November Recap
The Hornets had a difficult time in November keeping up with some of hottest teams in the league, a win in San Antonio the only notable exception. A clear lack of scoring depth proving costly as the Hornets stuggled to a 2 win / 11 loss November.
28th October: Washington @ New Orleans
Score: New Orleans 93 /
Washington 91
P.O.G. Chris Paul: 29pts 6ast 2stl
Key Matchup:
PJ Brown: 16pts 16reb 2blk
Antawn Jamison: 15pts 10reb 2ast
Skinny: With 18 seconds remaining and the scores tied Jamaal Magloire intercepted a poor cross court pass and got the ball to a breaking JR Smith who posterized Jarvis Hayes with a thunderous tommahawk dunk which sealed the win for the Hornets. Jarvis Hayes had a chance to capture the win with a 3 point attempt from the corner in the dying seconds but was unable to convert. PJ Brown had an excellent game for the hornets, holding Antawn Jamison to 15 points while grabbing 16 rebounds and scoring 16 points, most from second chance oppotunities.
30th October: New Orleans @ LA Lakers
Score: LA Lakers 108 /
New Orleans 101
P.O.G. Kobe Bryant: 26pts 5ast 4stl
Key Matchup:
A McKie: 27pts 3reb 3ast 2stl
Chris Paul: 25pts 5reb 4ast 4stl
Skinny: New Orleans made a strong push in the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to 3 points with 4 minutes remaining but the Lakers held on thanks largely to clutch shooting from veteran Aaron McKie, who nails two 3 pointers that held off the Hornets charge. Chris Paul continued his promising start to the season but McKie was able to outscore the Hornets rookie to keep his team infront.
2nd November: New Orleans @ Atlanta
Score: Atlanta 111 /
New Orleans 96
P:O.G. Joe Johnson: 35pts 7reb 8ast 2stl
Key Matchup:
Josh Smith: 18pts 18reb 2ast 5stl
Bostjan Nachbar: 6pts 7reb 1ast
Skinny: Atlanta were tested on their home court early in the fourth quarter with New Orleans coming within 4 points of the Hawks, but consistant shooting from Joe Johnson and timely offensive rebounds from Josh Smith ensured Atlanta the win. The Hornets now slip to a 1-2 record but strong play from rookie Chris Paul this early in the season is an ominous sign for the rest of the league.
3rd November: LA Lakers @ New Orleans
Score: LA Lakers 107 /
New Orleans 100
P.O.G. Lamar Odom: 18pts 15reb 8ast 2stl
Key Matchup:
Jamaal Magloire: 14pts 14reb 3blk
Chris Mihm: 19 pts 11reb 6blk
Skinny: LA came out on fire and held a 20 point lead by the end of the first quarter which New Orleans could not come back from. Down by 16 points at the start of the fourth New Orleans came out on fire with big 3's from Bostjan Nachbar and Chris Paul. JR Smith leveled the scores at 98 with a posterizing dunk over Kobe Bryant but LA steadied the ship and held on for a clutch win.
7th November: New Orleans @ Chicago
Score: Chicago 130 /
New Orleans 127 OT
P.O.G. Ben Gordon: 43pts 10reb 6ast 4stl
Key Matchup:
Ben Gordon: 43pts 10reb 6ast 4stl
JR Smith: 35pts 8reb 4ast 3stl
Skinny: Ben Gordon and JR Smith staged an amazing 3 point shooting display down the stretch with each player nailing 3 long range bombs to keep the scores even right down to the wire. But it was Gordon who kept the hot streak going in overtime to secure the win for the home team in what was a heated contest between 2 of the youngest ball clubs in the league.
