Inside the Hornets: Byron Scott Chat, Part II
In the second installment of Hornets head coach Byron Scott’s season-ending interview, Scott discusses the Hornets’ roster. Scott also addresses the difficulty of trying to make the next step from 38-win team to playoff qualifier.
Question: What did it say about this team that it had four candidates to win NBA awards?
Answer: David West had two rocky seasons, but he came back and had a great year this year. I only expect him to get better. Speedy had a great year coming off the bench. If Chris Paul doesn’t win Rookie of the Year, something’s wrong. You had two guys in the running for Sixth Man of the Year and Most Improved, so it’s been a good year team-wise and individual-wise.
Q: Even though you didn’t make the playoffs, it was probably nice to know that what you’ve done was recognized?
A: We made some leaps, some nice steps. We talked about getting better and we got better. Now we go back to the drawing board and Jeff and I sit down and we see if we can get better next year.
Q: Do you think it’s tougher for a team to take the next step? Meaning that it’s tougher to go from 38 wins to 48 wins than it was to go from 18 to 38 like the Hornets did?
A: I agree with that. Next year, there isn’t going to be any team in the league that we can sneak up on… Right from the get-go, teams are going to know that they have to come ready to play us. So yeah, I think it will be tougher to get to the next plateau.
Q: Which players that you expect to bring back do you think will make the most improvement next season?
A: Close to training camp, when we have our roster done, I’ll take a look at guys. I like to tell them before they get here – before training camp even starts – what I expect of them, the type of season I expect. Both individually and as a team. I try to put a little pressure on them to let them know.
Q: Statistically, this was not one of Desmond Mason’s best seasons. How do you look at his season? Do you think his role will stay the same, or will he become more of a scorer like he was?
A: He’ll become more of a scorer. You’ve got to remember, when he came here, for the first two or three weeks, he was coming off the bench. When he became a starter, he really started to play well for us. Desmond’s a workaholic, so I know having a year under his belt in this system, he’ll get better and become more comfortable. So I’m not so much worried about him. I know his scoring will go up next year.
Q: His shooting form was a hot topic in Oklahoma City this season. There were many fans at the Ford Center who said, ‘He didn’t shoot like that when he was at Oklahoma State.’ You mentioned that his shot was something you’d be working with him on this summer. Is that a big priority, getting Desmond squared away? Or do you think he’s already squared away?
A: No, he’s not. It’s something he’s talked about as well. We already pulled some dates out when we can get together and start working on it. I saw tapes of Desmond when he was in Seattle, and I remember Desmond when I was in Sacramento, we brought him in for a workout (when Mason was an NBA draft prospect). I told him, ‘I don’t remember you shooting like this. What happened? What was the change?’ Desmond said it was a shoulder injury he sustained, and (his shot) changed (because of the injury). I’ve got to try to break everything down and start over. That’s going to take some time. It’s going to take the summer. But the one thing about Desmond, he’s willing to do it. I’m looking forward to it.
Q: It seems like (Mason) plays very hard, maybe harder than anyone else out there on the floor. Is that accurate?
A: That’s accurate. He’s a competitor, he’s runs the floor as hard as anybody we have. He’s one of those guys who, defensively, when he gets scored on he doesn’t like it. It ticks him off. That’s just his nature. He plays hard – everything he does, he does it 110 percent.
Q: How much of your success this year was due to everybody on your team playing hard?
A: I think that’s why we got off to such a good start. When teams beat us, it’s not going to be because they played harder than us, or were in better shape than us. I think that was evident the first couple months of the season. I think that was evident the first couple months of the season – we competed at a big-time, high level. We didn’t let anybody outwork us. That motto’s going to stick around for a while, because that’s how we have to be next year as well.
Q: What do you think happened to your team after the All-Star break?
A: I think some things caught up to us. Mentally and physically we got fatigued. We had to pick up the level of our intensity, and we couldn’t pick it up. We almost stayed like we were, while every other team picked it up. That’s just lack of experience. Hopefully from that what happened this year, we learned our lesson and we’ll be ready next year.
Q: You had so many players who played more minutes than they’d played in their careers, and not just the rookies. How much of a factor do you think that was in the second half of the season?
A: I think that had a little part to play in it. We had PJ playing too many minutes, and a guy like David West, who’d never played that many minutes. He even mentioned to me that mentally he was fatigued. And I don’t think he was the only one. I think it kind of trickled down to everybody. We had probably six or seven guys who had never played that many minutes in their career.
