Hornets Hype

Fact.  Hornets are 7-1 in games decided by 3 points or less.  Fact.  The Hornets are 7-3 in their last 10, as good as any other Western Conference team as I write this.  Fact.  CP3 is as good as any MVP candidate.  So the T-Wolves took us to the buzzer.  They are, in fact, a professional basketball team.  Give them credit, they hung around the whole game and gave themselves a chance to win.  But the Hornets, who were outscored 24-11 at one point in the 4th, turned it around and finished on a 9-3 run and made the home crowd happy.

Early, it looked like a blow-out.  The Hornets ran out to an 8-0 lead and forced a time out.  They built the lead and kept it around ten most of the first quarter.  Then Byron starting subbing in the backups.  First Posey for Julian.  Then Marks for Hilton (who started in place of Tyson).  Then Mo in place of Butler.  They caved and gave up a lead, right?  Wrong.  They held their ground, and actually built the lead.  And as for Mo?  Ended up with 8 points (on 50% shooting) and 2 boards in 15 minutes.  A welcome bench contribution.  More than that, Mo was all over the floor on both ends, and helped space out the floor again, as defenders had to respect his 3-point shooting ability.

The surprise?  The starters came back in and gave up a run that let the Wolves close to 4 at the half.  Rick Kamla would be happy.  Then the third quarter.  Slow start, where we built the lead back up, but D-West struggled, clanking shots, looking frustrated, and ultimately getting into full trouble, and being shown the bench.  Or more accurately, the large blue bouncy ball that he sits on to keep his back loose.  The crowd was behind him, though, hollering at the refs, as he failed to get call after call; in the end, thought, the refs dictated that he’d be the one sitting, not shooting free throws.  

When we were at our best, we had great ball movement, finding Hilton and Marks underneath the rim, Mo cutting, Posey backing smaller defenders down, and Rasual with his little stutter-step stop jumper.  Also of note, Julian finally started to get aggressive, and used quick first step to penetrate and to break to the rim, and then kick out to the open shooters, finding both Mo and Rasual on such plays, each of whom nailed the deep shot.  (The Kid ended up with 6 pts, 3 bds, 2 asts, 1 steal, on 50% shooting in 15 minutes.)  And CP?  Well, he was CP.  He was all over the place, drawing fouls, driving hard, and putting the ball in the hoop through sheer force of will (I’ll take his 26-10-4-5 and raise you).  But CP’s jumper failed him in the late third and early fourth. Then, when West finally got back from his foul-induced exile in in the fourth, he was still cold.

So what happened?  Defense.  As much as Minnesota seemed unstoppable to start the fourth, they failed to score in the last several possessions as the Hornets clamped down, got the stops, and pulled down all the rebounds.  On the other end, we finally got into the penalty and D-West did what even on his worst of nights he can do: nail free throws (he’s 89% on the season; what’s your 4 forward hit at?).  And then, when it mattered most, and Kevin Love had again hit two free throws, with the clock running down, and the game on the line, CP penetrated deep through the Minnesota defense, the entire squad collapsed on him, and somehow, somehow, he found DX under the rim on a tough bounce pass around those defenders and West had only to dunk it home to take the lead.  The crowd exploded.

But there was 12.4 seconds left.  So we played defense, again.  Game-winning defense.  And that, that, is what makes me believe that this team can do something come May.  Any team can win.  But not every team can grind out a last minute win when it looks like the team that you kept around all night takes a late lead and is going to make you pay for doing so.  But the Hornets did.  So I believe.  So should you.

I have no clue how I feel right now. So really, I am just going to put a whole bunch of emotions on little pieces of paper into a hat. And then, you know, we can just go with whatever gets picked, and pretend that’s what I said.

• Elated
• Ecstatic
• Hopeful
• Worried
• Confused
• Uncertain
• Optimistic
• Regretful
• Disbelieving
• Nervous
• WHOO!
• WTF?

This Tyson situation is so bizarre I can’t even talk about the game. And it was a really, really good game. Man, it was good. Everything I expected out of today has been flipped upside-down. Hornets backup bigs get blasted by Dwight Howard? Nope. They blew the Magic out 117-85. Tyson Chandler being traded to OKC? Nope. I get home, turn on the highlights, and it’s Rick Kamla announcing that he’s back. ?? So instead I will give you four facts about the game that are probably random enough to reflect the weirdness of life as a Hornets fan at this particular hour on this particular day of this particular month of the year 2009.

