Hornets Gameday Thread

[MillionDollarCam]

13 minutes ago, MillionDollarCam said:

Not a chance Detroit loses to New York... if they beat Memphis on Tuesday we'll come up a game short.

Memphis has won 12 of their last 17 so maybe they'll get one.

I apologize, I looked at the wrong dates... the Grizzlies have won 4 of their last 12.

This season is over.

[YoungPanthers89]

Steve Clifford, aint that a bitch.

[OldNorthPowell]

Well, playoff chances dwindled tonight.

[MillionDollarCam]

Let's be real, Clifford was never a bad coach...

He favored veterans and that pissed everyone off but apparently so does JB.

When given a solid roster Clifford produced. I'd argue that this Magic roster is the best roster he's coached outside of the 15-16 Hornets team that apparently just overachieved.

I'd take Vucevic, Gordon, Fournier, Ross, Isaac, and Bamba over everyone on the Hornets roster not named Kemba or Bridges.

[Shocker]

7 minutes ago, OldNorthPowell said:

Well, playoff chances dwindled tonight.

You must be thrilled

[MillionDollarCam]

I'd take getting swept by the Bucks and the 15th pick rather than the 14th pick we are surely to get.

[OldNorthPowell]

11 minutes ago, Shocker said:

You must be thrilled

No, sadly I do not wish this on the team. I thought they should have tanked from the beginning. Which I still believe they should have and if they miss the playoffs it proves my point of being stuck in mediocre purgatory. Just because I believe the team should have taken a different route does not mean I hate the team. :+)

[luke nukem]

[TheRed]

Clifford or no Clifford, the Hornets probably would have been swept out of the playoffs again anyway. If you think the Magic are going anywhere you're smoking some good poo.

[amcoolio]

We need Memphis or New York to beat the Pistons. Possible...Detroit has been playing like garbage.

We are going to miss the playoffs because we lost 3 buzzer beaters to the Hawks, Bulls and Knicks. All we had to do was beat one of those teams.

Also lost another two buzzer beaters to the Sixers and Nets and also lost 7 other games after leading in the final minute. Classic Hornets basketball.

[TheRed]

1 hour ago, RIAnBOW said:

The Magic are going to the playoffs. 

After a 25 win season last season, going to the playoffs this year is a pretty damn good result.  Fans down there are quite happy with Steve Clifford today. 

Not sure if you saw the game last night but they have a bunch of hard nosed no-name underdog type dudes who compete their asses off -- won 10 of last 12 to play their way into the playoffs -- very impressive. 

PS...you are correct that even with Clifford the Charlotte team does not make any noise in the playoffs.  A coach can only do so much, and based on a track record since Mike Jordan took over the Bobcats in 2006 no coach has been able to overcome the management ineptitude which starts at the owners desk.

In this NBA, going to the playoffs doesn't mean what it used to. The Magic are an unknown right now. Dominant teams like the Rockets have looked superb in the regular season only to fold like a lawn chair in the playoffs for years now.

I like Steve, he's ultimately a good coach. Certainly there were factors beyond his control, but let's also dispense with the sad violins and just acknowledge the fact that things had gotten stale with him at the helm regardless of Cho or Jordan. Steve needed to move on, and so did we. It was time.

I get being skeptical of ownership. Clearly we have had some inept people in charge over the years. I'm iffy on Jordan as well. But I think the state of the NBA overall and the downturn it has been in over the years in terms of a smaller talent pool is ultimately why Charlotte basketball has been a black hole of misery for so long. Quality sought after players have more control now, and in turn you are seeing more players force their way out. The Hornets could have had Anthony Davis, but they would also be watching him prepare to skip town just like he is in New Orleans. Small market teams just don't stand a chance in this NBA right now. Until that changes, expect more of the same.

[Eazy-E]

Sorry but Boston wins that game if Taytum doesn’t get hurt 5 min into it.

 

[TheRed]

1 hour ago, RIAnBOW said:

Thanks for your nice post.

For a team like Orlando which hasn't been to the playoffs in 7 seasons and also had a 25 win team last year, they are pretty damn psyched about making the playoffs.  Also, not sure if you heard/saw Kemba's interview after the game yesterday, he too is darn psyched with the prospect of the playoffs. 

I understand that making a playoff run of consequence is a tough order these days, but I also believe consistently making the playoff builds an institutional credibility that is desirable.  Take the Indiana Pacers for example, a team in a market that has nothing on Charlotte, if anything it's probably less desirable....Pacers have been to the playoffs 7 of last 8 years, and 15 of last 20 --- this is good.  The Thunder are in a much smaller, remote, and less desirable market...playoffs 8 of last 9 seasons.  Milwaukee isn't nirvana and I guarantee you Canada isn't a preferred destination for NBA players, they are at the top of the heap in the East.

I don't buy the small market excuse.  Also, Davis is bolting because the franchise is poorly run, not because New Orleans is a bad place to be.  Russell Westbrook and Paul George, both of whom could have written their own ticket, both stayed in OKC.

As for Clifford, he very well could have been ready to move on, I mean who wants to bang their head on a wall every single day like what coaches are doing when they go work for Mike Jordan?  That said, the franchise did not improve by firing Coach Clifford....but clearly the Magic improved a bunch by hiring him!

In closing, look no farther than Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Portland, Salt Lake, Denver, Canada, etc for small market (or undesirable market) teams that are thriving.  

The problem is Mike Jordan.....this small market thing is a red herring.

 

There's not much we are ultimately going to disagree about regarding the mediocrity that has been NBA basketball in Charlotte for many years now. 

But one thing you're overlooking regarding my point about small market teams is this city lost the team for a number of years. The Bobcats had the worst statistical season in the history of the entire NBA only a handful of years ago. It's difficult to draw a valid comparison to other small market teams because how many of those cities you mentioned lost their franchise entirely?

I agree that MJ has obviously underwhelmed, but the Bobcats were an historically all time hot garbage team when he acquired the franchise. That's why moving to the Hornets name was such a clear no brainer beyond the fact of the popularity of the name. That's a tough stench to wash away.

To be clear I'm not attempting to make excuses for the many bad decisions of our ownership/front office. I'm just being realistic about the situation we have faced, and continue to face as a struggling franchise trying to get back the identity we had when the Hornets were thriving.

[luke nukem]

going to be weird watching two games at once. Lehhgo hornets and memphis(although fug your GM for not giving us Gasol)