[Golden State Warriors] 6-12 - [Major Changes in Lineup]

[RKO]

Well, hello everyone! I have decided to start a Hornets Association for the 2008/09 NBA Season. I have not yet decided if It will continue onto the next but we will see. I will play every game and have a recap for every game, maybe sometimes sim the game and just input the results onto the forum. There will be brief writing as well so sit back and enjoy!



Team: New Orleans Hornets
Rosters: As of Jan. 27th 2009
Game Sliders: My Own
Season Length: 82 Games
Playoff Format: 7-7-7-7
Quarter Length: 8 Minutes
Sim Quarter Length: 12 Minutes

ROSTER
C: Tyson Chandler // Hilton Armstrong
F: David West // Sean Marks
F: Caron Butler // James Posey // Jerry Stackhouse
G: Rasual Butler // Morris Peterson // Antoine Wright
G: Chris Paul // Antonio Daniels

IR: Anthony Tolliver, Ryan Bowen, Melvin Ely

[hova-]

Good luck with this one. The Hornets are a nice team to play with. Definitely a contender.

[RKO]

October 27, 2008
Can Chris Paul repeat his MVP-worthy 2007-08 season?

New Orleans, LA --- Chris Paul, one of the best if not the best point guard in the NBA today finished his 2007-08 season in a manly fashion. The 4th year guard out of Wake Forest averaged 21 points per game, 11.6 assists per game and 2.7 steals per game and finished second behind Kobe Bryant for the Most Valuable Player Award. Critics are wondering if they will see the same Paul from last season and have the Hornets contend for the NBA Title.

His teammates think so. "Chris is our leader, he has emerged as one of the best players in the league and there is nothing else that I have to say about him" David West said, the 6 year pro out of Xavier. "I've struggled the first couple of years when I came into the NBA, but he has been perfect every year so far" West added. He had a career year averaging 20.6 points and 8.9 rebounds last season. The Hornets have their key players returning this season including Tyson Chandler and Peja Stojakovic who have helped Paul and West be one of the best teams in the Western Conference last season and losing to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals. "We will use that loss as motivation this season" Paul said. "I hate losing, and when you lose a Game 7 in the playoffs there is nothing else you are going to be thinking about for the next couple of months".

Hornets, who have added James Posey, an NBA Champion who has won NBA Championships with the Miami Heat in 2006 and with the Boston Celtics last season is a great addition to the team. He brings playoff experience and is a solid perimeter defender. The Hornets will open their 2008-09 NBA season Wednesday when they visit the Golden State Warriors.

[RKO]

Good luck with this one. The Hornets are a nice team to play with. Definitely a contender.

Thanks, and any other comments would b appreciated because I want this to last and if people recommend something I will consider it to make it better.

Recap of my season opener with the Warriors will be the next update.

[StupidBoy]

IR: Anthony Tolliver, Ryan Bowen, Sean Marks

Oh well, you just lost a reader in The X
Nice start, I hope you can make CP3 a true MVP. Good luck

[Fresh8]

Yeah, put Sean Marks in your bench or you lose me too.

[RKO]

IR: Anthony Tolliver, Ryan Bowen, Sean Marks

Oh well, you just lost a reader in The X
Nice start, I hope you can make CP3 a true MVP. Good luck

LOL, I'll try my best. Thanks.

Yeah, put Sean Marks in your bench or you lose me too.

Didn't know he has all these fans, I'll try.

[RKO]

October 29th, 2008
New Orleans Hornets (103) @ (97) Golden State Warriors
Paul's heroics save the Hornets

Oakland, CA (AP) --- Chris Paul drove for the go-ahead layup with 13.7 seconds left and finished with 26 points, 13 assists and 6 steals in the New Orleans Hornets' perilous 103-97 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.

New Orleans stayed perfect from the charity strike in the fourth quarter despite falling apart down the stretch against Golden State in the third quarter. After West's jumper gave the Hornets a five-point lead with 6:47 left, they went nearly three minutes between points while the Warriors went ahead 95-94 on a jumper by Jamal Crawford, who had 26 points in his Golden State debut.

