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

[studbucket]

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

The win over Joey Fletcher, Carmelo, and the Knicks had kicked off a 3 game winning streak and had them sitting at 6-4. Coach J felt that things were coming together, and felt the team had a very winnable stretch of games coming up. However, he couldn't get ahead of himself, they had the grudge match against the Knicks next. Carmelo got 32 points last game, but wasn't efficient and the rest of the Knicks never really threatened to do much. The loss would be fresh in the minds of the Knicks, Joey Fletcher would want to prove himself to Coach J, and this would be at the Garden. This wasn't going to be an easy game.

And easy it wasn't. The Knicks came out and played a great team game and the Hornets defense was non-existent.

The game started off well enough, with 'Zo throwing down 2 dunks to kick things off. Both teams shot very well in the 1st quarter, and it finished tied up at 29.

The 3rd quarter was where the wheels came off for Charlotte. Bad passes combined with bad defense resulted in a 9-point deficit heading into the 4th quarter. Despite being held to a quiet night the previous week by Robin Lopez, the 4th quarter was all Mourning. A huge 4th quarter helped him rack up 34 points and Avery Bradley got 17 assists thanks to a deadly pick and roll game. However, it wasn't enough, as Calderon hit a killer 3 late in the game that meant that the Hornets never got closer than 4 points.

Larry Johnson also fouled out partway through the 4th quarter, to wrap up a pretty miserable game that saw him net 13 points, 6 turnovers, 1 board, assist, and steal.

New York had 6 players in double digit scoring, and smart play from Carmelo, Lopez, and Calderon killed the Knicks all night. Joey Fletcher didn't have much of a performance against his old team, but he didn't need to.

The Hornets have a winnable stretch of games coming up before facing the league-leading Cavaliers, who feature former Wisconsin Badger and Coach J protege Tommy Camper at center. They'll need to see their defense and Larry Johnson step up if they want to stay in the playoff picture in the East.

[studbucket]

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

Dell Curry may not be performing as well as Coach J would have hoped this year, but Coach J isn't shortsighted enough to accept this trade from the Spurs. Perhaps the 4 trades he made early in the season made other teams feel he was irrational and impatient.

[trekfan]

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

^Spurs trying to put one over on you. They didn't even bother to throw in a second round pick!

[studbucket]

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

The embarrassing defensive effort in the loss to the Knicks seem to kick the Hornets in the butt, as the whole team stepped up their defensive game. Coach J’s team won the next 4 games, holding their opponents to 77 or less points three of the 4 games. Larry Johnson recovered, Kendall Gill was stepping up his game, and Dell Curry was starting to hit his shots. It all was coming together in time for a showdown between #1 and #2 in the East: the Cavs were coming to town.

This was going to be a very tough game for the Hornets. Their defense had been playing great, but the Cavs had size and shooting and would stretch the Hornets defense with spacing and height. It would likely also make the Hornets interior game tougher than usual. Would 6’5” Kendall Gill be able to make any impact on LeBron? Would ‘Zo get pushed around by Tommy Camper & Mozgov?

Coach J loved Tommy Camper; he may have been the coach’s favorite college player, but he had a little bit of a competitive streak in him. He wanted to show his former player that the coach would be winning this chess match.

The game featured wild swings both ways. In the first quarter, the Cavs looked slow and out of sorts as the Hornets jumped out to a double digit lead before the Cavs brought it to 6. They were making all the right passes and finding open 3, elbow shots, and dunks.

Alonzo Mourning looked especially ready for this game, but got into early foul trouble, and Coach J had to sit him more than would have been desired. In the 2^nd quarter, Cleveland came back with 31 points and were up by 4 at the half. The MVP of the first half was definitely Iman Shumpert, who finished with 17 points. Interestingly, he wouldn’t score again the rest of the game.

The low point for the Hornets was the middle of the 3^rd quarter. The team came out flat and found themselves down by 13. After a few furious talks during timeouts, the Hornets’ 2^nd team woke up and made several key defensive stops, helping to close the gap to single digits.

