NBAObsessed has mentioned it before many times, it is the “what have you done for me lately” NBA. One day you are great and the next day they want to get rid of you. The latest to feel the sting of the NBA, if we can use a Hornet metaphor, is Byron Scott. One time coach of the year and toast of New Orleans turned into just toast.

The Hornets were off to a slow start and management decided to act, so they fired Byron Scott.

The Hornets are 3-6 this season. Scott was in the last year of his contract. Scott could not be reached for comment.

Scott had a 203-216 record in five-plus seasons in New Orleans, winning coach of the year honors in 2007-08 when he guided the Hornets to a franchise-record 56 wins and a first-ever division title in the NBA”s Southwest Division.
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The Hornets General Manager Jeff Bower has taken over the team and hired Tim Floyd as his assistant coach. David West spoke out on Floyd claiming the team won’t be as predictable any more.

“We’re not going to be as predictable as we have been in the past. I know that, having played for Tim before,” said West, a sixth-year veteran. “That’s something I’m looking forward to, in terms of style of play.”
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West also blamed Byron Scott’s pride for the Hornet’s downfall.

Will Tim Floyd be good for the play of Chris Paul?

Tim Floyd has been successful at every coaching stop except for his stint with the Chicago Bulls, where he unfortunately arrived after most of the last championship team left.

This past year he lost to Michigan State University in the NCAA’s then watched as 3 of his players declared for the NBA draft and the school underwent an NCAA investigation for illegal payments involving the handlers of O.J. Mayo. Tim resigned.

Was Byron the problem at New Orleans or like with a lot of demanding coaches, did his message finally fall on deaf ears? We may never know!

To see how Chris Paul feels about the firing of Coach Byron Scott read this

—-Chris Paul feels the Sting of Hornets firing—

Photo source Newscom

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Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili celebrate with victory over New Orleans

Image details: San Antonio Spurs v New Orleans Hornets – Game Seven served by picapp.com

In the NBA, some of the natural order has been restored.

The game, like a lot of these games, came down to the final few shots. This in spite of the fact that the Spurs had a big third quarter lead.

Ginobili scored 26 points, hitting four free throws in the final minute, to send the Spurs to the Western Conference finals with a 91-82 victory Monday night.

Parker added 17 points, including a crucial jumper in the final minute, as the Spurs held off a late rally to become the first team in this series to win on the road.

“We really believed we had a chance to win on the road here,” said Spurs forward Tim Duncan, who had 16 points and 14 rebounds. “It’s just a lot of confidence. A lot of games under our belt.”
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The old guard will now face the Lakers in the Western Conference finals. Chris Paul will go home knowing the Hornets need maybe one or two more weapons. There is a certain path to the finals and the Hornets have started down that path.

With a nucleus of Chris Paul, David West and Tyson Chandler, the Hornets appear destined for greater things, but now is not their time.

“One thing I want them to remember when they start working out next season is how they feel right now,” said Hornets coach Byron Scott, adding he was proud that his team, which did not make the playoffs last season, pushed the Spurs as far as it did.

“You have to go through some things before you can really understand how good it’s going to feel when you get to that next level,” Scott continued. “You don’t go from not making the playoffs to winning a championship. It just doesn’t work that way. … We’re headed in the right direction.”

David West led the Hornets in scoring.

West led the Hornets with 20 points, while Paul and Jannero Pargo each added 18. Chandler had 13 points and 15 rebounds for the Hornets, who cut a deficit as large as 17 down to three inside the final two minutes.

In the end, it was the three pointers that cost the New Orleans Hornets the game.

While the Hornets managed to hold Duncan under 20 points by crowding the inside, his Spurs teammates combined for 12 3-pointers to keep alive their chance to win back-to-back titles for the first time.

“We knew the shots were going to be there. It happened today that we just made more,” said Ginobili, who made four 3-pointers. “We just let it fly.”

NBA Basketball Gregg Popovich factoid - Coach Pop has the highest playoff win percentage of .702.

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Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan take turns rubbing Tony Parkers head. It is said to contain large quantities of good luck!

Image details: Phoenix Suns v San Antonio Spurs, Game 5 served by picapp.com

Hey, Chris Paul was amazing with 35 points and 9 assists, but it was not enough as San Antonio managed to win game 3 of the Western Conference second round series.

San Antonio Spurs 110, New Orleans Hornets 99

For San Antonio it involved getting a little more physical and hitting some big shots in the fourth quarter, especially by Manu Ginobili.