Question: What did it say about this team that it had four candidates to win NBA awards?
Answer: David West had two rocky seasons, but he came back and had a great year this year. I only expect him to get better. Speedy had a great year coming off the bench. If Chris Paul doesn’t win Rookie of the Year, something’s wrong. You had two guys in the running for Sixth Man of the Year and Most Improved, so it’s been a good year team-wise and individual-wise.
Q: Even though you didn’t make the playoffs, it was probably nice to know that what you’ve done was recognized?
A: We made some leaps, some nice steps. We talked about getting better and we got better. Now we go back to the drawing board and Jeff and I sit down and we see if we can get better next year.
Q: Do you think it’s tougher for a team to take the next step? Meaning that it’s tougher to go from 38 wins to 48 wins than it was to go from 18 to 38 like the Hornets did?
A: I agree with that. Next year, there isn’t going to be any team in the league that we can sneak up on… Right from the get-go, teams are going to know that they have to come ready to play us. So yeah, I think it will be tougher to get to the next plateau.
Q: Which players that you expect to bring back do you think will make the most improvement next season?
A: Close to training camp, when we have our roster done, I’ll take a look at guys. I like to tell them before they get here – before training camp even starts – what I expect of them, the type of season I expect. Both individually and as a team. I try to put a little pressure on them to let them know.
Q: Statistically, this was not one of Desmond Mason’s best seasons. How do you look at his season? Do you think his role will stay the same, or will he become more of a scorer like he was?
A: He’ll become more of a scorer. You’ve got to remember, when he came here, for the first two or three weeks, he was coming off the bench. When he became a starter, he really started to play well for us. Desmond’s a workaholic, so I know having a year under his belt in this system, he’ll get better and become more comfortable. So I’m not so much worried about him. I know his scoring will go up next year.
Q: His shooting form was a hot topic in Oklahoma City this season. There were many fans at the Ford Center who said, ‘He didn’t shoot like that when he was at Oklahoma State.’ You mentioned that his shot was something you’d be working with him on this summer. Is that a big priority, getting Desmond squared away? Or do you think he’s already squared away?
A: No, he’s not. It’s something he’s talked about as well. We already pulled some dates out when we can get together and start working on it. I saw tapes of Desmond when he was in Seattle, and I remember Desmond when I was in Sacramento, we brought him in for a workout (when Mason was an NBA draft prospect). I told him, ‘I don’t remember you shooting like this. What happened? What was the change?’ Desmond said it was a shoulder injury he sustained, and (his shot) changed (because of the injury). I’ve got to try to break everything down and start over. That’s going to take some time. It’s going to take the summer. But the one thing about Desmond, he’s willing to do it. I’m looking forward to it.
Q: It seems like (Mason) plays very hard, maybe harder than anyone else out there on the floor. Is that accurate?
A: That’s accurate. He’s a competitor, he’s runs the floor as hard as anybody we have. He’s one of those guys who, defensively, when he gets scored on he doesn’t like it. It ticks him off. That’s just his nature. He plays hard – everything he does, he does it 110 percent.
Q: How much of your success this year was due to everybody on your team playing hard?
A: I think that’s why we got off to such a good start. When teams beat us, it’s not going to be because they played harder than us, or were in better shape than us. I think that was evident the first couple months of the season. I think that was evident the first couple months of the season – we competed at a big-time, high level. We didn’t let anybody outwork us. That motto’s going to stick around for a while, because that’s how we have to be next year as well.
Q: What do you think happened to your team after the All-Star break?
A: I think some things caught up to us. Mentally and physically we got fatigued. We had to pick up the level of our intensity, and we couldn’t pick it up. We almost stayed like we were, while every other team picked it up. That’s just lack of experience. Hopefully from that what happened this year, we learned our lesson and we’ll be ready next year.
Q: You had so many players who played more minutes than they’d played in their careers, and not just the rookies. How much of a factor do you think that was in the second half of the season?
A: I think that had a little part to play in it. We had PJ playing too many minutes, and a guy like David West, who’d never played that many minutes. He even mentioned to me that mentally he was fatigued. And I don’t think he was the only one. I think it kind of trickled down to everybody. We had probably six or seven guys who had never played that many minutes in their career.
