Just how good are the Hornets? - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

Thespiralgoeson · 01-29-2008, 01:36 AM

I knew they'd won 8 in a row, but I just now heard that they've been winning by an average of 20 points, and tonight they just slaughtered Denver. Chris Paul is having an MVP season, Tyson Chandler is a beast, David West is one of the two best players in the NBA that nobody knows about (the other is Kevin Martin), and they've still got Peja. So what do you think? Biggest threat in the West? Young, talented team just on a hot-streak? Going into the season I thought the two teams to watch out for would be Denver and LA, now I'm wondering how much I should be worried about New Orleans.

Flacolaco · 01-29-2008, 01:39 AM

My vote, is "as good as it gets"

I can easily see Hornets/Spurs in the WC-Finals. If they can hold that chemistry together, they can take anyone in 7 games. I am EXTREMELY afraid of them in a 7 game series.

fluid.forty.one · 01-29-2008, 02:08 AM

I'm the opposite. I'm LESS afraid of them in a 7 game series because of their youth and inexperience. I'm worried about them in regular season matchups though.

Thespiralgoeson · 01-29-2008, 02:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fluid.forty.one

I'm the opposite. I'm LESS afraid of them in a 7 game series because of their youth and inexperience. I'm worried about them in regular season matchups though.

Eh, that doesn't give me much comfort. Frankly I've always thought playoff experience is quite overrated. The better team will win regardless of who's got more experience. God knows our team last year was more experienced than the warriors.

Dirkadirkastan · 01-29-2008, 03:44 AM

Boston was blowing everyone out too.

They'll cool off.

Dortmund · 01-29-2008, 04:14 AM

So good that they will lose in the first round if they keep that #1 spot

Thespiralgoeson · 01-29-2008, 05:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dirkadirkastan

Boston was blowing everyone out too.

They'll cool off.

Boston "cooled off" because Garnett is injured.

StackAttack · 01-29-2008, 08:23 AM

He's been injured for one game, dude. They'd lost 4 of 9 before the injury.

mqywaaah · 01-29-2008, 08:49 AM

Could be a regular season team, but won't excel come playoff time due to lack of experience. I'm not afraid of them, but they have my resperct.

Flacolaco · 01-29-2008, 09:15 AM

The next 2 games against the hornets will be very interesting. Obviously, the mavericks will take them a little more serious this time around. The first time we played them was embarrassing, the way we let it get to OT.

dude1394 · 01-29-2008, 09:21 AM

Having an mvp-level point-guard goes a long,long way. I think they are damned good.

endrity · 01-29-2008, 09:22 AM

-First, Boston cooled off way before the game Garnett missed

-Second, I wasn't that worried about the hornets until now. The reason is, Peja seems to be really back. I mean 02-04 Peja. He was kinda struggling at the beginning of the year, but has had a couple of games where he is shooting lights out. With that shooting he provides so much space for paul to run around. And with the hornets peja really is a 3rd option, he doesn't have the pressure he did in Sacramento which at this point is probably much better for him.

-Their main weakness, as everyone might have heard is their bench. Melvin Ely and Janero Pargo are their best player off the bench. Yes, Bobby Jackson's career is officially dead. Those two guys might play good some nights but most nights they give you nothing. So a team with a solid 7-8 man rotation for the playoffs will give them a lot of problems.

-However I think we can do well against them. The hornets give people problems because of their size up front as well. But ever since damp came here that is not a problem for us, so that advantage of theirs we can negate. Harris is a good counterpart to paul, and their wings Peja and Mo Pete are not great defender. I believe Stack, Josh and Jet could do really well against them.

dalmations202 · 01-29-2008, 09:53 AM

The Hornets are good.

Look, they have an inside threat in West.
they have a shooter in Peja.
they have inside defense in Chandler.
they have an all-ability in Paul running things.

Could they use another slasher, and some depth --- yes (this will hurt them come second/third rounds of the playoffs)...... but they are very good.

Personally, IMO Dallas would take them in 6 come playoff time though because of lack of defensive depth.

MavsX · 01-29-2008, 11:27 AM

damnit

AxdemxO · 01-29-2008, 11:44 AM

reall good

nikeball · 01-29-2008, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dirkadirkastan

Boston was blowing everyone out too.

They'll cool off.

As Alby keeps telling me..Celtics will go .500 the rest of the season..

The Hornets imo are a lot deeper than the Celtics and can stay afloat much longer.

