By 808Hornetsfan

Hilton Armstrong picked the perfect night to break out, unfortunately the Hornets dropped another Summer League game tonight as they fell to the hands of the Phoenix Suns. Armstrong shot nine-for-16 from the field and scored a total of 24 points while grabbing four rebounds. It was Armstrong’s best performance of the tournament, although the rest of the team continued to struggle.

Forward Ron Hale scored 25 points for the Suns, while G Adam Hess scored 15… Both of them came off the bench. The Phoenix starters had an impressive night, led by rookie guard D.J. Strawberry who scored 13 points while dishing out nine assists on the night. Strawberry is averaging 13 and 5 a night for the Suns.

One Hornets player that has not disappointed the coaching staff is point guard Anthony Roberson, who scored 23 points, grabbed four rebounds and dished out three assists. The young rookie product out of Florida is proving to the coaches that he can get his teammates involved on offense, as well as hit shots from anywhere on the court. Roberson has averaged 20.3 ppg in three games so far, and he’s pretty much been the most consistent performer of the group.

The Hornets have to wonder if Roberson is the steal they never saw coming, with the numbers he’s putting up so far, he has a very good shot at being the third option at PG behind Chris Paul and Bobby Jackson.

After a disappointing night against the Bucks on Thursday, Julian Wright bounced back and put up 14 points against the Suns. Wright has started all four games at SF for the Hornets, but has only been able to put up right around nine points a game, something that is just not good enough for the coaches and the fans.

New Orleans will look to try and get at least one victory on Sunday night as they take on the Houston Rockets in both team’s final games. The Hornets have now fallen to 0-4 in the tournament and tied with Washington, Portland and Seattle as the only teams remaining without a win. We can only pray that this team can win at least once before heading into the long days of the NBA off-season.

by noballer07

G-F Morris Peterson
6-7 220
Free agent guard-forward Morris Peterson has agreed to a four year, $23 million deal with the Hornets after spending seven seasons with the Toronto Raptors. “Morris feels blessed for this opportunity to play for Coach Byron Scott with a great style of play,” Peterson’s agent, Rob Pelinka said. “To play with one of the top point guards in the NBA in Chris Paul and to play for an organization in a city where so much has happened that’s just a part of Morris because he has family there.”

My take
Very good signing by New Orleans. They finally hooked this guy in after he signed an offer sheet in 2004 before it was matched by the Raptors soon after. MoPete should come in and be our immediate starter at the shooting guard position, and will possibly chip in 12-14 PPG next year as well as solid three point shooting and backcourt defense. This signing also provides insurance in case Peja Stojakovic goes down to injury.

So Whats Next?
The Hornets are probably not done this offseason. Jannero Pargo, Desmond Mason, and Devin Brown have all expressed interest to continue with the team, and it looks as if the Hornets may keep 1 or 2 of these guys. They still need a true backup at the shooting guard position, and it wouldn’t be surprising if Haluska doesn’t make the squad, so keeping Devin Brown makes the most sense out of those three. The Hornets staff must make a decision; if they do decide to keep Brown, then they can reach into their summer league roster and sign a point guard like Milt Palacio or even Anthony Roberson.

By 808Hornetsfan

Only one player scored double-digits for the Hornets, allowing the Milwaukee Bucks to cruise to a 72-58 win on Thursday night. Lynn Greer scored 15 points for the Bucks, while teammate Damir Markota chipped in 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Not only did the Bucks out-score the Hornets by a 14-point margin, but they shot 46.4% from the field as a team compared to the Hornet’s lowly 29.9%.

Anthony Roberson was able to lead the Hornets with 16 points, but he was basically the only player on the Hornets roster that came to play. Not one other person was able to score more the nine points, leading the coaches to believe that these youngsters may not be prepared to play against much tougher competition in the NBA regular season. Roberson has been, by far, the most productive player for the Hornets thus far in the league. Roberson has averaged 19 ppg in the two games he’s played in.