1. At halftime warmups, Dwight Howard randomly jumped on it and started dancing to Apache, which was playing on the arena PA. I seriously think he took about 2 shots the entire time he was out there. He was too busy just quietly dancing by himself. Sure, there were other people around. But none of his teammates were dancing, nor did they even seem to bat an eyelash that he was. Dwight Howard is a special soul. Hilarious.
2. Hands down the best moment of the night: With 8 seconds left in the 4th quarter, Devin Brown jacks a long three that puts the crushing lead up to 32. You might say that’s bad sportsmanship. You might not have had to watch and cringe as your Christmas Day was embarrassingly ruined on national TV. I did, and I personally wouldn’t have cared if they ran the lead up to 40. Clearly the Hornets felt the same way. Anyway, right at this point someone in the crowd yells, “MERRY CHRISTMAS, MAGIC!” and I about died laughing.
3. There was actually a sustained wave going in the Arena in the 3rd quarter. We were partying like it was 1989 in there.
4. Tonight we learned that if James Posey takes his tall socks off on the bench, it is an undeniable sign that the game is over.

“We have enough in this locker room to get the job done; we just have to find a way to get it done. A lot of us in this locker room, from myself, to Rasual, to Mo Pete, to Ryan Bowen, to Devin Brown, we’ve always heard, ‘You can’t.’ We’re hearing the same thing now, that we can’t get the job done and we don’t have enough. I know for myself and other guys, that just serves as motivation for all of us.”

- Antonio Daniels

The Hornets didn’t have Chris Paul. They didn’t have Tyson Chandler, their starting center and only seven footer, or Morris Peterson, a solid backup who was a starter last season. And, because he was ejected in the 2nd quarter with a Flagrant 2, they didn’t have David West.

Peja didn’t shoot particularly well. Neither did Posey.

So they lost tonight, right?

Nope, and this win was 100% due to a guy who was a constant DNP-CD at the end of last season, and two other guys I have been mercilessly ragging on all year.

You say, “Oh, it was just the T Wolves.” Bullshit. The Wolves should have killed us on size alone with the lineup we rolled out tonight. “Haha, what Hornets bench? It’s an insult to call those guys a bench.” You’re goddamn straight it is. ‘Cause they’re a bunch of warriors. It’s like, don’t even demean them by calling them a bench.

But don’t listen to me. Ask Sean Marks (18-5), Devin Brown (14 pts), and ‘Sual Butler (23-8).

There are wins that have an emotional resonance, like when the Hornets came back to beat the Spurs on the home floor, like they failed to do in Game 7 last May. There are wins that put you on top of the world and make you jump around your living room, like in LA last month. There are wins that stave off the doubts, like the one Friday against the Raptors, and the ones the week both West and Chandler were out. And then there is the rare win that makes you realize it doesn’t matter if your team is built to win a championship or not… the only thing that matters at the end of the night is that you’re thankful these guys are the ones who wear your address on the front of their shirts.

That was this win.

Last night James Posey was the guest on Hornets Sportsline.  Frequent commenter Matt and I were on hand to check it out, he with a very large camera, I with nothing but my unquenchable love for Mr. Posey. Pose himself came rocking Xavier gear (and snuck glances at the game over everyone’s head).

Amazingly, I managed to refrain from telling him about our occasional blog features in which… well, you know the ones. See, I have some self-restraint.

All photos courtesy of the awesome Storm Surge Photography.

P.S. mW said I had to include the second to last one for all the dudes out there. But the bottom one is clearly the coup de grace. CLEARLY.

Because everyone loves a game when your starting big men are Sean Marks and Melvin Ely, right? Nah, it’s cool. We dominated.

