Hornets Hype

The Times Picayune is reporting that Byron Scott will receive the Coach of the Year award tomorrow night before Game 5 against Dallas. Now that’s irony…

We love seeing Hornets getting major award props for the amazing 56-26 season they’ve put together! (Yup, this is definitely official, it just came on Sportscenter as I was typing.)

Congratulations, Coach Scott!

Insert foot. Or see Scott go to the finals as both a player and a coach. Not content with his 32% shooting from the field, or his 29% 3-point percentage, Jerry Stackhouse decided to try and hit something with his mouth. He had this to say on his weekly radio show:

“I think it’s just about having personalities that mesh and I think Chris [Paul] is such a great guy, I think he’s been able to kind of deal with Byron Scott. I don’t think Byron Scott is the best coach. I don’t think he’s the best guy to deal with — you know what I’m saying? — from some things that I’ve heard from other players and just some dealings that I had with him earlier in the season.

“I was about ready to kick his ass — you know what I’m saying? He was sitting on the sideline and we just got into a little conversation or something and he was going to tell me, you know, ‘Talk to me when you get a ring.’ I was like, I told that fool, ‘If I played with Magic and Worthy and Kareem I’d have a ring, too. So, you know, he’s a sucker in my book, but that’s a whole other story.”

Really. And what does Stackhouse think he’d have accomplished even had the Mavs beaten the Heat the other year ago (which they didn’t). What has he ever done? And in this year’s playoffs, he averages as many turnovers and fouls a game as he does assists. And by the way, Stack, Byron–as a player–averaged 13.4 points a game in the playoffs, while shooting 48% from the field and 40% from long range. Those are the numbers you need to contribute to a championship team.

Enjoy your first round ouster, Jerry. Again.

So I’m on my way to work, and I hear an unidentified Hornet on an Eric Hill Nissan radio spot. I’m like, “Oh, word. Another sketchy local ad featuring a Hornet! You know you’ve really made it when you get your own sketchy local ad.”

I missed the beginning of the ad, so here I am trying to figure out which Hornet player it was. I know it’s not CP3, West, Stojakovic, Peterson, or Chandler, because I know what they sound like. I know it’s not Pargo because he mumbles. I think, “What other Hornet is well-known enough to be in the Nissan ad, but at the same time not too cool to be in the Nissan ad?” I wonder to myself, “Julian Wright?”

On the drive home, I hear the same ad again from the beginning, and sure enough it’s Julian Wright.

Looking back, I should have known only the rookie is gonna have a Nissan.

So we’ve got JuJu in the Nissan ad, Mo Pete in the hilarious Morris Bart commercial (where he might be made of cardboard and the ball flies into the basket from the totally wrong angle), and CP in the A-1 Appliance ad (taking over from Reggie Bush). Are there any other Hornets in local ads that I haven’t seen/heard?

Two Hornets + Tyson’s wife + ceiling fan repair man = Instant Win.

I just wanted to draw your attention to the Awesomest Video of the Week, brought to you by Alejandro de los Rios over at Best of New Orleans Blog. He told us about this interview last week, but it was just recently posted up at ESPN the Mag for your viewing pleasure. You really have to witness the awesomeness.

It’s a contest between Jannero Pargo and Tyson Chandler’s wife Kimberly to see which one of them knows Tyson best. You have to watch till the end for the best nickname for the 7′1 Chandler ever invented.

Game one is behind us, but the rest of the series is still ahead of us. Watching the other games last night, ticktock and I tossed around how back and forth these things can be over seven games. Plenty of times a team goes up 2-0 at home, only to drop to 2-2 after their road trip. Imagine the peril of the game for at 2-1. You can be totally in control, up 3-1 with a win, or back where you started, all tied up, with a loss. So the Hornets need to make sure they get that far. (To 2-0). While someone at hornets247 astutely noted the other day, no game is a must win until you’re down to three victories for your opponent, this game may decide the series. With a team as good at home as Dallas is, it would be a disaster to go there 1-1 and expect to take one (or two) in an arena that we haven’t won in since 1999.