Paul put the Hornets back ahead twice in the final 65 seconds, including his driving layup through the heart of Golden State's defense. David West led New Orleans with 29 points and 10 rebounds, while Tyson Chandler added 20 and 10. Stojakovic had 14 points and 5 rebounds.

"This was a good game for us" Byron Scott added. "It is very tough to win on the road in the NBA, especially when you play a team like Golden State, it's very loud and live every time you play here." Stephen Jackson had 26 points, 9 assists and 4 rebounds. Corey Maggette had 10 in his Golden State debut and Biedrins added 9 points and 14 rebounds. The Hornets will be on the road again tomorrow when they visit the Phoenix Suns.

Next Game: Take Your Pick!
New Orleans Hornets (1-0) @ Phoenix Suns (1-0)

[kibaxx7]

Nice read and great game by Paul, good luck against Phoenix

[RKO]

Nice read and great game by Paul, good luck against Phoenix

Thanks.

[RKO]

October 30th, 2008
New Orleans Hornets (88) @ (114) Phoenix Suns
J Rich, Suns Crush Hornets

Phoenix, AZ (AP) --- Jason Richardson had 38 points, including 5-8 from downtown and the Phoenix Suns held off a rally, then pulled away to beat New Orleans 114-88 Thursday night.

The Suns, who never trailed, improved to 2-0 on the season including a season-opening victory at San Antonio.

Goran Dragic added 18 and Leandro Barbosa 17 for Phoenix. Stoudemire had 12 points and 12 boards, repectively. Also Nash had a double double with 13 points and 12 assists as the Suns beat Hornets for the first time in the last 5 games. They were 0-4 against the Hornets last season.

Chris Paul had 23 points, eight assists and six steals who got ejected at the beginning of the 4th quarter upon receiving his 2nd technical. David West added 20 points and 6 rebounds for New Orleans. Julian Wright had a career high 19 points off the bench, most of them came in the 4th when the game was already decided.

The Hornets made 1-of-7 shots and committed seven turnovers in an ugly first seven minutes of the second quarter. The Suns, meanwhile, built a 49-33 lead when Tyson Chandler was called for goaltending on Richardson's shot with three minutes left in the half. The Hornets got no closer than 10 in the third quarter and were down by 16 entering the fourth. Hornets will try to get back on the winning track when they face the Cleveland Cavaliers in New Orleans for their home opener.

Next Game: Take Your Pick!
Cleveland Cavaliers (1-1) @ New Orleans Hornets (1-1)

[The X]

Marks is a little underrated in the game as he has a pretty good midrange shot & can occasionally hit the 3-ball....unfortunately he's been buried at end of Spurs' & Suns' bench the last 5 or 6 years, so nobody except the diehards know this

as they said, activate Marks....he's better then Ely anyways

[RKO]

Marks is a little underrated in the game as he has a pretty good midrange shot & can occasionally hit the 3-ball....unfortunately he's been buried at end of Spurs' & Suns' bench the last 5 or 6 years, so nobody except the diehards know this

as they said, activate Marks....he's better then Ely anyways

I'll make sure I activate him for the next game.

[RKO]

October 31st, 2008
Trade Rumors

Could the Hornets be looking to move Peja? --- New Orleans, LA (AP) --- The Hornets could be looking to move Peja Stojakovic down the road. Peja is more of a pop up/off screen-shooter but they might be looking for someone that can help Chris Paul in the back court. Or to have someone in the post to help out David West scoring wise. They have realized from their game yesterday that they need more scorers. Peja is exactly that but Coach Scott wants something more efficient. A move could be coming soon.

Nowitzki-Howard Duo Not Functioning --- Dallas, TX (AP) --- It has been seen for the last couple of seasons that the Mavs can't get over the top with Dirk being the leader and having Howard as his sidekick. A big trade could be coming to Dallas to shake things up. We asked the Coach of the Mavericks and see what he thinks. "To tell you the truth, I really don't know, it's not up to me to make the trade, its up to the guys in the front office and Cuban". Whatever they do, hopefully it works out the best for the organization, he added.

