Bringing Back the Buzz: Zo & '92-93 Hornets

[studbucket]

In game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Hornets jumped out to an early lead and ended up winning 102-80, easily handling the Wizards. Kendall Gill had 20 points at halftime and Larry Johnson had 15 as the Hornets built up a 20 point lead at halftime. They kept that through the rest of the game and stymied LeBron and Wall, as the two only had 8 points at half. (Note, there was a bug in Simcast that ended the game early. Score likely would have been 115-95 or so, not 102-80).

Fresh off their solid game one victory, the Hornets are feeling confident and ready to completely take control of the series in game 2. However, Coach J knows that both LeBron and Wall and prideful players and won’t want to lay an egg again, so the Hornets need to be ready for the Wizards to come out strong. Wallace Anrin should watch his tongue and not get LBJ too fired up.

The first quarter was full of exciting basketball: contested shots, great assists, and flashy dunks. LeBron James had 6 assists and 8 points and Larry Johnson had 16 points as the Hornets had a 36-31 lead after the first quarter.

Washington started the second quarter off very well, taking the lead and enjoying some poor play from Charlotte’s backups. Charlotte battled back to take 56-53 halftime lead, but they only had 7 assists (to the Wizards 17) at the break, which is much different than Hornets’ basketball usually is.

In the 3^rd quarter, the Hornets started going at LeBron, and it worked early, getting him his 4^th and 5^th fouls. However, he started playing less physically on defense and subbed out for a bit, allowing the Hornets to go on a small run and get up 8.

In the 4^th, the Hornets pulled ahead early, getting a 15 point lead before the Wizards came back and made it a 4 point game. However, Charlotte held on in the end for a 118-112 victory to take a 2-0 series lead.

Larry Johnson had 33 points, but Alonzo Mourning was the star of the show with 32 points, 18 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Gortat and the rest of the Wizards frontcourt had no answer for either player on the night.

LeBron James played quite well, with a 27, 11, and 12 triple-double. The series heads back to Washington where the Wizards will try to get back into it.

Western Conference Finals Update Through 2 Games
Game 1: Trail Blazers 93 – Jazz 86: Despite the Jazz’s great front line, Tyson Chandler and Noah Vonleh controlled this game for Portland, combining for 30 points, 27 rebounds, and 6 blocks and combined +/- of 40. No player on the Jazz had more than 17 points. (POR up 1-0)

Game 2: Jazz 88 – Trail Blazers 82: The Jazz rebounded by holding the Jazz to 10 4^th quarter points and keeping Damian Lillard to 17 points and 8 assists. Gordon Hayward had 24 points and Rudy Gobert had 18 rebounds to lead the Jazz. (Series tied 1-1)

[studbucket]

Hornets vs Wizards
It’s not necessarily surprising that the Hornets have a 2-0 lead, after all both games were at home. What’s surprising is they won both of them fairly easily and had no problems crossing the 100 point barrier. Can the Wizards win a few at home to make it a real series?

Game 3: Hornets 113 – Wizards 87: It was another blowout victory for the Hornets. Kendall Gill scored 7 points in the first 2 minutes to get Charlotte up 11-2, and they didn’t look back. Up 31-10 at the end of the first as LeBron and John Wall combined to go 1-10. Charlotte kept a 20+ point lead the rest of the game. Larry Johnson finished with 24 points, 14 rebounds, and 8 assists, which Kendall Gill had 23 points. LeBron recovered to finish with 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists. (CHA up 3-0)

Game 4: Wizards 96 – Hornets 93: Facing a humiliating sweep at home, the Cavaliers got a first quarter lead and held it heading into the 4^th, up 73-65. Kendall Gill led the Hornets back in the 4^th, even taking a small lead. However, with 17 seconds left in the game, Alonzo Mourning lost the ball and Ray McCallum hit a 3 pointer to win the game for the Wizards. (CHA up 3-1)


Jazz vs Trail Blazers
After the Trail Blazers won game 1 in Utah, the Jazz battled back in another close game and have the series tied up 1-1 heading into Portland. Utah should still be the favorites, but Portland has showed they have a recipe to keep it close, and maybe even win, despite Lillard not playing up to his regular season levels.

