Hornets Hype

First off, At the Hive has an excellent extended recap of last night’s 104-107 loss to the Lakers. Why? Because he was there. I was not there, so I’m going to do some stats right now instead. Briefly, though. I had to DVR Battlestar Galactica to watch this game, and it is calling to me.

The Good: 1.) I loved the Hornets’ tenacity coming back from a 30-pt deficit. It reminded me why this team is so exciting to watch. 2.) I don’t think the game was decisive in a big way for either Kobe or CP3’s MVP chances. They both had big plays. They both had solid, not outstanding (for them), statistical nights. Those members of the media who would vote just based on this one game are idiots. Yes, Kobe’s team won. But here’s a little known fact: the Hornets have won games too this season. 55 of them, actually. I know, right? You weren’t aware?

The Bad: 1.) Hornets still lost a close one that I thought they were going to pull out. 2.) I was going to snark on ESPN here, but then I realized it was J.A. Adande who wrote it and the team the Hornets played was the Lakers, so I’m not even going to bother. See how well I learn there.

The Ugly: 1.) The first quarter. Lord, but it was ugly. I realize the Hornets are a second half team, but they cannot allow themselves to get behind like that in the playoffs. 2.) Hilton Armstrong. I like him, but it has to be said. He comes in for Tyson Chandler, and the first thing he does is drop the ball on what would have been a guaranteed 2 points if Tyson had caught the pass. Things did not get better from there.

And now on to the Hornets’ Magic Number. It’s 3.

• The Hornets need to win all three games left on the schedule to keep the #1 seed. This means beating Sacramento tonight on the second half of the back-to-back, the Clippers on Tuesday, and the Mavs in Dallas on Wednesday (this game was just picked up by ESPN yesterday).
• If the Hornets win 2 out of 3, they clinch the division title.
• Lakers are the closest, at 0.5 games back, after last night’s loss.
• San Antonio and Houston are 1.0 games back, but New Orleans has the tiebreaker on both.
• Since Phoenix lost last night, they can’t catch the Hornets for #1. This obviously makes statistical sense, because the Lakers clinched the division last night. New Orleans no longer holds the tiebreaker on L.A.
• Spurs play the Lakers Sunday. Gotta be watching this one closely.
• Playing the role of “We’re not making the playoffs but maybe we’ll destroy someone’s hopes” is the Sacramento Kings. Their remaining schedule? Get this: New Orleans, San Antonio, LA. Quite possibly, as the Kings go, so goes the race for #1.
• Hornets’ last game at Sacramento was a 103-112 loss, a.k.a. “The Game We Left a Perfectly Good Mardi Gras Parade Early For, Only To Find New Orleans Down 26 to a Shitty Team– WTF? I Missed Muses For This?” Possibly the low point of the season.
• I’m just throwing this out there: the Hornets dropping to the #2 seed would mean they’d avoid the 2nd round matchup with Utah, the only team in the West I don’t feel confident they could beat in a 7-game series.

Was there a full moon tonight? Detroit lost to the Knicks. Boston needed overtime to barely beat Milwaukee. And the Miami Heat won a game.

Meanwhile we were forced to watch the stultifyingly ugly… thing… that was the Hornets losing to the Jazz 77-66. Chris Paul played the worst game, possibly, of his career, scoring only 4 points. Entire minutes went by with both teams having turnover after turnover without resulting in points. Peja inexplicably sat in the moments he should have played. The officiating was stifling to the flow of the game in the 2nd, only to disappear in the 4th. Everyone was grabbing and bumping everyone. It was like… slogging through a field of mud for 48 minutes straight. And every time the mud starts to thin out and you pick up some speed, you trip over a rock. And at the end of it, you feel annoyed, slow, and dirty. Shit, the Jazz didn’t even play well. It was sort of like a pileup on the highway.

I think my little world will be happier if I pretend I was abducted by aliens for those missing 3 hours of my life… but I guess I can’t, because I just saw myself on the NBATV highlights. Which seems, unfortunately, to shoot all kinds of holes in the theory that I wasn’t there.

No, Chris! Tyson has it right. Whatever you do, don’t look at it!

I would give you a photo of what the CP3 for MVP t-shirt giveaway looks like, but that thing is so X-Large that if I put it back on, I’m not sure I’ll be able to find my way out of it again… I kid, I kid. That’s it on the left.

We were also (barely) able to score our Chris Paul bobbleheads. They passed out cards with “CP3 MVP” on one side and “GEAUX HORNETS” on the other. I thought they could have done a better job of coordinating that stuff via the PA announcer, but whatever. The fans more or less did all right with it. Chris Paul’s bobblehead doesn’t really look like Chris Paul, but it does have one yellow bracelet and one white. Cute! Just like the real Chris Paul.

