See what I did there, Gil.

(By the way, for those of you watching on CST instead of the Blazers’ feed on League Pass, Gil was dropping the puns in rare form last night. After Travis Outlaw nearly airballed a free throw, he cracked, “That shot was a crime by Outlaw.” Ho ho ho! Gil, you slay me.)

But that’s not what we’re here to talk about. We’re here to recognize our boy Hilton, who was forced to play big minutes against Joel Przybilla and Greg Oden after Tyson Chandler was ejected in the third quarter. If you come here a lot, you know that we’re relentless believers in Hilton Armstrong. Sometimes we get made fun of. Sometimes we cringe. But sometimes the second biggest of the Hornets big men comes up strong. It’s usually when he has to– we haven’t lost a game this season that Hilton started, I believe.

The joke around these parts is that, at least once a night, Hilton receives his obligatory “because you’re Hilton Armstrong and the other guy is not, sorry” foul. Usually, as well as a couple other offensive fouls of a dubious variety. The other story is turnovers. The Hilton Armstrong turnover is sometimes impossible to spot in the wild. Like, all three Hornets blogs and various fans don’t recall seeing it happen, yet there it is in the boxscore. It’s like, “Oh, that hotel guy’s playing tonight. Spot him his turnover,” and they check the box.

Well, last night in Portland, Hilton Armstrong played probably the best quarter (game?) of his career, ending up with 12 points on 6-6 shooting, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block, and… wait… wait for it… 0 turnovers. He also took a key charge from Greg Oden that forced the Blazers to sit the old man. After being called for two consecutive fouls at the 6 minute mark of the 4th quarter, Hilton could have caved. Instead, he raced back down to the other end of the floor and appeared out of nowhere to put back a monster dunk of a James Posey missed three.

Oh, it has been brought. Whatever, NBA. I just dare you to suspend Tyson Chandler. Our boy’s gonna dominate.

Turning our attention to Tyson Chandler now, I want to first say that I’m really, really proud and pleased at the way the rest of the team handled his ejection. Another game where the officiating didn’t quite go their way (You’re telling me Przybilla doesn’t deserve at least a technical for hitting back? Someone got T’ed up for a butt slap the other night), and, when forced to work around personnel issues, they gutted it out. Can it be we’ve seen a subtle change?

Blazers fans will be saying Tyson’s a dirty player. They will be wrong. Apparently, three out of the four ejections Tyson’s had in his career have come in the Rose Garden. This is the second year in a row it’s been as a result of a scuffle with Przybilla. Dudes just don’t like each other. Here’s what went down:

See, here’s what I want to know: if Tyson’s the dirty one, how come this stuff never goes down in New Orleans? We don’t hear from Przybilla here. I’m not saying TC didn’t hit him– he did. I’m not saying he shouldn’t have been kicked out. But he’s not exactly a thug. It’s hard to be a thug when like 75% of your altercations are against one guy. Besides, if you read his blog or have seen him in interviews, you know that’s just not TC’s personality. We should just accept that they play scrappy against each other, that there’s probably more to it than what’s in the video, and shrug it off. (Except, by the way, don’t you love the way the Blazers TV team cut this? Most of the times they slo-mo it, you don’t get the part leading up to when Chandler throws the arm. Naturally.)

When asked whether he hit Przybilla’s broken wrist on purpose, Tyson replied: “I didn’t know he had a bad hand. No. Not at all. If he’s worried about that, he should keep it off people.” Oh, Tyson. You slay me too.

Byron Scott said 2-2 would be good on this road trip, 3-1 would be great. So this puts us halfway there…

Current Mood: Scrappy

In the storied recent history of this blog, we have promised to keep our honest eyes on Hilton and to tell you whether he’s progressing as expected or busting like so many other nobodies.  I start by pointing out how the man packed on the pounds in the offseason.  His dedication to improving involved more than just proving he can make shots or grab boards, but also has to do with what happens off the court and in the weight room.  (Cf. Tayshaun Prince.)  It has to do with how dedicated he was to improvement en whole.  Gold star number one.

