New Orleans Hornets

Given the injuries and turnover on the roster, the New Orleans Hornets had a number of players this season that even diehard NBA fans had never heard of. Some of these players filled a brief hole and then went right back to the D-League. However, I was particularly impressed with the late season addition of point guard Jerome Dyson.

Will Jerome Dyson realize his dream and become a permanent NBA fixture with the New Orleans Hornets in 2012-13?

Jerome Dyson

Jerome Dyson shouldn’t be intimidated by the bright lights of the NBA since he played for one of the nation’s best college basketball programs. For four years, Dyson played for the UConn Huskies and averaged double figures each year. Jerome Dyson’s best season was his senior year when he averaged 17.2 points and 4.2 assists per game.

D-League

Despite his fine college career, Jerome Dyson went undrafted. So it was on to the D-League. Dyson became an instant sensation with the Tulsa 66ers. Over two years, he averaged 16.6 points per game. Finally, as the 2011-12 season drew to a close, Jerome Dyson got the call he had been waiting for from the New Orleans Hornets.

Defense

Over the Hornets’ final nine games of the season, the thing that impressed me the most about Jerome Dyson was his defense. I loved watching the looks on the faces of NBA veterans going through the motions in April as this 24-year old NBA rookie was covering them like a glove. I know New Orleans coach Monty Williams had to also be impressed.

Fearless

The other aspect of Jerome Dyson’s game that I loved was that he had no fears about driving the lane and taking big shots. I think playing big time basketball in the Big East has really helped this young man. But the question that remains is whether or not Jerome Dyson has done enough to earn a roster spot in New Orleans next year.

2012-13

Regardless of what happens in the NBA Draft, I believe the Hornets will have a new starting point guard next season. However, I think Greivis Vasquez has done enough at point guard and shooting guard to stay in New Orleans. The Hornets must start holding on to their young talent instead of trading it away like they’ve done in past seasons.

I believe Jerome Dyson will find his way on the New Orleans Hornets’ 2012-13 roster because he is the classic substitute. For 10-15 minutes per game, Dyson can infuse energy into the Hornets’ lineup and keep the offense moving. Jerome Dyson can also be a defensive stopper for the Hornets in the second half.

If he can play a bit more under control, Jerome Dyson should be in the NBA for many years to come.

Patrick Michael was born in New Orleans and currently resides in the Big Easy. A loyal New Orleans NBA fan, Patrick was a diehard New Orleans Jazz fan and now cheers for the Hornets. Patrick was in the New Orleans Arena the night the Hornets were one win away from the Western Conference Finals. Follow Patrick Michael on Twitter patmichael84.

Sources

“Jerome Dyson,” sports-reference.com/cbb

“Jerome Dyson,” nba.com/dleague

“Jerome Dyson,” basketball-reference.com

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Former New Orleans Hornets

Needless to say, I won’t be seeing the New Orleans Hornets in the 2012 NBA Playoffs. However, there are a few familiar faces still playing NBA basketball in May of 2012. Many former Hornets players have led their new teams into the NBA Playoffs. Take a closer look at the top five former New Orleans Hornets in the 2012 NBA Playoffs.

5. Darren Collison: Indiana Pacers

When Chris Paul was injured in the 2009-10 season, rookie Darren Collison stepped up and was outstanding. However, the Hornets were engaged in a futile policy of appeasement to Paul and traded Collison to the Pacers. In 2012, he averaged 10.4 points per game and led Indiana to the third seed in the NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs.

4. Baron Davis: New York Knicks

In 2012, Baron Davis has become a journeyman point guard. But 10 years ago, Davis was one of the best point guards in the NBA. In fact, he was an All-Star with the New Orleans Hornets in 2004. This year, Baron Davis played a crucial role in getting the Knicks into the 2012 NBA Playoffs after the sensational Jeremy Lin suffered an injury.

3. David West: Indiana Pacers

Like Collison, David West was not a lottery pick but he nevertheless went on to have a great NBA career. West was always one of my favorite Hornets players in New Orleans for his propensity for hitting game-winning shots and his tough attitude on the court. His scoring is down in 2012, but West can still be a force in the NBA Playoffs.

2. Tyson Chandler: New York Knicks

The New Orleans Hornets sure were wrong about Tyson Chandler. A vital part of the great 2007-08 Hornets team, New Orleans traded Chandler when they thought he had been debilitated by injuries. However, he has since won an NBA title with the Dallas Mavericks and during the 2012 playoffs, was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

1. Chris Paul: Los Angeles Clippers

What can I say about Chris Paul that hasn’t already been said? As a member of the Hornets, Paul led New Orleans to the NBA Playoffs three times and established himself as the greatest active point guard in the NBA. 2012 has seen Paul take his talents to Los Angeles where he has led the woeful Clippers to a rare trip to the NBA Playoffs.

Honorable mention New Orleans Hornets in the 2012 NBA Playoffs

Chris Andersen, Willie Green, Jannero Pargo, Quincy Pondexter, J.R. Smith

Patrick Michael was born in New Orleans and currently resides in the Big Easy. A loyal New Orleans NBA fan, Patrick was a diehard New Orleans Jazz fan and now cheers for the Hornets. Patrick was in the New Orleans Arena the night the Hornets were one win away from the Western Conference Finals.