That said, both the Bees and the Mavs have plenty of good starters who can change the outcome of the game. But who makes the difference in this one might just be whoever comes off the bench and makes the biggest difference. It might have been Pargo’s defense on Terry in Game 1. Maybe it’ll be the same tonight. Or Bonzi or Ju-Ju with an offensive explosion or series of steals. Whoever it is, on either team, they’re going to have to adjust to how the refs call the game, and may be in to cover for other guys in foul trouble. They’re going to need to produce on both ends of the floor and weather runs by the other team.

I think it’s the Hornets bench that is more likely to come out hot. I don’t think the Mavs are going to “choke” like some fear, but rather that they’ll be outplayed by the Hornets. Other than Terry, I’m not sure that bench has the firepower to keep up with a team that has been hot on both ends of the floor this year. It’s not hubris, it’s not a prediction or a promise. Just my observation based on seeing eighty-some games this season.

So I’ll be the first to admit that one of the only consolations for having to miss Game One came from being able to see our very own David “Fluffy” West get up in Dirk Nowitzki’s face in the 4th quarter. And then watch the replay and be like, “He actually tapped him on the face. Wow. Wow. D WEST MOTHAFUCKAAAAS!!!!”

(If you missed it because you were at the game, and you probably were like, “Double technicals what? Eh, whatever” and/or were high on life during that part of the 4th quarter, shall we say… here it is at the bottom of the post, plus Bonus! Idiotic Commentary.)

Seriously? Would anyone have really noticed if Sir Chuck and Co. hadn’t gotten up to their old tricks during halftime coverage yesterday, talking about how they’re “from the 80’s, man” and they would have punched him or sent a thug after him? mW just watched the clip and noted that the way this whole thing has been blown out of proportion seems more homophobic than anything else. “OH MY GOD. YOU CANNOT LET ANOTHER MAN TOUCH YOUR FACE! THE WORLD WILL END!”

Come on. I’ve seen David West in angry-mode and that wasn’t it. He was pretty calm, Dirk was pretty calm. Obviously some explicit language was tossed around, or there wouldn’t have been double technicals called. But he did NOT bitchslap, pimpslap, or any other sort of slap him. Yes, it’s a bit invasive to get all up in someone’s space and touch them like that, and it was a ballsy move on DX’s part, but how come no one brings up the fact that he’s obviously reacting to getting elbowed and telling Dirk to watch it? I mean, if you watch the whole play you can see him wiping the blood off his lip, plus the cut is clearly visible at the press conference. It’s not like West was like, “Oh, let’s go push around Dirk because he’s soft.” It was reactionary.

And both of them did the smart thing by not reacting further. Hello. They’re the #1 and #2 go-to guys for their respective teams, and it’s only Game 1. What do you think they’re going to do? Yet every time I turn around, there is another thing about this on the internet. “Dirk is soft! The Mavs should trade everyone and start over!” And, infuriatingly, every other one of them is like, “Who is David West anyway? Punk.” (I’m not going to bother to illuminate them at this time, because chances are if you’re here, you already know the beastliness that is David West.)

And finally, True Hoop is like, “Oh please.”

And Nowitzki did finish with 31 and 10. It’s not like he was emasculated by the event.

Let’s be honest: if the Mavericks had won that game, nobody would have said anything. Instead, they lost, and there is pressure on all involved to explain why the Mavericks lost. It has to be somebody’s fault. You could make a strong case out of the team’s habitual inability to slow supernova guards like Chris Paul. You could point to how well Jannero Pargo draped himself all over Jason Terry. You could also wonder when, exactly, Josh Howard will be ready to play his game again.

None of that is as sexy as signing up the most obvious Maverick for the most obvious criticism.

These are shots from after the Hornets’ 104-92 Game One victory. I bet Kobe doesn’t look this happy at his press conferences. Hell, I know he doesn’t. Smile away, guys. You earned it. (Gotta love D West’s battle scar too!)

