It’s time the Hornets generated some buzz. New Orleans is the lone remaining undefeated team. If that’s not surprising enough, they’ve done it with a new and first-time head coach and GM. On top of that, Chris Paul’s minutes per game are the lowest they’ve been since entering the league. That’s right, the Hornets best player is spending more time on the sidelines, which might sting* a more selfish player concerned about his stats (Paul’s scoring is down). In truth, all Paul cares about is winning and his grumbling during the off-season was understandable because it was difficult to determine whether all the changes in NO signaled if Hornets were committed to winning or merely to cutting payroll by bringing aboard inexperienced personnel.
The Lakers and Celtics have performed as advertised, each with eight wins, while the Heat are barely luke-warm at 6-4, but what about a team that had no hype entering the? The Hornets have been helped by the fact that 5 of the 8 games have been at home, but that has been balanced out by the quality of the opponents: six of the victories have been over squads that made the playoffs last year and one that shouldn’t be a pushover anymore (Clippers). Not to mention the Big Easy has never turned up in big numbers for basketball, so the spectator support isn’t the same as in San Antonio or Utah.
Monty Williams has changed the culture by preaching defense and the Hornets have taken their cues from two recent acquisitions. Emeka Okafor is protecting the paint, while Trevor Ariza is locking down the perimeter, which adds up to the Hornets allowing under 90 points per contest to opponents, less than every team but the Bucks. Having Okafor around to erase mistakes allows Paul to gamble on steals more and not necessarily cost his team points.
We’re not saying that the strong start is an indication of where this team will finish, but heading into the season the priority was to placate Paul, not a playoff push. We don’t anticipate a trip to the Western Conference finals (for one, their bench is thinner than Mary-Kate Olsen), but the Hornets could benefit from the low expectations and the fresh approach. Right now, they couldn’t bee any better.
*pun fully intended
Post script: The Hornets lost the very next game they played. That bugs me a little (once again, pun intended). In summary, my seal of approval is more like a kiss of death, which means you don't want to know what my kisses are like.
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