The unofficial label could be “Clipper Envy,” and given that it’s a term that has had little use or relevance before now, the lack of familiarity with it is understandable. But there’s no shame if Hornets fans have it to varying degrees during the playoffs. Today they are relegated to excitedly anticipating the future and potential, as they should. New Orleans isn’t a postseason participant, so hope substitutes for accomplishment and result.

This offseason, there’ll be wads of salary cap cash, and two picks in this year’s NBA draft lottery. Present is a critical foundational block, guard Eric Gordon, who perhaps is ready to sign a long-term deal (though, with his inability to stay healthy, the Hornets have to be careful there).

The franchise has a young, bright, well-respected coach (Monty Williams) who’s considered an up-and-comer in league circles. And it has promising players whose inexperience was crippling this season, but whose vast playing time should accelerate their growth for next season.

Still, there’s no shame in having a twinge of jealousy over the Clippers, as Chris Paul shows he’s just as lethal for them as he was for the Hornets. He’s doing all the things fans grew to love and teammates grew to expect in New Orleans.

Clearly, Paul has been the difference between the Clippers not having advanced to the playoffs or won a series since 2006, and being one win from advancing to the Western Conference semifinals. Los Angeles led Memphis 3-1 in their best-of-seven series entering Wednesday’s game.

In a 101-97 win in overtime Monday, Paul scored eight of his team’s 14 points in the extra period, almost matching Memphis’ 10 by himself. He finished with 27 points, seven assists and nine rebounds.

“He’s been absolutely unbelievable for us this year, and when the game is on the line we’re very comfortable with the ball in his hands,” Clippers General Manager Neil Olshey said.

New Orleans remembers that feeling. Obviously, it hopes to feel it again in the near future.

Now, sure, some Hornets fans might offer that time has allowed everyone to get used to Paul’s departure. And they could add that the adjustment has been made to not hearing the high-pitched, signature, Ric Flair “Whoo!” that pierced the air in the New Orleans Arena when he dazzled with a score or an assist.

And the hard-core minority might continue suggesting that his name never be mentioned again in these parts, given his audacity to leave a rebuilding situation rather than show his loyalty by sticking it out, playing two or three years while the franchise restocked, and hoping it could become championship-caliber while he still possessed the ability to split a double-team and throw a lob.

But wistfulness is allowed after watching CP3 lead Los Angeles to a 99-98 road victory over Memphis in Game 1, when the Clippers overcame the largest deficit in playoff history after three quarters (21 points), largely because he begged Coach Vinny Del Negro to not give up and pull him from the game. He had 14 points, 11 assists and a steal to lead the comeback.

And last Saturday he made sure the Clippers rallied from a five-point hole in the fourth quarter with a steal, jumper and lob dunk to Blake Griffin during the rally. He finished with 24 points, 11 assists and four steals in that 87-86 win.

“He’s just tenacious,” Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay said afterward. “He’s not going to take no for an answer.”

“He has done it all year and his whole career,” Del Negro said. “When the game is on the line he’s as good as there is in the game.”

But that’s pretty much what the Clippers expected when they traded for him, after his trade to the Lakers was blocked.

Paul is the only player in league history to average 20 points and 10 assists in the playoffs — 22.1 and 10.8, to be exact, in 27 postseason games. He averaged 19.8 points, 9.1 assists and a league-leading 2.5 steals during the regular season, when the Clippers went 40-26 and won more games during the lockout-shortened schedule than they did without him last season, when they won 32 in the full, 82-game schedule.

He won’t win the regular-season MVP award. LeBron James has that on lock. But he’ll finish in the top three or four in balloting, be first-team All-NBA and a member of Team USA in the Olympics, and he’ll add a few more All-Star appearances to the four he already has made.

Much of that wouldn’t have happened this season, and couldn’t have happened, if he’d stayed in New Orleans.

Some Hornets fans remain raw because he initiated the trade. They ride the belief that he should’ve stayed with the Hornets come hell or high water.

And, absolutely, he could have stayed in New Orleans, tried to win a championship without any major free agents joining him in the Arena, and lifted his team season after season until his skills eroded and management had the upper hand in negotiations.

Then, the team could’ve controlled his departure and destination, and for some, that would’ve been all right because, well, that’s the way it’s supposed to be.

But elite NBA players, better than any athletes in any sport, have learned how much power they have, and have shown that they’re not afraid to use it.

Hating on the players is a popular response; hating on the rules of the game probably is more appropriate.

Regardless, Paul is flourishing.

The Clippers hardly seem capable of winning a potential second-round playoff series against the Spurs, let alone of winning the Western Conference and playing in the NBA Finals. They’re a flawed team with holes — lack of quality depth, no inside game other than lob dunks, unreliable foul shooting other than Paul — that have to be patched.

