NBA TV Preview

What a difference a year makes.

Last summer, Hornets fans were lamenting the team’s 18-64 record and its relocation to Oklahoma City following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

A year later, the Hornets are the league’s most improved team, thanks to Chris Paul, a nearly unanimous selection for NBA Rookie of the Year. Paul helped Byron Scott’s club orchestrate a 20-game improvement by averaging 16.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 7.8 assists and 2.24 steals a game. What will he do for an encore?

The Hornets will celebrate their return to New Orleans for six games – including the home opener – with plans to return permanently next season. Expect a little confusion from the fans in The Big Easy, for only ONE of the 22 players who played in New Orleans in 2004-05 – David West - is still with the club. Even West bears little resemblance to the role player he was two seasons ago. He finished second in Most Improved Player balloting after a 17.1 point, 7.4 rebound campaign last season.

This summer, the active Hornets front office surrounded West and Paul with reinforcements that will allow them to hold their own in the NBA’s toughest division. To improve their interior defense, the Hornets used back-to-back draft picks on forwards Hilton Armstrong and Cedric Simmons, then engineered a trade for Chicago’s Tyson Chandler, sending P.J. Brown and J.R. Smith to Chicago.

In a two-week period, they became a long, athletic shot-blocking team that can run the floor. Undoubtedly, they will improve upon a defense that was 21st in opponent FG percentage (.459).

To address the offense, they negotiated a sign-and-trade to acquire Peja Stojakovic, one of the league’s best shooters, and also added Bobby Jackson, a Sixth Man who can play behind Paul or Desmond Mason.

Last year, only two teams made fewer three-pointers than the Hornets, who instantly turned a weakness to a strength by obtaining Stojakovic and Jackson. The Hornets are now built to thrive on the fastbreak or in half-court sets.

New Orleans was a great story a year ago, overcoming their last-minute relocation and challenging for the playoffs before stumbling to a 7-19 finish. They look better this year, though they’re easy to overlook with the Spurs, Mavericks and Rockets looming in the division.

There are only eight playoff spots to be won in the West. Like the Rockets and Jazz, the Hornets look like an up-and-coming team capable of joining the party.
-- Bill Evans

2006-07 Hornets Mini-Plans

Mason

There’s no sugarcoating it; Desmond Mason was a huge disappointment in his first season with the Hornets.

His scoring average declined from 17.2 to 10.8 ppg, his lowest since his rookie season. His shooting percentage – never below 43 percent – dropped to .399 and his free throw shooting (.682) and assists (0.9) took a sharp decline as well. A slow start, from which he never really recovered, can probably be attributed to the timing of the trade that sent him from Milwaukee during the preseason a year ago.

It’s a new season and a fresh start for Mason, who should benefit by playing at breakneck speed. His athleticism is off the charts, he’s a hard worker, he’ll undoubtedly have a chip on his shoulder and, should he need additional motivation, he’s in a contract year.

With J.R. Smith and Kirk Snyder gone, Mason figures to have a fairly clear path to the starting shooting guard spot. That’s he’s not a shooter shouldn’t matter, as long as he can run the wing, alongside Paul, and finish with high percentage shots.

-- Bill Evans

X&O STRENGTH

Scott

They made two good additions this summer. They've got one guy who can play above the rim in Chandler and we know Stojakovic can shoot the ball, which they will need.

X&O WEAKNESS
Chris Paul had a good experience with Team USA, but he wasn't the point guard this summer that he should be when they play the Olympics. He needs to knock down the open jumper, but he's got a couple of years to mature.

HEAD COACH PHILOSOPHY
I think he probably did one of the best coaching jobs in the league last year, with the move to Oklahoma City.
-- Bill Fitch (courtesy of the National Basketball Coaches Association)

They are a solid, middle-of-the-group, playoff team right now. Stojakovic, Chandler and Bobby Jackson made their off-season moves arguably the best of any team in the league – draft and free-agency included
Players are respecting Paul as a veteran almost right out of the gate.
As long as Tyson can play all 82 games and go after it and not have any back problems, he would be their main guy (defensively).
You have to go back inside to Hilton Armstong, Cedric Simmons and David West. West is your midrange guy. So they got all the pieces. The midrange guy, the long distance guy, the athletic faceup 5-4 guy.
If you lose Chandler for any problems such as foul trouble or just not playing well that night, you have to rely on these rookies to step up and that’s maybe where you can get after them a little bit if you have a center/back-to-the-basket 4-man who can expose their frontline in some pump fakes that’s where maybe you can get their Achilles' heel.
-- Western Conference Scout

Peja Stojakovic: Peja will be the number one option on offense and will be the only legitimate threat from long range in the starting lineup.

Desmond Mason: He will remain a marginal talent in the fantasy game because of his inability to contribute beyond scoring.

More fantasy news

This team is one of a handful of teams trying to make the jump to the playoffs in the Western Conference this season. If the Hornets do, it will be with an improved offense. That offense will manifest in the transition game, and the Hornets certainly have the right pieces to run it. Otherwise, this is a thin squad fantasy-wise. The Hornets have four players in their starting lineup worth drafting: Chris Paul, David West, Peja Stojakovic, and Tyson Chandler. If you don't look to one (or more) of them, look elsewhere.
-- Guy Lake
Hornets Fantasy Preview

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