Not sure if this is posted, but I think this is jon barry's first article with espn? anyways, here's what he wrote about the game. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dailydime-061106 Shooting gains for Hornets By Jon Barry, ESPN.com When I played with Peja Stojakovic in Sacramento, I quickly saw firsthand the kind of shooter he is. Six years later, there remains none better in the league, whether it's Ray Allen or Michael Redd. Now followers of the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets, the most active team in the free agent market in the offseason, are beginning to see the reason they brought him in. The man can shoot. After a slow start in the Hornets' first two games, Stojakovic is showing his stuff. His 5-for-8 shooting from the 3-point arc in Sunday's 96-90 win over the Houston Rockets helped send the New Orleans crowd home happy with a 3-0 start. You saw him unafraid to let it fly -- he can make it from six feet from behind the line. This kind of range is no surprise to Hornets coach Byron Scott, who was once an assistant coach for the Kings. This is a Hornets team that is only going to get better, having added solid pieces around Chris Paul and David West, including Peja, guard Bobby Jackson and center Tyson Chandler. We saw a lot of Jackson and Paul playing together in the win over the Rockets. Jackson has more of a 2 mentality -- he's a scorer first and foremost. But I think you'll see, with the game becoming a lot smaller, a trend toward more use of two point guards on the court at the same time. Even three. This could be a breakout year for West, who had 22 points to lead the way. Paul (a career-high tying 16 assists!) is playing well beyond his years. (Yet another performance that the Hawks can kick themselves again over not picking him.) Chandler, who had 11 boards to lead the Hornets, has a tendency to get in foul trouble, so depth behind him with the bigs is a question. They lost P.J. Brown, one of the game's stronger players on the boards. As for the Rockets, now 1-2, I think you're seeing a team that just doesn't know what it's getting every night. They blew out the Mavs, but were routed by the Jazz in their opener. A lot of this early lack of consistency might become less of an issue once Bonzi Wells gets into game-shape. He's a great addition, and his many skills can help take the pressure off McGrady. And Shane Battier was a tremendous pickup. He's showing his all-around skills as a player on the court, but perhaps the biggest thing he brings is the potential to be the vocal leader the Rockets need. Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady are not those kind of leaders -- that's not a knock against them, because you either are one or not. Shane is. Having played for Jeff Van Gundy last year, I saw how much he values defense. That's why you see a guy like Chuck Hayes in there -- because of his commitment to defense. For the Rockets, I think it's going to take time to see what the rotation is going to be, and who Van Gundy finds are his best eight or nine guys out there. Either way, these two teams are making the Southwest Division look very tough. You could see four of the five Southwest teams making the playoffs. ESPN analyst Jon Barry, on the call for Wednesday's Pistons-Kings game (10:30 ET, ESPN), played 14 NBA seasons for eight different teams before retiring this year. go jon!
Jon Barry has been excellent in his two telecasts I've watched on ESPN. Great humor, and a very comfortable conversational tone. Reminds me somewhat of Tom Tolbert, who I like.
Only time Tolbert is good is when he tells stories about how The Dream owned him and made him his b****!
The last time he opened his mouth (and pretty much every time before that). He is a tool who does nothing but complain if he isn't watching the Suns. Toolbert hates defense and he isn't shy about saying so.
Actually I find him not too bad too. I mean, you could do a lot worse than that. Like Clyde laughing at his own cold jokes and childish voice inflections.
