NEW ORLEANS HORNETS

Record:  56-26, 1^st Southwest Division, 2^nd in Western Conference

 

Statistical Comparisons

 

Notable:

3rd in three-point % 

5th in opponent scoring (98.5 ppg)

28^th in free throw attempts per game

28th in blocks

3rd in turnovers

 

Others:

9th in the league in scoring (100.9 ppg)

6^th  in ppg differential (+5.3 ppg)

8th in field goal % 

16th in opponent field goal %

11^th in free throw percentage

13th in assists

8th in steals

12^th (tie) in opponent turnovers

Average offensive rebounding team

Very Good defensive rebounding team

 

Movement

 

Significant Additions:  James Posey, Devin Brown

Significant Subtractions:  Chris Anderson, Jannero Pargo

 

Roster

 

Coach:  Byron Scott

 

Key Players

PG:  Chris Paul, Mike James

SG:  Morris Peterson, Rasual Butler, Devin Brown

SF:  Peja Stojakovic, James Posey

PF:  David West, Julian Wright, Ryan Bowen

C:  Tyson Chandler, Melvin Ely, Hilton Armstrong

 

Comments

 

If you read this blog last year you’ll know that I wasn’t a major Hornets booster.  I thought they were a good--very good--team, mind you, but so many people rushed to anoint them the Next Big Contenders and possible conference champs.  It was too soon.  They had a fantastic run through the playoffs but it’s no surprise they succumbed in the end.  They needed more experience and something to push them over the top.  They may have both this year.

 

First of all, don’t discount how the trip to the Conference Finals may have whetted their appetites.  Great teams often follow the pattern of a meteoric leap, then sticking at the top.  (Knock on wood that’s you in a couple years, Blazer fans.)  Utah…San Antonio…Phoenix… now New Orleans seems next in line.  They know what it takes.  They know how slim the margin can be.  I would expect that knowledge to focus them like a laser on their run this year.  The Hornets may be winning games other teams let slip just because they’ve been to the dish but haven’t eaten.

 

Second, James Posey may prove the final piece to their puzzle.  Scoring under 10 per game he’s not your typical heralded signing, but he defends extremely well, shoots from distance and makes his free throws when he has them, and is a solid rebounder.  He’s pretty much everything you want in a veteran utility guy.  One of the big questions I had about the Hornets last year was what would happen when Stojakovic and Peterson really needed to defend and how would the team change the pace if they couldn’t.  Posey is the answer.  His addition alone makes them look much deeper…another key to prospering in a long regular season and playoff run.

 

That bench plays behind a pretty good starting lineup, of course.  Paul needs no explanation.  David West has really rounded his game out impressively.  Were he a small forward instead of playing the NBA-glutted power forward position his name would be on everybody’s lips.  As it is he gets overlooked when really good players are mentioned.  Mo Pete and Peja aren’t going to screw you up as long as they can suit up.  Tyson Chandler’s anchoring defense anchored last year’s improvement.  Only the loss of Paul would be a greater crippling blow to this team, and that gap is closer than it seems.

 

You can’t really find a weak spot in this team’s play.  They’d make life easier for themselves if they’d draw more fouls but that’s not their offensive game.  They make up for it by being one of the best distance shooting teams in the league.  Normally you’d look at the 28^th team in blocked shots and worry about their paint intimidation, but they defend so solidly and rebound so well it doesn’t matter much.  You’d trade a wheelbarrow full of blocks for consistently forced misses and possession of the ball thereafter.  Their coaching is solid too.  There’s not much to dislike here.

 

There’s no doubt at all that the Hornets are returning to the second round at least, and they’re as strong contenders as the other top teams for the conference crown.  In the end it could depend whether Chris Paul can strap the team on his back in the critical possession of the critical game which decides a hard-fought seven-game series.  The rest of the team will get him there…can he pull through in the Moment?  Should be fun to watch.

 

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Blazersedge reader Christian was in KC tonight and caught the game.  He sends in this eyewitness recap:

Team Observations

This was the Blazers' third game in four nights.  They spent their off day flying half way across the country to play a "home" game in a half-full neutral arena.  Said flight did not include three players who were expected to play significant roles this year.  To be honest, all of those factors showed.  At least for the first five minutes of the game.  Then the Blazers showed heart and began playing like a veteran team.  Once they got their legs under them, they made the Hawks look like a young team.  They made the Hawks look like the Blazers circa 2006. 

