| 27 April 2009
Do you remember the episode of Saved By the Bell in which the gang joins an ROTC program for extra credits?
Zack and Slater end up taking different teams that were handpicked by the preppy one, only Zack doesn't get the star-studded roster that he put together for his assumed benefit. He ends up with the group of nerds but can't complain because he was supposed to pick even and fair teams. And when they go through the competitions for world domination (or high school credit), they get to the rope contest in which the nerdy Louise has to climb a rope faster than AC Slater. Louise doesn't really get up the rope at all, loses the competition and utters the statement, "Well, at least I came in second."
And that's really the only thing you can say about the Hornets tonight. They came in second... but only on a technicality. This was tied for the worst playoff loss in NBA history. And I wasn't around for the previous 58-point loss in 1956 but I'll just go ahead and guarantee that this Hornets' performance was the worst in NBA history. And that it wasn't even close. I don't have to go over the particulars of this game because well, it was the worst performance in NBA playoffs history. But let's go over a few things that have caused the doom of the 2009 New Orleans Hornets team:
1. I can't believe I'm even going to type this sentence, but Dahntay Jones has been the biggest reason for the Nuggets dominating the Hornets. His defense on Chris Paul has been annoying, frustrating, grating, irritating and down right brilliant. He's in the jersey of Chris Paul for 94-feet. He's talking into his ear constantly. He's grabbing, bumping, nudging, and hacking constantly and with everything he gets away with, it just frustrates Chris Paul all that much more. Dahntay Jones isn't good enough to really be on the court but his defense is making him invaluable to what the Nuggets are doing and that's why Chris Paul looks like he hates his team right now. He can't start the offense until 14 seconds on the shot clock are left and that is something he's simply not used to.
2. Peja Stojakovic is officially done. It's not a matter of him healing from injuries this off-season and coming back next season as a healthy sharpshooter. He's just done. He rarely is squared up on his jumper, which is causing it to be off. He has no lift in his legs. He's more of a liability on defense than a sheet of binder paper. And he's an unreliable scoring option. So what's the point of him being on the floor for 30 minutes? And that leads me to my next point...
3. What in the hell is Byron Scott doing on the sidelines? He's really nailed down the "crossed arms while looking like he's frustrated with his team even though he's secretly trying to make a mental checklist for everything he wants to pack for his next vacation" look. Where has Julian Wright been in this series? He's a solid defender, great slasher, and has the length to bother Carmelo Anthony at both ends of the floor. But instead, Scott has been trying to alienate and frustrate fans by keeping Peja Stojakovic on Carmelo Anthony throughout this series. How could anyone think Peja could check Melo? Peja hasn't been able to guard Melo since Anthony was a freshman in high school. Melo looks like he's practicing against Yi Jianlin's folding chair when he's going against Peja. I just don't get why you wouldn't try to use your youth, athleticism and energy off the bench to guard the other team's best scorer? Is Byron trying to get fired?
4. The stagnant offense of the Hornets has been exposed by the defense of the Nuggets. Denver simply has better athletes than what New Orleans is putting out on the floor outside of Chris Paul. And they're overpowering what New Orleans tries to do offensively. It's essentially waiting around Chris Paul to create while everyone else stand around. And that's a problem when Dahntay Jones is inexplicably bottling up the separation that Chris Paul generally gets from his defenders. The result in Game Four was 27 Hornets' turnovers that produced 41 points.
Why the Nuggets Won This Game
Because they were five points away from doubling the Hornets' point total. That almost always results in a win, mathematically speaking.
Why the Hornets Lose This Game
Every player on the team and a double-digit minus number in the plus/minus category. And only two of the 12 players who played had under a -20 in +/-. That will almost always result in a loss, mathematically speaking.
Heading into next game
It would be hard to expect the Hornets to show up for Game Five with a lot of energy and stubbornness after the schalacking that they took on Monday night. They appear to have completely given up on the series, season, and their head coach. They will probably come out and lose by 20 or more in Denver. Or maybe they'll put up a fight. Maybe they'll follow their best player into battle and go down swinging. I guess we'll find out how much this Hornets team cares and how great of a leader Chris Paul actually is.
Prediction: Nuggets close out the series, Chris Paul punches Dahntay Jones in the mouth. But hey, at least the Hornets came in second in this series.
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