But they’re closer to the top than Paul would’ve been had he stayed, and they’re closer because of him. And that can’t be questioned, not even in New Orleans.

For the Hornets, the obvious positive is the franchise has the future to look to. Fans are banking on that future.

But they can be excused for having a touch of Clipper envy in the present, whether they’re willing to admit it or not.

•••••••

John DeShazier can be reached at jdeshazier@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3410.

That’s all the news for today.

Each week, The Times-Picayune’s New Orleans Hornets beat reporters Jimmy Smith and John Reid will take a topic or question and debate or analyze. We encourage and welcome your input on the topic as well.

This week: How important is Eric Gordon to the New Orleans Hornets?

Smith

One stat stands out from this season relating to Eric Gordon. He played nine games. The Hornets were 6-3. In two of the victories, he scored the winning points. 

His defense and his passing ability, I think, were easy to overlook this year because of the brevity of his season. 

But his explosion off the dribble and ability to get into the lane are powerful complements to his outside shooting. He’s the piece around which this team can rebuild, and that reconstruction can be accomplished rather quickly, provided he remains healthy. 

The only question is whether Gordon can be satisfied financially with a contract extension.

Reid

If Gordon hadn’t missed 51 games because of his knee injury, the Hornets would have won between 30 to 35 games instead of 21. 

There is no question about Gordon’s talent. He is a scorer. When your team need a clutch shot down the stretch, Gordon is the guy you get the ball to. Another strength is ability to play both guard spots. 

He can score off drives, so teams cannot just concentrate on defending him on the perimeter. My only question is his durability. He’s been injury prone for the past two seasons. He missed 26 games with the Los Angeles Clippers during the 2010-11 season because of a slow-healing wrist injury. 

He also missed four games because of a sore lower back this season. However, Gordon will become a restricted free agent this summer and the Hornets should match any offer he receives to keep him around regardless of his previous injury problems. He is star you can build a team around. He’s coachable and is a good defender.

What’s your take? How important do you think Gordon is to the team?

What are your opinions.

As we await for the Hornets to be rechristened, I went back to the old days, as far back as 1974, for a headline that read: “NBA Team Nickname Narrowed to Eight.” It accompanied a story that read from the more than 6,500 entries in a contest to name the New Orleans’ NBA franchise, the most popular were: Dukes, Blues, Deltas, Jazz, Crescents, Cajuns, Knights and Pilots.

Within days there was another story that began with: “Tune your trumpet, Al Hirt. Polish your clarinet keys, Pete Fountain. Oil the pedals on your baby grand, Ronnie Kole. It was looked upon here as the dawn of the jazz age in the NBA.”

Suddenly, “New Orleans Jazz” had joined company with names such as the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers.

Because there was a singular ring to the newest NBA nickname, some fans wondered if the “Jazz” had joined the World Football League, which had teams named the Sun, the Fire, the Bell and the Storm.

“I knew everything was going too good with our new team,’’ one critic said. “We sign ‘Pistol’ Pete Maravich, we have a good draft, and we have Mardi Gras colors. Then we burst the bubble with a name like Jazz. What do we call a New Orleans player? A Jazz? What in the heck is a Jazz? I’m disgusted, disillusioned, shocked.’’

On the other side of the fence, there was a different, uh, tune.

“The name will be great for our city and the NBA,’’ Fountain said. “You can’t imagine the publicity it will receive around the country. People will think of New Orleans when they hear the word Jazz.”

Kole, an avid basketball fan, was an active part of the New Orleans Buccaneers (even tickling the ivories during halftime of some games) during the time they played at the Loyola Field House as a member of the American Basketball Association in the late 1960s before moving in 1970 to Memphis, Tenn.

“The name Jazz gives our city a great identification nationally and internationally,’’ Kole said. “It will give tourism here an enormous shot in the arm.’’

Once the nickname became official, all sorts of background information surfaced on how “Jazz’’ supposedly made its debut in newsprint.

One story told of the San Francisco Seals baseball team returning home from training camp in 1913, “full of the old jazz and the promise to knock them off their feet with their playing. What is ‘the jazz?’ Why, it’s a little of that old life, the pep, otherwise known as enthusiasm. A grain of jazz and you feel like eating your way through the Twin Peaks.’’

Others claimed jazz came from the term “jasbo-jazzbo.”

In the early minstrel shows, it’s said, Mr. Jasbo was the dancing cakewalk specialist who strutted to syncopated rhythms. Mr. Jasbo being the dancer, jazzbo became the name of the music.

Is it too much to suggest, one writer said, the word “jasbo” became associated in the latter part of the 19th century to launch the word jazz?

