Falling Off...Smoking Hot

Falling Off

Many people this season are calling Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets the Most Valuable Player. He has brought the Hornets back from obscurity, albeit with a little help from some of the great play of guys like Chandler, West, and Stojakovic. The Hornets currently sit at 32-15, tied for 2nd place in the Western Conference with the Mavericks, and just behind the Suns. Having lost three games in a row, one question still looms. Can this young team keep up the pace throughout the season?

Their first loss of this three game streak was a 116-103 loss to the high-powered Golden State Warriors, with Baron Davis putting up a solid 23 and 9 against his old franchise. The Hornets then came back with another dud against the Sacramento Kings, a team they should handle, losing 112-103. On Monday night they visited the Utah Jazz, and were blown out of the building. In what shaped up to be Deron Williams against Chris Paul, it became a laugher by the end of three quarters, and a 110-88 Jazz victory. Williams outplayed Paul by a long shot in this one, putting up 29 and 11 to Paul’s 6 points and 6 assists, to go with 5 turnovers.

The moral of this story? Look at the numbers. They gave up 116, 112, 110 to those three opponents. New Orleans gives up a meager 93.8 points per game, and defense is something that has given them the extra edge over their competition this year. In the stacked West, teams like the Hornets have no room for error. They are young and mostly inexperienced, and cannot falter against teams that they have been beating all season. It’s understandable to hit a tough patch in the sked. However, it is another thing to give up 110+ when you have been so stellar on defense.

Sadly, I see a slight relapse for this Hornets team. I still do believe they are playoff material. But before that happens, they need to find themselves defensively. Without that edge, there may be no playoffs in sight. From this point on, look at New Orleans to finish as a 5 or 6 seed out West.


Smoking Hot

The Utah Jazz have finally hit their stride. Going to the Western Conference Finals last year was a piece of cake. They were a team nobody saw in their rear view mirror until it was too late. The eventually lost to the champion Spurs, but not without a great run. This year, expectations were obviously higher. But they had the pieces to take them back. An older, wiser Deron Williams and the steady force behind it all in Carlos Boozer.

However, 2007-08 didn’t start off the way they had hoped. They hit 16-16 on December 29, their low point of the season. Out West, a .500 record will get you a long off-season.

Since then, Utah has strung together an impressive 15-2 stretch, with a current 9-game win streak to boot. They have hit their stride at the right time. Perhaps the factor behind this huge run has been the snubbing of Deron Williams. Left off of the All-Star team, Williams may feel he is due, and is taking it out on the opponent. Whatever the case, this is a dangerous team; well-rounded and eager to get past last years breaking point.

Look for Utah to stay right around where they are presently. Before the season started, I believed Utah would be a top seed out West, and that hasn’t changed. Utah should be a 3-seed by year’s end.