15th November: San Antonio @ New Orleans
Score: New Orleans 103 /
San Antonio 89
P.O.G. Chris Paul: 30pts 1reb 8ast 2blk 2stl
Key Matchup:
Jamaal Magloire: 24pts 13reb 3ast 3blk
Nazir Mohommad: 2pts 9reb 2ast 2blk 3stl
Skinny: San Antonio came into New Orleans expecting much softer opposition than they received. The game was over by the end of the third quarter with New Orleans leading by 24 points. Tim Duncan fouled out half way through the final quarter to sink the hopes of San Antonio mounting any comeback, new import Mike Sweetney holding Duncan to just 14 points and 7 rebounds. Jamaal Magloire was unstoppable down low scoring a season high 24 points and JR Smith continued his break-out start to the season with 26 points.
16th November: New Orleans @ Toronto
Score: Toronto 116 /
New Orleans 92
P.O.G. Morris Peterson: 29pts 6reb 2ast 4stl
Key Matchup:
JR Smith: 19pts 6reb 3ast 1stl
Morris Peterson: 29pts 6reb 2ast 4stl
Skinny: In a complete reversal of the previous nights game, New Orleans found themselves down by 24 points after 3 quarters. Toronto, led by Morris Peterson's 29 points, also received solid contributions from Rafer Alston (27pts, 7ast) and Chris Bosh (17pts 14rebs). While New Orleans' lone shining light was Chris Paul (27pts 4reb 4ast 4stl) Jamaal Magloire continued his solid start to the year (18pts 9reb 1ast 4blk) but the Hornets slumped to 2-5 to start the season but coach Scott remains optimistic "We've been close in a few games we've lost and that's bound to happen with a young team that's still learning to play together. Overall i'm happy with the way the seasons looking."
18th November: New Orleans @ Cleveland
Score: Cleveland 121 /
New Orleans 107
P.O.G. LeBron James: 37pts 7reb 7ast 14/17FG
Key Matchup:
Z. Ilgauskas: 20pts 9 reb 5ast 2blk
Jamaal Magloire: 19pts 10reb 6ast 3blk
Skinny: Cleveland increased their lead 10 points each quarter until the fourth but by then it was too late for the Hornets to make a serious run. LeBron James schooled a helpless Bostjan Nachbar, shooting a scorching 14 of 17 from the floor, 9 of 10 free throws and dishing out 7 assists to lead the Cavs to a 5win 4loss start to the year. Magloire and Ilgauskas had a battle for early All Star considerations, neither player backing down from the challenge.
20th November: Golden State @ New Orleans
Score: Golden State 100 /
New Orleans 85
P.O.G. Troy Murphy: 20pts 10reb 1ast 3stl
Key Matchup:
Baron Davis: 20pts 5reb 4ast 2stl
Chris Paul: 11pts 3reb 4ast 2stl
Skinny: New Orleans just couldnt find rhythm offensively and fell to a balanced Golden State attack. JR Smith (20pts 5reb 1ast 2stl) and Jamaal Magloire (19pts 18reb 4ast 3blk) were the only shining lights for New Orleans while Murphy received solid support from Dunlevey (21pts) Baron Davis (20pts) and Derek Fisher (19pts). Former Hornet Baron Davis held rival point guard Chris Paul to a season low 11pts.
22nd November: New Orleans @ Miami
Score: Miami 88 /
New Orleans 72
P.O.G. Shaq: 22pts 16reb 2ast 4blk
Key Matchup:
Antoine Walker: 18pts 10reb 3ast 3stl
Mike Sweetney: 8pts 9reb 1ast 1blk
Skinny: New Orleans came into the final quarter down by 4 but could not hit clutch shots down the stretch while Miami's Dwayne Wade and Shaq both came up with big plays to seal the victory. Jamaal Magloire (21pts 13reb 2blk) and Chris Paul (20pts 2reb 9ast) paced New Orleans but Miami's balanced attack, which saw 5 players score double figures, was too much to hold out. New Orleans tastes its second 4 game losing streak as it falls to 2-8 for the season. Miami improved to 8-3 and look solid early in the season.