As for the game, let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up:

Ric Flair was there to personally do the “WHOO!” Hornets fell behind early, then blasted their way through the 2nd quarter to take the lead. Hornets and Warriors exchanged runs throughout the second half. CP3 had a triple double on national TV, and really, though it was a rather quiet game for him (SEE? HOW SPOILED ARE WE??? You want to trade your guy’s night for our guy’s quiet 16 pts, 13 ast, 10 reb, and 5 steals? Oh, too bad. You can’t have him), might have just sealed up the MVP right there. Jannero Pargo took over the 2nd quarter and scored 15 points off the bench. David West started out limited but finished strong. Bonzi Wells lounged on the bench and drank Red Bull, while still managing to be great in that strange Bonzi way. Peja was Peja. Hornets rolled 108-96, picking up win #54 and a 2 game cushion for the #1 seed in the West.

Notes on ABC’s coverage:

We DVRed this game just because we had to see for ourselves whether any shitlistings would be imminent. But it’s okay, ABC’s safe. It was probably some of the nicest coverage the Hornets have had recently. (And you think by “nicest,” I mean they talked about us the most. No. I don’t think people who live in other cities truly understand the number of ill-informed cheap shots taken at the city of New Orleans and the team during regular coverage of these games. It’s still happening, and it’s really annoying. So I really do mean “nicest” as in, they were nice.)

• I guess, cool as the Hornets are, they aren’t as cool as Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns, because we never get the parking garage shot of them walking past their expensive black cars into the arena. You know you’ve made it when you get a parking garage shot.
• At the beginning of the game, they did a close-up on Chris Paul stretching, and he started coughing and had to get up because the smoke was in his face.
• There was a massive MVP chant for Chris Paul in the 4th quarter, but they went to commercial break.
• Announcers loved Tyson, called D-West “well, I hesitate to say this, but one of the great players in this league,” and said Peja was back in old-school form.
• ABC agreed with us on the quality of the officiating.
• Pargo got interviewed at halftime. I don’t think they knew where Pargo came from.
• We got to go inside the locker room and hear both coaches discussing their game plan for the second half. Nelson: “We aren’t sticking to the plan. We have to get back to the plan.” What was the Warriors’ plan? … Jacking up threes. No, I’m not kidding. That was it. Now, if you look back to the home game the Hornets lost to the Warriors, you can see why that was the whole plan. But still. That’s it, guys? That’s all ya got? Too bad Golden State was 3 for 29. I don’t know, at some point, I’d have been thinking about… maybe… changing the plan.
• Chris Paul is a bossy little mofo on those Wired segments, isn’t he? “Hey, Coach, please, I gotta play, I swear I’ll take myself out if I need to come out, please!… Coach, D-West and Peja! Why’re they on the bench?” Haha!
• Halftime feature on David West, plus earlier we also got footage of CP’s high school game where he scored 61 points in honor of his grandfather. Then we had Peja’s Fave Five three point shooters. I said, “Is he allowed to say himself?” Wonder no more, because Peja’s Fave Five were Larry Bird, Reggie Miller, Ray Allen, Dirk Nowitzki, and indeed, himself. LOL. Guess so.
• Said they definitely think there’ll be a home advantage come playoff time. Said the city of New Orleans has always brought it for the Saints, and they have no doubt they’ll bring it for the Hornets, because they know how to bring the party.

HypeMeter: ABC figures, the Hornets haven’t dropped out of #1 when everyone thought they would, so why not? Yes! You know you want to throw in with us. Hornets, Hornets, Hornets! We can’t wait to see what happens next, either.

CrowdWatch: 17,809, another sellout, and if it’s good enough for ABC, it’s good enough for me.

Tyson is a man who has destroyed lesser competition this year and tonight was no different. Miami’s frontcourt, apparently made up of actual NBA players, had no answer for the Bees’ big man. He ended up with 20 points on 10/10 shooting, with 10 rebounds thrown in for giggles. The only disappointing thing is that he had I think 14 at halftime and didn’t even take a shot in the third. Oh well. Much love TC.

….

ticktock6: Is Bonzi chewing gum?

mW: Lots of players chew gum.

ticktock6: You think he was blowing bubbles on the floor when they were playing the Celtics? I’m just saying.

mW: I’m not going to answer that question.

34-19 in the 2nd.

….

Oh god. Gil and Bob discussing buying teal seersucker suits for the playoffs. And I think they’re serious.

The Heat closed for a short time but then the Hornets started playing again.

91-70 in the 4th.

….

LOL at Tyson swinging a towel in circles on the bench and hitting himself in the eye with it. They are gonna show that clip all night. When CST latches onto something, they do not let it go. That shit was made for YouTube.

