The New Orleans Hornets were the biggest surprise of the league two
years ago when they battled with the Lakers for the best record in the
Western Conference and with their postseason ending with a dramatic
elimination in 7 games against the Spurs. They had legit expectations
for last season and despite winning 49 games, their season was a
disappointment. We simply can't forget the way the Hornets were
completely overpowered by the Nuggets in the first round of the
playoffs and their 63-121 loss at home during that series is
unforgivable.
Injuries and depth (lack of) were the biggest problems for the
Hornets. There wasn't a single player of their starting lineup that
played the full 82 games in the regular season. To make things even
worse for the Hornets, they didn't have the proper depth for a long
season with all the injuries especially in the frontcourt. They were
dead last in the league in bench scoring with just 22.9 points per game
and they were constantly overpowered and outmuscled down the paint
against more physical teams.
The
good news is that they still have Chris Paul and when one team has
hands down the best Point Guard in the league, then good things can
happen happen for them. Chris Paul belongs to the elite and last
season's performance was worth for the MVP discussion: 22.8 points per
game, 11.0 assists per game - league leader, 5.6 rebounds per game and
2.8 steals per game - league leader, while shooting above the 50% mark,
unquestionably a great season for him. He has the ability to make his
team mates better players and his leadership is unquestionable, however
last season proved that he can't carry alone his team in a competitive
Western conference and that's why they finished 7th on a tough and wild
conference.
The biggest off season move made by GM Jeff Bower was the trade
involving Tyson Chandler for Emeka Okafor. Tyson Chandler was a solid
piece for the Hornets in the last 3 seasons, however being healthy was
a problem for him and for a team that lacked solutions in the
frontcourt, that was dramatic. Although many could argue that Chandler
is a better player than Okafor, we should not forget that Chandler
benefited from the fact of playing along with the best PG in the
league. In fact, he was near of being called a "bust" in this league
until he became a serviceable center, when he came into the presence of
Chris Paul. Meanwhile, Okafor has through his career averaged always at
least 13 points and 10 rebounds per game. He battled through injuries
earlier on his career, but he missed just one game over the last two
seasons and yes, he didn't play along with Chris Paul nor he did have
an All star PG that could feed him in the post, so I wouldn't be
surprised if Okafor's offensive numbers "suffer" a boost in this season
because CP3 will create so many easy points for him and he will take
advantage from that.
After
being elected two seasons ago for the All Star game, David West enjoyed
a solid season last year. He averaged a career-best of 21.0 points per
game to go with 8.5 rebounds, while averaging 5.5 trips per game to the
charity stripe and shooting a whopping 88.4% from there - I remember
that he is a power forward. However, he was the only reliable offensive
threat of the Hornets' frontcourt and he couldn't make the difference
alone. It's curious to observe that during his 6-year career in the
NBA, he has always improved his points per game year after year and
with the record of 21.0 ppg from last season, if he can raise these
numbers this season, then he will be in the all star game.
Peja Stojakovic was meant to be the X factor for the Hornets that
could guide them to the Championship, however his $13M dollar contract
is now the reason of why they can't reach the next level. Unfortunately
injuries have being Peja's worst enemy on his career and for the
Hornets, he has already missed 95 games in three seasons. Stojakovic
has only one ability: to knock down the 3 pointers, which isn't enough
for such paycheck. He has also averaged almost 90 % from the charity
strip and he only averaged 1.7 trips to the charity line per game, in a
clear sign that he doesn't want to draw any kind of contact. At this
stage of his career, the Hornets only wish that he stays health,
because with Chris Paul running the show, Peja will always get his free
chances down the perimeter.
Besides these four players, the Hornets have a mix of veteran and
young players that need to step it up if they want to make a serious
run this season. James Posey will lead the bench with his hustle and
competitiveness, but it is his leadership (he helped the Heat and the
Celtics to win championships) that is the key piece to guide the young
players during the season. Veteran Morris Peterson saw his numbers
decreased last season and the tendency is the same going for this
season. The Hornets have high expectations on rookies Marcus Thornton
and Darren Collison and the franchise hopes that both can develop by
playing along with Chris Paul, giving the franchise some depth and
quality minutes to the Hornets' backcourt. Both players looked good in
this summer league and Collison even averaged more than 18 points per
game.
GM Jeff Bower tried to add some pieces to the Hornets' weak
frontcourt by signing Darius Songaila and Ike Diogu. These two players
will compete with Hilton Armstrong and Sean Marks, but this unit
doesn't look a strong unit, nevertheless head coach Byron Scott will at
least have more bodies to throw to the frontcourt, something that the
Hornets' didn't have last season.
The Hornets have the tools to be a better team than they were last
season, when they regressed 7 games in the regular season and were
later literally spanked by the Nuggets in the first round of the
postseason. Bench and frontcourt were the focus of GM Jeff Bower during
this off-season and so, he added some key pieces to the team. With the
best Point Guard of the league running the show, the Hornets will have
their chances to shine, but health has being a tough opponent for them.
The Western conference looks stronger than ever in the elite and the
Hornets can make part of that elite this season.