25th November: Chicago @ New Orleans
Score: Chicago 116 /
New Orleans 101
P.O.G. Tyson Chandler: 24pts 22reb 2ast 3blk 1stl
Key Matchup:
Othella Harrington: 19pts 6reb 1blk
Mike Sweetney: 8pts 12reb 3ast 1blk
Skinny: New Orleans trailed by 6 coming with 9 minutes to go, but again failed to mount a come back against a Chicago team without starting center Eddy Curry. Tyson Chandler played like a man possesed recording his first ever 20-20 while holding Jamaal Magloire to 16pts 10rebs. Chris Paul had a great game with 31pts 6ast 3stl but again New Orleans' lack of scoring depth proves costly in the crunch!
26th November: New Jersey @ New Orleans
Score: New Jersey 121 /
New Orleans 98
P.O.G. Jason Kidd: 32pts 7reb 11ast 2stl
Key Matchup:
Jason Kidd: 32pts 7reb 11ast 2stl
Chris Paul: 30pts 2reb 6ast 2blk 1stl
Skinny: New Jersey had built a 20 point lead by half time, led by 25 with 1 quarter to go and never looked back. New Jersey had 6 players in double figures while New Orleans received solid contribution from its big three in Paul, Smith and Magloire. The Hornets losing streak is now 6 while New Jersey improves to 6-4.
29th November: New Orleans @ Phoenix
Score: Phoenix 115 /
New Orleans 93
P.O.G. Shawn Marion: 24pts 9reb 3ast 4blk 2stl
Key Matchup:
Amare Stoudamire: 22pts 8reb 2ast 3blk 2stl
Jamaal Magloire: 21pts 9reb 2blk
Skinny: Down by 21 points heading into the final quarter New Orleans held their own but could not eat into the Phoenix lead. Pheonix, playing without playmaker Steve Nash, used a balanced attack to wear down the Hornets. Chris Paul lead all Hornets with 29pts, JR Smith contributed 23pts and Jamaal Magloire chipped in 21pts but the lack of scoring behind the big three is proving to be the Hornets achilles heal.
Awards for November
West Rookie:
Chris Paul - 24.8pts 3.4reb 6.4ast 0.6blk 2.5stl
West Player:
Amare Stoudamire - 21.6pts 11.9reb 2.4ast 2.6blk 1.6stl
East Rookie:
Shaq - 26.1pts 10.9reb 3.1ast 2.4blk 1.1stl
East Rookie:
Channing Frye - 11.1pts 9.2reb 2.2ast 1.4blk 1.2stl
December Recap
New Orleans picked it up a notch in December with a 7 win 7 loss record for the month, improving to 8-18 for the season. Improved output from Mike Sweetney and Bostjan Nachbar proved to be the difference. Chris Paul again winning Western Conference Rookie of the Month.
The Ally-Oop Vs Bostan is a MUST SEE
1st December: New York @ New Orleans
Score: New York 118 /
New Orleans 104
P.O.G Stephon Marbury: 49pts 7reb 7ast 2stl
Key Matchup:
Channing Frye 16pts 14reb 4ast 2blk
Jamaal Magloire 18pts 10reb 5ast
Skinny: New Orleans were within sevens points of New York heading into the final quarter but 3 point bombs from Jamal Crawford (27 points) and Quinten Richardson (15 points) early in the fourth pushed the lead out to 12 and the Hornets could not get a run together to close the gap. JR Smith led New Orleans with 37 points and 4 rebounds, while Chris Paul (27pts 3reb 4ast 3stl) played well despite Marbury's offensive explosion. The Hornets lose their 4th straight at home and 8th in a row.
2nd December: New Orleans @ Sacramento
Score: New Orleans 114 /
Sacramento 104
P.O.G. Chris Paul: 32pts 3reb 7ast 5stl
Key Matchup:
Bonzi Wells: 11pts 3reb 4ast 3stl
JR Smith: 32pts 4reb 3ast 2stl
Skinny: New Orleans put together a solid first 3 quarters, building an 11 point lead and held on against a 3 point barrage from Mike Bibby (20 points) and Peja Stojakovic (14 points) that threatened to crumble the Hornets. JR Smith scored 16 of the Hornets 30 4th quarter points to keep the Kings at bay. Smith said (about the win) "We knew we had to come out positive and play hungry and I think we did that." (about his final quarter outburst) "Coach ran some plays for me that came good, and we got out on the break a couple times, the rest is on the highlight reel!"