Ginobili, the league’s top sixth man, started for the first time this postseason and led a Spurs charge early in the final quarter. Left alone, he hit a wide-open 3 and was fouled by Bonzi Wells, who scrambled at him to guard the shot. Ginobili’s free throw put San Antonio up 87-82, and another 3 by Ginobili 38 seconds later made it 90-84. source

Home teams are 10 – 0 in the second round of the playoffs. Hey, why doesn’t this seem boring?

Admit it, you thought the New Orleans Hornets were a lot of fun with Chris Paul and David West, but when they faced San Antonio they would be goners. Tim Duncan would show them how real playoff basketball was played. It has not turned out that way. (Squibster note: count me just as guilty.)

Now we have a series and game 4 may decide everything. If the Spurs win, their confidence will be back in full swing and you never want to do that to a traditional powerhouse like San Antonio. If the Spurs lose, the Hornets have 2 out of the next 3 games at home. Ouch!

Chris Paul for President! Wait a minute; he did not even win the MVP award. How is that possible? Oh, there was that Kobe Bryant guy. He is pretty good too. But Chris is playing better than Barack Obama and we do want change, don’t we? Forget MVP, Chris Paul for President! He is a better choice than Ron Paul. Chris Paul has a way better crossover move than Ron Paul.

No troubles in San Antonio

It was a strange sight to see.

The San Antonio Spurs’ Big Three congregated around the scorer’s table during a timeout in the fourth quarter, not long before they put the game away for good. Tim Duncan patted Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. They all laughed. The NBA’s defending champions were not going into an 0-3 hole against the New Orleans Hornets. source

Going down 3 games to nothing would have pretty much finished the Spurs. They may have won a game for respect, but that would be it. Mentally, being down 3 – 0 is just too much.

Parker and Ginobili both had 31 and Duncan had a monster game of 16 points and 13 assists.

David West came back for the Hornets with 23 points and 12 rebounds.

So all the stars did well!

Cancer side note

Your intrepid author is fighting cancer, so this story really hit home.

Paul’s shoes read “Brian!” in white lettering in honor of an 8-year-old fan with cancer who was set to attend Monday’s Game 2 but missed it with a fever and died hours later. “To the family, I’m terribly sorry,” Paul said after the game. “I’m just happy I could honor Brian tonight by putting his name on my shoes. It has to be the most touching story I’ve had as a professional athlete.” source

Knowing the slew of emotions my own family has gone through; my heart really goes out to Brian’s family. 8 is much too young to pass on.

Game 4 in San Antonio

The Spurs have to figure out a way to slow down Paul or stop David West if they plan on winning this series.

Meanwhile, the Hornets cannot allow Parker and Ginobili to both get off for 31. That is a sure recipe for disaster.

Game 4 should be a good one!

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Byron Scott in with the new.

Avery Johnson out with the old.

That was the swan song of the Coach of the Year award.

New Orleans 99 Dallas 94

Top 10 reasons Hornets eliminate Mavs

10. Chris Paul at beginning of a potential Hall of Fame career, while Jason Kidd near the end of potential Hall of Fame career.

Chris Paul had 24 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds, and the Hornets held on for a 99-94 victory over the Dallas Mavericks to win their first-round series in five games.

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9. Dirk Nowitzki settles too often for jumpers, even when there is a mismatch on D.

8. Poor recognition of mismatches on defense by Dallas.

7. Poor defense by Dallas.

6., 5., 4., 3., 2., 1. No clue how to defend by Dallas.

Just in case you think the Mavs never played defense, there is proof that they did.

Dallas never led and was hurt badly by an 11-1 Hornets run after Nowitzki’s free throw had pulled the Mavs to 73-66 early in the fourth quarter.

Dallas played solid defense on New Orleans’ next possession, keeping the ball on the perimeter, but Pargo hit a deflating 3 at the shot clock buzzer.

Time to stop blaming Jason Kidd.

“We’re better than what we showed this series,” Nowitzki said. “The summer is going to be long. … You don’t want to say stuff when you’re emotional and disappointed. … You’ve got to look at what you can do to make the team better. We’ve got to look at it this summer again, but it’s not the time now.”

Nowitzki gave mixed reviews to the Kidd trade, which cost the Mavericks young point guard Devin Harris, a former first-round draft choice.

Dallas will probably be looking at firing former Coach of the Year Avery Johnson and adding some defense to their games.