With 3:41 left in the 4^th quarter, a Larry Johnson dunk tied the game at 107. Unfortunately, that would be as close as the Hornets got. An easy fast break bucket and a 3-pointer later, the Hornets found themselves down by 5.

LeBron showed why he is the best player in the NBA with 36 points on 14-23 shooting and also handed out 8 assists. Matthew Dellavedova was especially active, running all over the floor and finding teammates on his way to 16 assists.

‘Zo got his points, with 36, but was unable to assert himself down low, as he and Larry Johnson were held to a combined 12 rebounds, which is less than half of their combined season average. Kendall Gill also found himself struggling to score with all the height clogging the lane. On a brighter note, Dell Curry went 3-3, and Coach J would be wise to lean on his veteran shooter more in the coming weeks.

The Hornets welcome the Bucks to town in 2 days. They’re another long team, but the shooting isn’t quite there for them. In an interview with NBA Inside Stuff, Coach J admitted that he was hoping to play a physical game against the Bucks, throwing them off their game and getting Giannis and Monroe into foul trouble. We’ll see if it works out.

[studbucket]

November 29, 2015 vs Milwaukee Bucks

At 10-6, Coach J’s Hornets were sitting 3^rd in the East, and were showing that you could succeed around youth. Led by rookie Alonzo Mourning, sophomore Larry Johnson, and 3^rd year player Kendall Gill, the Hornets had been surprising everyone. Outside the team, there have been concerns about Coach J’s wheeling and dealing. Having traded Muggsy Bogues and a lot of veteran depth, there was a significant amount of upheaval in the locker room and fans were understandably upset over seeing fan favorite Bogues leave town.

Most neutral observers could see what Coach J was doing, however. Better shooting, better depth, and a little taller. Some 2^nd round picks were lost, but the Hornets ultimately ended up with 2 extra firsts. Using this new roster, the Hornets were taking on another young and rising team: the Milwaukee Bucks.

Coach J talked about playing a physical game, but as soon as it started, it was clear that the Bucks were ready to beat him at his own game. With a starting lineup of John Henson, Greg Monroe, and Giannis Antetokounpo at the 3, 4, and 5, there was more size than Coach J was expecting. However, the Hornets saw a weakness in the Bucks lineup: none of the frontcourt were good shooters, Middleton was starting on the bench, and Michael Carter-Williams was a notoriously poor shooter, and it showed tonight.

Right from the get go, the Hornets were begging Carter-Williams to shoot, and shoot he did. Brick after brick piled up, allowing the Hornets to get 57 rebounds on the night, a full 20 more than the Bucks. Carter-Williams did lead the Bucks in scoring, managing 22 points on 9-27 shooting and getting a paltry 2 assists.

Milwaukee kept it surprisingly close through much of the first half, mostly thanks to great performances off the bench from Middleton and Vazquez, but the Hornets pulled away as the half ended, and never looked back. Midway through the 3^rd quarter, the lead was nearly 20. It got back to as close as 8, but it was never in doubt.

Kendall Gill won the Jordan Player of the Game award, with his 26 point, 6 rebound, 9 assist night, but the analysts got that one wrong, overlooking Larry Johnson’s near triple-double: 27 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists, and only 1 turnover (to Gill’s 5).

The Hornets have some tough games coming up against the Warriors and Bulls, but get a break soon after, getting some of the easier teams in the East, a 3 day break, and a matchup with former Hornet Muggsy Bogues.

[trekfan]

Re: November 29, 2015 vs Milwaukee Bucks

Good win against the Bucks, that team is no joke defensively. Gonna be tough against the Warriors (I hate playing them, they can beat you so many different ways).

[studbucket]

Re: November 29, 2015 vs Milwaukee Bucks

Good win against the Bucks, that team is no joke defensively. Gonna be tough against the Warriors (I hate playing them, they can beat you so many different ways).