TysonBlog: Round One Version. The best part excerpted below:

It’s comical to me that they wanted to play us. First of all, it’s comical to me that you’re scared of a team, and say that you don’t want to play them.

But it reminds me of when I was little. I begged for the My Buddy doll, begged for the My Buddy doll. I kept asking, “Ma, get me the My Buddy. Ma, get me the My Buddy.” But my mom couldn’t really afford it, so she couldn’t get it for me at that time.

So, I kept at it. “Ma, get me a My Buddy. Every other kid got a My Buddy. Mom, I never get anything!” Just making my mom feel bad.

So, my uncle told my mom, “I’ll fix this.” I didn’t know my uncle told my mom that, but he came over with this video and pops it in the machine. I’m like, “Ah, My Buddy!” And it turns out it was the Chucky movie.

All the next week, I’m telling my mom, “Please, don’t get me My Buddy. Please, don’t get me My Buddy.”

So sometimes, what you think you really want, you don’t really want. The Mavericks think they want us, and they asked for us, and we ain’t gonna be My Buddy. They’re gonna get Chucky.

Also, I’m so over the MVP race drama now, but this is pretty funny.

Last night the Hornets threw a party on Fulton Street downtown. Well, I’m not one to miss a good party, so here’s a recap of the event… with pictures!

We got there just as the team was taking the stage. Rob Nice introduced the players one by one, and they came out tossing shirts to the crowd. Then Byron Scott took the mike and said a few words. They announced that the giveaway for Saturday night is a free t-shirt—here’s what it looks like: guess they decided to go for the “teal-out”– and stressed that you are supposed to put them ON. Then the team was out, high fiveing fans as they left. Oh, except Jeff Bower, the NBA’s most anonymous GM, who, as usual, didn’t leave but instead slipped into the crowd unnoticed by pretty much everyone except our group.

All the TVs outside the bars were playing the Hornets’ season montage over and over (I could watch that thing all day, I swear). There were performances from the Hornets Drumline, the Honeybees, and the Used to Bees. There was also a band, who got murderous “not amused” looks from us for bringing up LSU way more often than acceptable at a Hornets rally. They had a couple of bars set up outside, some tables where you could win prizes, and a small merchandise booth. FYI, we were told the Southwest Division T-shirts are available at the Arena now, if anyone’s interested in grabbing one. Poydras Street has Hornets signs hanging from all the streetlights, and that building with the dome on top is lit up in teal, gold, and purple.

They gave away some nice swag at the rally, the best freebies being lawn signs (there I am with mine below) and “Geaux Hornets” window decals. Because we are dedicated to bringing the Hype, I debated snagging 20 or so of the signs and sneaking around at night sticking them all over the neutral ground on St. Charles, but it would have been hard to hold a beer with a stack of 20 signs.

I decided to make a HornetsHype Flickr account, so you can go there to check out the rest of the pics from last night.

Finally, I’m going to be in Tampa through Sunday morning, so I leave you in the capable hands of mW. (Yes, I’m missing Game 1. Don’t get me started.) I’m on the plane now, and the guy two seats over is reading today’s Times Picayune. I noticed from looking over his shoulder that there appear to be at least two editorials on the Hornets in the Metro section, a measure of how far things have come.

Behind me, a woman is lifting her little kid up to the window to watch the other planes taxi down the runway at MSY. “No, no,” she says. “We haven’t taken off yet. But we will in just a little bit. And then we’re going to go higher and higher.”

Sounds familiar.

The Hornets website broke out some new wallpapers today for the playoffs. (What? You needed a reason other than ME ON THE FRONT PAGE to visit their site? We are not speaking.) They have this one, and one for each of the five starters. I’d totally snag one, if not for the fact that my desktop is Tyson Chandler doing the Birdman in his Southwest Division Champions t-shirt. And well. Y’all know how I feel about Tyson.

Also, don’t forget the pep rally from 6-9 PM tonight on Fulton St. This blog will be there!