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.

By Wesley O.

Do you hear that sound? Do you hear that buzzing noise? That’s the sound of the Hornets making their way into the NBA Playoffs. It’s been all but four years since the Bees were last on this national stage, but that was a whole different team with a whole different attitude. The Hornets are no longer the oldest team in the NBA with nowhere to go but down, it’s now the exact opposite. The Big Easy is now represented by young studs who continue to “wow” the fans night after night, home or on the road.

So how did this happen? How does a team go from 18-64 to leading the Western Conference with a 49-21 record? It’s not luck, but patience. In today’s NBA, team’s use the term “quick-fix” to the fullest, trading for star players who can instantly turn around an entire organization and take them to the promise land, but at a high cost. The Hornets avoided this strategy and went with a more subtle approach. They didn’t try and trade for big-name superstars, they didn’t go out and throw cash around at high-price free agents, they simply waited for the right opportunity. That opportunity came the day general manager Jeff Bower selected former Wake Forest point guard Chris Paul with the fourth overall selection in the 2005 NBA Draft. From that point on, it was smooth sailing.

The next task was finding a complement to Paul’s superstar abilities. Once again, they didn’t try to make any big trades, they wanted someone in-house to step up. That man turned out to be David West, who was relatively unknown by many fans and scouts even after being drafted 18th overall back in ‘03. West showed swagger, the type of swagger that says, “I’m out to prove all you guys wrong. You guys should have never let me slip past your fingertips.”

No one even considered the Hornets to win more than 20 games at the start of the ‘05-06 season, but Paul’s leadership and West’s clutch shooting brought the Hornets up from the cellar and into playoff contention. What else could this team possibly do to get better without spending a bunch of cash. It was an inevitability, and the Hornets did have to dig deep in their pockets to acquire and sign forward Peja Stojakovic in the ‘06 offseason. And then another opportunity came along, and the Hornets didn’t hesitate to take it. A late-June trade sent J.R. Smith and veteran P.J. Brown to Chicago in return for unproven and unpopular center Tyson Chandler, it ended up being the steal of the offseason for New Orleans. Although ‘06-07 was filled with numerous injuries and disappointments, expectations became even higher.

And so here we are, exactly four years after Dwyane Wade made the game-winning shot against the Hornets in Game 1 of the ‘04 East Quarterfinals series that began the downfall of this unlucky, yet lucky team. Notice there was not one mention of Hurricane Katrina, it just adds to the fact that nothing was going right for this team at one point.

No matter who they face in the playoffs, the Hornets have already proven that success in the NBA does not come easily nor quickly, you have to be patient. And so the miracle season continues for the Buzzin’ Bees, what amazing performances and miraculous comebacks will we see next? With 12 games remaining in the regular season, anything is possible.

Hornets off to quick start
By 808Hornetsfan

Once again, the Hornets find themselves off to a 4-0 start, but we all know how quickly things can change in the NBA. It seemed like one by one, the Hornets lost key players that were supposed to lead the team into the postseason in ‘06-07 thanks to some harsh injuries, but this year looks different. Led by third-year superstar Chris Paul, who is averaging career-highs of 18.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg and 12.5 apg, the Hornets are doing all the right things.

Let me break down how things are going for the starting five… CP3 is putting up 18, 4 and 12 a game, David West is putting up 17 and 7 a game, Peja Stojakovic is putting up 19 per game, Tyson Chandler is putting up 11 and 12 a game, and recently-acquired guard Morris Peterson is putting up nearly 10 per game.

If those stats aren’t eye-popping enough, Paul dished out a franchise-high 21 assists last night against the Lakers! If this hot streak continues, the Hornets can find themselves right in the middle of the playoff race, but there is still 78 games left to play, and things are definitely going to get a bit tougher this week.

New Orleans will take on the Blazers before traveling back home to take on the Spurs, a team the Hornets have not beaten since December of 2005. A two-game road trip to New Jersey and Philadelphia will cap off the rest of the week, so if anything, this team needs to stay aggressive and stay focused. That does it for this little report, have a good week Hornets fans!

Noballer08

After a 4-0 start, the New Orleans Hornets are making waves in the NBA. With this start, the team ties their franchise record set last season in OKC. Let’s breakdown my impressions about the team and its success.

Three Point Shooting
Our play in this area is a huge part of why we are doing so well. Peja has hit 19 threes already (10 against the Lakers) and is shooting them at a 50% clip along with Rasual Butler. Mo-Pete has had his share of daggers as well along with Bobby Jackson, but I’d like to see them both do better in terms of percentage converted.

Chris Paul
21 assists against the Lakers is just a live reminder of how good this guy is. He’s coming up, and it won’t be long before he is recognized as a top 3 point guard if he isn’t already. He is the reason why this offense has been knocking down shots and scoring so efficiently.

Morris Peterson
He’s doing EXACTLY what I expected him to do- be a good role player at the two. He’s playing good defense and driving to the basket when needed. He could stand to hit more of his open threes, but he has never been a very efficient three point shooter.

Peja Stojakovic
10 threes versus the Lakers says it all- Peja is back. If he stays healthy and gives us games that are at least HALF as good, we can contend.

David West
He looks like a better shooter than he was last season, and has even hit 3 of 4 three point attempts. He started off cold, even from the free-throw line, but it looks like he has gotten it together.

Tyson Chandler
Him and Paul are completely meshing and he is still doing his job rebounding and blocking shots. He is also staying out of foul trouble, which is a good sign compared to last season.