Not that there wasn't room for improvement.  We struggled in transition defense, which I'm not going to panic about considering all of the leg draining factors working against the team.  There were also struggles in running offensive sets tonight.  The bright side of that setback was that it was nice to see Roy and Aldridge step up and take on a vocal leadership role in helping the rest of the guys come together. 

Individual Observations

--Oden was trying too hard tonight.  The guards were making a concerted effort to get him the ball in the post, which they did well.  When he went to a quick hook, it worked swimmingly.  But he spent a lot of his opportunities trying to back down his defender to the point where he could dunk, and he ended up turning the ball over.  The hook is nice.  Don't be afraid of it.

--The scouting report on Outlaw was that he could shoot.  Clearly, the Hawks didn't listen in their pregame meeting.  He barely missed his first shot, and then hit his second.  Right before the ball came to him for his third shot, the Atlanta coaches were SCREAMING at their players to find Outlaw.  They didn't.  He drained the shot.  Too bad he went completely cold after that.

--Lamarcus Aldridge was deadly from the college three point line tonight.  Automatic.  If he can continue to do that while still rebounding well, it could help soften the blow of Webster being out. 

--Roy's line was nice tonight.  But what you don't see in the box is how he decided in the third quarter that it was time for the Blazers to win the game.  He took a charge.  He hit his step-back jumper a couple of times.  After spending an entire quarter on the bench, he came back completely in rhythm and took over the game.

--Great chemistry between Rodriguez and Bayless.  Together, they were so much quicker than the Hawks backup guards.  Kicking out to each other.  Generally overwhelming their opponents on defense. 

--Jerryd Bayless lacks nothing in terms of confidence.  His jumper wasn't falling tonight.  No problem.  He just decides to start driving the lane.  On one fast break, he actually had a notion to dunk on Marvin Williams.  Thought better of it in mid-air, but then had the smarts to draw a foul on a double-pump layup.  He finished the first half by blowing past a defender at the three point line and dunking with two hands.  Threw an alley-oop to Randolph, and then caught one on the very next trip down the floor.

--Where did that come from, Randolph?  About as unremarkable a 19 point, 10 board in 20 minutes you are going to see.  He was always in the right place at the right time.  He played with strength and confidence.  Whenever he got the ball, he knew exactly what to do with it. 

--Batum struggled to get his shot to fall, but looked nice getting out on the break.  Quick.  Strong.  Always in control. 

Misc. Notes

--The Blazers did a good job importing the home game experience to Kansas City.  They cut the lights and played the highlight package when the Blazers were introduced.  The University of Kansas dance team donned Blazers shirts for their routines, and threw Blazers shirts into the crowd.  Blaze the cat even made the trip, as did the inflatable dancing Blaze.

--Celebrities in the house included Manute Bol, Bill Self and most of the Kansas City Chiefs.

--The guy sitting behind me was impressed with Oden's facial hair.  In his opinion, it made him look 60 instead of 50.

--Not to be outdone, the guy sitting next to me noticed I was taking copious notes and asked if I was a scout.  Yeah.  Because scouts wear Kiki Vandeweghe jerseys and take game notes on pieces of plain white paper folded in half. 

--Oden got by far the loudest ovation during the starting lineups. 

Many thanks to Christian.  If you want to say "thank you" with a click or two you could check out his well-written, multi-topic blog here:  Live Life Abundantly.

Also be sure and check out the Atlanta reaction this weekend at PeachTreeHoops.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Another game tonight for the walking wounded.  What are you hoping to see?  Discuss the game before, during, and after right here.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

 

I want to highlight the yeoman's work Grey Home has been doing in the sidebar.  He's 5/6 of the way through his pre-season division previews and they're fantastic...better in many ways than mine.  If you haven't checked them out yet the Pacific Division is up right now.

Maybe next year I'll get him to do all of the hard work and just add a couple quips in a gray box to his work?

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

J.A. Adande wrote this column on reasons fans could and should flock to the Portland Trail Blazers.  It could well have come right off the pages of Blazersedge.  In fact it kind of was.  But if you'll recall for the last couple of years in those "be patient, watch the signs" posts I have said that one of the sure indicators that your team is getting legitimately good is that the national media starts catching up with the local scene.  Obviously that is happening in spades this year.  That doesn't make Portland great, of course, but it does confirm that the upward arc is not simply wishful thinking on the part of long-starved fans.  Enjoy it!  And if you like it drop a line of appreciation to Mr. Adande.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

P.S.  Props to CaptainSexyJacob for noting this in the Fanposts earlier.