Second-year big man Hilton Armstrong was dominated in the paint today, only grabbing a mere three rebounds, all of which were on defense. His fellow 2006 first-rounder Cedric Simmons sat out another game and may not return in time to play in the Hornet’s last two games.

Other high-scorers for the Bucks included G Ramon Sessions who chipped in with 11 points, four rebounds and four assists while coming off the bench. C Noel Felix scored eight points and three rebounds and did a tremendous job at preventing the Hornets from getting rebounds. Felix is averaging 12.3 ppg and 4.3 rpg in the Summer League, he’s also shooting 59% from the field.

Tomorrow night the Hornets will take on the Phoenix Suns before playing their final Summer League game on Sunday against the Houston Rockets. After watching three very disappointing games, I’m beginning to wonder if any of our young stars will get a grip on things and start working together as a team. First-round pick Julian Wright is only averaging 7.7 ppg and 6.3 rpg in three starts, while second-round pick Adam Haluska is averaging 4.7 ppg off the bench. If both of these guys want some playing time this season, they better show coach Scott that they’ve earned it… They’re really in a deep hole right now.

By 808HornetsFan
Rookie F Corey Brewer drove to the basket with 12.3 seconds remaining in OT and made the game-clinching layup as the Timberwolves beat the Hornets 85-83 on Monday night. Brewer finished the game with 16 points and eight rebounds, but it was teammate Craig Smith who shot 7-for-10 from the field and scored a game-high 25 points to go along with seven rebounds.

The Hornets team fell to 0-2 thus far in Summer League play, but first-round pick Julian Wright kept New Orleans in the game. Wright hit a three-pointer with 3.8 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to send the game into an extra period. Although he only managed to score 13 points and 11 rebounds, Wright is now confident that he can be a game-changer if given the opportunity.

G Anthony Roberson and F/C Hilton Armstrong did not play in the game. Roberson scored 22 points in Saturday’s loss against the Warriors, while Armstrong chipped in 17 points and five rebounds.

The Hornet’s bench players were able to put up numbers as well. The unit was led by F Anthony Richardson who scored 17 points while grabbing five boards. Veteran F Jackson Vroman, who played for the Hornets from 2005-2006, scored nine points and five rebounds.

Minnesota took a 62-53 lead heading into the final period, but the Hornets dominated by outscoring the Timberwolves 26-18 and pushing the game into OT.

The Hornets will take on the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday, followed by a tough game against the Phoenix Suns on Friday. Although two teams have yet to play a game, the Hornets are tied with Portland and Seattle for the worst record in the tournament so far.

by 808Hornetsfan

Warriors rookie F Marco Belinelli was almost unstoppable, scoring 37 points while leading his team to a 110-102 victory over the Hornets in today’s exhibition game. Belinelli also grabbed five rebounds and dished out two assists, completing a perfect debut for the young rookie from Italy. G Kelenna Azubuike scored 29 points and six rebounds for the Warriors, while fellow G Pierre Pierce had 21 points.

The young Hornets squad struggled to contain the Warrior’s fast-paced offense, and were unable to match them offensively as well. G Anthony Roberson led the Hornets with 22 points, while C Hilton Armstrong scored 17 points and grabbed five boards. The Hornets were without Cedric Simmons, who was unable to play with an ankle injury. There is no word yet on when the second-year forward will be able suit up.

The Hornets went into halftime with a 55-54 lead, but the Warriors fought back in the third quarter and tied the game 82-82 heading into the final quarter. Golden State dominated the final 12 minutes and outscored New Orleans by eight points. The Warrior’s three-point shooting made a big difference down the line, the team shot 11-for-20 from the perimeter.

First-round pick Julian Wright had a disappointing night, only chipping in 10 points for New Orleans. Second-round pick Adam Haluska was able to score six points in 14 minutes of playing time. Both rookies will have to step it up in Monday’s game vs. Minnesota.

Aside from the scoring, the Hornets were also out-rebounded 41-26 in the game. On top of that, the Hornets were only able to grab six offensive rebounds compared to the Warrior’s 18. If these youngsters want to earn a roster spot, they have to be more fundamentally sound in the next four games.