How will Hornets respond to tough loss?
I realize it is a year away and the Hornets will be a slightly different team next year with a few minor tweaks to a solid team in the off season...But, are the Hornets going to get better this summer because of this series with SA or will they lose their edge and take a step backwards?
I am of the opinion that they may not respond well to this thumping by the Spurs in Game 7. They expected to win this series and if wins are hard to come by early in the season next year, look for the emotionally volatile Hornets to implode in a storm of backbiting and fingerpointing. Chandler, West, and even the mighty CP3 let their emotions get the best of them in game 7 and they could have a tough time bouncing back.
That isn't to say that they can't right the ship and have a strong team over the next few seasons. I just think their stock was overvalued and it may take them a while to rebuild their confidence.
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I think they'll take a step back
simply because of injuries, a poor draft position and not alot of depth.
But there’s two words that summarize why I’m glad they didn’t get a ring:
Bonzi Wells.
by Blazerholic on May 20, 2008 5:40 AM PDT 0 recs
Blow up the team!
Losing is obviously unacceptable, and Chris Paul is entirely to blame. I think they should trade him for an expiring contract, a couple of back up point guards and a few second round draft picks. But what team would be willing to do that?!
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by T Darkstar on May 20, 2008 6:34 AM PDT 0 recs
I said this was their window
Obviously it closed.
Next year I see injuries being a problem. Maybe I’m just pessimistic about Peja and the other back issues the players have faced.
Here's to being hated. Come on #1 pick!
by ratbastird on May 20, 2008 7:38 AM PDT 0 recs
I say they're just as good...
I don’t see them getting much better, for the same reasons that have already been given (injuries, etc.), but Paul, West and Chandler are still young, and Peja can never be counted out, especially considering he doesn’t have to do much more than just stand there and eat up what Paul’s penetration dishes out. I also think Pargo is a breakout waiting to happen. Then don’t count out Byron Scott who is, in my opinion, an excellent coach, and only getting better.
I still think NO and LA are going to be Portland’s two main rivals in the west within two or three years. I do think both of those other teams have shorter windows than the Blazers, obviously.
by ChrisB803 on May 20, 2008 8:10 AM PDT 0 recs
Couldn't possibly disagree more on Pargo
I think he’s a useful guy off the bench because he can get hot and score points in bunches but I cringed as NO’s 4th quarter offense turned into a Pargo jump shooting exhibition. He’s a ballhog and not a good team player. Chris Paul needed to get in his face and tell him to start playing team ball.
That said, I think they are going to be terrific again next year. Now that they have some playoff experience, they might not lay an egg in game 7 next year.
Boomshakalaka
by jksnake99 on
May 20, 2008 8:31 AM PDT
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No doubt
Pargo is Pargo, forever more. He doesn’t have another level he could someday reach. He’s a streak shooter who will go off for 30+, or shoot 2 for 13. Useful guy off the bench that you can’t rely on and isn’t really a PG.
He got them back into the game in the 4th, but then he KEPT shooting, shooting, shooting… give that ball up, lil’ fellar!
Mortimer
by Mortimer on
May 21, 2008 5:16 AM PDT
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No idea
why that guy didn’t come out of that game with about three minutes left. He provided a spark for a while but you have to go with the ones that brought you that far, CP, West and Peja, with the season on the line.
PTB Liberation Day - 2/10/04
by tssbro on
May 24, 2008 9:07 AM PDT
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Utah 2007 v. Hornets 2008
An interesting comparison is Utah from last year. Utah reached the 2007 WCF with a young, improving team. Although they reached the WCF partly because of their draw in the playoffs (playing the warriors in the second round), it was reasonable to expect that they would improve enough to reach the WCF again this year. They didn’t. Perhaps they missed Fischer. Perhaps they ran into a tough team. But, I also think they lack the talent to be a championship team. Deron Williams is their only player that can score regardless of who is defending him. Boozer is very good, but he’s not great. He can be held in check by a good defender or gameplan. Everyone else on their roster is a step down from Boozer in talent. A lot of “nice” players (Okur, Milsaps, Korver, etc), but no one that is going to dominate a game.
By contrast, the Hornets have two dominate players in West and Paul. With those two guys, I think they could compete for the title for the next 2-3 years, though the Lakers look like the team to beat.
by PoliSam on May 20, 2008 8:18 AM PDT 0 recs
Utah is an example
... Of what a great COACH can do with decent players. But you’re right, even with Stockton and Malone the Jazz could never win it all, and Boozer is no Malone. The jury is still out on Williams, but he could be better than Stockton when all is said and done.
I still say the Hornets will be about the same next year, but that may be enough to reach the WCF… And if the Spurs, Suns and Mavericks all take a step backward, whose to say they won’t get a chance to snag one championship before their time is over and Portland’s time begins? The Spurs have shown their age this post-season, and the only other Western team I see as a rock solid contender next year is the L*kers… But that’s a topic for another thread.
by ChrisB803 on
May 20, 2008 8:48 AM PDT
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by losing to us in the playoffs, of course.
Seriously, I think their future is muddled at best. They’re a bit strapped salary cap-wise, and they don’t have too many trade chips. That big money they paid Peja is going to hurt them in the long run. It looked good at the time, but he has a history of disappearing in big games, which he showed again last night, and now his contract is going to keep them from acquiring more help.
