Smartly, the Hornets braintrust offered up a player for the media horde at the press conference announcing the firing of Byron Scott and the ascension of Jeff Bower. It was David West, the All-Star power forward, who said generally negative things about recent times under Scott and who publicly placed some faith in Bower. Of course, the media (and fans) really only cared what superstar Chris Paul thought ... but Paul was otherwise tied up Thursday.
Eventually, John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune found Paul and got his thoughts on the move. And you understand why the Hornets are glad Paul was unavailable, and he was not nearly as optimistic about the change as West.
Chris Paul was dazzling on Wednesday against Dallas, in what really was a must-win for the Hornets if they were going to have any sort of confidence in their ability to play with the top teams as the season goes on. Paul dragged his team to a win with 39 points, on 14-for-23 shooting, including three of four from three-point land.
But as great as Paul was and as below average as Dallas was (Dirk Nowitzki was held to just 12 points on 4-of-15 shooting), if we're going to be honest, his Hornets were fairly fortunate to be able to pull this one out.
The NBA referees seem to be on their way back to work, according to Howard Beck of The New York Times. What a perfect way to open up a post about those who are undervalued. This is not only good news for Dwight Howard and Mike Dunleavy, but it's also fantastic news for NBA fans in general. No disrespect to the replacement refs, but you don't want a pediatrician performing heart surgery.
All order has been restored in the 2009-10 season, so it's time to put the referee situation behind us and talk about those fantasy players who are not getting the respect they deserve.
Using the data from the fine gents over at Mock Draft Central, I identified 10 players whose average draft position is well below their value.
The Hornets jolted the West in 2008, nearly taking the first seed in the conference one season after missing the postseason entirely. After waxing Dallas in what would become Avery Johnson's final playoff series there, the Hornets went all the way to Game 7 against the defending champion Spurs. The Hornets lost, and didn't get close in 2008-09.
You can believe one of three things. The Hornets' short triumph could be over, more flash in the sky than formation of a new star. The Hornets could have experienced just a brief setback, a defeat at the hands of a bad match-up and an injury-riddled season. Or, the Hornets could have just ran into some structural problems in need of fixing, which they possibly have this summer.
Well we are here, perhaps the deepest and most pivotal draft in recent NBA memory, filled with so many impact players at the top and some scattered in the middle. This will always be known as the LeBron draft, but its reputation was further enhanced by the stellar careers of Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Carmelo Anthony.
There really are no words to describe the Hornets' 58-point home loss on Monday, in what was unquestionably a must-win playoff game against the Nuggets. But embarrassing, humiliating, inexcusable, and unconscionable are all good places to start.
After trailing by 22 points at the break, there was no fight in New Orleans to start the third quarter, and they managed just 11 points in the period while Denver continued to play as if it were Game 7 of the Finals.
Part of the blame for the second half lack of effort falls on Byron Scott, but a more than equal share should also fall on the shoulders of Chris Paul. Either way, give Denver their due for providing teams with a blueprint for how to defend one of the league's best point guards.
Less than eight minutes into Saturday's Game 3, the Hornets were down 16 points to the Denver Nuggets. But thanks to a big-time effort by point guard Chris Paul, the Hornets overcame that deficit and ended up hanging on for a two-point win.
Conventional wisdom suggests the Hornets are right back in the series, now down just two games to one. But they've still got a lot of work to do and many obstacles and challenges to overcome.
In fact, the Nuggets still have plenty of reasons to be optimistic, while the Hornets' margin for error remains small. In short, the Hornets still have some problems ... and here are five of them:
Expectations were sky high for the Hornets the season after crashing the conference gates, but injuries and a still-weak bench sunk N.O.'s hopes for true Best of the West contention. Denver meanwhile, picked by many to watch the postseason from the couch, pulled off a coup by landing Chauncey Billups and the No. 2 seed ... a spot where New Orleans expected to land. Can Denver confirm its regular season, or will the Hornets renew their status as elite?
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the "lig." Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.
At halftime of the Hornets' playoff-clinching victory over the Heat, you wouldn't have thought that this game was going to turn into anything special. New Orleans led by 10 at 40-30, and the teams put together an ugly second quarter where they managed to score just 24 points combined.
But Miami came back strong in the second half, and as you might expect, Dwyane Wade was prominently involved. But he left the door open for the Hornets when he missed a free throw with 10 seconds left in regulation, and Rasual Butler made him pay by hitting this crazy, game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer.
Smartly, the Hornets braintrust offered up a player for the media horde at the press conference announcing the firing of Byron Scott and the ascension of Jeff Bower. It was David West, the All-Star power forward, who said generally negative things about recent times under Scott and who publicly placed some faith in Bower. Of course, the media (and fans) really only cared what superstar Chris Paul thought ... but Paul was otherwise tied up Thursday.
Chris Paul was dazzling on Wednesday against Dallas, in what really was a must-win for the 
The 
FanHouse 
There really are no words to describe the Hornets' 
Less than eight minutes into Saturday's Game 3, the Hornets were down 16 points to the Denver Nuggets. But thanks to a big-time effort by point guard Chris Paul, the Hornets overcame that deficit and ended up hanging on for a two-point win.
FanHouse previews the 
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the "lig." 
At halftime of the Hornets' playoff-clinching victory over the Heat, you wouldn't have thought that this game was going to turn into anything special. New Orleans led by 10 at 40-30, and the teams put together an ugly second quarter where they managed to score just 24 points combined. 
