The Good, the Bad and the Hornets

Starting Monday, the New Orleans Hornets went through a gauntlet of four games on the road in six days. I was able to watch the last two, against Portland and the Lakers, and these two games were exact portrayals of the Hornets' season as a whole.

On Thursday, the Hornets were outmanned by the Blazers. Literally. Eight Hornets dressed out in Portland. Emeka Okafor was out with a knee injury. Gustavo Ayon was with his newborn child. Chris Kaman had the sniffles. Trevor Ariza and Jarret Jack had injured right ankles. Eric Gordon was not there because he is Eric Gordon.

Despite the eight-man team, the Hornets fought as they have all season. Carl Landry, back from injury, scored 24 hard, strong points. Marco Belinelli did his best Peja Stojakovic impression and hit a career best seven of 11 from beyond the arc.

But two players were not enough to down the Blazers.

LaMarcus Aldridge is an All-Star for a reason. Although his shoulders have been hurting from carrying his team the entire season, Aldridge managed 25 points and hit a clutch jump shot in the final seconds to put the Hornets out of the game. J.J. Hickson came back from the dead to rally the troops off the bench with 12 points. And I didn't know who he was, but Luke Babbitt sunk four three-pointers to stun the Hornets. 

Yesterday, the Lakers proved, in this lockout season, talent surmounts effort at the end of games. Pau Gasol dropped 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds on the undersized Hornets (Lance Thomas and Jason Smith started in the post) and Andrew Bynum had a double-double. While Kobe Bryant only managed 11 points and one three-pointer, he hit the shot that counted. 

The game was tied with 10 seconds left. Bryant had the ball at the top of the key. Trevor Ariza, who usually matches up against Bryant for the Hornets, was out, so Jarrett Jack guarded Bryant. Jack sagged off Bryant because he had not been shooting well all game. Kobe faked the drive, pulled up and drained the game winner. It was his first three-pointer of the game.

The Hornets have been tough to watch all season. New Orleans' offense has been anemic (29th in points per game) since Eric Gordon was injured. Coach Monty Williams has developed one of the best defenses in the country, but they get outplayed in the fourth quarter by superior talent.

Monty Williams is one of the best young coaches in the league. Most of his players are one dimensional, but a good draft can get the Hornets back into playoff contention.