Game 3: Trail Blazers 101 – Jazz 97: This time it was Noah Vonleh and Aaron Brooks who stepped up to lead Portland to a win as they scored a combined 41 points and the Blazers held Utah to 41 2^nd half points and took a 2-1 series lead. For Utah, they lose another close one, and just need someone to step up defensively or offensively. Their leading scorer had 20 points and they only had 2 blocks and 6 steals on defense. (POR up 2-1)

Game 4: Jazz 118 – Trail Blazers 99: A huge 2^nd and 3^rd quarters from the Jazz got them a 24 point lead entering the 4^th and Utah picked up the first blowout win of the series. 6 Jazz players scored in double digits and they were 53% from deep on the game. Damian Lillard was held to 22 points and 9 assists, giving him a series average of 19.8 points and 9.3 assists per game, well below his season average of 23.9 points, but a bit above his 8.9 assists a game. (Series tied 2-2)

[trekfan]

Looks like the Hornets are going to get the best of LeBron and the Wizards in game 5 ... interesting to see what's going on out West. A 2-2 tie series between two franchises that desperately want to win a title, it's all about who wants it more. I feel like the Jazz have the edge, but it's going to come down to the wire for them.

[studbucket]

Quote: Originally Posted by trekfan

Looks like the Hornets are going to get the best of LeBron and the Wizards in game 5 ... interesting to see what's going on out West. A 2-2 tie series between two franchises that desperately want to win a title, it's all about who wants it more. I feel like the Jazz have the edge, but it's going to come down to the wire for them.

Yeah, after the Wizards won the regular season 3-1, and looked good doing so, I thought this series would be much different. However, the Hornets got the 3-0 lead pretty easy, and John Wall's ineffectiveness may be the primary factor.

Completely agree on the West. If Lillard plays up to his regular season level, that may be it for the Jazz. From the Hornets perspective, the Jazz are a much, much worse matchup. Their length and physicality exceeds that of Charlotte's, whereas Coach J just needs to focus on Damian Lillard for the Trail Blazers.

Under-rated plot from the playoffs is the 3rd straight loss of the Warriors to the Thunder. Golden State may need to change things, because it's clear their formula doesn't work out West any longer.

[studbucket]

Up 3-1 and with all three wins being blowouts, the Hornets were feeling pretty good about getting back to the Finals. LeBron James and John Wall had mostly been contained, no other Wizards had stepped up, and the Washington defense just wasn’t containing the Hornets offense. All of Coach J’s players had their sights set on a third straight NBA Finals appearance, and they weren’t shy about it.

Alonzo Mourning – “All year we heard about how our stats were down and how we were vulnerable, how the league was figuring us out. We’ve gone 11-2 in the playoffs. Nobody’s figured us out.”

Larry Johnson – “The narrative the last few years was that we had an easy path through the playoffs. We had never met LeBron and were often facing lower seeds or upsets. Well they can’t say that this year. We took on the Wizards and if we take care of business tonight, we’ll be onto the Finals, where we may face the West’s #1 seed.”

Jerret Carmichael – “I’m just happy to be here. You know, so blessed to win an NBA Finals in year 1 of my career, and I might be able to go back in year 2…and not just go back, but I might match up against Freddy [Tobias] in the Finals. That’s great. I think if the Jazz make it, that’s 6 guys who played for Coach J in college in the one series. Pretty awesome.”

Coach J knew that LeBron and Wall would not be taking this chatter well, and even J.R. Smith could be really dangerous when motivated. He had to make sure his team stayed focused and finished this series off. The Wizards were far too talented to count out at this point.

It was another instant classic between the Hornets and Wizards, a bit reminiscent of the season opener. However, this time the Hornets walked away with the game and the series victory, heading to their 3^rd straight NBA Finals.

The Wizards jumped out to an early 12-5 lead despite Taj Gibson and Marcin Gortat getting in early foul trouble, but then the game stayed mostly close. At one point Washington was up 10 and Charlotte got up by as much as 6, but the drama heightened as time ticked down in the 4^th quarter.