HOUSTON ROCKETS

Record:  55-27, 3^rd in Southwest Division, Tie for 4th in Western Conference

 

Statistical Comparisons

 

Notable:

4th in opponent scoring (92.0 ppg)

26th in three-point % 

2nd in opponent field goal %

 

Others:

22nd in the league in scoring (96.7 ppg)

9^th  in ppg differential (+4.7 ppg)

21st in field goal % 

25^th in free throw attempts per game

25^th in free throw percentage

15th in assists

15th in steals

8th in blocks

9th in turnovers

19th in opponent turnovers

Good offensive rebounding team

Good defensive rebounding team

 

Movement

 

Significant Additions:  Ron Artest, Brent Barry, D.J. Strawberry

Significant Subtractions:  Bobby Jackson

 

Roster

 

Coach:  Rick Adelman

 

Key Players

PG: Rafer Alston, Aaron Brooks, Steve Francis

SG:  Tracy McGrady, Brent Barry, Luther Head

SF:  Ron Artest, Shane Battier

PF:  Luis Scola, Chuck Hayes, Donte Greene

C:  Yao Ming

 

Comments

 

Covering the Summer League team in Las Vegas for the first time three years ago I got to dabble in a little bit of recreational gambling.  I wasn’t getting second mortgages from Louie “The Lip” or nothing, just a couple bucks here and there.  As it turns out, no matter what game you play and no matter how good you are at it, there’s a pattern there.  You can keep betting incrementally, trying to maximize your play time, staying at the table as long as you can.  The result is always the same.  You’ll win some, you’ll lose some, but even if you get ahead for a while it’s never enough to make a huge difference.  The only thing you’re buying is a little more time to play.  Eventually your stack dwindles until you can’t take it anymore (or you go broke) and then you go home.  As it turns out, there are only two real choices:  bet big and try to get lucky and break the bank or don’t play.

 

It feels like the Rockets have reached this conclusion as well.  For years they’ve been good at their game.  They appear to have it all.  Their defense is always at the very top of the league.  They’re a good rebounding team.  Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady are two of the more unstoppable players at their positions on offense.  Every year they build on this base, tinkering with a point guard here, a small forward there.  Every year a turn of the cards--an injury here, an unlucky playoff draw there--hamstrings them and sends them home empty handed.  After so many backs and feet going south you legitimately start to wonder how long their stars can hold up.  Their stack can start dwindling at any time.  What are they buying with these incremental changes besides another good year and another disappointment?  So it’s time to roll the dice and break the bank.

 

Enter Ron Artest.

 

The addition of the poster child for NBA lunacy is definitely going to make the Rockets a scary team.  The question is, which definition of “scary”?  He’s a huge intimidator, superb defender, and accomplished scorer.  In a way it’s almost not fair that the best defensive team in the league outside of Boston right now could pick up Artest.  It’s not fair that a team with two unstoppable players gets a third.  If the team clicks this could provide one of those “Oh…my…God!” moments to rival what Boston did last year.  The clicking you hear, however, could well be the time bomb going off in Artest’s head.  What if he takes McGrady with him?  Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.

 

Overall I like this Houston team better than any they’ve had in years.  Not only do they have the Big Three, not only did they give up nothing in the way of defense, offense, or rebounding to get there, their bench is stronger than it’s ever been.  Shane Battier is great, Chuck Hayes is solid, Aaron Brooks  has a chance to step up…as long as the team stays healthy they’re equipped to handle any situation.  That’s always the story with the Rockets though.  One bad moment with Yao Ming or McGrady and they’re back to incremental gains at best.  That’s OK, but now is the time to shoot for more.

 

One thing’s for sure…if the Rockets do not make it deep into the playoffs this year for whatever reason, including the continuing string of injury troubles, it’s time to look in another direction.  This team badly needs to prove itself, moving from paper contenders to the real thing.  If it’s going to happen, it should be this year.

 

Houston needs to do two things in order to make that special year happen.  First, they need more easy points.  They need to turn that excellent defense and rebounding into transition buckets at every opportunity.  Second, they need to manufacture extra points.  A team like this needs to draw and hit more free throws.  They also need to translate Yao’s interior dominance into open, made three-point shots.  It’s hard to grind out every point and still maximize your wins.  If the Rockets can add even a little extra offense to that lock-down “D”, watch out.

 

Read more about the Rockets from out friends over at The Dreamshake.

