but he’s usually out of control, doesn’t always know when he should dish it off, and is a step slow on defense, getting burned by quicker guards consistently.  Plus, Mo/Rasual have several inches on him, which, in itself, is a huge advantage.  Oh, and a better shooting percentage.

Back to the bigs.  Hilton was your starter by circumstance.  He stepped up to the challenge; getting several boards, hustling, and with one completely dumb-founding move in the paint.  Yet you only play him 25 minutes?  Oh, but his stats weren’t great, some will say.  Listen, I know you can’t quantify gut reactions, but sometimes you just have to know a guy is feeling it and go with him.  Sorry if that doesn’t input on some coaches’ chart somewhere, but you do.  For example, one sequence, Hilton gets a rebound and misses two contested tip-ins, but finally grabs the board and kicks it back out.  New set.  That looks like 0-2 with a couple of boards, but he outhustled someone.  Twice.  Maybe three times.  That should count for something.  Plus, everyone agrees he has the talent, but not the confidence.  Maybe rewarding good play would help with that.  Think on it, Byron.

First in for Hilton, was Ely.  Ely was just as effective.  Perkins might be having a nice year, but he wasn’t doing much to slow down our fives.  So to reward him also, Byron only gave him 11 minutes, while going to Marks for extended time.  I saw Marks get yanked once for a dumb foul and once for getting torched for an easy basket.  Yet Byron kept going back to him.  Sure, he made some good plays in there somewhere, but he never got into the offensive groove and was a liability on defense.  Maybe he just still needs to learn the system.  Finally, so irate at Marks, Byron turned to Ju-Ju in the fourth.  Which, incidentally, was when Marks’ minutes took a dip; to that point they were proportionately much higher than they had any right to be, and thus, significantly larger than what the final number (9) looks like.  So it’s at this point, with that much frustration, that Byron turns to Julian?  After riding him so hard, Byron decides to throw him under the bus against the Champs in a physical fourth quarter is a good idea?  Bonkers, man.  What was Byron thinking? Hey, though, no pressure, kid.  So, as usual, Ju-Ju made a few good plays and a few bad ones, and was promptly yanked.  Come on Byron.  He’s young.  He’s barely played.  What did you expect, him to take over the game like the next Jordan and steal a victory?  Yeah that’d have been nice.

Which is my next beef.  A) Julian is one of the team’s best defenders.  Period.  He’s got good footwork, he’s lanky, and is freakishly athletic and quick.  B) He is a chaotic explosion on offence that can drive, jump shoot, or catch that funky alley-oop.  So why is he riding the bench?  Based on his hot performance at the end of last year, even the perennial haters, ESPN, listed him as #10 on its list of sophomores they most expected to explode this year.  And that was on pure potential, because they’ve barely seen him play.  The man is obviously meant to supplant Peja in time.  So let’s get him on the court.  He needs to know that each next mistake won’t be the one that puts him back in street clothes.  Screw Brown, screw Marks (though I like them both personally).  This is a young man’s game.  Give the young man a chance.  Over time, he might surprise you.  Think back to a young, albeit point guard, who everyone said was a liability, and they needed a trade to improve at that position.  Tony Parker.  They guy they said they should trade for?  Jason Kidd, who subsequently got torched by Parker in the Finals.  My point?  Parker wouldn’t have had that Finals fall for him if he hadn’t been playing.  Byron, play Julian.  Otherwise, well, you’re just plain making a mistake.

I really had to ponder over this post for the better part of a day, because there were just so many incredulous coaching decisions last night.  I mean, I hate to second guess professional coaches, because, well, they’re professional coaches and I’m just a guy who watches games now and then.  I mean, I watch a lot of games, but do I know the intricacies of coaching?  Do I see these guys in practice?  No.  So with that caveat, I’m calling on Byron to clue the rest of us in.  I mean, last night, rest CP a lot in the first, sure, because he was going to play the entire second (he did).  But he also barely played Peja.  And when he did, he ran about zero plays for the Serbian sniper.  Why?  The man had been on fire.  Hitting about 45-50% from three lately.  He wasn’t as much bad last night as that he just never got touches.  Besides, Peja is one of those rare talents that can go 0-12 through 40 minutes and then just explode for 9 points in three trips down the floor and win the game for you.  Not many guys can do that.

That kind of shooting, in fact, is exactly what we needed when we fell down by double digits late.  Probably a good idea to put in three point shooters, right?  Peja?  Nope.  Mo?  Nope.  Finally we get Butler, but it’s Posey who’s jacking them all up.  I think about the three minute mark Peja finally came back in.  Normally I’d be okay with Posey taking open threes, but I’d rather have any of the other three guys shooting them.  Let alone Devin Brown, who’s shooting 25%, about 8% below his not-so-impressive 33% lifetime percentage.  What is it about Brown that you are so in love with Byron?

