How About Chris Paul and the Hornets!!!

reNew Orleans

reNew Orleans

Clubbin' with Rasual Butler
No national attention and no love from the media and we are 22-11, tied with the Mavs for 4th. Only one nationally televised game this year, which is coming up soon versus Miami and it likely when they scheduled this game it was only because it was D-Wade and Shaq and nothing to do with any of the hornets. Chris Paul is getting overlooked for the All-Star game and how can he not be MVP discussions, if he was not running this offense the Hornets would certainly be among the leagues worst teams. I haven't seen watched ESPN for a while, so maybe there is a mention of it... inform me if there is. But when's the last time you saw a player this adept at handling the rock with the talent he has around him. He penetrates the defense with such ease, is a ball hawk on the defensive side, has added a 3 pt shot, he's near impossible to defend now. Don't even begin to say the Deron Williams is the better PG, that is absurd. West and Chandler have improved dramatically, but even they don't play nearly as consistently as I would like to see. MO PETE is a waste of space, our bench is one of the worst with Jackson, Pargo, Butler, Armstrong, and Julian Wright (who by the way has the WORST nick name Ju-Ju). We even have injuries on our bench. It's sad to say when you can't wait for Melvin Ely to get back to get the front court more support. Ryan Bowen we need back for sure since he's the hustle man. They are the only bench in the league to shoot under .400, yes UNDER .400 and they shoot .374. One thing I can't understand is why we don't sign PJ Brown. He wants to play for a contender obviously but I think the Hornets could win a 7 game series this year outside of the Spurs/Pistons/Celtics/Mavs and that should make us one. We lack offensive productivity off the bench and I don't see why he couldn't be what we just needed and he'd be a fan favorite here. We do play good team defense though and if you are going to be win games you better have good team defense. You always learn throughout any level of basketball that you better play defense and D.West again has made a huge improvement in this department.


We didn't get or 20th win until February 2nd last year and our 22nd win came on the Feb. 7th. This year we got our 20th win Dec 29th, and of course yesterday our 22nd win over the hot GSW. The fans are starting to show up more, we did sell out the Cavs game (finally a sellout, but only because the fans in NO don't know any better and showed up for LeBron). It's a start though, with football season over more fans are starting to show up to the games. We are only 9-6 at home, while we are one of the best on the road at 13-5. It will be a huge boost once the Hornets fans LEARN how to cheer at home games and understand that we do actually have a good team. We are only 1 game back of the Spurs and certainly the Hornets players have learned how to win games, we just need to improve our bench because that is a huge weakness.


300x320_Paul_6Nov2006.jpg



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"I said, 'Coach, let me play the whole game,' " Paul said after going all 48 minutes and sparking the New Orleans Hornets to a comeback 118-113 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night. Paul had 28 points -- including 14 in the fourth quarter -- and 10 assists, helping to end the Suns' four-game winning streak.

At first, Scott was reluctant to allow Paul to go the distance.

"He said, 'You'll need a break,' " Paul said. But Paul convinced Scott that he could do it.



clearly the reason why hes the best point guard in the league
 
phatprep3 said:
"I said, 'Coach, let me play the whole game,' " Paul said after going all 48 minutes and sparking the New Orleans Hornets to a comeback 118-113 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night. Paul had 28 points -- including 14 in the fourth quarter -- and 10 assists, helping to end the Suns' four-game winning streak.

At first, Scott was reluctant to allow Paul to go the distance.

"He said, 'You'll need a break,' " Paul said. But Paul convinced Scott that he could do it.



clearly the reason why hes the best point guard in the league
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made up for the toronto game. played entire 2nd half then missed those 2 FTs near the end of the game. also didnt foul calderon for some odd reason. that was frustrating to watch in person. but impressive wins for the hornets to go on the road and take out the suns without D. West. we need production like that from mo pete night in and night out.
 
Throwback420 said:
cant wait for the rematch with the Lakers. no Brokeback game this time.
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im gonna be there this week. no doubt the hive sells out, for the 2nd time all year hahaha.

i still need to get my hands on a camera though, will try to and post pictures if I can.
 
Chris Paul is a stud. He is the real deal... cost me $200 on the Suns game the other night. =( Definitely should get recognized for running that team's gameplan perfectly this season. NO looking like a solid playoff bound team.
 
Chris Paul leads changing of the NBA guards

The Hornets star has gone from wunderkind to even more wonderful, becoming the best example of the new-wave guards who don't just run teams, they dominate games.
January 9 2008


No-names from nowhere, playing before nobody in a long-running game of musical franchises. Little interlopers among the big teams in the West race. . . .