With 5:35 left in the 4^th quarter, it was tied at 102 until the Hornets went on a 5-0 run and Marcin Gortat fouled out. However, some poor Charlotte play and a bad turnover led to a 110-109 Wizards lead until the Zo and Anrin got the Hornets up by 3. From there it went back and forth, with some key post play by Larry Johnson to keep Charlotte ahead.

Looking to foul Charlotte and down by 1, Washington went into a full court press. In a risky move, the inbounds pass was thrown to Alonzo Mourning at half court, who hustled down the court to throw down a showboating reverse dunk on the breakaway. After a few Washington buckets and Dell Curry free throws, the Wizards found themselves down by 3 with just seconds left. As the Charlotte faithful prepared to celebrate, LeBron James stunned them all with a three pointer to tie the game with 1.5 seconds left.

In overtime, the game continued to be drama-filled. Larry Johnson kept Charlotte in the game with a key steal of Gibson and then getting an and-1 to get Gibson to foul out just a minute later. Charlotte was up by 4 and looking in control, but John Wall made a nice shot and JR Smith was fouled off the ball for what was effectively a 4-point play as Smith made both free throws.

With 20 seconds left, the game tied, and the Wizards looking like they may be able to take the lead, Zo steps over from the weakside to help out Anrin and gets a huge block of LeBron. On the other end, a stagnant offensive possession leads to Kendall Gill driving into the middle of the lane but getting fouled on the shot. Gill went 1-2 from the line to put Charlotte up 136-135. JR Smith missed a layup on the other end and Carmichael was fouled. He also went 1-2 to give Charlotte a 2 point lead and the Wizards got the rebound with 5.5 left. That should have been more than enough to get a decent shot, but LeBron hoisted up a terrible 40 footer and smacked off the backboard.

The Hornets were looking to turn Charlotte into Titletown, USA.

Alonzo Mourning had led the way for Charlotte with another dominating performance of 37 points, 21 rebounds, and 5 blocks. Larry Johnson added 30 points and Kendall Gill added 22. LeBron James had a 27 point, 11 rebound, and 12 assist triple-double in the loss, while J.R. Smith added 22 points and John Wall added 20.

Utah vs Portland Series Updates
Defying expectations, the Portland Trail Blazers are in the NBA Finals. They shut down the Jazz’s offense and did just enough to win. Now, even without key contributor Mason Plumlee, they find themselves facing off against the Charlotte Hornets.

Game 5: Trail Blazers 97 – Jazz 79 – Nobody on Utah scored more than 14 and they had 20 turnovers as they were doomed by a 27-12 2^nd quarter. Damian Lillard scored 25 and was 5-9 from three to lead Portland.

Game 6: Trail Blazers 98 – Jazz 88 – The Portland Trailer Blazers are in their first NBA Finals since 1991 as Damian Lillard scored 35 points and shot a ridiculous 8-10 from three to send the Utah Jazz home. In this game, Freddy Tobias tore his hamstring and he may be out for some of next season.

[trekfan]

Blazers vs. Hornets for the Finals! Wow, didn't expect Portland to get there -- the will of Dame is strong. Blazers are massive underdogs in this, but they're dangerous ... Lillard is capable of going off anytime, anywhere.

[studbucket]

Quote: Originally Posted by trekfan

Blazers vs. Hornets for the Finals! Wow, didn't expect Portland to get there -- the will of Dame is strong. Blazers are massive underdogs in this, but they're dangerous ... Lillard is capable of going off anytime, anywhere.

Yeah, a definite surprise. If Plumlee stayed healthy, I could kind of see it because of how important he is for them, but it's a surprise.

Lillard is definitely key for them, and he led the last 2 games of the series. However, in the first 4 games, they got those wins thanks to Tyson Chandler, Ed Davis, and Noah Vonleh. None of them are great, but that 3 man rotation is all very solid. All 3 are good rebounders and defenders, and Vonleh and Davis are quite athletic.

John Wall (another great point guard) has killed the Hornets in the past, but in the regular season Coach J focused on Lillard and tried to make the rest of the Trail Blazers beat him, and Portland fell apart both times. This is probably a good matchup for the Hornets.

