The season can’t be lost or a championship can’t be won after just a game. A game can be telling however, and in a game where head coach Byron Scott was eager to measure his team against one of the favorites for the Western Conference crown, the 113-96 loss told a lot.
New Orleans was simply overmatched. The Spurs are better basketball team all the way around. San Antonio is faster, stronger, deeper and have more playmakers than the Hornets. It’s a statement that’s disappointing to write or even acknowledge because two seasons ago, it seemed the Hornets had caught up to the Spurs.
The Hornets headed into the season with questions at shooting guard, finding another scorer to compliment forward David West and point guard Chris Paul, and looking to improve the team’s bench play. In the first game of the season, the answer to those seem to be the same as last season’s.
The Hornets jumped out to a 12-6 lead to start the game. It was a lead that could have been bigger as the Hornets missed some shots while their defense held the Spurs in check. Then came the gradual decline in play. Missed shots, air balls by starting shooting guard Morris Peterson, shot clock violations, and Chris Paul exiting the game for a break. Poof goes the lead. Poof goes the game.
The Bench would then come in and not score. That’s right, not score a single point. By the time Chris Paul and company returned, the Spurs were up 31-15. At halftime, the Spurs bench had contributed 30 points, while the Hornets bench had not put in a bucket.
By game’s end, San Antonio’s bench outscored the Hornets reserves 61-19.
CP3 led the Hornets with 26 points. David West had 18 as did center Emeka Okafor in his Hornets debut. Okafor also had 10 rebounds picking up his first double-double of the season. Julian Wright had 8 points while Peterson finished with 7.
It’s only one game, while I get that, you get a double-double from your new center, double digits from West, the usual star numbers from CP, and if you watched the game, it was a mismatch.
DuJuan Blair, the highly talked about steal of the NBA Draft showed the hype is well founded. Blair in his first game as a pro, 14 points and 11 rebounds. Oh and by the way the Hornets passed on him. As for the Hornets rookies? Guard Darren Collison entered the game with three minutes to play and second round pick Marcus Thornton never stepped on the court.
Another little nugget for you, the commentators calling the game wondered why Thornton hadn’t played even going as far to say he’s likely the team’s best shooting guard. Yet he didn’t see a minute of action.
I get it’s just game one of the new season, but it already seems the Hornets will be looking up at the top yet again this season.
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