Highs and Lows: New Orleans Hornets
Chris Paul (photo. Zach Wolfe)NBA training camps are starting soon. In preparation, we’re going team-by-team, from 1 to 30, exploring what each team’s ceiling is for the upcoming season and where their basement is. In other words, what are the realistic best-case and worst-case scenarios for each squad?
Additions: SF James Posey, SG Devin Brown, C Sean Marks.
Losses: PG Jannero Pargo, C/PF Chris Andersen.
Ceiling: NBA championship
Are the Hornets ready to win it all? Last spring N.O. gave a championship-caliber Spurs team (with a healthy Manu Ginobili) all they could handle before bowing out in Game Seven of the conference semis, and over the summer added one missing piece that could very well push them over the hump. In free agent acquisition James Posey, who has played a vital role on two of the NBA’s last three championship teams, the Hornets get experience, clutch shooting, a versatile lock-down defender, and some postseason swagger. Posey isn’t a threat to make an All-Star or an All-Defensive team, and likely won’t even start, but he’s the exact kind of X-factor New Orleans didn’t have in ‘07-08, when the enduring feeling from their playoff run was simply, “They’re not ready yet.” Chris Paul is primed for an MVP season, and at 23 years old is already one of the 3-5 best players in the world. David West legitimized his All-Star status in the playoffs before a back injury hampered him late in the San Antonio series; he’ll be healthy and ready to put up 20-and-10 type numbers. Tyson Chandler is, after Dwight Howard, the game’s premier rebounding/shot-blocking athlete at the five spot, built in the Marcus Camby mode but more durable. And Peja is always dangerous if he’s given a sliver of space to shoot within 28 feet. The Hornets have not only added some postseason experience, they have postseason wins under their collective belt, and going into ‘08-09 are as good as any team in the League.
Basement: Conference semis
Despite their youth, anything less than the Western Conference Finals will — and should — be considered a disappointment for the Hornets. That said, there are some red flags. Is CP going to wear down after playing the longest season of his career, immediately followed by playing for Team USA? Is David West’s back issue going to be a recurring thing? (Ask T-Mac how bad those can get.) Chandler has to develop some kind of offense beyond catching alley-oops, or at least get his free-throw percentage up so he’s not a Hack-a-Shaq liability. Peja played 77 games, plus 12 playoff games last year; what are the odds he can repeat that? In the three seasons prior to last, Peja’s games-played ledger reads 31, 40 and 13. On that note, there are legit concerns about depth. West’s best backup at power forward might be Ryan Bowen. Coach Byron Scott expects big things from second-year pro Julian Wright, but he struggled throughout the summer league. Former off-the-bench spark plug Jannero Pargo signed with a Euroleague team, leaving CP with a reserve PG corps of Devin Brown (a plodding SF in a two-guard’s body) and Mike James (Special Agent “Jack” Malone). Not to mention the Southwest Division is even tougher with Houston’s addition of Ron Artest and the Mavs gunning to make one more run with a new coach and Jason Kidd in place for a whole season. Everything seemed to break perfectly for the Hornets a year ago, but this time they aren’t sneaking up on anyone, and they’re one or two injuries away from falling way short of expectations.
‘08-09 NBA preview archives
9/24 — Atlanta Hawks
9/23 — Sacramento Kings
9/22 — Miami Heat
9/19 — Portland Trail Blazers
9/18 — New Jersey Nets
9/17 — Minnesota Timberwolves
9/16 — Cleveland Cavaliers
9/15 — Phoenix Suns
9/12 — Milwaukee Bucks
9/11 — L.A. Clippers
9/10 — Orlando Magic
September 25th, 2008 at 11:10 am
Blue says:
“Posey isn’t a threat to make an All-Star or an All-Defensive team”
why don’t you think he’d be a threat to make an All-Defensive team? i think his straight up man-to-man d is as tough as anyone in the league’s.
September 25th, 2008 at 11:29 am
JA says:
“Tyson Chandler is, after Dwight Howard, the game’s premier rebounding/shot-blocking athlete at the five spot” … at 1.1/game last season, I think Tyson forgot how to block shots.
September 25th, 2008 at 11:29 am
Pskila says:
Posey is a good defensive player, but he is dirty as all hell..The Celtics are gonna really miss him in the long term. I guess Chris Andersen couldn’t leave that pipe alone…lol.. I think that Jannero Pargo sealed his fate in the playoffs, man did he choke for the money. If Chris Paul doesn’t get injured…the Hornets will definitely have a productive season.
September 25th, 2008 at 11:34 am
yallallreadyknow says:
chris paul is for real and so is david west (who i’ve been telling yall for 3 seasons on this board is ill)…but the rest of the team is a fraud.
they OVERachieved last year.
they have no 2-guard. they need a solid 2-guard who can defend and fill the wing (ala desmond mason). They need some size coming off the bench–and i dont mean a bum like hilton armstrong. after tyson, this team is real small.
and lastly….they need a decent backup veteran pg. just a dude who can play 15 minutes of relief ball and not F anything up. do i hear damon stoudamire?
