Live06 - Hornets 06-07: Hornets acquire Peterson

awesome recap.

But your 3pt% and 4th quarter

Thanks for the comments, dudes.

3PT slider definitely needs some tweaking.

As for the 4th quarter, well, um, I blew it. Quick shots, going for steals on defense, and just losing focus led to Portland going on a huge run and go up by 20, at which point I kind of stopped caring, and there was still like 2 minutes left in the game.

Next recap up soon!

HORNETS SIGN ROOKIE GUARD



New Orleans signed undrafted rookie PG Gideon Christianson for the NBA minimum over 1 season.

The team released the following statement:

"We are pleased to add a player and person of Gideon's quality to our organization. His strong outside shooting fills a need for us and he will get the opportunity to help this team."




JAMISON, WIZ SPOIL HORNETS HOME OPENER


30/10/06 - New Orleans, LA

Washington Wizards (0-1) @ New Orleans Hornets (0-1)

PREGAME REPORT
Wizards
- lost season opener 101-92 against Miami
- loaded at PF with Antonio McDyess and rookies Silas Christie and Grant Galanov backing up Jamison
- Caron Butler has hit 58 straight free throw dating back to last season
Hornets
- shot an all-time franchise low 3P% (.095) with at least 20 3PTA
- 2nd round draft pick Dan Rasmussen slated to start for the 2nd game in a row
- Hornets sign undrafted rookie PG Gideon Christianson, to a 1-year minimum contract

STARTING LINEUPS
WAS G G. Arenas (87) - G J. Hayes (72) - F C. Butler (82) - F A. Jamison (84) - C B. Haywood (70)
NOH G C. Paul (84) - G J. Smith (76) - F K. Snyder (73) - F D. West (77) - C D. Rasmussen (69)

INNJURIES: None










BOXSCORE
PLAYER OF THE GAME




The Wizards Big 3 of Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison, and Caron Butler combined for 71 points as all 5 Washington starters scored in double figures, downing the Hornets 110-98 in their home opener.

Jamison led all players in points and rebounds, with 26 and 18 respectively, while Chris Paul paced the Hornets with 22 points, to go along with 7 assists.

But again the Hornets had to play through foul trouble for a star player, this time the culprit being David West. West picked up his 3rd personal early in the 2nd quarter, and when he returned to play in the 3rd he was quickly hit with a questionable foul on Butler, sending him right back to the bench. The pattern repeated itself in the 4th quarter, limiting West to just 2 points and 5 rebounds in 15 minutes of action.

"It's tough, man, it's tough", admitted West. "It seems like in the first couple games we've been getting all the cheap calls. It's hard to get a rhythm going. But I guess that's what happens when you're a young team and you haven't established yourself yet. But we'll show 'em who's established soon enough."

Despite West's foul trouble, the Hornets looked to be in control for much of the first half, consistently maintaining a 6-10 point lead for much of the half. But the Wizards kept hanging around, and eventually made a push midway through the second quarter, taking a 3 point lead into the half.

Gilbert Arenas opened the 2nd half with a steal and an unconscionable pull up three pointer on a breakaway. It seemed a herald of things to come. No matter what the Hornets did in the 3rd quarter, they were unable to regain the lead and slow Washington's momentum.

Things got worse before they got better. Washington pushed the lead to 16 early in the 4th, before a furious rally led by a dizzying Chris Paul cut the deficit to 6.

With swarming defensive pressure, the Hornets forced the Wiz to run down the shot clock, and the ball ended up in the hands of Jarvis Hayes just outside the top of the arc. With JR Smith right in his face, Hayes gave a pump fake, froze Smith, and went back for an uncontested 3, pushing Washington's lead back up to 9.

On the next possession, Smith blundered again, this time tossing a blind cross court pass which sailed out of bounds. Jamison converted an and-1 on the other, extending the margin to 12, and sealing New Orleans' fate.