Plus we actually missed the last minute of play or so because CST thought Chris Paul tossing autographed sneakers into the crowd and other bench hijink was more interesting than the game . . . ummm . . . (sudden silence)

106-77 Final.

….

ESPN, apropos of nothing, during Mavs/Warriors game just now:

“How about the New Orleans Hornets? Wow… blah blah… 52-22… can’t see them finishing out of the Top 2… just a great team… 30 games over .500… great record against the Western Conference too… oh, and Dirk just scored.”

YES, HOW ABOUT THE NEW ORLEANS HORNETS!!!

I have seen enough to know that my job here is done.

So here’s how it is. Classic match-up. Best in the West and best in the East. Each team giving its best and hammering the other, then the other taking it and giving it back. I think fans of either team would be proud at half time, and would feel okay with the loss either way because it was such a great slugfest. Only then Doc “Cry Me A” Rivers melted down near the end of the half. Throwing a hissy fit over calls that were clearly legitimate, he garnered a technical foul. On the next few fouls (his team was in the penalty early), he glowered at the refs, but kept it cool.

Then the second half. Where we saw perhaps the worst refereed quarter ever. And fans of the Hornets know that is saying something. For the first five minutes or so of the quarter, it was a slugfest. Celtics come out on a run, but then the Bees responded. They went back and forth. It was as nerve wracking as it was great. But then the refs took over. First, a “foul” on David West, where the Celtic is seen clearly in the replay pulling his jersey and yanking him to the ground. Then the Celtics score. Next, David West was called for a charge, when his defender was off his feet (a clear foul on the defender, and a total blown call). Then the Celtics go down and score. Then a third foul. A Celtics score on the other end. Later a CP shooting foul, somehow, inexplicably is called a pre-shooting foul, the cheering crowd looking for 2 points and 1 are disappointed when they see the ref waving it off. The Bees take it out of bounds and then a turnover and C’s score on the other end.

While we’ve written before that a true champion should be able to overcome bad calls, it’s really hard when the team you’re playing is a potential champion also. When you do the math on this stretch, it was not just three bad calls, costing us six points, but twelve because they worked both ends. So basically, this stretch cost us the game. Yes, we lost by twenty, but that was well after the game was out of hand, forcing us to jack up bad shots in desperation and what our back-ups eventually did in the same vein.

So yes, NBA coaches, feel free to lobby, cry, and whine to the refs. Get your technicals. It just might help. And by the way, I love the Celtics. I love Kevin Garnett. So I’m not biased against them. But right now, I’m so bitter that they were given this game on a silver platter, that I am going to be desperately rooting against them in the playoffs. David Stern may want Lakers-Celtics in the finals, but I for one don’t want him to make that decision unilaterally.

Nor should the refs. This game was a travesty. The Hornets will have their revenge.

I have nothing to say that isn’t what I said yesterday. So, ya know, feel free to scroll down. Except now with Bonus!ManLove!

Yes, this means David West was legendary again.

Hornets 113, Celtics 106.

Do you believe?

Edited to Add: Oh, and our new “WHERE CHRIS PAUL HAPPENS” sign was on the jumbotron and on TV. We saw it on the CST feed… while we were standing in line at the Abita tap in the 3rd quarter. We just shook our heads. “Dumb. Fucking. Luck.”

You know it. ‘Cause I have 5 hours left of work before I’m off on vacation for 11 days.

I. Can’t. Wait.

90-69. Hornets let their second half game do the talking. Well, CP3 did some talking too.

“Tracy McGrady is a great player. If I was Rafer Alston I’d probably ride his coattails too.”

“I feel like you can make a statement with the way you play. But some guys like Rafer Alston like to run their mouth … that just added fuel to our fire tonight. D-West, that’s my guy. For him to say he’s not a star, I mean let’s see what All-Star Game he’s played in.”

“When you got somebody like Rafer Alston who thinks they’re a lot better than they really are, you gotta test them.”

HA! Some might say he should just play, and not bother with lesser players like Alston. I say, he’s the leader of the team. The last game he got into it because Tyson and Alston were having words after the game. This time he has D-West’s back all the way.

The way I see it, he didn’t start shit. He just finished it.

And look, ESPN Love! Don’t Mess With the Hornets!

When I started this blog, it was out of a fit of righteous anger in January. I had just gotten into the Hornets. The Hornets were climbing to the top of the Western Conference. Media coverage of the Hornets’ rise was dismal at best. The Hornets’ new lease with the state had an attendance caveat: 14,735 fans per game, or an out clause could come into effect.

Surely the people of New Orleans would come.