Source

“NBA Playoffs,” yahoo.com

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HOUSTON — As the events unfolded in the last 12 minutes of the 2011-12 season for the Hornets, it was as if those final moments had played themselves out many times before, almost with mind-numbing regularity.

Here was outmanned, overmatched New Orleans, nine players available, leading the Houston Rockets from the jump, by 17 points at one juncture, with a lineup on the court consisting of three NBA Development League graduates and two still-evolving second-year pros, who this season have taken turns opening eyes and closing them.

With nothing for which to play Thursday night, the Hornets once again were scrappy, but also again faded down the stretch, watching that bountiful lead dissipate under 1-of-16 shooting in the fourth quarter. The Rockets limited New Orleans to six points in the final period in taking an 84-77 win in the season finale for both teams.

The Hornets didn’t trail until 1:18 remained in the fourth, when Marcus Morris hit a 3-pointer from the left baseline to put the Rockets ahead 80-77. The Rockets held the Hornets scoreless in the final 2:37, closing on a 9-0 run.

“I could kind of see it coming,” Hornets Coach Monty Williams said. “The one timeout that messed me up was when I had to call a (first-half) timeout when (Jerome) Dyson got hurt, because I wanted to save one and I knew I wanted to play those guys the rest of the game.

“I could see it coming; I just didn’t have enough timeouts left to help get us a win. But in a way, you get out to a big lead, and they come back. Those guys who were in the game (in the fourth quarter) usually aren’t in that position. They don’t know how to handle that.”

The Hornets’ loss left New Orleans with a 21-45 record, third worst in the NBA, along with the Cleveland Cavaliers, just ahead of Sacramento. The Kings closed with a victory Thursday night at home against the Lakers.

New Orleans closed the season with six wins in the final 10 games, each win diminishing the chances of a higher potential pick in the June 28 draft, when the Hornets will have two lottery choices.

Yet, while unhappy fans filled social media with vitriol after each Hornets victory in the final three weeks, Hornets players, many of whom were auditioning for an NBA future, exhibited a will to win, ignoring the league-wide trend among league lesser-lights of tanking. That earned New Orleans, and Williams, an unexpected dose of respect.

“I get a lot of credit for that,” Williams said, “but I think it’s who these guys are. When you bring in guys who are fighting for an NBA spot, those guys are going to fight every night.

“And then the guys we already had, the Jasons (Smith), the Jarretts (Jack), the Marcos (Belinelli), they set the tone every single day. I think that combination helped it, and our coaches do an extremely good job of making sure they know what I want. I think guys know if they don’t play hard, they’ll sit.”

Dyson sat only briefly against the Rockets. He scored 11 first-quarter points, then crashed hard to the floor midway through the second quarter after being fouled from behind by Houston’s Goran Dragic, forcing the critical timeout to which Williams referred.

Dyson played 41 minutes and finished with 13 points, only two after being roughed up.

“It was a tough one,” Dyson said. “We tried to push through it. We’ve got a lot of people who are injured, so it was a battle. I think we just ran out of gas at the end. The rest of the game, my ankle, my calf, they were bugging me the whole game. I just tried to push through it. It’s just the way the ball was going.”

As it had all year, with regularity.

•••••••

Jimmy Smith can be reached at jsmith@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3814.

HOUSTON, Texas — Houston Rockets lottery pick Marcus Morris didn’t have the type of rookie season he had hoped for. The former Kansas star was able to end his disappointing year on a high note after hitting the go-ahead 3-pointer in Houston’s 84-77 victory over the New Orleans Hornets on Thursday night in the season finale for both teams.

Chase Budinger scored a season-high 27 points for the Rockets.

“I thought Marcus played better,” Houston coach Kevin McHale said. “I just think he’s going to get better. It was just a rough situation with him not getting to play much. I like him and I think he’s got a chance to help us.”

Morris, who spent time in the NBA’s D-League, appeared in just 16 games and averaged 2.1 points for the Rockets this season.

“It was fun to go out there and play a little bit,” said Morris, who finished with seven points, five rebounds, a block and a steal in about 21 minutes. “This was a big learning experience. I didn’t get to play much this year. I’ve got to work hard in the offseason and make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

The Hornets closed the season in last place in the Southwest Division but finished strong, winning eight of their last 13 games. That was little consolation to New Orleans, which was in the playoffs last season.

“I told our guys: ‘If you feel relieved right now, then you’re not the kind of guys that I want to be around,’” coach Monty Williams said. “I really enjoyed being in the playoffs last year. It’s a little tough right now.”

Houston finished one spot above New Orleans in the standings with a 34-32 record after a late-season collapse that cost the team a playoff spot.

“There’s no way we shouldn’t be in the playoffs this weekend, but we’re not,” McHale said. “That’s the bottom line.”

The Hornets were led by Jerome Dyson, who had 15 points, and Darryl Watkins, who added 13. Watkins also had three steals to set career highs in both points and steals.