Still shocked the Warriors haven't made a Finals yet, let alone out of the first round.

[studbucket]

For the third straight season, and in only his third season as an NBA coach, Coach J finds himself in the NBA Finals. A veritable dynasty is being built in Charlotte, and the core of it is only in their mid-20s. There are big questions about whether Larry Johnson, Alonzo Mourning, Kendall Gill, and Avery Bradley will find themselves back in Charlotte next season as all 4 have expiring deals and haven’t received extensions from the team. It’s believed the Hornets are waiting to get the Bird rights for Johnson and Mourning and will make decisions on the rest of their roster after that.

On the other side, we have the unlikely opponents: the Portland Trail Blazers. They beat the 1, 2, and 3 seeds in the West to make their first Finals since 1991. Unfortunately for them, many are predicting it will end in a bitter loss just like that one. Damian Lillard may be the best player in the series, but he has nobody on his team that is comparable in talent to Johnson or Mourning, and his wingmen aren’t of the same quality as Gill and Anrin.

Team Comparison

Team	Charlotte Hornets	Portland Trail Blazers
Seed	1	6
Record	65-17	46-36
Playoff Opponents	76ers (4-0); Raptors (4-1); Wizards (4-1)	Clippers (4-2); Rockets (4-2); Jazz (4-2)
Points scored	109.2	102.9
Points allowed	95.4	100.6
Strengths	Frontcourt; interior scoring; interior defense	Frontcourt depth; bench scoring; three point shooting
Weaknesses	Perimeter depth	Wing play

Looking at the two teams, all of the numbers and matchups seem to point in Charlotte’s direction. They won 19 more games in the regular season, score more points and allow less per game, and easily handled both regular season matchups.

Key Matchups
Damian Lillard vs Avery Bradley – Damian Lillard could go off for 50 on any night, and Coach J knows that if he wants to win this series he needs to limit the star point guard. Avery Bradley can be an offensive threat, but it’s likely that his job this series will be to lock down Lillard and not focus on much else. Bradley is one of the league’s better perimeter defenders and is backed by one of the association’s premier rim protectors in Alonzo Mourning. However, he’ll have his hands full with an explosive Lillard and will likely need to be fighting through screens all series.

Alonzo Mourning and Larry Johnson vs Portland Frontcourt – Johnson and Mourning are the league darling superstars, and rightfully so. They are double-double machines and occupy the minds of every coach they face. Athletic and strong, it’s near impossible to shut both of them down. If you do, they are unselfish enough to let Kendall Gill or another teammate carry the load, but teams haven’t been able to do so for an entire game. Tyson Chandler has the pedigree and Noah Vonleh and Ed Davis have the athleticism to deal with them, but it’s easier said that done. Portland will need to handle these two if they hope to have any chance of winning this series.

Aaron Brooks vs Jerret Carmichael – Aaron Brooks has been fantastic off of the bench for the Trail Blazers this season and led them admirably in Damian Lillard’s absence. Carmichael and Brooks won’t face off directly, but represent the two teams’ best bench scoring threats. If one of them can get hot when the stars are on the bench, they could make a huge difference in a game or two and swing the series.


Sub Plot
Charlotte’s expiring contracts – Only 4 players have contracts or options for next season: Wallace Anrin, Jerret Carmichael, Paul Noonan, and Mamadou Banjo. Interestingly, all four players played for Coach J in college. However, we don’t think that’s why they have contracts and nobody else does. The organization is waiting to re-sign Mourning and Johnson before making moves on any other players.

There’s a chance that this is the last game in teal for many players we associate with the franchise, including Kendall Gill, Avery Bradley, Kelly Olynyk, and Dell Curry. It may even be the final hurrah for Mourning and Johnson if negotiations break down. We don’t think this will impact the series, but as chatter heats up, it could be a distraction for the Hornets.

Prediction
Hornets in 5 games. An argument could be made that Portland will win this series, but it’s not likely. Charlotte’s talent and ability to key on Lillard will help them coast to a series victory in 5 games.

Note: my random number generator gave me games 2 and 4, so I’ll be playing those.