Melvin Ely
I gotta say, sometimes I’m not too pleased with this guy at all. Scott brought him in to score, and he’s not doing that. Even if he only plays 15 minutes per game, the shots he takes gets frustrating at times because he LOVES to force it. At least he is rebounding.

Hilton Armstrong
Scott needs to give him more minutes. From preseason to now he has been playing quite well with the time he is given, and he is starting to step up his rebounding/defense.

Julian Wright
From the few minutes he has played so far he is looking pretty good. He isn’t forcing anything and has converted on all three shots he has attempted. It’s going to be hard taking away minutes from Rasual Butler, but this is how he has to play in order to win Scott’s favor.

Rasual Butler
Scott told him that he can be the Sixth Man of the Year if he applied himself, and it looks like Butler wants to go for that prize. He’s come out looking very good and has been wet from three-point range. I see the Rasual of the Heat coming out in him finally.

by 808Hornetsfan

If there was any time to be optimistic about this upcoming Hornets season, it’s definitely right now. Of course, the team is returning to the city of New Orleans for a full season since ‘04-05, and the entire organization is ready to do everything in their power to re-build and give back to the community. The highlight of that plan will be the 2008 NBA All-Star Game, in which superstars from all over the country will be gathering on one special weekend to give back to this once proud city. This will sure be one of the most memorable events this area has seen in a long time, and emotions will be running high.

The NBA unveiled the 2008 All-Star Game logo earlier this week, and boy does it look beautiful:

If this isn’t big news for Hornets fans across the U.S., then this next announcement will definitely blow you away. 2K Sports announced today that Hornets star point gaurd Chris Paul will be the cover athlete for NBA 2K8! Why is this big news?? Well, name one athlete in Hornets history that’s had the honor of being on the cover of a major sports game, that’s right, no one. In fact, not one player from the New Orleans Saints has ever graced the cover of Madden, yeah that includes Reggie Bush.

Not only will I be buying NBA 2K8 the day it ships out, but I may in fact buy the official poster so that I can show my grandchildren someday that there once a famous Hornets player that earned the right to be on the cover over many other great NBA players. I just hope I’ll be around long enough to throw this in people’s faces when they’re asking me “You’re a Hornets fan?? When have they ever had a decent player?? They suck!”.

I can’t think of a better storyline for next season other than the Hornets making the playoffs for the first time since 2004, and playing in front of thousands of fans at New Orleans Arena for a home playoff game, it doesn’t get much better than that. Congrats to Chris Paul and the city of New Orleans, this is our year!!

by 808Hornetsfan

Both teams put on quite a show on Sunday night, but the Rockets made enough big plays to hold off the surging Hornets in the fourth quarter. With a 72-61 lead entering the final period, the Rockets looked as though they had secured the win, but New Orleans went on to out-score Houston 32-26, but came up short and received their fifth loss of the tournament. Although expectations are still high for the Hornets next season, things look bleak for some of the young prodigies looking to earn a roster spot.

Aaron Brooks led the Rockets with 19 points and four assists. Many believed that Brooks would never become a complete PG in the NBA, but his Summer League averages of 21.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg and 5.2 apg seem to prove otherwise. With not much standing in his way, Brooks could end up starting for the Rockets at PG and become the steal of the 2007 Draft. Other high-scorers for Houston were Steve Novak who had 15 points on the night, Andre Emmett who had 14 points, five rebounds and four assists, and Mike Harris who chipped in with 12 points.

It was no surprise that Anthony Roberson had a big night, scoring 17 points. Roberson finishes with averages of 19.5 ppg and 3.0 rpg in four games. The 6-2 rookie PG out of Florida is the favorite to earn the role as the team’s third option at PG, that is if New Orleans doesn’t sign a veteran free agent. Another surprise for the Hornets was forward Anthony Richardson who had his best game of the tournament with 19 points and five rebounds while coming off the bench. Richardson averaged 14 and 3 in five games including one start.

It was not a good night for Julian Wright however, who failed do anything other than score six points and five rebounds. Second-round pick Adam Haluska had been in Wright’s same situation up until Sunday night, when he broke out of his shooting slump and scored 15 points while shooting 6-for-8 from the field. Haluska also made three three-pointers. Both Haluska and Wright did not impress many at all during the Summer League, but they now know that it will be much harder to earn playing time with guys like Anthony Richardson and Anthony Roberson working twice as hard to get there.

Hilton Armstrong had another solid performance, finally getting a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Armstrong also had two blocks in the game. Averaging 15 and 5 a game was enough for Armstrong to secure a backup spot behind Tyson Chandler, but once again, at any moment he could be replaced by a more experienced free agent veteran.

Only two teams finished winless in the 2007 Summer League, unfortunately New Orleans was one of those teams. The Hornets tied with Seattle for the worst record, going 0-5. I have to say I’m not pleased with this at all, but hey, as long as this isn’t the regular season… I’ll be fine.

In other news, Knicks guard Nate Robinson took home the League MVP award after scoring 24 points on Sunday night to defeat the Nuggets 116-108. Robinson averaged 19.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg and 6.0 apg while shooting 48% from the field. He also was the main reason the Knicks went undefeated in the Summer League, tying with Dallas for the best record at 5-0. Tomorrow we’ll recap the entire 2007 Summer League and give you our take on what’s to come for these young Hornet hopefuls.

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.