Kidd and Johnson never found a rhythm together, never found a common ground to make this work. And Mark Cuban did nothing in the losing locker room to end speculation that an NBA Finals collapse and two straight first-round playoff blowouts would end Johnson’s run as Mavericks coach.

“Nothing to say,” the Mavericks owner said, throwing a fistful of popcorn into his mouth.

“I pass.”

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Yes, Chris Paul was brilliant and outplayed Jason Kidd, but do you think for a minute Chris Paul would not have destroyed Devin Harris?

Dallas needs Defense.

NBA Basketball special comment Chris Paul sure is fun to watch. Go Hornets.

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Who is David West?

Uhh, is he an actor?

No. Here is a clue. He plays in the NBA.

Uhh, is he on an active roster now?

Yes, and he was on the All Star team.

Huh?

Yeah, and last night he tagged 37 on the Celtics to beat them 113 to 106.

This in spite of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett having great games. Pierce had 28. Rondo even had 23.

But David West was too much.

David West scored 37 points and the New Orleans Hornets overcame an early 15-point deficit to defeat the Boston Celtics 113-106 on Saturday night. source

Check out this YouTube of David West.

The man can shoot.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Now do you know who David West is?

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Tracy McGrady hopes to lead Rockets to the NBA playoffs in Yao Ming’s absence

T-Mac rolls.

The Rockets fire!

How can this be?

Houston Rockets 106 New Orleans Hornets 96

This was a victory without Yao Ming over a top flight team. A contender. Although there may be some caveats to discuss on this game.

The big issue has been the lack of victories over teams that were any good, with or without Yao.

The recent victory over the Dallas Mavericks does not count, because of the absence of Dirk Nowitzki. Sorry, my rules.

Tracy McGrady could not be happier.

With two wins in three meetings with the Hornets this season, the Rockets have the third-best record in the conference. Only the Los Angeles Lakers and Spurs are ahead of Houston and that was motivating McGrady more than the winning streak before the game.

“The third spot,” said McGrady. “Once I heard that this morning, I was like, ‘OK. Let’s get it done.” source

Will the Rockets fail to fire?

We have to be a little careful here. The doubters are everywhere. Even in this game there were some missing components for the Hornets.

Both teams were short-handed on the front line.

David West, the Hornets’ second-leading scorer and rebounder, missed his third straight game with a sprained left ankle. Rookie Carl Landry, a key reserve during the Rockets’ winning streak, sat out with a bruised knee. source

Geez, what do the Rockets have to do?

For most analysts, that would involve a couple of hard fought victories over some contenders. Why Houston is held to this high standard remains a mystery to T-Mac and Coach Rick Adelman.

“Now, the mental challenge is there are no letdowns as we continue on,” coach Rick Adelman said. “We’ve got to stay on the same level.”

The Rockets are enjoying the win streak, but the playoffs are the goal.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Will the Houston Rockets make the playoffs?

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By Guest Blogger, Kori Ellis

With San Antonio, Dallas and Houston in the Southwest Division, everyone expected the division race would be a dogfight this season.

With the reigning champs and the Mavericks back with virtually the same rosters as last season, and Houston making some nice offseason additions in Luis Scola and Mike James, it’s hard to predict who will be on top at the end of the season.

But one other team has jumped into the fray in somewhat of a surprise. After being riddled with injuries last season, the New Orleans Hornets currently sit at 8-2, tied with San Antonio for the best record in the division and second best record in the league.

Who Have They Beat?

This season, the Hornets have defeated the Trail Blazers, Nuggets, Lakers, Nets, Grizzlies and Sixers twice by an average margin of more than 12 points.

Their two losses came at Portland, a 93-90 defeat on November 7th, and a 97-85 loss to the Spurs two nights later.

Who’s Hot?

David West and Chris Paul are leading the way for the Hornets. West is averaging over 20 points and nearly eight rebounds a game. Paul has been extremely impressive, tallying 19.5 points and 10.8 assists on nearly 51% shooting.

But it’s not a two-man show in New Orleans. Stojakovic is healthy and averaging over 13 points a night, despite struggling with his shot inside the arc. And Tyson Chandler is doing big things for the Hornets. The 25-year-old is averaging 11.3 points, 12.0 rebounds and 1.5 shots a night.

As a team New Orleans is averaging nearly 100 points a game. If they can remain healthy and tighten up even more defensively, they could be right in the mix at season’s end.

Some Chris Paul love …

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