So this is a first for me.  It’s an anti-hype.  I love the Hornets.  I am as encouraged as ever that they can compete at the next level.  Moreover, I think Byron has the potential to take them there.  I really hope, though, that Byron figures something out by tomorrow morning.  Otherwise, this could become a long road trip.

In this morning’s Times Picayune, CP fires back at Bill Simmons. By now you’re aware of my opinion of Simmons’ column alleging the chemistry problems between Chris Paul and coach Byron Scott. But you knew Chris Paul, despite his choirboy reputation offcourt, would have something to say. You can read the whole article here, but this is CP’s quote:

For his part, Paul, too, was dumbfounded over the baseless Internet report.

“It’s crazy,” Paul said. “I figure you guys (beat writers) who are with us every day, if something was going on, you all would see it. Maybe he knows something I don’t know. If he knows something I don’t know, tell him to let me know. I would think me and coach might have one of the best relationships out of the entire NBA.

“I guess people got to have something to talk about. Maybe he should come to a game. Let’s talk. If I had a problem with coach, I’d say it. I guess he comes to one game, and he can figure it out.”

Snark! We knew CP could do snark, after the Rafer Alston incident last spring. Here’s the thing. I don’t care if it’s true or not. They were aware that it was out there, floating on the front page of ESPN.com and giving a negative impression of the team to casual NBA fans, and so they dealt with it. (Just to show you how quick that stuff travels, I’ve already read one article this weekend, and now I can’t remember where, that cited the Simmons column about the CP/Byron clash. “Reports are that Chris Paul and Byron Scott…”) Chris Paul is not going to go rogue, or go Marbury, or any junk like that.

No. You circle up, close ranks, and deal with it behind closed doors. You stick up for the team.

And you know what? I’ll throw a shout-out to the T.P. beat writers too on this one. You did something right.

OMG! Despair! Bill Simmons thinks the Hornets’ team chemistry is in DIRE PERIL. We should be freaking out. And we should listen to him. Because he has a PhD in these things.
And because, in the second quarter of a road game in which the Hornets had yet to pull away from the Clippers, a 2-11 team, he thought, in his expert opinion, they didn’t look happy enough.

Claims the front page story on ESPN.com (yes, seriously, photographic proof to the left– slow news day what?), “I mistakenly believed it would be one of those lovefest teams that players josh around during the shootarounds before each half and hug each other too much. Nope.”

Wait, huh? Don’t they? Is he talking about the same Hornets team I’m watching? Now, usually I would say, who am I to lay doubt upon the sage and expert opinions of the Sports Guy? But I think it is fair to say I have watched more Hornets games in the past year and a half than he has, approximately, ever. And to me, the Hornets generally look like they’re having a great time out there with each other. Except for Chris Paul, who looks like he is about to go nova and kill people. But guys, this is the way he always looks on the court. Haven’t you people seen the highlight from one of the playoff wins last year, where Mo Pete comes up to hug CP, and CP swaggers and slaps him away because he’s in total game mode? It’s not that he hates Mo Pete, he’s just got his game face on.

Is there maybe a bit more tension because the Hornets aren’t doing as well as their stated goals for themselves and their team? Perhaps. You know, I would be worried if they were dropping games to teams like the Sacramento Kings and then going out and goofing around. That would show they weren’t taking the losing seriously. The thing about Chris Paul tuning out Byron Scott? I don’t know. I personally don’t think Byron Scott actually does that much on-court coaching. He mostly just knows CP is gonna do his thing, and trusts him to do it. It’s not like they need to be buddy-buddy and talk all the time.

Still, I guess Bill Simmons could be right. And we are in for ridiculous Jason Kidd-esque sabotaging and chemistry issues.

Yeah. Well, back up for a sec. And consider who we’re talking about. For example, in the same column, Simmons drops this gem:

9. Is there a dumber argument in sports than “Chris Paul or Deron Williams”?

I argued before the season, passionately, that Paul was in a different league and earned myself a few death threats from the Salt Lake City area. (You stay classy, Utah.) Check out their 2009 stats through four weeks:

• Paul: 20.5 PPG, 12.2 APG, 2.9 steals, 52.3% FG, 85.6% FT.
• Williams: 7.5 PPG, 8.0 APG, 0.0 steals, 26.7% FG, 66.7% FT.