HIGHLIGHTS
Dan Rasmussen is introduced to New Orleans
Haji sinks the tough floater over Jamison
Rookie Carlos Burns hits his first shot in the NBA
JR Smith gets eye-level with the rim
Diogu dominates Daniels
CP3 throws behind the back on the break


Notes: Chris Paul is now 0-8 from downtown this season... Gilbert Arenas now boasts a 1:3 assist to turnover ratio in 06-07... all proceeds from ticket sales were donated to victim of hurricane Katrina... Newly signed G Gideon Christianson did not play


NEXT GAME: @ Phoenix




AROUND THE LEAGUE
- Joe Johnson put up 30pts-7ast-6reb as the new look Hawks downed LeBron's Cavs
- Charlotte's starting front court combined for 57pts and 35reb in a win over Miami, led by Emeka Okafor's 27 and 19
- Allen Iverson sparked the 76ers to a 28-point win over the Pacers with 22pts and 10ast
- The Kings edged the Grizzlies 101-95 in OT, behind 34 points (6-12 3pt) from Peja Stojakovic





Also, I updated the first post with current rosters. More info to be added later.

damn Jamison's a handful... why didn't he play like that when he was with my hometeam Warriors?

Wizards were definitely the aggressor tonight; 30 to your 16 trips to the FT line; your guys gotta move their feet and quit reaching

Be-Naka: 11 shot attempts in 18 mins vs CP3's 18 shot attempts in 30 mins; he'll need to be careful or earn a "shoot-first" rep ie., Starbury, Franchise etc unless of course he is a shoot-first PG in which case he's on his way

Suns will be tough...

HORNETS DROP TO 0-3 WITH LOSS TO SUNS


3/11/06 - Phoenix, AZ

New Orleans Hornets (0-2) @ Phoenix Suns (0-2)

PREGAME REPORT
Hornets
- Chris Andersen to make first start of the season
- averaging 22.5 turnovers per game
- shooting 5-37 from downtown this season
Suns
- the Suns are just 25th in FGA through 2 games
- Shawn Marion is currently leading the suns in PPG
- 7th in the league defensive rebounds

STARTING LINEUPS
NOH G C. Paul (84) - G J. Smith (76) - F K. Snyder (73) - F D. West (77) - C C. Andersen (67)
PHX G S. Nash (83) - G R. Bell (73) - F J. Jones (68) - F S. Marion (96) - C A. Stoudemire (90)

INJURIES: None











BOXSCORE
PLAYER OF THE GAME




Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion proved too much for the Hornets to handle, and the Suns cruised to their first win if the season 117-103.

Stoudemire and Marion combined for 46 points and 29 rebounds, only 8 fewer than the Hornets as a whole. Rebounding was the big story in this game, with Phoenix out rebounding New Orleans by 15, while owning an impressive 21-12 margin on the offensive glass which led to many easy put backs and 2nd shot attempts for the Suns.

"Story of the season, so far", lamented coach Byron Scott. "All the little things good teams do to win games - all those effort and hustle plays - we're not making them, whether it's offensive rebounding, taking a charge, diving for a loose ball, we're just not doing it."

To try and turn that trend around, Scott inserted consummate energy/hustle guy Chris Andersen into the starting lineup in place of rookie Dan Rasmussen.

"I though Chris did a good job tonight on the glass and the defensive side of the ball. Unfortunately he couldn't find the bottom of the net, but that's not what he's out there to do. You can't fault (Andersen) if the offense isn't clicking", added Scott.

The Hornets chances were actually looking pretty good in the 1st quarter. Steve Nash was hit with 2 personal fouls within the first 2 minutes of the game, both times attempting to take a charge on Chris Paul, and was replaced by Leandro Barbosa. But Barbosa played extremely well, scoring 9 points in 10 minutes in the 1st quarter, 17 in the 1st half, and leading the Suns on 12-3 run to end the quarter.

The Hornets were again handed a gift in the 2nd quarter as Nash received his 3rd foul, but again failed to take control of the game. New Orleans shot just 34% in the 2nd to Phoenix's 68%, and only stayed in the game thanks to three 3-pointers courtesy of Kirk Snyder. Snyder would finish the game with a season-high 25 points to all scorers, and both Paul and JR Smith finished with 20+ points.

Soudemire paced the Suns with 24 points, half of which came in a dominating effort in the 3rd quarter in which Amare threw down several vicious dunks and shot 6-7 from the floor. Marion and Barbosa chipped in 22 and 24 respectively, and Raja Bell added 19 points.