Nash13 · 01-29-2008, 01:51 PM

I'm glad to see them and the Blazers doing as good as they are. But i think it won't last. I just don't think even there starters don't have enough to go up against the better teams. They kinda remind me of the 2003 Suns. If everything goes right for them, and their opponents don't play that good, then they'd have a shot.

Tokey41 · 01-29-2008, 02:45 PM

Lack of depth is going to kill them at the end of the season and come playoff time. Their starters are great... but I keep coming back to the fact that they have one of if not the most injury prone player in the league in Peja on their team. On the plus side, the majority (well 3) of their starters are young so they shouldn't be overly worried about them breaking down with all those heavy minutes... but you still have to worry about guys like Mo Pete (maybe not as much) and Peja.

After those two forward busts in the draft a while back, I think they will regret ditching Bass.

They could definitely be second round material, I think it would be fun watching a playoff matchup against them. And when it's all said and done I still think we're the better overall team... this year (they still have tons of room to improve, which is the scariest thing).

endrity · 01-29-2008, 02:55 PM

Advancing in the playoffs will depend very much on the matchups for any team. I personally think that us, SA, LAL and probably Utah as well can beat them. But they would kill GS, Denver, and they have played really well against Phx and their size can create problems for the suns so they can phx as well.

I am not that scared of playing them to be honest. Utah scares me a little more than them or Lakers. The fact is the west is deep this year it will be tough to win it. That is why Avery better watch those minutes for ours players. We need them fresh come playoff time.

kg_veteran · 01-29-2008, 03:07 PM

They are for real.

As Hubie Brown would say, "Chris Paul is as good a point guard as we have in this league." Dude is right -- that's an excellent starting point.

They are ranked 7th in offensive efficiency, 2nd in defensive efficiency, and 7th in rebounding differential (as opposed to 2nd, 13th, and 5th for the Mavs). They haven't played a really tough schedule yet (Sagarin rates it as the second easiest schedule so far), but they look to be capable of winning 55 games or more.

Am I worried about them? No, not really. That's not to say that they couldn't win a series against the Mavs, but I don't think they would. I think the Mavs win the SG, SF, and PF spot matchups, and the Mavs have a better bench. The Mavs also have ways to deal with the problems the Hornets present, while I don't think the Hornets can deal with what Dallas will be throwing at them in a series.

Just my two cents...

bradleywillcrushyou44 · 01-29-2008, 03:40 PM

2nd round exit, no go to scorer, mavs, spurs and suns all are much better, i'd even put the jazz and celtics ahead of them but they are a nice team with an impressive stretch of games for sure

AxdemxO · 01-29-2008, 05:18 PM

Yee well Mavs were supposed to b better than GS and we lost. So they are real they can get far, they can beat us or any other team, and they can lose in the first round...but they are good thats for sure

AxdemxO · 01-29-2008, 05:23 PM

*** IMPORTANT THING TO KNOW

Lets say we pass them and they slip behind us and SA or something. That would put them in the lower half of the top 8 which means there could be a chance that we would face them in the first round...and to be honest i think they can beat us, we can beat them too, but thats the problem. If we play them and get out coached or our players dont come in with intensity we could lose to them. Just a thout

dalmations202 · 01-29-2008, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AxdemxO

*** IMPORTANT THING TO KNOW
<snip>
If we play them and get out coached or our players dont come in with intensity we could lose to them. Just a thout

Welcome to the NBA this is true of every team in the league.

AxdemxO · 01-29-2008, 06:52 PM

Umm well not as often with the top teams and thats kinda wht happened to us against GS

Dirkadirkastan · 01-29-2008, 08:07 PM

Sad how people think GS is now the rule and not the exception.

When something at the tail end of the probability spectrum happens, that doesn't mean it's likely to happen again.

The Mavs will reach the second round, and they will not get knocked out by the Hornets.

dude1394 · 01-29-2008, 09:12 PM

They are for real but so dang what. Everyone in the top half (and possibly the entire western playoff bracket) are "for real".

F'em all, rack 'em up and let's play 'em out.

kg_veteran · 01-29-2008, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dude1394

They are for real but so dang what. Everyone in the top half (and possibly the entire western playoff bracket) are "for real".

F'em all, rack 'em up and let's play 'em out.

Preach on, brotha.

Bookit · 01-30-2008, 10:48 AM

Aren't the Hornets always injured? Paul, Chandler, Peja, Bobby Jackson, and West are injured most of the time. Those guys will get hurt soon and the slide will start.

horse900703 · 01-30-2008, 02:05 PM

o, god this team is good