Wallace Demanded a Trade Out of Charlotte? --- Charlotte. NC (AP) --- Rumors are swirling around the Bobcats Office that the 7 year forward out of Alabama told his teammates that he doesn't want to play for the Bobcats anymore. "Whenever we have practice, it doesn't matter if we win or lose he keeps saying I'm out of here, [profane] this, [profane] that" an unknown player on the Bobcats said. We don't know if this is true or not but the Bobcats are struggling and a major shake-up could be coming soon.

[kibaxx7]

Gerald Wallace would make a great addition to your team. Hey, I know it's PS3, but no way of posting some pics? Maybe a camera cellphone? Hehe

[RKO]

Gerald Wallace would make a great addition to your team. Hey, I know it's PS3, but no way of posting some pics? Maybe a camera cellphone? Hehe

Yeah I know...I was actually going to take some pictures with my camera but haven't done so. I think they should turn out to be good because the TV in my living room is a flat screen and it's like 40+ inches so the picture should turn out good plus its HD so we'll see. I might do this from time to time because I usually play the games in my room and the TV is from the late 90's...presentation doesn't bother me but pictures might not actually turn out to be very good.

[RKO]

November 1st, 2008
Cleveland Cavaliers (98) @ (97) New Orleans Hornets
Cavs Win a Nail Bitter

New Orleans, LA (AP) --- Chris Paul had an overflow crowd on its feet before he'd even removed his warmups, showing off his Olympic gold medal during the pregame ceremonies for the Hornets' home opener.

Paul had 34 points, 12 assists, and 6 steals making it for the 3rd straight time that he had 6 steals in a game and New Orleans lost their season opener to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

David West added 14 points for New Orleans (1-2) and Chandler scored 12 to go with his 14 rebound performance. Stojakovic had 12 points on 4-14 shooting from the field including a poor 2-9 from downtown. "He has been taking bad shots the last few games" Coach Scott said. "You can't shoot no matter who you are if you got a defender like LeBron James all over you" Scott added. Peja was 0-6 when LeBron guarded him.

LeBron James led Cleveland with 29 points and 6 assists, while Maurice Williams finished with 23 points and 8 assists. Daniel Gibson scored 19 points for the Cavs. Varejao added 14.

The game went back and forth with Paul leading his team and with the King answering his points. Paul's free throws kept the Hornets in the game who finished 14-15 from the charity strike. Cavs led 95-94 with 28 seconds to play in the 4th and with the possession. Cavs took their time, the ball was in LeBron's hands who got doubled which left Gibson wide open for the three, who made it. Hornets took the next possession after the time out and very quickly got a three pointer from Mo Pete. Score was 98-97 but with 2.3 seconds remaining in the game. The ball was in bounded and thrown in the air by LeBron James which sealed their win.

"In the NBA and especially in this Western Conference, every win you get is very valuable,'' Paul said. "At the end of the year, we're going to look back on these losses and say, 'Man, we could have won that one." But victories have to come from a total team effort, not just one or two players trying to keep the team together, he added.

The Hornets, who don't play again until Wednesday have a lot of work to do in practice Coach Byron Scott said. "We have to make sure we go over our defense as the main part and then get in some shooting because our shooting percentage was horrible these past 2 games". New Orleans will face the Atlanta Hawks, Wednesday.

Next Game: Take Your Pick!
Atlanta Hawks @ New Orleans Hornets

[RKO]

November 3rd, 2008
Trade Report
Blockbuster: 3 Team Trade Finalized


Caron Butler, Josh Howard, Peja Stojakovic will all be switching teams.

Washington, DC (AP) --- This Monday started off busy with a 3 Team trade that involved Washington Wizards' Caron Butler, Dallas Mavericks' Josh Howard and New Orleans Hornets' Peja Stojakovic. 7 Other Players were involved including Julian Wright, Brendan Haywood and Jerry Stackhouse.