• With David West and Tyson Chandler out, CP and Peja were cruising in leader-mode last night against the Nets for sure.
• I kind of shudder to think how the game would’ve gone if Posey/Peja/Sual had had one of their “cold” games from three.
• Byron Scott scolded the home crowd for their uncalled-for booing of Sean Marks in the first two minutes of Monday’s game. Rightly so. I really hope a little success doesn’t turn us into a bunch of spoiled jackasses. Like it was the guy’s choice to start. He and Ely combined for a couple of nice rejections last night. Besides, Marks got a long hug from Posey before the game, during which I can only assume the secrets of the universe were whispered into his ear. Who knows what magic he’ll be capable of now?
• The moment I had been waiting for occurred when Antonio Daniels, James Posey, and Julian Wright were all on the floor in tall socks at the same time. Bonus tall sock points for having Mo Pete on the floor too, with his black hybrid-tall-sock things.
• I didn’t realize until the fourth quarter that there was a new guy on the Hornets bench. I mean, I knew they signed him. But I didn’t know he was there there.
• Peja went double digits in rebounds before points!
• You could tell the Hornets lineup was completely messed up because there were always two guys walking over to inbound the ball before one of them was like, “Oh, oops.”
• That nasty little dribbling move Peja did before he drilled a shot in Jarvis Hayes’ face? Damn, Peja! We knew you were money like big fat dolla bills.
• CP was a highlight reel unto himself last night. Everything he did was pretty. Everything. He even sipped Gatorade gracefully.
• When you roll out a lineup in which James Posey is the 5, I think it is fair to say that you are playing small ball. Or actually, Peja might have been the 5. Who knows? Is that better or worse? Ehhh, forget it, they were rolling.
• Tuesday night, Ray Allen was in my dream. I was looting this bombed-out building and these people were after me with guns because they wanted some gold thing I found, and then Ray Allen was there, just kinda quiet and chilling, and we went to the hotel next door and he was gonna reserve the pool for a party… It was at that point that I realized I’ve been watching too much basketball and playing too much Fallout 3.
• To Shawn Marion trade rumormongers, I say only this: Peja. Today. Tomorrow. And always.

And as the time ticked down in the 4th quarter, it wasn’t always pretty. It didn’t look quite like Hornets basketball. But it was fast and a little crazy and fun to watch and it worked.

Oh, and about that bouncy long-limbed guy who came unglued from the bench tonight for 11 points and 6 rebounds?

Consider him freed.

While making fun of the corporate-whorish NBA TV/Nike “24 Hours of LeBron” to celebrate LeBron James’ 24th birthday, TT6 jokingly stated that the next Hornet birthday, She’d top that. January 13th is James Posey’s birthday. And TT6 is a woman of her word. Check out the rest of the silliness here.

This is the transcript of a maybe real interview of James Posey by NBATV’s Rick Kamla, from last night, after the Knicks-Hornets game.

Rick: [In the studio] So I’m here with James Posey, one of the key 6th men in the NBA this year or any other.  How are you Pose?

Pose: [Headphones on somewhere in the Hive]  Cold.  [Shivers.]  I moved here for the warmth, man.  The warmth.  What, it’s like 42 degrees up in this, um, piece.

Rick: Posey, as many of you know was instrumental in the NBA Championship runs during 2 of the last 3 years, first with Miami and then with Beantown.  How do you do it, Mr. Posey?

Pose: I’m like the Robert Horry of the Eastern Conference.

Rick: Well, you’re in the Western Conference now.  Dominant still?

Pose: Of course, of course.

Rick: If you had signed with my T-Wolves this year instead of the Hornets, do you think my Wolves would be playing in June this year?

Pose: No doubt.  And McHale would be GM of the year.

Rick: Right.  Ha, great to hear, man.  I would’ve loved that.  But onto this year with the Hornets, you are looking great and have been hitting clutch shots and game-winners all year!

Pose: Was that a question?

Rick: Nope, just saying you’re the man.

Pose: That’s right.

Rick: But now onto last night.  In New Orleans, playing the lowly Knicks, and you were only 1-4 overall and 0-2 from deep.  What’s up with that?

Pose: I had five rebounds and a steal, man, you see that?

Rick: I did, but I also saw you getting run around by Wilson Chandler.  Do you feel like you’ve lost a step, or were you just maybe looking past this game and ahead to the upcoming road trip?

Pose: …..

Rick: Not trying to bust on you, just wondering how a good defensive team like the Hornets struggled against the Knicks?

Pose: [Pulls off headset and steps off camera.]

Rick: Um, are we having a technical problem here?  Is James still there?  [Holds hand to his earpiece.]  Well folks, we’re not sure what happened to — [eyes go wide in shock]  — what the?!?

