Hornets Nest

Paul requires surgery on his foot, but is going to play out the season.

http://www.nola.com/sports/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-29/1174023205188400.xml&coll=1

Whew! At first I thought you were talking about Pierce. But too bad for CP3. :( I don’t like the idea of putting screws in the foot. My dad had screws put it in his foot, never was the same.

Slightly off topic but does anyone know what deal Ainge was considering or pitching to try and get Chris Paul? I forget what was on the table.

lovethecees- I believe the rumor at the time was Pierce to Portland for their pick(paul)and nick van exel’s expiring. Even if the rumored had legs, Pierce stated he would veto a trade and not report to Portland…Anyways, tonight was an embarassing way to lose.

Thanks Truthhurts34…obviously that deal would’ve been a great trade for the Celts. Tonight was ugly. But I’m happy to see them lose. Charlotte is really gunning for a bottom two spot. Okafor will likely shut it down for the season.

big L tonight. we’re a full 4 games ahead of charlotte with 15 to play,,,,so does that put our magic number at 11?

paul with the stress fracture, though putting himself at risk, doesn’t jump much.what a point guard! terrible defense by the c’s and only 7 shots for al. tank you very much.

So why did we lose so miserably? It’s common knowledge that a team needs BOTH an outside and an inside game. Pierce was providing the outside game and Jefferson was contibuting inside. The Hornets countered by doubling Al inside and Pierce outside. That “doubling” always left someone uncovered. Alas, except for Jefferson and Pierce, no one else could find the range.

On inside penetration Chandler/Desmond were so intimidating as shot blockers that all of our guys had difficulty finishing layups.

Lastly, defensive switching proved to be too difficult for us. Offensively, both our second unit and our first unit stopped player movement making ball movement ineffective. When we had shots we couldn’t convert.

To be effective, ball and player movement through the paint need to be in sync. Open shots need to be taken and made else the defense collapses inside suffocating an inside game.

Oden or Durant? One would have to agree that from the standpoint of MATURITY and GAME READINESS, the nod goes to Durant. So why has Oden stayed as the “top” pick on mock drafts?

  An obvious reason is size and the inside intimidation that size provides. Chandler was most effective as a shot blocker which “altered” the way we played inside. It made us ineffective inside to complement our outside ineffectiveness. The worse we played, the more confident the Hornets played and shots fall when confidense soars.

Oden has athleticism and excellent shot blocking presence to complement his tall stature. Because he’s right-handed and played with a right wrist fracture, we still don’t know his true offensive capability.

In any event, it remains a two horse race with the team picking second feeling as fortunate and the team picking first.

On another note, Acie Law, once invisible on mock board charts continues to rise as his exploits and the Teaxas A & M team advances to the sweet 16.

how is it that we didn’t even try to find big al in the post during the second half?
seems to me he was busting his but to beat the double teams and as soon as he was free the ball would swing to the other side.

People will know a lot more about AC Law when he leads his team past Oden’s into the final four.