Posey was a great addition, but they need more. chris paul needs to step up his individual defense too
September 25th, 2008 at 11:49 am
Michorizo says:
If Chris Andersen could control his constant nose bleeds then he would be on the team for sure…the guy could fly high…just never wanted to come down.
September 25th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Kobeef says:
I am interested to see how Julian Wright turns out this year. He is similar to Rudy Gay in size and playing style and seems that he could be a starter.
Peja is so inconsistent you want to kick his ass.
To me – CP3 and Chandler are the heart of this team. West is nice but there are a lot of guys who could play as good as he does with CP3 running the show.
It must be hard for Atlanta fans to watch this team
September 25th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Ian says:
i think they can rank from 3-5 best team in the west (utah and rockets are the other 2 for those spots) but i dont think they can get past the lakers or spurs just yet. if they end up with the 5th seed they could very well be eliminated in the first round by utah , rockets , spurs or lakers.
September 25th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
dagwaller says:
Lol @ Michorizo.
I think that the basement for this team is a little too high. I think that, outside of player development (young stars getting better), the team didn’t go up or down in terms of free agency, while some other teams in the West got better (Portland, Houston, Dallas and Phoenix getting some time with their new guys, LA getting Bynum back, Clippers making some noise?). So while I thnk that they’re going to make the playoffs, a first round exit wouldn’t surprise me.
September 25th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Kobeef says:
@#5…
that is cold
September 25th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Brandon Hoffman says:
@Blue: Because Posey doesn’t play enough minutes to merit an All-Defensive team selection. That won’t change in New Orleans.
September 25th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Mo says:
NOTE: The 31, and 40 games really equaled 71 for Peja. That was the season he was traded from the Kings to the Pacers. He played 31 for Sac and 40 for Indy during that 05-06 season.
September 25th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Michorizo says:
At the start of the season Peja plays good, usually great…but then Peja has Pussyitis when it comes to big games at the end of the season or come playoff time.
September 25th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Blue says:
@Brandon Hoffman…
c’mon, how many more minutes does he need to play. he’s averaging 6 minutes less per game than Bruce Bowen…is that really that significant?
@MiChorizo…
I totally agree man…it’s like his vagina starts growing about mid-season and is in full bloom by the end.
September 25th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Mo says:
If Mo Pete doesn’t play up to par, Scott just might throw Posey in the starting lineup and put Mo on the bench. That would mean more minutes for Posey.
September 25th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Mo says:
Peja didn’t get Pussyitis during these last playoffs. It was just that Bowen was a better defender on Peja than Peja was a shooter.
September 25th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Blue says:
@Mo…
true…you are right about that one. but you gotta admit that it does start to flare up most other seasons.
September 25th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Mo says:
@Blue, LMAO @ “flare up”.
September 25th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
rangerjohn (R.I.P. EVAN TANNER) says:
sorry dime/austin but i cant even read this one because right at the begining you are WRONG WRONG WRONG. the hornets played a hell of a series against a strong spurs team BUT manu was not healthy, he sprianed the infamous ankle in game one against the suns.
September 25th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Austin Burton says:
@ranger — True, but Manu was able to drop 21 ppg in the N.O. series. The ankle clearly bothered him much more in the Lakers series.
September 25th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
rootsradical says:
why was pargo the only hornet playing in their last game of the season last year? i remember paul playing like a bitch and pargo at least making the game interesting. i’ll always respect pargo after what i saw him do in that game.
i like paul’s game as much as the next guy but he needs to prove a little more before he gets heralded as the best pg in the league. at 23, there’s no doubt he’ll do that but he didn’t show much heart in that final game last year.
September 25th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
marcus the great says:
their ceiling is right but the basement is too high, if they get hit with injuries they’re done in the Wild West
September 25th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
rangerjohn (R.I.P. EVAN TANNER) says:
austin
yeah the lakers series he was hurting much worse but then the hornets had crap for a defender on him. the lakers played defense on him much better. with a better defender, manus injury would have shown more i think.
the hornets are a threat this year but they will not get any farther then they did this past season.
September 25th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
yo says:
I gotta agree that new orleans ceiling and basement is a bit high given their depth. if any type of injury thing happened to cp like it did to manu (ginobilli was injured during the regular and post-season) would they even get to/out of the first round?
September 25th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Diego says:
I agree bigtime with first paragraph of post 20. Pargo shined and almost single-handedly won that game. Paul didn’t want the rock.
September 25th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Ian says:
blue
6 minutes is a lotttt
September 25th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
Mark says:
Hornets are able to get into playoffs easily, but injuries is the only concern I would have. Remember ‘06-’07? Yeah you don’t, because everybody slept on us, even last year. Nagging injuries subjugated us out of the playoffs, which could’ve/should’ve been the season back for the ‘chip.
Honestly, this group still doesn’t inspire a championship team (I feel we’re pretty streaky when I can catch the games), but we should get somewhere in the playoffs, unless Robert Horry stays a bitch.
September 26th, 2008 at 1:39 am
jay says:
really?.. their basement is the conference semis???.. i’d say the playoffs, though..