 

SAN ANTONIO SPURS

Record:  56-26, 2nd in Southwest Division, Tie for 2^nd in Western Conference

 

Statistical Comparisons

 

Notable:

27^th (tie) in the league in scoring (95.4 ppg)

3rd in opponent scoring (90.6 ppg)

5th in opponent field goal %

27^th in free throw attempts per game

4th in turnovers

28th in opponent turnovers

 

Others:

8^th  in ppg differential (+4.8 ppg)

14th in field goal % 

11th in three-point % 

15^th in free throw percentage

21st in assists

24^th (tie) in steals

24th in blocks

Very Poor offensive rebounding team

Very Good defensive rebounding team

 

Movement

 

Significant Additions:  Roger Mason, Salim Stoudamire, George Hill (R)

Significant Subtractions:  Brent Barry, DerMarr Johnson

 

Roster

 

Coach:  Greg Popovich

 

Key Players

PG:  Tony Parker, Jacque Vaughn, Salim Stoudamire

SG:  Michael Finley, Manu Ginobili, Roger Mason

SF:  Bruce Bowen, Ime Udoka

PF:  Tim Duncan, Matt Bonner

C:  Fabricio Oberto, Kurt Thomas

 

Comments

 

Pity the Spurs.  56 wins, tied for second in the conference, and everybody’s talking about them being washed up.  A ton of teams would give their right arms to be so washed.  They may not be the dominant team they were a couple years ago but as long as you field Tim Duncan you have a chance.  Tony Parker is going to be fine too.  The injury to Manu Ginobili is worrisome, though, as it exposes the relative thinness of San Antonio’s supporting cast compared to their ultra-talented core.  Michael Finley and Bruce Bowen are getting older.  The other guys are pure role players, perfectly adequate to bolster the main cast but utterly lost when the spotlight glares on them directly.

 

San Antonio plays basic, winning basketball.  They defend superbly.  They rebound well on the defensive end.  They don’t turn the ball over.  As long as their talent ranks above their opponent’s they’re going to win.  They’re not playing poker here, they’re playing chess.  None of that is going to change.  The conference may have caught up to them though, and there’s a real question how superior the Spurs’ talent is to teams like New Orleans and L.A. right now.  In addition to being solid, those other teams are opportunistic, which is something the Spurs only lay claim to every other year or so.  (Though this would be one of those years by the calendar.)  Much like the Rockets the Spurs don’t force enough chaos and extra points with their defense, rebounding, and attacking game.  This leaves them vulnerable to being blitzed by younger, though less consistent, rosters.  Mr. Spock is the most capable, rational guy on the Enterprise by far, but Captain Kirk’s derring-do usually carries the day.

 

The Spurs are not done by a long shot.  Every second year pundits predict their demise.  Every year after that they win it all.  That’s less likely to happen this year, but it’s still possible.  The top of the West isn’t that secure.  The Spurs will be in the hunt.  Unless injuries gut them it would be nigh impossible for them not to be.  Do they have enough ammo to finish the job?  It’ll be down to the last shell, but don’t discount them entirely.

 

Read more about the Spurs at PoundingtheRock.com.

 

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Since Casey is fully recovered from surgery he, Gavin Dawson of 95.5 The Game fame, and I got together this afternoon for some podcasting fun.  Topics include the early pre-season results, a ton of Oden stuff, a rundown of the guards, a bigger rundown of small forwards around the league, debate over playoff prospects, and a whole lot more.  You can stream it at Casey's Blog or download the .mp3 here.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

From the Blazers:

WEBSTER UNDERGOES FOOT SURGERY

PORTLAND, Ore. - The Portland Trail Blazers announced that guard Martell Webster underwent surgery today to repair a stress fracture in his left foot. He is expected to be sidelined for 8-10 weeks.

Dr. Jay Crary performed the surgery at Southwest Washington Regional Surgery Center in Vancouver , Wash. As part of the procedure, Webster had a screw inserted into his fifth metatarsal bone.   

The injury occurred during Tuesday night's preseason game against the Sacramento Kings.

It's a bummer because I love how Martell came out in that game, but at least it's early on.  Speedy recovery!

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

You can read all of the Golden State reactions to last night's game over at the indubitable GoldenStateofMind.  Check it out!

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

A bunch of Blazersedge at the Garden tickets sold in the first couple days, so if you want yours, please order this week.  The tickets are ordered through the Blazers this year, not through us, so we can't get you tickets later if you don't purchase them now.  Besides, selling out early enough would allow us to get more tickets if needed.

The game is December 27th against Toronto.  The tickets are $17 plus a $5 handling charge for a total of $22.

Contact info:

lisa.swan@trailblazers.com   Phone: 503-963-3966  Fax: 503-736-2192 

Make sure to ask for the Blazersedge section.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)