6th December: Boston @ New Orleans
Score: New Orleans 105 /
Boston 87
P.O.G. JR Smith: 27pts 8reb 3ast 1stl
Key Matchup:
JR Smith: 27pts 8reb 3ast 1stl
Ricky Davis: 9pts 3reb 5ast 1stl
Skinny: New Orleans secured a 14 point advantage by the end of the third quarter and thrilled the home crowd with a new enthusiasm and cohesiveness not seen in November. JR Smith led the Hornets with 27 points and was impressive switching between Small Forward and Shooting Guard against 2 quality players in Paul Pierce and Ricky Davis. Smith (about the win) "It's good to get one at home against a quality team like the Celtics, we ran a few plays tonight that we've been working on since training camp and they're gelling for us now."
7th December: New Orleans @ Detroit
Score: Detroit 115 /
New Orleans 69
P.O.G. Rasheed Wallace: 35pts 8reb 2ast 2stl
Key Matchup:
Ben Wallace: 13pts 11reb 4ast 3stl 2blk
Jamaal Magloire: 8pts 6reb 1ast 1blk
Skinny: Detroit increased their lead every quarter on their way to thrashing the Hornets at the Palace. Rasheed Wallace had a man of the match performance and Ben Wallace held Jamaal Magloire to season lows for points and rebounds. Chris Paul (21pts 5ast) was the only ray of light in an otherwise dark night for the Hornets.
9th December: Cleveland @ New Orleans
Score: Cleveland110 /
New Orleans 106 OT
P.O.G: LeBron James
Box Scores:
New Orleans
Cleveland's to come....
Skinny: New Orleans reduced Clevelands 4 point lead heading into the final quarter and took a 3 point advantage with 3 minutes remaining behind the high flying
JR Smith 2 3 However Damon Jones came in off the bench to replace an off-target Larry Hughes who was in foul trouble and it proved the difference. Jones' two clutch 3's, along with crucial missed free throws by the Hornets, forced overtime where Cleveland were good enough to hold on for the win.
13th December: New Orleans @ Milwaukee
Score: New Orleans 102 /
Milwaukee 88
P.O.G. Jamaal Magloire
Box Scores:
New Orleans
Milwaukee
Skinny: It was a show down of two of the worst teams in the league with Milwaukee hoping to clinch just it's second win of the season against New Orleans but it wasn't to be. New Orleans lead comfortably by the end of the third and didn't look back, Jamaal Magloire schooling the overall 1st pick in this years draft Andrew Bogut on his way to a man of the match performance.
14th December: New Orleans @ Indiana
Score: Indiana 114 /
New Orleans 89
P.O.G. Jermaine O'Neal
Box Scores:
New Orleans
Indiana's to come
Skinny: New Orleans were just out muscled by Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal who managed an incredible 8 blocks and kept New Orleans' Jamaal Magloire to a low scoring game. There were few bright spots for the Hornets bar the odd
JR Smith miracle. Their 5-15 record reflecting their outside shooting percentage as they struggle to find their range.
19th December: New Orleans @ Boston
Score: Boston 120 /
New Orleans 96
P.O.G. Paul Pierce
Box Scores:
New Orleans
Boston's coming... (I lost a few files in transit somewhere
)
Skinny: Boston just could not put a foot wrong on their way to trouncing the Hornets by 24 points. Paul Pierce led a balanced attack and Gerald Green showed T-Mac type potential in limited minutes to score 12 points. The play of the night belonged to Hornets backcourt duo JR Smith and Chris Paul with an
ally-oop 2 that stunned the home crowd late in the game. Paul finished with a career high 14 assists but his shooting woes continued making just 6 of 27 from the field.