So what differs from his much maligned last season?  The main difference this year has been his assertiveness.  He seems to have Coach Scott’s tacit approval at the 5 and doesn’t seem as worried about being yanked in favor of an ever-rotating selection of forwards/centers.  This is a good thing.  Hilton has responded positively, even if it is not always obvious from the stat sheet.

Hey, we give guys like Posey credit for making those “intangible” plays that don’t show up on the stat sheet, so why not Hilton?  How many tip-outs does Tyson get that don’t show up as rebounds, but everyone in the Arena knows are plays he made?  Same with Hilton.  He’s been aggressive this year.  He’s gotten boards some games, blocks in others. He’s hustled to make second effort plays, and made some nice moves in the post.  He runs well, and every now and then he can actually play defense without committing the stupid fouls that have plagued him thus far in his career.  

Bottom line: I like what I see.  He’s not yet TC.  He’s not Dwight Howard, Tim Duncan, or even Andris Biedrins.  But how many back-up fives are better than him?  Seriously?  Not many.  Name them. I dare you.  And can you honestly say that in the next year or so he maybe doesn’t evolve into a starter as TC ages?  I see it.  So should you.

So we’ve all heard it said (or, um, said it ourselves) that the Hornets’ main weakness in their quest to be a championship team is a lack of depth behind future-All Star-hopeful Tyson Chandler. We can all stop fearing the lack of depth right now, because this is going to be Hilton Armstrong’s year.

Yep, Hornets Hype supports Hilton Armstrong. And we don’t wanna hear you badmouth our man.

Previously, on Hilton Watch…

Last season Hilton Armstrong played in 65 regular season games, averaging 11.3 minutes per game and scoring 2.7 points while grabbing 2.5 rebounds, in his second year. After a strong preseason, a lot of people were hoping it would be his breakout year. Alas, it was not to be. Citing frustration with Hilton’s lack of confidence, Byron Scott started benching him in favor of Melvin Ely or even Ryan Bowen, two players with maybe less of the raw package but more of the drive to play the way Coach Scott expected his backup bigs to play.

You want confidence? We’ll give you confidence.

Confidence is a wacky thing. You want your backup center to have it. But how’s he supposed to get it, if he gets benched for making mistakes? How’s he supposed to get it, if everyone’s hating on him? We came up with some ideas…

1. Gain some muscle. Check! Hilton’s looking very good in camp, and visibly a little stronger than last year.
2. Get some badass tats. Nothing says, “Don’t mess with me” like a huge nasty tattoo of something really, really badass. Or, if badass isn’t his style, he should talk to D. West about his collection of self-affirming ink slogans (No, really. Every tattoo D. West has screams pride and confidence) and emulate that look.
3. Talk more trash. Helps you get in the mood for nasty shot-blocking exploits.
4. Remember that you are 6-11. Just freakin’ elbow that guy outta your way. You’re bigger. Believe us. But,
5. Get smart about picking your battles. Hilton needs to make those fouls count. Racking up weak touch fouls doesn’t help the team. If you’re gonna get whistled, you better have knocked the guy on his ass.
6. Do not pass when you are under the basket. Go up. Straight up. Do not pass go, do not collect $100. If there is someone in the way, see #4.
7. Remember you are younger than any of the dudes competing for your minutes. Hilton’s already got an edge over Ely or Marks. The team wants him to succeed.
8. Come to Hornets Hype. Because we are ALWAYS GOING TO SAY SOMETHING GOOD. SO THERE.

Hilton Watch?

Why Hilton Armstrong? Because the Times Picayune upped their coverage, and we can’t harass them anymore this season, and we need something to do. Because big men sometimes take awhile to develop. Ask Chicago how they feel about trading T.C. Because there is great shot-blocking potential here. Because if the Hornets are semi-favorites now, imagine how strong they’d be with a 1-2 combo at center.

So if Hilton gets benched or has an invisible game, and you want to bitch about him, go do it somewhere else! Because we officially support Hilton Armstrong! And we are going to do it, like, to a rabid degree. You have been warned.

Geaux Hilton!