Yeah, I really won the game with fast breaks and transitions. MCW (and others) missed so many shots, I was able to get out on the break, where Gill and LJ thrive.

Warriors game is Dell Curry vs Steph Curry, which is a fun subplot

[studbucket]

Coach J and the EIU Panthers: 2007-2008

In early 2007 Eastern Illinois University hired a former Iowa Hawkeye benchwarmer, graduate assistant, and assistant coach. He was remarkably young, only 25 years old at the time, but he had come highly recommended by the Iowa staff. Eastern Illinois had also experienced severe budget cuts, and needed to take a flier on someone.

When Coach J arrived in Charleston, Illinois, the Panthers had only won 34 games over the previous 4 seasons and hadn’t had a winning record since the 2000-01 season. Taking stock of his roster, Coach J noticed something immediately: he had a leader at point guard, shooters at shooting guard and small forward, and 2 pretty big players down low. For an Ohio Valley school, this was a decent starting point and something he could mold into a competitive team.

Matt Dorlack was really raw, but Coach J got to work with him on a basic up-and-under move as well as teaching him to look for the corner three when teams double down.

2007-08 EIU Panthers roster

And the corner three was effective. Senior guard/forward Bobby Catchings was the deadliest from deep, and would be key for the team all season long as the Panthers went 26-8 and made the NCAA tournament. It was a huge turnaround and it thrilled the student body as the Panthers scored 76 points a game, shooting 40.4% from three.

In the first round of the tournament, EIU played Wisconsin in a very tough matchup. Matt Dorlack and Ousmane Cisse were no match for Jon Leuer and Greg Stiemsma, but Eastern Illinois came roaring back as unlikely hero, and backup Senior shooting guard, Julio Anthony hit 12 three-pointers in a 48 point effort. However, the team fell just a few points short of completing a major 15-2 upset.

EIU game records

In 2008-09, both Catchings and Anthony had graduated and that left both a leadership and scoring void. Luckily, Junior Shooting Guard Romain Martin was up for the task. He led the team in scoring the previous year, but in ’08-’09, Martin set the school record for field goals made and three pointers made. However, it wasn’t just offense that powered this team, Matt Dorlack set a school record for rebounds in a season, and Mike Robinson set a school record for steals.

Coach J and the Panthers won the regular season OVC championship again, but fell in the conference tournament, meaning they’d miss out on the tourney and end up in the NIT.

After the season, there were several suitors for Coach J, and he decided to test the market, wanting to have a better chance at making the tournament on a regular basis. After much deliberation, he decided to head West for the mountains of Idaho to coach the Boise State Broncos. The focus on the football team, a slightly down conference, and an oft-ignored area for recruiting meant less pressure, and hopefully more opportunities for success.

EIU Panthers Single Season Player Records:

EIU Panthers Single Season Team Records:

Seasons: 2
Record: 50-16
Regular season titles: 2
Conference tourney titles: 1
NCAA tourney wins: 0

[studbucket]

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

I almost went with this trade...and may still do it sometime, just because it would be fun to have both Seth and Dell Curry on the same team

[trekfan]

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

^Father/Son NBA teammates? Honestly surprised it hasn't happened yet (I can't remember if it's been done before in the NBA). Seth could develop under the tutelage of his father or his career could be crushed by having the old man around. Would be really interesting.

[studbucket]

Injuries and trades

In the last few games, the team has suffered 2 moderate injuries:

Taj Gibson is hurt for another 4-6 weeks, and since the team is in a decent position and Coach J was able to get another big man (more on that later), the team has decided to rest Gibson to wait for his back to heal.

Kendall Gill is out for about a month with a fractured hand. As one may have guessed, the injury occurred as the result of a monster tomahawk slam.

Given the Hornet’s shallow rotation, these injuries were motivation for Coach J to bolster his bench depth again. He would have loved to sign Romain Martin, Wallace Anrin, or Paul Noonan from free agency, but could only offer them minimum contract money. As such, the Hornets had to work the trade market.

