ClutchFans Game Thread: Hornets @ Rockets 3/11/2004

No Jamal Mashburn.

That helps our cause.

Hornets have been struggling. Davis' #s are down a lil since his hot start.

Good thing is, Hornets are not a good 3pt shooting team.

Will Magloire and Brown front Yao or will the Hornets play behind him and double team????

 

win by 15ps!

 

The Hornets will suit up Ye Li and ask her to front Yao the whole game. As such, Yao will be held to 0 points, 2 boards, and 10 TOs, and gets dunked over by Ye.

 

MAGLOIRE VS MING
6'11" 250lb VS 7'5" 325lb

good night

 

man,whether win or not has nothing to do with Yao' gf.

 

Magloire is one of those guys that gives Yao fits. Has Yao ever played well against him? They held him to only 7 shots the last time we played. We'll see if Yao can respond.

 

Last time our defense suffocates them. hopefully we can do it again.

-Littlefish

 

Roxs refocus on D and win this one. They'll have a great streak going into Sat. Big game against the Grizz, Big game against the Grizz, Doesn't sound right...


tonite

Rox 93
Hornets 75

 

we should win but..................who knows.

 

win by 8.

 

Hopefully the owner's pep talk to the Hornets won't help against the Rockets

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/hornets/2004-03-10-shinn-speaks_x.htm

Owner addresses Hornets on long practice day
By Brett Martel, The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS — Hornets co-owner George Shinn dropped by practice Tuesday to give a motivational speech, an out-of-the ordinary occurrence unlike anything P.J. Brown had seen in his 11 seasons.
"It was kind of surprising," Brown said after Tuesday's practice, which included a team meeting and lasted about two hours longer than usual.

When the season began, the Hornets were widely considered contenders for the Eastern Conference title. But with a record of 33-30 — half the losses coming against teams with losing records — New Orleans could finish below the top four and would have to open the playoffs on the road.

"We've got ourselves in a situation where there's a sense of urgency — no doubt about that," general manager Bob Bass said. "I feel better off than those teams below us, but we haven't played well the last four or five games."

New Orleans learned this week that Jamal Mashburn, who missed the first 44 games because of right knee surgery, will be sidelined an additional 12 games or so after experiencing swelling in the knee last weekend.

Bass has declined to get into specifics about what he thinks has gone wrong, but he made it clear he had no interest in discussing whether coach Tim Floyd is having any difficulty relating to his players.

"I don't have any comment on a question like that," Bass said. "You've got to be kidding me with a question like that."

Brown said the team meeting appeared to help produce an upbeat practice.

"Guys were into it, so I think that kind of proved that we still believe in coach Floyd and the coaching staff and what they're trying give to us," he said.

The Hornets have been talking about winning the East for the past five seasons but have yet to get past the second round of the playoffs. Last season's first-round loss prompted Shinn and co-owner Ray Wooldridge to replace Paul Silas with Floyd, who bolted to a 17-7 start. Since then, New Orleans has gone 16-23.

Sometimes the Hornets have played well, twice beating Indiana — the best team in the East — by double-digit margins since the All-Star break.

But they also have lost three times to Silas' new team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, with the latest defeat among three to losing teams in the past nine days. The Hornets also lost at Washington, one of the five worst teams in the NBA, and to Toronto, which had lost nine of 10 games before the Hornets came to town.

All-Star Baron Davis was taken out of the starting lineup Sunday at Toronto for missing a morning meeting, then was kept on the bench for the final period after shooting 3-of-12.

"That's over with. Let's move on," Davis said. "I need to step my game up, work a little harder in practice, and with Mash being out things are going to be even harder — harder than at the beginning of the season because teams are playing playoff basketball now."

Recently, Floyd has questioned the passion his players have shown, but he also has blamed the Hornets' inconsistency on injuries that have caused Mashburn and starting guard David Wesley to miss significant time, and Davis to miss six games.

"Our basketball team has had to make more adjustments than anybody in the Eastern Conference," Floyd said. "Every time you lose a player, there's an adjustment. And every time you get a player back, there's a readjustment to that guy and the chemistry in this league."

Davis said it is not too late for the Hornets to regain their early season form.

"You can turn a season around in a matter of three or four games," Davis said. "That's the most important thing we addressed to today — is that you have to play with passion and a sense of urgency."

 

They key to tonight's game lays with Steve Francis.

Is he going to play within the offense, or is he going to go one on one against his buddy, Baron Davis.

 

tonight we'll win by 20

 

Continue the streak!

Largest winning streak of the season, in progress!

 

win by 12:

85:73

 

It's games like this that we will end up suffering the largest damages. Franchise and Yao needs to be big. Dominate inside and out.

 

A big win for Rox. SF and Yao will paly well, specially for Yao because the news that China will let Yao'girl friend enter the WNBA' draft, he should show up in the game.

 

Yao can handle Magloire AS LONG as we can find the lost art of the post entry pass-kick out-and repost....I find fault mostly in the way the gaurds dump it in, with the exception of JJ, but Yao needs to learn how to seal his man better.

Rox: 97
Hornets: 85

 

You rock fans and YOFs in TX have all the fun and joy watching the game. As a YOF in CA, I will have to get off work early today to watch the game on TNT at 4:30 PST. Damn it, Houston, please trade Yao to the Golden State.

BTW: What would be a good excuse to get off work early? I pretty much have used them all already for the season.

GO, Rocks. Go, Yao.

Rocks: 105
NO: 95

Another double double for Yao.