The Hornets have decided to send Peja Stojakovic, Devin Brown and their 2010 1st Round Pick to Dallas and Julian Wright to the Wizards. The Mavericks decided to trade Josh Howard and Matt Carroll to the Wizards and Jerry Stackhouse and Antoine Wright to the Hornets. The Wizards sent Caron Butler to the Hornets, and they sent Brendan Haywood, Darious Songaila and their 2009 2nd Round Pick to the Mavericks.

OUTLOOK OF THE TRADE

Hornets Receive:
Caron Butler
Jerry Stackhouse
Antoine Wright

Mavericks Receive:
Peja Stojakovic
Devin Brown
Brendan Haywood
Darious Songaila
2009 2nd Round Pick (WAS)
2010 1st Round Pick (NO)

Wizards Receive:
Josh Howard
Julian Wright
Matt Carroll

"We're very happy with this trade, now we got some deadly shooters with Dirk and Peja" Dallas owner Mark Cuban said. "We lost Josh but he wasn't really fitting in with our style of play when we got Jason Kidd last season" he added. The highlight of this trade is of course the Hornets who received the 7 year pro out of Connecticut and who is a deadly scorer that will help Chris Paul and David West. "This is the kind of player we need on offense and on our defense" Coach Byron Scott said. "Caron is a very special player and we look forward of working with him".

This kind of brings up a surprise of why the Wizards chose to trade away Caron Butler, but by the looks of it he wanted to get out of Washington and play for a contending team. The Wizards have their star player Gilbert Arenas out and they are not sure when he'll come back and the Wizards have fallen to the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Josh Howard was not happy with the trade but business is business and he will do anything possible with the Wizards to turn that franchise around.

All players are expected to suit up and play for their new teams Wednesday.

[RKO]

The following 2 games were simulated so I don't have an article but the Hornets lost both of them.

Atlanta Hawks 118 - 116 New Orleans Hornets
New Orleans Hornets 84 - 99 Charlotte Bobcats

Now the Hornets record is 1-4. They will look to improve at home when they play the Heat and the game will be played.

Any comments on the trade?

[RKO]

November 8th, 2008
Miami Heat (99) @ (105) New Orleans Hornets
Hornets End 4 Game Skid, Beat Heat

New Orleans, LA (AP) --- The Hornets have ended their 4 game losing streak and have beat the Miami Heat at home Saturday night. Caron Butler has everything he could to help his team win. Whether it was to score, rebound, make the extra pass, he was there. Butler had 39 points, 10 assists, 7 steals and 4 rebounds. Pretty much the reason the Hornets won.

"Throughout the game, he kept making shots and making the right play" Chris Paul said who wasn't himself the whole game because of foul trouble scoring 19 points and just 2 assists but still managed to score 14 points in the 4th quarter when his teammates needed him the most. "He was held under check the whole game, got a couple of fouls called on him that shouldn't have been called but he stayed in the game and had a big 4th quarter" David West added who had a solid showing with 18 points and 9 rebounds.

The game was tied at 79 at the end of the 3rd quarter, that's when Dwyane Wade took over en route to 32 points and 10 assists, shooting 15-20 from the field. The Matrix added 20 points and 9 rebounds and rookie Mario Chalmers 12 points and 6 assists.

"Wade was there for us but when we needed other player to step up in the 4th quarter, it didn't happen" Coach Spolstra added. It was over when David West had a three point play right after he dunked the ball which motivated his teammates and electrified the crowd and extended the Hornets lead 103-95 with less then 30 seconds left to play.

The Hornets will look to continue their 1 game win streak when they face the Los Angeles Lakers right here in New Orleans Wednesday night.

Next Game: Take Your Pick!
Los Angeles Lakers (5-1) @ New Orleans Hornets (2-4)


News Around the NBA
Pistons signed Michael Doleac to 1 year/2.79M deal.
Raptors signed Bonzi Wells to 1 year/2.88M deal.
Kings trade Beno Udrih to the Magic for Mickael Pietrus.

[hova-]

Very realistic trade. You certainly get a very good player in Butler. Stack can still contribute whilst Wright is just a fill in. I guess the Wizs have the worst end of all. Nice win over the Heat. Very nice game by Butler, almost a triple double.