Goes to show you what one little word can do.

It would become a field day for headline writers in the Big Easy: “Jazz Sweet In Victory’’ and “Jazz Hits Sour Note’’ not to mention “A Jazz Funeral: Boston 131, New Orleans 82.’’

Life moves on.

From Jazz … to Hornets … to what …?

Local sports historian Bob Remy likes New Orleans Pride for the Hornets’ makeover.

“I like what the dictionary tells us,’’ Remy said. “That pride is a sense of one’s proper dignity or value, the pleasure or satisfaction taken in one’s work, achievements or possessions. Pride is also ‘a company of lions.’ You could name the mascot NOLA. Your theme song could be ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’ by the Tokens. You could call the Arena the Village. You already have a ready-made bumper sticker: ‘Proud To Call New Orleans Home.’”

Did Remy see any negatives?

“I’m sure you’d have some recalling the New Orleans Pride, the women’s professional basketball team that played here for two seasons, in 1979-81,” he said. “They were coached by Butch van Breda Kolff, who coached the Jazz and later coached the Pride for one season. So what, I say. The Hornets have called New Orleans home for a long time. Hopefully, they’ll be here forever. I vote New Orleans Pride.’’

Thank you, Mr. Remy.

To me, regardless what happens, New Orleans Pride has a far better ring to it than the Utah Jazz.

Gotta run!.

BATON ROUGE — Legislation that would give the NBA’s Hornets a $36.5 million tax rebate over a 10-year period as part of a new deal to keep them in New Orleans cleared a Senate committee Monday after being criticized by opponents as a raid on state funds when dollars are scarce.

The Committee on Revenue and Fiscal Affairs voted 7-2 to keep alive House Bill 1072 by Rep. Cameron Henry, R-Jefferson. The bill now heads to the Senate floor for debate.

“I am thinking we ought to change their names from Hornets to Bandits,” complained Sen. Robert Kostelka, R-Monroe.

Henry said that the team is now getting paid a subsidy from the state for “empty seats” that totals almost $30 million for the next three years as well as the tax credits under the Quality Jobs program.

Henry said a newly negotiated contract bewteen the state and the NBA would end the subsidy for attendance levels and extend the job credits program througjh the Hornets’ 2024 season.

Henry said that granting the tax rebate for the next decade is not that much more than what is paid now.

He said the state has signed an agreement to keep the Hornets in the Arena through 2024 with a five-year renewal option. The team is limited in the bill to no more than a 10-year tax rebate based on the jobs they create and salaries and benefits paid.

The Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget will review the jobs and tax breaks after the first five years to determine if the franchise still qualifies for the rebates.

“This is a piece of the puzzle to keep them here,” Henry said.

He said that a recent study by the University of New Orleans shows that the Hornets generates an annual economic impact of $114 million for the New Orleans area. “This is not a new project; it is a continuation” of what is in place now for another 10 years.

Sen. Robert Adley, R-Benton, said that under terms of the quality jobs act, a business can only get the benefits of the tax break based on salaries for 10 years, and Henry’s bill would extend it to 20 years. Adley said the tax breaks have been in place since 2002 when the team moved to New Orleans from Charlotte.

“It is a 10-year program and we are expanding it for 20 years … and for one entity?” Adley asked. “Correct,” Henry replied.

The team now employs 176 workers from the general manager to sales representatives.

Sen. Rick Gallot, D-Ruston, tried to amend the bill to require the extension of tolls on the Crescent City Connection through 2022 to require the first $3.65 million a year in tolls go to pay the Hornets.

He said the rest of the state should not pay for the team and those who go to the games should. The amendment failed, 2-7.

Voting against the bill were Gallot and Kostelka. Voting for it were Sens. Dale Erdey, R-Livingston; Adley; Sharon Weston Broome, and Yvonne Dorsey-Colomb, both D-Baton Rouge; J.P. Morrell, D-New Orleans; Gary Smith, D-Norco; and John Smith, R-Leesville. Sen. Neal Riser, R-Columbia, who chairs the panel did not vote, and Sen. David Heitmeier, D-Algiers, was absent.

Ed Anderson can be reached at eanderson@timespicayune.com or 225.342.5810.

There is the quick update of the day.

By now, you’ve had a chance to digest the numbers the NBA released last week on the total games missed by individual clubs because of injuries to players. The New Orleans Hornets were second in the league this season with 218 games missed by 11 different players.

And Sunday’s gruesome knee injury sustained by former Hornets guard Baron Davis, the second major knee injury to a New York Knicks players (Iman Shumpert tore his ACL last week in Game 1 vs. the Miami Heat), is just an indication that the NBA’s shortened 66-game schedule might be contributing to players breaking down.