Beyond that, I just don’t see how Paul, Chandler, and West can get any better. They all had phenomenal years, but doesn’t it seem like they played about as well as they could without more help? Aside from Julian Wright taking a quantum leap in the offseason, I think the Hornets might be at their peak.
You never know what might happen, though (see: Pau Gasol/L*kers).
by bfan on May 20, 2008 8:27 AM PDT 0 recs
Two steps forward, two steps back
One, two, cha-cha-cha!
by MiledAnimal on May 20, 2008 10:52 AM PDT 0 recs
HAHA
Bonzi Wells
HAHAHAHA that’s what they get for allowing him to be included in the trade.
I love CP3 but yea they are gonna be this good no better. West is getting old. Peja,w ell he isn’t young either. Pargo..??? COMMON! LOL
Chandler needs to learn how to stay outa fowl trouble- they are gonna end up like the early 00’s sixers…carried by AI but never really going anywhere.
I disagree about the Lakers, Kobe will start breakin down and is on his way out as a dominating player in every game. He ’s gonna be good regardless but he isnt going to be able to keep the team on his shoulders forever. And, he’s in his 30’s. Look at whats going on w/ Bynum, they wasted this whole season “rehabbing” his knee now , and just now, he’s gonna get surgery. That was not smart.
Sine Labore Nihil- Nothing without work
by BlazerFan1 on May 20, 2008 11:27 AM PDT 0 recs
Chandler gets into fowl trouble?
Someone notify PETA and the SPCA!
by MiledAnimal on
May 20, 2008 1:38 PM PDT
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Hornets have no bench, two scorers in West and Paul
They don’t have salary cap space for the next 3 years. Peja and MoPete are both no shows in the playoffs. Tyson Chandler cannot score. Unless Julian Wright becomes a bonafide starter on a good team, this team has reach it’s peak for the next 3 years. Peja’s contract is going to be their doom.
BINGO, BANGO, BONGO
by blzrfan on May 20, 2008 12:44 PM PDT 0 recs
Good point about Wright
I forgot about him. They have some potential there if he improves.
PTB Liberation Day - 2/10/04
by tssbro on
May 24, 2008 9:11 AM PDT
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You need the experience...
You need the experience The Hornets gained. I see no reason to think they would take a step backwards. I checked out a Hornets forum last night after the loss and was impressed with the over all attitude of the Hornets fans. Most of them while disappointed were solidy optimistic about the future. It did not feel like a fan base that had given up or felt the team needed a major overhaul. The Hornets are fine. I think in the N.B.A. you have to try to constantly improve, which I think The Hornets will, but if they take a step back it won’t be because they aren’t a good team or haven’t improved it might be based on the rest of the pack making gains on them. In either case I think The Hornets responded well to a tough but experience laden loss. It’s tough to swallow if you are a fan but I almost a needed medicine for an up and coming team.
In the next few seasons I’d expect a similar playoff run for The Blazers, unfortunately most often you have to lose a few tough ones before going all the way.
"Mother Nature started this fight, I think it's about time we ended it!"
by Krang on May 20, 2008 12:52 PM PDT 0 recs
Usually I would agree with this
and it will probably be the case that they will be at least as good as this year for a couple more years and longer if they make some good moves as Peja and Mo age. I just have a feeling that tensions are high with them. A few times in the regular season and playoffs, when they were not playing well, they seemed to give into frustration and lash out at each other, the refs, other players etc.
PTB Liberation Day - 2/10/04
by tssbro on
May 24, 2008 9:22 AM PDT
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Good 50 win team for a long while
But I think the Hornets have been sorta overrated because of their newness, and because CP3 blew every’s freakin’ MINDS with how good he played this season.
They just seem like the new Kings or Mavs to me. Good, not great, will win 50-58 games a year, win a round in the playoffs, but not good enough to win it all. If CP3 has another gear in him, he’ll be inducted into the hall of fame at halftime of the allstar game next year. Chandler is all athleticism, and if he doesn’t got any post moves now, he never will. West will continue to be good, but he is what he is too—a perimeter PF who is good but not great. He isn’t as good as Brand, Duncan, Dirk, Amare, and I’d say he’s equal or a lil’ less as good as Boozer (I know Boozer doesn’t defend anyone, and I can’t recall how West is defensively, but Boozer is better offensively).
I don’t mean to sound negative, because they’re a good team and will continue to be so. I just don’t think they’re in a good position to make any big changes for the better, and internally Julian Wright is the only guy who will greatly improve—I think he’ll be a great SF/PF though, if he ever gets a shot he can hit outside of 5 feet.
They’ll keep having the MLE to get better bench players theoritically, but I don’t think George Shinn is the type to go deep into the luxury tax, which is what it’ll require to sign new good role players who want to play for a winner. Their bench is weak, and if it isn’t improved neither will the team’s chances at making the next step to CONTENDER.
We’ll have some great games against them in the future, and unfortunately for them there are too many good teams in the West for them to sneak into the Finals and beat someone from the East.
Who is their GM? I can’t ever remember who runs the team. Maybe he’s a creative type and can make some magic happen.
I’m happy for their fans that they did so well.
Mortimer
by Mortimer on May 21, 2008 5:13 AM PDT 0 recs