Would be nice if you could post boxscore or at least the best players listed at the end

[RKO]

Very realistic trade. You certainly get a very good player in Butler. Stack can still contribute whilst Wright is just a fill in. I guess the Wizs have the worst end of all. Nice win over the Heat. Very nice game by Butler, almost a triple double.

Would be nice if you could post boxscore or at least the best players listed at the end

THanks, I will deff. have some pictures or something for this game vs. the Lakers. I'm not sure what it's gonna be but there will be something special.

[RKO]

November 12th, 2008
Los Angeles Lakers (105) @ New Orleans Hornets (107)

Caron, Hornets narrowly defeat Lakers

Caron Butler scores the GW dunk against the Lakers Wednesday Night.

New Orleans, LA (AP) --- It was Caron Butler's dunk over Pau Gasol that sealed the game for the Hornets against the top team in the Western Conference that came undefeated into tonight's game. Butler had 21 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and game high 5 steals in the victory. "We knew what we were getting in the last week's trade" Hornet GM said.

The dramatic and deflating dunk stemmed a frantic 17-4 Lakers run and put the Hornets ahead 107-105 with .7 to go.

"I knew Kobe was going to defend me and I just needed that pick from David that gave me the opportunity to drive to the basket'' Butler explained. "I knew it was going to be a tough shot or layup because I had Kobe draped all over me, so I just needed to focus on the basket and try to put it in.''

Jerry Stackhouse hit four 3-pointers and finished with 14 all in the 2nd half. The Hornets led by as much as 19 in the game.
Chris Paul had 14 points and 8 assists but played a very important role in the 4th quarter finding his teammates when needed the most.

The fans were on their feet, urging on the defense, which appeared to be on the verge of getting another stop when Bryant's difficult 3 as the shot clock wound down hit the back rim and dropped straight through and tied the game at 105.

"I'm never surprised to see him do anything,'' Fisher said. "He's one of those rare guys in the history of the game that I think can actually make the ball go in. ... Mentally, he's able to lock in on that rim and get the ball in the basket. That's what separates him from some of the best to ever play.''

Hornets coach Byron Scott said Caron could not have defended the play much better but then on the next possession, Caron got some sweet return by making the game winning dunk. "It was the best feeling I've had in a long time" Butler said that got traded to the Hornets last week in that 3 team trade that involved the Mavs and the Wizards. The Hornets will look to continue their 2 game winning streak when they face the Blazers who are currently 1-7.

[RKO]

November 13th, 2008
League News
Owner George Shinn Fired GM RKO

New Orleans, LA (AP) --- It was reported earlier today that the Owner of the New Orleans Hornets George Shinn fired his manager RKO just eight games into the season. RKO who was hired just before the start of the season had high expectations with the team but it soon came to an end. "I didn't know what happened, I came in did my job, I don't know if it was the deal I made or what".

Owner George Shinn discussed the firing with the Media.

Q: What made you make such a change so sudden and so early into the season?

A: Well, I didn't like what he was doing with the team. First of all he traded one of my favorite players in Julian Wright, the player that I have picked in the 2007 NBA Draft and that was basically crossing the line and I had no intention the trade was accepted when offered.

Q: So, you're saying Mr. Shinn that you had no idea the deal went down?

A: Yeah, I wasn't even informed. We talked about making a possible deal to improve our bench but trading some of our starters wasn't even in the talks.

Q: Who are you planning on hiring for your GM spot?

A: I will be managing all the things RKO managed so basically I will move down and also be the GM of the team until I can find someone I can trust.

Q: We wish you good luck into the future and hopefully your find your GM.

A: Thanks.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________


These news obviously leave everyone wondering where will RKO end up next because a lot of other teams are interested in acquiring his services.

[Bsktblking25]

RKO probably didn't wanna trade Julian Wright, but he had voices in his head.

I bet Randy is furious now and lookin to kick Shinn in the head with his shin. DON'T DO IT!!!