Samuel Dalembert had 11 points and 11 rebounds for Houston, and Courtney Lee had 10 points.

Houston took an 80-77 lead — its first of the game — on the 3-pointer by Morris with 1:18 remaining. A dunk by Budinger had tied it about a minute earlier.

Greg Smith had a follow dunk after the 3-pointer by Morris to push the lead to 82-77 and Goran Dragic added a pair of free throws after a missed 3 by Greivis Vasquez.

The Rockets started the fourth quarter strong, scoring the first eight points to tie the game at 71 with about seven minutes left. The Hornets missed six shots and had three turnovers in that stretch.

Houston opened the second half with a 14-5 run, which included seven straight points from Lee, to tie it at 47-all with 8 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter. Lee and Budinger both hit 3s in that span to help the Rockets.

The Hornets answered with an 11-3 spurt to get back on top 58-50 about three minutes later. Budinger scored Houston’s next six points, while New Orleans managed only a basket, to close the gap to four points. But Thomas got hot for the Hornets soon after that, scoring six straight points to make it 68-59 with about two minutes left in the quarter.

A 3-pointer by Vasquez as time expired in the third quarter left New Orleans ahead 71-63 entering the fourth quarter.

New Orleans scored the first nine points of the second quarter to extend its lead to 29-12. The Rockets finally got their offense going after that and had cut the lead to 42-33 at halftime.

The Hornets led 20-12 after the first quarter behind 11 points from Dyson. Houston’s 12 first-quarter points and the 33 the team had at the half were both season lows.

Their 26.7 percent first-half field goal percentage was also a season worst.

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The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of New Orleans Net LLC.

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The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of New Orleans Net LLC.

Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Contact interactivity management.

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© 2012 New Orleans Net LLC. All rights reserved (About Us).
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of New Orleans Net LLC.

Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Contact interactivity management.

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The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of New Orleans Net LLC.

Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Contact interactivity management.

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In honor of our culinary heritage and restaurant critic Brett Anderson, I would like to suggest these new names for the Hornets: the New Orleans Crescents, the New Orleans JAM-balaya (or just JAM) and the New Orleans Poor Boys.

Stephen Hellman

Houma

© 2012 New Orleans Net LLC. All rights reserved (About Us).
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of New Orleans Net LLC.

Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Contact interactivity management.

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© 2012 New Orleans Net LLC. All rights reserved (About Us).
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of New Orleans Net LLC.

Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Contact interactivity management.

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© 2012 New Orleans Net LLC. All rights reserved (About Us).
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of New Orleans Net LLC.

Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Contact interactivity management.

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NEW ORLEANS (AP) Jason Smith scored 22 points, hitting 10 of 12 shots, to lead the New Orleans Hornets to a 105-96 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night.

Marco Belinelli added 21 points and Greivis Vasquez 15 for New Orleans, which shot 55.9 percent (38 of 68) and surged ahead for good with an 18-3 run in the third quarter.

Marcus Thornton led all scorers with 25 points and Tyreke Evans added 19 points for the Kings, who have lost six straight.

DeMarcus Cousins had early foul trouble and played only 20 minutes, missing nine of his 12 shots.

Reserve guard Xavier Henry scored 14 points, while Chris Kaman grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked three shots for the Hornets, who have won two of three.

Sacramento led 59-53 after Jason Thompson’s three-point play on a layup as he was fouled, but then managed only one basket during a span of more than five minutes while the Hornets made their decisive run.

Kaman’s 15-foot fade started the spurt, during which he added a basket from inside. Vasquez hit a pair of jumpers, Henry converted a steal into a breakaway dunk and Belinelli hit one of his three 3s as the Hornets built a 71-62 lead.

New Orleans’ lead reached 11 when Vasquez’s 3 made it 79-68 late in the period and got as large as 12 early in the fourth quarter when Gustavo Ayon tipped in Carl Landry’s missed free throw as he was fouled, then hit his free throw for a three-point play that made it 84-72

The Kings pulled back as close as 94-90 when Evans’ jumper capped an 8-2 spurt, but Vasquez hit a jumper and Belinelli found Kaman cutting to the basket for a layup to give New Orleans enough of a cushion to hold on.

Thompson scored 18 points and Terrence Williams added 16 for the Kings, who shot 43.4 percent and were hurt by missing 15 of 22 shots they attempted from 3-point range. New Orleans outrebounded Sacramento 44-37.

Thornton, a former LSU star and Hornets player, had 13 of his points in the first quarter, when Sacramento took its largest lead at 29-20.

New Orleans erased its deficit early in the second period and Belinelli’s 3 gave the Hornets a 50-49 lead at halftime.

Notes: Hornets G Jerome Dyson made his debut, one day after being signed to a 10-day contract. The rookie out of Connecticut was the 21st player to appear in a game for the injury-riddled Hornets this season. He had 3 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds and a steal in 23-plus minutes. …. Hornets G Eric Gordon missed his second straight game with a back injury that forced him out of last Saturday’s victory over Minnesota. … Thornton scored 20 or more in three of his four games against New Orleans this season. … Cousins, who had seven points, failed to reach double figures in scoring for only 10th time this season.