He started off by dangling backup John Brown, hoping to be able to get a reasonable 8^th or 9^th man option. Fortunately for the Hornets, the Clippers were willing to part with Cole Aldrich and exchange a handful of first-round picks.

With Gill out, Coach J looked to his bench and myriad picks to swing another deal. This time he swapped first rounders with the Thunder and got Andre Roberson for Kevin Lynch, which is a huge upgrade. Roberson isn’t a great shooter, but as the last guard off the bench, being a decent defender is about all that Coach J can ask for right now.

With all these trades made, here’s the draft picks the Hornets currently have. There are no picks in 2018, but they have 2 first round picks each in 2016, 2017, and 2019. Given the number of moves that Coach J has made, we imagine that the team won’t be keeping those for long either.

[studbucket]

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

^Father/Son NBA teammates? Honestly surprised it hasn't happened yet (I can't remember if it's been done before in the NBA). Seth could develop under the tutelage of his father or his career could be crushed by having the old man around. Would be really interesting.

Definitely. Coming soon: details on the recent father-son matchup between the Warriors and Hornets.

[studbucket]

2015 1st Quarter Update

Recap at the Quarter Mark

We’re a quarter of the way into the season, and it can only be considered a runaway success so far for the young Hornets and first year head coach. Sitting at 14-6, in 2^nd place in the East, and on a 4 game winning streak, the city of Charlotte is embracing their Hornets and the young trio of Mourning, Johnson, and Gill have become national media darlings.

The team is obviously helped by a weak Eastern conference, but has also managed to win their last 3 games against the West and the numbers are proving that this isn’t just a fluke. Mourning and Johnson are sitting 6^th and 7^th in the league in PER, both with ratings above 25 and both are averaging double-doubles.

Notable Games

December 2 vs Golden State
In a matchup of father and son, the elder curry got the better of Steph. Not only did the Hornets win a (surprisingly) low-scoring game, but Dell’s 17 points on 6-13 shooting was a bit better than his son’s 17 points in 4-15 shooting.

December 7 vs Detroit
Larry Johnson set a career high with 25 rebounds and had another near triple-double as part of a dominant 35 point win against the Pistons.

Statistics & Awards
Highlights:

• Alonzo Mourning leads all rookies with 21.3 PPG and 12.1 RPG
• Larry Johnson is 7^th in the league in PPG, averaging 22.5
• ‘Zo is 8^th in the league in rebounds at 12.1 per game
• Grandmama is sitting 5^th in the East in Forward/Center all-star voting, and that ain’t just because of the commercials
• All 5 Hornets starters are averaging more than 10 points per game
• The 2 starting forwards, Kendall Gill and Johnson, are both averaging over 6 assists a game
• Kelly Olynyk has stepped up in Gibson’s absence, and even grabbed 15 rebounds in 21 minutes against the Pistons
• Larry Johnson has won Easter Conference Player of the Week twice, which is as many times as LeBron James.
• All 4 Hornets that get to the line at least 3 times a game are shooting over 80% from free throws (Curry, Gill, Johnson, Mourning)
• Alonzo Mourning has 18 double-doubles in 20 games, Larry Johnson has 17 (and 2 triple-doubles)

Lowlights:

• Starting point guard Avery Bradley is only averaging 3.3 assists/game
• The point guard rotation of Bradley and Sessions both have PERs of less than 10.
• Avery Bradley is shooting 22.7% from three

Jimmy Butler is the biggest injury in the league now, and won’t be back until the spring. Blake Griffin is on the mend, but still out another 2 months.

[trekfan]

Re: 2015 1st Quarter Update

Man, Zo and Johnson are dominating the league right now. If they can stay healthy going forward, you'll have a shot at top two seed in the East -- huge for avoiding the Cavs until the ECF.

[megarover]

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

Grandmama should be getting some serious MVP love soon with his play so far.