Is it just me or do the Hornets really have a bad attitude. I mean, they want to throw elbows and give out cheapshots(maybe trying to emulate Utah) but cry to high heaven when you give it back or they get called for the (proper) offensive fouls when they lower the shoulder or push off with the forearm. They seem to get really frustrated easily and even the simple act of dunking the basketball is to be followed by the angry stare like the defender still took your lunch money even though you scored. I lost what little respect I had for the Hornets tonight. CP3 flopping, West lowering the shoulder, Chandler whining about every little contact.
They are a fake wannabe tough team. Chandler thinks he is tough. But the dude is a toothpick. David West thinks he is tough and the ****, but would be crap without CP3. CP3 is an awesome player, but thinks he is tougher then he really is.
If you have seen Tyson play live, he is actually a very impressive presence on the floor. Not a guy you would want to **** with. That said, Ron, Chuck, and Dorsey are the scariest/toughest basketball players on the planet...
I hate to say it but it seems like most championship teams have that quality to some extent. I know the Hornets aren't a championship team. I'm just saying that quality does seem to exist among a lot of the better teams.
CP3 is awesome, but he does have a Napoleon complex. David West, on the other hand, just looks angry all the time. Some may call it "swagger", I call it phony. The OP hit the nail on the head, you don't act tough then go and whine to the refs.
I bet other teams feel the same way about the Rockets. I think it's just an opposition thing.....unless it's the Jazz. Then it's all legit.
Kobe and Pau and Odom dont look angry all the time. Sure KG and Rondo do, but Allen is mild mannered and Pierce only elevates to that status. Timmy D and the Spurs arent like that, and only Sheed from the Pistons seems to exhibit that trait. About CP3's napoleon complex, I think that might spread to Chandler and West as well, though West at least has some all-star nods in his corner.
Thats the thing, I dont feel that way against the Spurs, Suns, Lakers, Cavaliers, Blazers, etc.... I can isolate it to certain players who seem to have an extraordinarily large chip on thier shoulder. It just seems the Hornets have that on a larger portion of their team, and all of their leaders.(Though Stojakovic is probably ok, but he wasnt there tonight)
I think the Celtics are like that, KG is the definition of that attitude, taunting players shorter than him on a nightly basis. Leon Powe too, always looks someone shi**ted on his porch, or he's taking a massive one himself. David West sort of has that same look, Chris Paul is shameless flopper and James Posey is well known in the league for being dirty after a foul or play; he was a former Celtic so it makes sense. I want to punch Carlos Boozer's camel face everytime I see him open his mouth like he's yawning.
The Hornets are not tough. They are soft. The only truly tough guy on their team is Posey. Paul plays with a justifiable arrogance, not toughness. David West is a big whiney-boy, not a tough guy. Peja is one of the mentally softest players ever. Chandler tries to play tough, but he's a 240 lb string bean trying to play center. He will never be anything more than serviceable at best. Chris Paul is the heart and soul of their team but he lacks something that LeBron and Wade have that I can't quantify. His talent is incredible and I can only imagine how good he'll be over the next 5-6 years. IMO, the bottom line is the Hornets had a magic carpet ride last season that will not be repeated. Their roster as currently constructed has done all it can do. Chandler will not get any better. David West and Posey are solid but they at their peak. Peja is clearly over the hill. Chris Paul can't carry this team to the Finals. They need to add a big piece at SG or SF but don't have the cash to do so. In fact, they are trying to go the opposite direction. If I had to pick one or two teams in the NBA that I was certain would be worse next season than this season, the Hornets would be hard not to choose.
Size? Chris Paul is amazing .. and I'd describe him as tough (and dirty). He'll get on the floor in a scrum, he'll rip the ball away from guys twice his size, he'll throw his body into the teeth of defense to draw contact, and he always seems to respond to a challenge. If that's not toughness, I don't know what is.
The way he shrank in game 7 last year against the Spurs is something I will never get out of my mind. Plus, I've seen him make some very dumb plays late in several games this season that killed the Hornets. CP3 is a great player, but at this point, he doesn't have the same constitution as Wade and LeBron. At least not yet. Another thing I hold against him is how he baits and expects the referees to solve every problem or bail him from every mistake he makes. Other stars do that too, but CP3 takes it to another level. If I see him fake being knocked down or tripped one more time, I'll vomit. At least Wade & LeBron (or maybe AI is a better comparison) get legitimately knocked down sometimes and they truly suffer physical punishment. But Pretty Boy Paul exaggerates contact 100% of the time when he's on the floor. To say he regularly throws himself into defenses to draw fouls is a stretch. The contact is rarely severe and he draws barely enough to get a call. If he really sacrificed his body game after game I'd respect him more.
I dont think Paul is a pansy, I think he does pansy stuff like all the falling down when defenders breathe on him. Its also the whiney persona when he doesnt get bailed out or gets called on the dirty stuff that causes me at least to lack any respect for him.
