With our added depth, I am really interested in seeing how we match up with the Hornets. Honestly, I'm not as worried about PGs like Chris Paul and Steve Nash this year....I'm more worried about scoring PGs like Jason Terry and Tony Parker. I think last year, the problem was that we didn't have guys to match up with their OTHER players, so they were able to get into good positions for Paul to find them. Now, I think we're going to force Paul to create his own shots, because we have the personnel to match up with their other guys. Here's how I see the matchups breaking down : PG : CP3 + B-Jax > Alston + James SG : Peterson < T-Mac SF : Peja = Battier (defensively, I think Battier can hold Peja in check) PF : West = Hayes + Scola (again, I think our guys can contain him) C : Chandler < Yao And I think our bench pretty much has the advantage over most teams in the league, so I will give us the slight edge in matchups. That being said, mentally, the Rockets probably didn't forget about the last couple of years, and how the Hornets have owned us. Given that, I say we probably split this year's series.
The Hornets are a scary team, IMO. They're not ready to contend for the title yet, but they sure can cause some problems for us in the division. Chris Paul is a Top 5 PG. Peja can still flat-out shoot the long ball. He had the major injury last year, but it's not like he's injured every year. MoPete is a good role player who can also knock down the outside shot. West is a versatile, underappreciated PF who scores and rebounds at a decent clip. Chandler is a really good defensive presence on the boards and with rebounds. If they're healthy (which is something every team has to count on, including us), they will definitely be above .500 and likely get a low playoff seed. In the West, that's legit.
Don't worry about it. Same way with the Texans in NFL, entire division is tough. When November is over, its time to heat up the steamroller cause we're gonna run all over the league. Including this 9-2 Hornets team.