But they didn’t. We’d look up at the stands and take stock, count up the empty sections up top, and say, “Well, should be at least 12,000 tonight. That’s better.” Meanwhile the Hornets made their statement by taking first place in the Southwest Division, then first place in the Western Conference. But what happens when a tree falls in the woods and no one’s there to see it?

I had just started to love the Hornets, and they were going to get taken away from me. It wasn’t fair.

Fast forward.

This is how it happens. Final seconds of the third quarter. 78-72 Hornets with the lead over the Lakers.

Chris Paul to a streaking Pargo. Pargo drops it back to Chandler.

Tyson Chandler soars.

Minutes later, attendance is announced at 18,199.

And as I sat there looking up, into the funnel of motion and screaming and color that was the New Orleans Arena, I thought, “This is it. I might as well stop blogging, because I have nothing more to say. Mission accomplished.”

That moment you were waiting for? That was it.

Oh, NOLA, I thought I knew everything about you. You love football, and you scorn outsiders. You party early, arrive late. How could I forget that you understand hope? You understand doggedly pushing on, and doing the things that no one thought you could do. You understand rising up.

New day.

Hornets 108, Lakers 98. The standings in the unbelievably tight West playoff seeding race juggle themselves a bit. Rockets up, Lakers down, Hornets up. There are 2.5 games separating #1 from #7.

New day.

You go outside in your bare feet, you pick up the paper off the lawn. The sun is beginning to shine on a muggy spring day in Uptown New Orleans, the steam just starting to build in the semi-cool air. The Times Picayune headline declares, “SHOWTIME, N.O. STYLE: Paul, Hornets show Lakers a few things about shooting stars,” an article about Deuce and the Saints relegated to the side column.

And you realize that maybe you do still have something to say after all. Because the Hornets still have plenty more ball to play. And you can’t wait to see what they do next. Anyhow, Ron says we can’t decide we have nothing more to say. Because then he’ll be forced to de-link us. So I have no doubt I’ll find something, as we follow these Hornets to uncharted places.

New day. Where do you go from here?

CrowdWatch: 1,000 past capacity. The people in the folding chairs behind us were gushing about how much fun they had, and asked if we could take their picture with our THE BACK ROW BELIEVES sign.

HypeMeter: Lakers/Hornets would have gotten mega play if it hadn’t been for the Houston Rockets extending their stupid 21-game winning streak against another woeful opponent. F the Rockets’ streak… I’ve read that Kobe Bryant is getting “MVP!” chants in other teams’ arenas lately. Memo to Kobe: That one last night wasn’t for you… Hornets: Feel-Good Story of the Year.

T.P. Watchdog: Hornets are the main story on nola.com this morning. Angry CP3 snarls, “MY BALL! MINE!” at not-angry-enough Kobe Bryant on the front page banner and the front page of the sports section. Chris Paul… so hot right now.

In which we find out I should never make predictions again… because I suck at it! Let’s revisit those.

• How many beers will ticktock6 consume at the season ticketholder Beer Garden before her fingers fall off from the cold? 1.5. Was that beer I was swallowing? I couldn’t feel my throat. So cold they closed the beer down early. 0-1.
• Will D West’s bench-sitting outfit involve colors besides black or gray? David West wasn’t on the bench. ?? Therefore, since it is impossible to say whether he wore color while… being wherever he was that wasn’t at the game, I am counting this one as neither wrong nor right. 0-1.
• Will the Back Row Believes sign get on the jumbotron, despite being the awesomest sign in the New Orleans Arena? I told you. 1-1.
• Will Super Hugo drop kick the basketball into ANY SECTION BESIDES 101? There was no Super Hugo tonight. BUT. There was a signed football. GUESS WHICH SECTION THEY THREW IT INTO. I don’t make this stuff up. 2-1.
• Will Birdman dress? He dressed but didn’t play. 2-2.
• How many CP-TC alley oops tonight? Three. But! Julian Wright was out there stealing Tyson’s fun and oh yeah, like, pretty much the whole show, racking up 20 points and 8 rebounds. He also threw down three alley oops, bringing the total to six. So I wasn’t technically right, but who expects Julian Wright? (See title. He’s like the Spanish Inquisition.) 2-3.

I go 2-3. The Hornets go to 42-19.

Chris Paul has 23 pts, 16 assists, 3 steals (Yawn. How routine). Tyson Chandler, out to prove there is more to life than being really, really, really, ridiculously good looking, adds 19 points, 10 rebounds.

CrowdWatch: 17,225. Sellout! That’s five out of the last eight, dating back to the Memphis game before the All Star break. I love the Hornets, but it is not enough that I love the Hornets. Everyone must love the Hornets. I have declared this. Higher and higher!