WHAT TYPE OF DEFENSE DO THE HORNETS PLAY?
	"Straight up man-to-man. Sometimes coming out of a time out, they show a little zone every now and then just to mix things up. ... They’re a good man-to-man team. The pressure of David Wesley and Baron Davis really keys the defense. They get steals because they play the passing lanes."

ARE THEY A GOOD DEFENSIVE TEAM OVERALL?

"The judgement is still out as to what kind of defensive team they are. I don’t know if they are a very good defensive team at this point. They don’t really have any inside presence. Jamaal Magloire has a chance. Elden Campbell isn’t in shape because of his injury. ... When they played against Yao Ming the other night, they didn’t help much, but they did a good job of not letting him get to the sweet spot. The guy guarding him kind of negated Yao Ming’s 7'6" height advantage because Yao received the ball 10-12 feet out."

THE HIDDEN WEAPON: P.J. BROWN

“The guy to me who is really key and unheralded is P.J. Brown. He quietly goes about doing his job. He has a presence in terms of blocking shots. He can play the toughest offensive threat for the opposition. He is a good help defender. Also, he's a threat on the offensive boards. ... He does a little bit of everything, but never gets any credit. ... He’s a player. He’s a guy that every guy would like to have on a team. P.J. won't carry your team, but he's a guy who is going to hold his own on a good team. He’s solid. As a coach, you want to know what your players are going to give you every night. You don’t want to have to worry about the inconsistencies."

WHAT MAKES P.J. BROWN A GOOD DEFENDER?

"He reads the opponent's offense. He understands when he's guarding someone who is not an offensive threat from the perimeter so he gets in position to rotate to help if his teammate gets broken down on penetration. Also, when someone sets a screen on a teammate, P.J. shows to help his teammate until his teammate recovers. ... A lot of players rotate once their man receives the ball. You have to play defense in advance. You have to rotate once the ball is in the air. If I’m guarding you and you’re on the weak side and I’m rotating to the strong side to help, if I wait until you catch the ball to get to you, it's too late. ... As the ball moves around the perimeter, a good defender should be moving. ... The best way to guard a good offensive player is to prevent him from getting the ball."

WHO ELSE PLAYS GOOD HELP DEFENSE IN THE NBA?

"Michael Jordan’s help defense is good. ... He has the ability to smell out what the offense is doing. Good defenders read weakside offenses. Miami does a good job with team defense. Utah basically does a terrific with team defense. All good basketball teams play good team defense. I can’t think of guys who really can stop anybody one-on-one. NBA players are just too skilled offensively so you have to get help. The idea is to read where the problem is, help, recover, and rotate. If a guy penetrates, you need to help your teammate."

--Evan Silverman, NBA.com