The Suns pushed their lead up to as many as 28 in the 3rd quarter, bringing a 21-point cushion into the 4th. The Hornets almost made a game of it, chipping the deficit to 12 at one point, but three ill-advised Desmond Mason jump shots which all led to fast-break buckets for the Suns would put them back up by 20.

"I'm not too sure what Desmond was thinking down the stretch, there", said Scott. "We put him in for defense cause JR was getting torched by Barbosa. Kirk was on fire. Chris was scoring well. But Desmond just kept forcing it. He missed West wide open under the basket at least 3 times. And if you don't do what the coaching staff asks you to do, you're not going to get any minutes. Simple as that."

When told of Scott's comments, Mason responded by saying, "Look, if I got an open shot, I'm a take it. I don't care if coach sends me in to defend or to score, we gotta get baskets to win the game. And you can tell coach it's 'Simple as that'".


HIGHLIGHTS
James Jones denies Dan Rasmussen
Marion absolutely posterizes West
CP3 throws behind the head to an open David West
JR Smith breaks Amare's ankles
West puts in the old school hook shot


Notes: Steve Nash played only 8 minutes due to foul trouble... Desmond Mason is 2-15 from the field this year... Trade rumors are flying surrounding the aforementioned Mason, most of which have Mason and rookie Carlos Burns headed to Toronto for Morris Peterson


Next Game: @vs. Utah





AROUND THE NBA
- Ben Wallace pulled down 20 rebounds in the Hawks win over the Kings, bringing Atlanta's record to 4-0 to start the year.
- Kobe Bryant dropped 31 points on a near-perfect 9-9 FG and 10-11 FT as his Lakers overcame a 24pts-16reb-5ast performance by Bucks rookie Soulis Lindquist
- The Raptors edged the Wizards 103-100 in overtime, led by Chris Bosh's 29-point, 12-rebound effort

damn! how'd i miss this? zoiks! total board control

but... there are some positives and things to learn here. 1) you did finish strong... 'course the game was already over but that's besides the point; 2) because nash went out w/foul trouble you assumed your guards had the edge and all the offense came from the backcourt (Benji/Desmond 2-of-14... brrrr) but now you know the trick to defeating them may be to pound it inside and get STAT and the Matrix in foul trouble then again if Nash wasn't in foul trouble he'd probably have 30+ so who knows

you'd better find some way to snap your squad off their current streak or start sending your scout out to check out next season's crop...

Clutch: Mason has been terrible so far. Benji's shooting % has been pretty bad too, but it's a little bit deceiving. Often times when he's out there with the 2nd unit he ends up getting the ball with little time on the shot clock and having to force shots, but he still needs to improve his % regardless.

But Mason's just been awful. Which is why...





HORNETS ACQUIRE MORRIS PETERSON FROM TORONTO





The Hornets press release:

We are extremely excited to add a player of Morris Peterson's quality. His veteran leadership will be a great addition to our young roster, and his 3-point shooting ability fills a huge void for our club.

We also welcome the addition of Eric Williams, whose presence in the locker room will be invaluable.

Of course we would like to wish Desmond Mason, Carlos Burns, and Bostjan Nachbar success with their new team, and would like to thank them for all they've done for us.

It's no secret that Desmond has struggled early in the season, but we feel, and obviously the Raptors concur, that it was more a reflection of poor fit on the roster than Desmond's basketball ability. We will miss his energy and tenacity on defense, and of course his crowd-boosting dunks, but it was time to part ways for both parties.

Toronto also got 2 terrific players in Burns and Nachbar, whose shooting stroke and ability to play either forward spot will surely help a team thin on big men.

However, we feel that the addition of Peterson makes us a much stronger team by addressing 2 areas that have plagued us so far: 3-point shooting and perimeter defense. And with a swingman rotation of Peterson, Smith, and Snyder, we feel the bench will improved no matter who starts.

In short, we are excited to be moving forward with our season and feel our prospects are bright, despite a less than impressive start.

I would have kept Desmond Mason.

Nice dynasty you got going here! I like the detailed recaps!

I'm really enjoying this dynasty. Great job on the detailed recaps.

PHX-Suns-Dynasty, you are an idiot, look at the last reply posted in October, thats like almost 3 months ago, don't post on old topics unless you have to