Wrong.

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At least, the last part is. The Hornets are No. 30 in attendance in their forlorn return this season to New Orleans but they're No. 5 in the West, and despite the skepticism locally and everywhere else, not planning on going anywhere.

What little is known about the franchise, other than its many relocations, revolves around 22-year-old Chris Paul, but whatever you've heard, he's better.

That's because whatever Paul was, he's better. Two-plus seasons after NBA coaches fell in love with him, they're stunned to see how wonderful this wunderkind has become since.

The Hornets "only can't keep this up if he can't keep this up," Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy says. "If he can keep this up, they can keep this up."

If Paul's upward track suggests anything, it's that he can keep this up.

He was rookie of the year and better in his second season when he kept the injury-plagued Hornets in contention. However, he was only starting to hit three-pointers (he made 28% as a rookie) and opponents still backed off and let him shoot.

Now he's up to 37% on three-pointers and 48% overall . . . while leading the NBA in steals and ranking No. 3 in assists and No. 17 in scoring at 21.6 points.

If New Jersey's Jason Kidd remains a triple-double machine at 34, the era in which he represented the gold standard among point guards is over.

Still unmatched as a playmaker, Kidd has averaged 14.4 points for his career and shot 40.1%.

Old-school point guards from Bob Cousy to Magic Johnson to Kidd passed first and worked from the perimeter.

The new wave -- Paul, Phoenix's Steve Nash, San Antonio's Tony Parker, Utah's Deron Williams, Denver's Allen Iverson and Golden State's Baron Davis -- score anywhere from Nash's 17 a game to Iverson's 27, specializing in getting in the lane and making plays inside the defense.

In a new era with the three-point line opening the floor and rules protecting them from being mugged, the new-wave guards don't just run teams, they dominate games.

Cousy was the only point guard to win MVP before Johnson in 1987, 1989 and 1990. None had won since . . . until Nash and Iverson took home three of the last seven.

Nash finished 1-1-2 in the last three seasons, and if the league could vote again on last season, it would be 1-1-1.

Iverson and Nash arrived in 1996, but the Day of the Point Guard is a more recent phenomenon.

The end of the Chicago Bulls Dynasty left a struggle among giant teams: the Shaquille O'Neal Lakers, the Tim Duncan-David Robinson Spurs, the Vlade Divac-Chris Webber Kings.

The Spurs, who just won their fourth title in the nine seasons since, still have Duncan but are now halfway to the Suns' spread offense, opening the floor for Parker and Manu Ginobili.

"The times they're not a-changing," says Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich, "they've changed.

"We've tried to keep up with that and done a decent job. But you've got to have perimeter people that can score and penetrate and cause problems, four men [power forwards] that can shoot and spread the floor."

After every loss, NBA coaches ritually bemoan all the penetration their teams allowed, but good luck staying in front of these guys.

By hook or by crook, on pick-and-rolls or crossover dribbles (expanding tolerance for palming being another favorable development), they get into the lane where they, not the defense, dictate.

Davis and Williams are big and strong. Parker and Iverson are speed burners. Nash, the greatest of them, does it on pure technique.

At 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds, Paul is not only cat-quick but built like a tank and especially feared for his relentless probing.

"I was giving my guys a scouting report on them," says Dunleavy. "I just said, 'If you think you've seen anybody this year that is really great at going at people, that puts pressure on you to defend, [with] this guy, just triple it right now.'

"Because he goes the first time, backs up, explores two or three times."

Popovich says of Paul: "The best thing he does, and it makes a lot of things happen for him, his change of pace might be the best in the league."

"If you look at him, he'll explode for a dribble or two, he'll hesitate, he'll go again. . . . Most of the other point guards have speed, they have quickness but he changes it up more than anybody."

As if heralding a new age no one expected, Paul and Williams arrived within minutes of each other in the 2005 draft, with Williams going No. 3 and Paul No. 4. They've been compared to each other since, the problem being both are still going up like rockets.

Paul is more spectacular and his team is doing better this season.

For his part, Williams now even challenges Nash, the deadeye of deadeyes. Nash is shooting 51% this season and 46% on three-pointers; Williams is at 51% and 41%.

"I think since their career has started, you see that," says Dunleavy of the Paul-Williams comparison.