I mean, that’s a landslide! Come on! Can we all agree to stop arguing about this?

Nice analysis there, “Sports Guy.” Oh, except for the fact that Deron Williams has played in 2 games this year for a whopping statistical sample of 32 minutes each. But I mean, you go right ahead. That’s a great time to quote stats from “four weeks” into the season. Was that paragraph meant to be sarcasm? No, I’m serious. Was it, and I just didn’t get it? Because I believe CP3 is better, as much as the next Hornets fan, but I believe the technical term for analysis like that is statistically retarded. (And if it’s sarcasm, he’s still stupid. Does he not realize that thousands of eyes-glazed-over Utah fans are going to ambush him on the way to his car in the dark of night. Does he have a death wish?)

You know what? Hit me back when this happens.

Until then let’s just say I’m not worried. As a wise man once said, ‘Get back motherf***** you don’t know me like that.”

According to the Times Picayune, he had seven days to accept or reject the contract extension offer the Hornets had on the table. They’re reporting he accepted today. Smart man. But we all knew that.

It was hard to imagine him leaving the team he built, especially for the messes in Phoenix and Chicago. His new deal will up his salary from $3.5 million to $5-6 million. So we can all breathe a sigh of relief… well, a mini-sigh. We’ll save the big sigh for when they lock up CP3.

Coach Scott: With the regular season over, I imagine that you’re feeling a bit like Alice. Tumbling down the rabbit hole?

Chris Paul: You could say that.

Coach Scott: I can see it in your eyes. You have the look of a man who accepts what he sees because he’s expecting to wake up. Ironically, this is not far from the truth. Do you believe in fate, Chris Paul?

Chris Paul: No.

Coach Scott: Why not?

Chris Paul: ‘Cause I don’t like the idea that I’m not in control of the game.

Coach Scott: I know exactly what you mean. Let me tell you why you’re here. You’re here because you know something. What you know, you can’t explain. But you feel it. You felt it your entire life. That there’s something missing from the game. You don’t know what it is, but it’s there. Like a splinter in your mind–driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you know what I’m talking about?

Chris Paul: The Playoffs?

Coach Scott: Do you want to know what they are?

Chris Paul: [nods his head]

Coach Scott: The Playoffs are everywhere, they are all around us thanks to David Stern. Even now, in this very room (although for the love of Zion do not watch the Celtics-Cavs series– it’s just plain ugly). Once you understand the NBA Playoffs you will see them when you look out your window, or when you open a newspaper. You will feel them when you have your days off or when you fall asleep or when you pay your considerable taxes. They are the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.

Chris Paul: What truth?

Coach Scott: That experience does not matter, Chris Paul. They would have you believe that like everyone else, you were born into bondage, born inside a prison that you cannot smell, taste, or touch–until, of course, you have been there. [long pause, sighs] Unfortunately, no one can be told what the NBA Playoffs are. You have to see them for yourself. This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. [In his left hand, Coach Scott shows a blue pill]

Chris Paul: [Watches Coach Scott patiently]

Coach Scott: You take the blue pill and the story ends. You wake in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. [a red pill is shown in his other hand] You take the red pill and you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.

Chris Paul: [Long pause; Chris Paul begins to reach for the red pill]

Coach Scott: Remember–all I am offering is the truth, nothing more.

Chris Paul: [Chris Paul takes the red pill and swallows it with a glass of water]

Coach Scott: You have to let it all go, Chris Paul. Fear, doubt, and disbelief. Free your mind.

Chris Paul: What will happen to me?

Coach Scott: You are The One, Chris Paul. You see, you may have spent the last few years looking for me, but I have spent my entire life looking for you.

Chris Paul: But I’m not the one with “Chosen One” tattooed on my back.

Coach Scott: That is irrelevant. I believe it is our fate to be here. It is our destiny. I believe this postseason holds, for each and every one of your teammates, the very meaning of our lives. This is a war and we are soldiers. What if by Tuesday we beat the Spurs? And the Lakers after that? What if then we take out the scabs from the Eastern Conference and that war is over and we and we alone were NBA Champions? Isn’t that worth fighting for? Isn’t that worth dying for?

Chris Paul: Dying?

Coach Scott: You are The One, Chris Paul.

Chris Paul: NBA Champions?

Coach Scott: That’s right. This very season.

Chris Paul: Whoa. [Pauses] Are you saying I can choose whether we win or lose?

Coach Scott: No. You’ve already made the choice. Now you have to understand it.

Chris Paul: No. I can’t do that. I won’t.

Coach Scott: Well, you have to.

Chris Paul: Why?

Coach Scott: Because you’re The One.