By Wesley O.

This is it, this is what we’ve been waiting for. We will now find out whether or not the Hornets’ 56-win season was a fluke. Ironically, the Hornets are facing a Mavericks team that won 67 games last season but were eliminated early in the first round by the Golden State Warriors. If New Orleans is to advance, they must limit their mistakes and fight until the very last possession each and every night. The Hornets and Mavericks split the season series at two games a piece, and both teams averaged similar team stats throughout the season, but that’s beside the point.

Dallas has much more playoff experience and are built for a title run, while New Orleans is still raw and coming off a shaky finish to the regular season. Now, the Hornets do have some players that have been to the playoffs before such as Peja Stojakovic, Bonzi Wells and Morris Peterson, but the rest of the team has either never made it or have only had limited playing time in the postseason.

Head coach Byron Scott has twice taken a team to the Finals before, and he can certainly do it a third time with this young squad. Still the question remains, will it be the Mavs who prevent the Hornets from advancing to the second round or themselves? My prediction, the Hornets win this series in seven games.

Game 1- 4/19 @NO 7:00 ET (ESPN)
Game 2- 4/22 @NO 7:00 ET (TNT)
Game 3- 4/25 @DAL 8:00 ET (ESPN)
Game 4- 4/27 @DAL 9:30 ET (TNT)
*Game 5- TBA
*Game 6- TBA
*Game 7- TBA

* - If necessary

New Orleans Hornets

G- Chris Paul G- Morris Peterson F- Peja Stojakovic F- David West C- Tyson Chandler

Series Leaders
(Regular Season)
G Chris Paul: 21.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 11.6 APG, 48% FG
F David West: 20.5 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 2.3 APG, 48% FG
F Peja Stojakovic: 16.4 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 43% FG, 44% 3PT

Dallas Mavericks

G- Jason Kidd G- Jerry Stackhouse F- Josh Howard F- Dirk Nowitzki C- Eric Dampier

Series Leaders
(Regular Season)
F Dirk Nowitzki: 23.8 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 3.5 APG, 48% FG
F Josh Howard: 19.9 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 45% FG
G Jason Terry: 15.3 PPG, 3.2 APG, 46% FG

By Wesley O.

Just when you think someone or something is invincible, an event occurs that makes you think twice about it. For the Hornets, losing three of their last four games has people once again questioning whether or not this team can go deep in the playoffs. With two games remaining before the postseason, New Orleans must find a way to regain their confidence while staying healthy for what will be a very rough two-month stretch. To put it simpler, if the slump continues, New Orleans may not even be playing past the first week of playoff action.

You always have to find the good in a bad situation, and the good news for this team is that they may not have such an uphill battle in the first round. The Lakers passed New Orleans in the standings and have gained sole possession of the first seed with one game remaining, meaning if the playoffs were to start today, Los Angeles would have to battle the high-scoring Nuggets while the Hornets would take on a not-so-tough Mavericks team. We all know that experience always conquers, but in this case, Dallas may actually have too much experience if you know what I mean. The Hornets could end up literally running them up and down the floor until they surrender, or puke.

So what would be the best scenario for the Hornets heading into the playoffs? It’s simple, pray for the Spurs to stay behind and for the Lakers to win their matchup with the Kings tonight. Oh yeah, did I mention they must win their next two games as well? So maybe it’s not really that simple, but the Hornets are in perfect position right now to play a much older team who has had trouble beating good teams this season, you can’t risk losing an opportunity like this. If New Orleans gets stuck with a team like Denver or Phoenix in the first round, they could be in deep trouble.

The Week Ahead

vs LAC 4/15 8:00 ET

This should be a bounce-back game for the Hornets, who understand that you won’t survive long in the playoffs if you can’t win easy games like this.

@ DAL 4/16 7:00 ET (ESPN)

By the time this game tips off, the Hornet will most likely know who they’ll be facing in the first round and it will probably be the team they are playing. Whether or not Coach Scott rests his starters is up in the air at this point, but a win against a team that they are likely to face next week would certainly give them a boost of confidence.

By Wesley O.

The Hornets did everything right last week, and clinched themselves their first playoff berth in four years. The crazy week was capped off with an impressive performance against the Warriors on Sunday afternoon, in which Chris Paul led New Orleans with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists, he also had five steals as well. Now CP3 may not be the favorite to take home the MVP Award this year over guys like LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, but he certainly is an MVP in Hornets fan’s minds.

Now, in no way is the regular season finished just yet. New Orleans still needs to hold off the countless other teams in the West who are all vying for that first seed which the Hornets currently occupy. If the Hornets can have another strong week and avoid dropping games, they can possibly keep that first spot come April 19 when the playoffs tip off.

The Week Ahead

vs UTA 4/8 8:00 ET

Another heavy-weight bout between Chris Paul and Deron Williams, this one should be good, but the Jazz have experience on their side and will be playing hard as they look to jump over Los Angeles and San Antonio in the standings.

@ MIN 4/9 8:00 ET

This should be an easy game, Minnesota is on a slump and are no match for the Hornets at this point.

@ LAL 4/11 10:30 ET

This is a potential Western Conference Finals preview if I ever saw one. The Lakers are red hot, the Hornets are red hot, there’s no doubt that both of these teams will try and prove something on this night. The winner could potentially have the first seed locked down, while the loser may slip down the ladder once more.

@ SAC 10:00 ET

The Kings have played well lately, winning four straight games before the Lakers snapped that streak on Sunday night. The Hornets better watch out, this could be a trap game.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Wesley O.

Okay, I’m going to be truthful here. The last time the Hornets won more than 50 games in a season, I was just six years-old. Fast forward to now, the Hornets are only four more victories away from tying the franchise record for most in a season. A blow-out loss to Boston may have delayed this milestone, but a big win on the road in Toronto gave the Hornets their first 50-win season since ‘97-98, and as I said before, I was still a bit too young to be writing articles at the time.

But the season is far from from over and the playoff matchups are far from set at this point. New Orleans currently shares the first seed in the West with San Antonio, but is also trying to hold off teams like Los Angeles(Lakers), Utah and Phoenix who are right at their heels. It will be a tough task to finish the year even in the top three, but crazier things have happened before.

The Week Ahead

@ ORL 4/1 7:00 ET

This one will once again test the Hornets’ ability to win on the road, and the Magic aren’t exactly a soft team. A loss will seriously damage playoff positioning and could potentially drop New Orleans to the third seed.
@ MIA 4/2 7:30 ET

When playing the Heat, you have nothing to worry about. The Celtics began resting their starters just halfway through the first quarter in their recent game against Miami, the Hornets will most likely do the same if they take an early lead.

vs NY 4/4 8:00 ET

Another easy game at home against the Knicks shouldn’t be a problem, expect another victory.

vs GS 4/6 1:00 ET (ABC)

This one has “playoff preview” written all over it. If anything, this matchup against the Warriors will give New Orleans a small taste of the playoff atmosphere, and these teams could also be meeting in the first round later this month so the Hornets will need to prepared. This is only the Hornets’ second game on ABC since 2002 while back in Charlotte.