21st December: Toronto @ New Orleans
Score: New Orleans 115 /
Toronto 104
P.O.G. Chris Paul
Box Scores:
New Orleans
Toronto
Skinny: New Orleans came into the final quarter ahead by 7 and, despite some big 3's from Rafer Alston and Mo Peterson, Toronto could not come closer than within 4 points of the men in teal. Mike Sweetney continued his improved output with 12 points and 14 rebounds before fouling out early in the fourth and JR Smith and Chris Paul combined for 24 or New Orleans' 28 fourth quarter points, Paul nailing a clutch three(Screen lost) over Rafael Araujo with 7.1 seconds remaining to put the icing on the cake. But it was Jamaal Magloire's
swat with 40 seconds remaining and Toronto within 6 points that broke the back of the Raptors.
22nd December: New Orleans @ Denver
Score: New Orleans 109 /
Denver 100
P.O.G. Chris Paul
Box Scores:
New Orleans
Denver Box coming....
Skinny: New Orleans won on the road for the first time in almost a month holding out the Denver Nuggets on their home court.
Bostjan Nachbar stepped up with JR Smith having a poor night offensively and Mike Sweetney again dominated the boards. Chris Paul earned player of the game honors with a stellar all round game and clutch free throw shooting down the stretch.
24th December: Dallas @ New Orleans
Score: Dallas 127 /
New Orleans 90
P.O.G Dirk Nowitski
Box Scores:
New Orleans
Dallas to come: How did I lose so many?
Skinny: Eric Dampier and Dirk Nowitski dominated the Hornets down low all night as the Mavericks cruised to victory by 37 points.
Jamaal Magloire battled hard in the paint but it was not enough.
26th December: Seattle @ New Orleans
Score: New Orleans 113 /
Seattle 88
P.O.G. Chris Paul
Box Scores:
New Orleans
Seattle
Skinny: New Orleans trio Bostjan Nachbar,
JR Smith, and Chris Paul completely outplayed the Seattle triple threat of Ridnour, Allen and
Lewis on their way to a convincing win at home. In the end it was superior inside play that secured the Hornets the win. New Orleans shot 48% from the field to Seattle's 37%, both teams shot 33% from 3 point land and 78% from the foul line. Chris Paul said after the game "You know we've been working on speading our offensive production across the team and being less predictable and Boki (Nachbar) has really stepped up his scoring, and Big Mike (Sweetney) is staying tough on the blocks so I think that's the main thing that helped us this month turn things around."
28th December: Sacramento @ New Orleans
Score: Sacramento 117 /
New Orleans 106
P.O.G. Brad Miller
Box Scores:
New Orleans
Sacramento
Skinny: Sacramento held a comfortable lead heading into the fourth and despite a massive night from Chris Paul offensively the Hornets could not come close enough. The Hornets bench got some valuble minutes and former great
Penny Hardaway showed hes still got hops while Chris Anderson grabbed 7 boards and blocked 4 shots in 23 minutes. Sacramento move to 8-12 while the Hornets finish the month 8-18 overall.
Awards for December
West Rookie:
Chirs Paul PPG 23.3 RPG 3.4 APG 7.4 BPG 0.2 SPG 2.2
West Player:
Kobe Bryant - PPG 25.1 RPG 5.4 APG 7.1 BPG 0.6 SPG 1.9
East Rookie:
Andrew Bogut - PPG 12.9 RPG 10.2 APG 3.3 BPG 1.3 SPG 1.1
East Player
Paul Pierce - PPG 29.1 RPG 7.9 APG 5.7 BPG 1.1 SPG 2.1
Schedule: Random - 58 Games.
Center - Jamaal Magloire
Power Forward - Mike Sweetney
Small Forward - Bostjan Nachbar
Shooting Guard - JR Smith
Point Guard - Chris Paul