Defending league MVP Derrick Rose tore his ACL in Game 1 of the Chicago Bulls’ playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers and could be out for 10 months. The Hornets, meanwhile, say they’ll be closely monitoring the progress made by center Emeka Okafor from his still-to-be-fully-disclosed knee injury.

The league said 3,353 games were missed this season by 304 players.

Do you think this season’s condensed schedule is a major factor in the number, and severity, of the injuries we’re seeing?

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Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.

The New Orleans Hornets are going to see how much progress Emeka Okafor makes in his recovery from his knee injury this offseason before making any determination about their plans for the seven-year veteran.

The Hornets could decide to use their one-time amnesty clause to waive Okafor to clear more salary-cap space. Okafor, who missed 39 games this season because of knee injury, is owed $28 million over the next two seasons.

When Hornets Coach Monty Williams was asked to address Okafor’s future beyond this summer, he said that he didn’t want to get into it right now.

“He’s in a situation where we got to see where he is as far as his knee,’’ Williams said.“He’s going to play with our young guys this summer, which is pretty good for us. We’ll find out more about Emeka this summer so we can get him back healthy again.’’

Okafor said he expects to be back with the Hornets next season, but said this season was crazy because of the team’s mounting injuries.

“It was crazy all around, injuries were crazy for everybody in the league,’’ Okafor said. “Right now, I’m going to take a little time off before starting things up.’’

That’s all for today.

With the understandable frenzy regarding the loss of a four-time All-Star from the New Orleans Hornets’ roster before the season began – referring, of course to the trade of Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers – the bigger loss was probably the departure of two-time All-Star power forward David West.

West, you will recall, signed as a free-agent with the Indiana Pacers after opting out of the final year of his contract last summer with the Hornets. Coming off a torn anterior cruciate ligament, West was hoping to find a situation where he could win.

Indiana, he figured, was his best fit, and he helped lead the Pacers to a third-seeding in the Eastern Conference playoffs and a 2-1 edge over the Orlando Magic in the current series. West is fully recovered and one of the reasons the Pacers will likely advance to round two.

Paul was a big loss for New Orleans, but West might have been bigger.

What do you think?

If anybody needs tickets to games, remember to click the tickets link at the top.

In the NBA’s Coach of the Year balloting, New Orleans Hornets’ Monty Williams received one second-place vote to finish with three points. San Antonio Spurs’ Gregg Popovich won the award after totaling 467 points, which included 77 first-place votes.

The voting was done from a panel of 119 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the the United States and Canada.

Williams guided the Hornets to 21-45 record despite having an injury-riddled roster. He was forced to use 28 different lineups this season due to injuries.

HERE ARE THE RESULTS:

Coach, Team 1st 2nd 3rd Pts
1.Gregg Popovich, San Antonio 77 24 10 467

2.Tom Thibodeau, Chicago 27 53 21 315

3.Frank Vogel, Indiana 7 27 45 161

4.Lionel Hollins, Memphis 6 3 11 50

5.Doc Rivers, Boston 1 4 9 26

6.Scott Brooks, Oklahoma City 0 2 3 9

7.Tyrone Corbin, Utah 0 1 6 9

8.George Karl, Denver 1 0 2 7

9.Mike Brown, L.A. Lakers 0 1 1 4

10.Stan Van Gundy, Orlando 0 1 1 4

11.Larry Drew, Atlanta 0 0 3 3

12. Monty Williams, New Orleans 0 1 0 3

13.Vinny Del Negro, L.A. Clippers 0 0 2 2

14. Kevin McHale, Houston 0 0 2 2

15.Alvin Gentry, Phoenix 0 0 1 1

My Coach of the Year ballot:

1.Gregg Popovich, San Antonio

2.Tom Thibodeau, Chicago

3.Frank Vogel, Indiana

What are your opinions.

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.

Leave your comments on the news below.

In a random drawing conducted by the NBA, the New Orleans Hornets lost out on a tiebreaker to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday for the third-most chances to win the May 30 lottery for the top overall pick in this June’s draft.

Both teams finished with identical 21-45 records after the regular season ended on Thursday night.

Having lost the tiebreaker, the Hornets now have a 137 chances out of a 1,000 combinations to win the No. 1 overall pick.

The Hornets will have 11 chances out of 1,000 to win the top pick with Minnesota’s unprotected first-round pick they acquired in the December trade with the Los Angeles Clippers for point guard Chris Paul.

The lowest the Hornets’ could pick in the first round is seventh and 13.

Not much else going on in the NBA world today.

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.

Feel free to leave your comments below.

Not much else going on in the NBA world today.

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