"It's like, 'Who's the last guy I just saw? That guy is really good.' "

"They're franchises in themselves and usually point guards aren't franchises," says Popovich. "It's that scorer or it's that big man in the middle."

The new wave is also fun to watch. Viva la difference.

mark.heisler@latimes.com
 
i would change the title to "How about Chris Paul...."

The rest of the team is hopeless without him. He does pretty much the bulk of the work the rest of the team feed off from him.

Was watching the Raptors/Hornets game.....my god does your bench suck!

Peja is such a hit or miss. The only consistent players are Chris Paul and David West.

Just being realistic. They playing in the hardest division out there and I tip my hat for them really competiting, it's great for the city so hopefully come playoffs people do show up and give them the support. On the court, I just don't see how this team is primed for going deep into the playoffs
 
bynum owned tyson

ugly game, just didnt hit our shots and lakers came out on fire.


One and Only Nationally Televised Game of the Year Tonight... It's as good as a holiday haha.
 
reNew Orleans said:
Don't even begin to say the Deron Williams is the better PG, that is absurd.
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9f42fad0-44c8-4213-be68-f6aac9b43ec2.jpg


Yet again DWill owned CP3 last night. 7 wins for the Jazz and 1 win for the Hornets when the two meet up.



<CENTER>King of the Hill</CENTER>

If the NBA only consisted of the Hornets and the Jazz, maybe Utah made the better pick by taking Deron Williams over Chris Paul. Williams has led the Jazz to a 7-1 record against the Hornets since joining the team.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0><TBODY><TR class=io-columnHeaders><TD></TD><TD><CENTER>Paul</CENTER></TD><TD><CENTER>Williams</CENTER></TD></TR><TR><TD>Wins</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>7</TD></TR><TR class=io-evenRow><TD>PPG</TD><TD>13.8</TD><TD>17.4</TD></TR><TR><TD>FG Pct.</TD><TD>37.9</TD><TD>57.3</TD></TR><TR class=io-evenRow><TD>APG</TD><TD>8.1 </TD><TD>6.1</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


:cheers:
 
J Picks,

Its amazing how much Deron steps his game up when these teams play. I love CP3 and think he is an MVP candidate for sure but in this matchup he just struggles. Deron is great young PG as well and it will be fun watching these two battle it our for years to come.
 
Ya I agree 100%. I really don't think it's worth the time to compare them, but people always will. The only thing that's really funny is that if either one of them had been drafted by Atlanta they'd probably be an elite EC team. Complete blunder on their part.

As for the specific matchup I wish I would have been in town yesterday to post my love for the Jazz last night. Being that D.West and CP3 were both selected to the ASG and DWill got the shaft (if you want to call it that) it was pretty clear that the Jazz were going to be fired up to face the Hornets. The surprising thing to me is that they went on that two game roadie to the east coast and swept it as well. Probably have their letdown in Denver.

Really like both PG's and the NBA should be more than excited to have them around for the next 10+ years.
 
No doubt, that was a SPOT I totally missed....the asg snub..wish I woula thought of that...

good capping there tho
 
JPicks said:
Ya I agree 100%. I really don't think it's worth the time to compare them, but people always will. The only thing that's really funny is that if either one of them had been drafted by Atlanta they'd probably be an elite EC team. Complete blunder on their part.
Click to expand...


Didn't the Blazers trade the Jazz the 3rd for their 6th and 27th picks that year, and we ended up with Martell Webster instead of either Paul or Williams. Atleast Atlanta has Marvin Williams to show for it, too many Sf's but he's starting to get things together. I'd love to see this Blazers team with Paul or Williams, instead of Webster.
 
Major props to Paul and the Hornets. I had -3 I thought they were gonna lay down tot he Bulls down 12 in the 4th. They didnt major props.
 
With Chris Paul in foul trouble, he played only 29 minutes, guys like Jannero Pargo and Bonzi Wells stepped up HUGE in the 4th. Bonzi got 8 steals, 6 in the 4th. We were getting dominated on the boards for the majority of the game, by 15, yet we were able to win. D. West had to get big tonight but Peja was awful. I don't know what happened but I'm pumped. helllllllllllll yeaaaaaa. I just got back into town from a trip during spring break to go to the game and it was well worth it. no idea the C's had swept Texas before this but yes. great game
 
good sports weekend with the college, pros and pacific life

boston was awesome on the road trip, beating spurs, hou, and dallas....but those 3 aren't the hornets...hornets are better than any of the 3 texas teams and they showed it with the comeback 2nd half...lakers still the cream of the crop imo...
 
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