Pose: [In the NBATV studio Posey commits a Flagrant 2 Foul on Rick Kamla, knocking him from his seat and onto the floor.]  How you like my defense now?  [The cameras switch and we can see Rick on his back, Posey standing over him.]

Rick: [In shock] How the hell did you get from New Orleans to Atlanta in just seconds?!

Pose: [Looking angry]  I can travel instantaneously through a little thing I call the Dark Dimension.  Did you say I lost a step?

Rick: [Still on his back]  No way.  Quick as ever.  Plus, you’re defintely the baddest player in the NBA, James Posey.

Pose:  Yeah.  You better remember that when you cover my Bees on this road trip.  [Fakes head bob toward Rick, who flinches.]  Or I’ll be back.

Rick: Definitely won’t forget.

Pose: [Steps into suddenly appearing Dark portal and enters another dimension.]

Rick: [Climbs back into his seat and adjusts his mic.  The camera returns to the normal studio angle.]  Well, there you have it.  James Posey.  Straight from the Dark Dimension.  One hell of a defender, who is not afraid to put his critics on their backs.  We’ll return after a short commercial break and some treatment on my back.

I thought so.

OK, that’s really the only point of this post. In case you weren’t aware, the Wizards were one of the only teams the Hornets didn’t beat last season, and Stevenson absolutely, inexplicably, beasted us from three both times. And, as we learned tonight at Ernst Cafe, at the Hornets post game show, the Wizards were also the only team Chris Paul had yet to grab a win against. Guess he doesn’t have to worry about that anymore.

Combine this with all sorts of helpful things like San Antonio losing to the Bucks and Cleveland getting beat by Miami (Why does this matter to the Hornets, you ask? It doesn’t. We just don’t like them. See below), and it became a rather neatly pleasant night, in which the Hornets retook first place in the Southwest Division. Oh, and as mW strangely (accurately!) predicted in the comment thread on the previous post, Devin Brown indeed registered a DNP-CD tonight. You would think I’d feel vindicated. But no, go figure, I’m guilted into feeling bad about it because it’s his birthday. Sigh. Devin Brown. Why’s it always gotta be so messed up, with you?

CP had a triple double while not exerting himself to play particularly well (by CP standards, naturally), TC registered a solid double double himself, Rasual Butler scored 21, Posey was Posey, and DWest was DWest (which is to say they were excellent in their usual ways), and the Hornets pulled away in the 4th. And that’s about it. Oh, except… why did CST interview Jannero Pargo and yet the arena announcer folk didn’t even tell us he was in the house? Aw. Party foul.

For those of you who keep track of this kind of thing at home, this was the third straight 18,000+ sellout. And with the Saints’ season over, let’s just say I don’t see the crowd thinning out anytime soon. Higher and higher, guys. And take the pride with you on the road!

Turns out there’s some fight in our Hornets after all. The day after being embarrassed on national television in what will henceforth be known as the Christmas Day Massacre, the guys pulled out a gritty, scrappy 88-79 win against division rival Houston. They played without Peja. They took the floor against Yao Ming with Tyson Chandler’s main backup on the bench in a suit. They battled foul trouble. They battled poor three point shooting. They battled a team they couldn’t put away until the end of the fourth quarter. They battled the ghosts of the past two dismal games.

It was one of those heart wins. And for a moment, I saw that–something– I used to see. I saw it on my laptop, through the Rockets TV feed. I saw it in Tyson Chandler’s twelve rebounds. I saw it in Rasual Butler’s hustle.

So Niall, over at Hornets 247, posed the question earlier today of how you adjust your expectations when you don’t feel like you have a chance to win it all anymore. You’re not as good as the team you need to get through to make it to the Finals. You’re not rebuilding. What do you hope for?

I can’t answer that question, partly because I don’t want to admit we’ve gone that far. And partly because it’s a hard question. What are you gonna do? Tell the team you’ll fix them? You can’t. Put your blinders on and ignorantly talk trash about how you’re gonna dominate? You won’t. Stop blogging? Not about to happen.

So the Hornets are not a team of destiny. What else am I gonna say? I’ll be there, come hell or high water?

Well, that already happened. And I don’t believe in destiny.

So I guess I’ll just be there.

Oh, and guys? …Thanks.