2010-11 NBA Blogosphere Previews: New Orleans Hornets
Posted by Neil Paine on October 25, 2010
Welcome to our 2010-11 NBA Blogosphere Previews, in which we contact the finest team bloggers on the web and ask them to contribute their thoughts on the squad they cover. What follows is their take, along with the team's depth chart (courtesy of ESPN.com), projected 2011 stats via our Simple Projection System, and polls where you get to have your say. Enjoy!
New Orleans Hornets
Coach: Monty Williams
2010 Summary:
Record: 37-45, Finished 5th in NBA Southwest Division
Pythagorean W-L: 34-48 (20th of 30)
SRS: -2.27 (20th of 30) ▪ Pace Factor: 92.6 (15th of 30)
Offensive Rating: 107.4 (18th of 30) ▪ Defensive Rating: 110.1 (21st of 30)
2011 Depth Chart (with 2010-11 projected per-36 minute stats ... yellow = newcomer)
| Pos | Player | Age | PTS | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | FG% | 3PM | 3P% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PG | Chris Paul | 25 | 19.5 | 4.6 | 10.1 | 2.3 | 0.2 | 2.5 | 0.501 | 1.0 | 0.392 | 0.858 |
| PG | Jerryd Bayless | 22 | 16.7 | 3.6 | 4.6 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 2.6 | 0.423 | 0.8 | 0.325 | 0.829 |
| PG | Curtis Jerrells | 23 | ||||||||||
| SG | Marco Belinelli | 24 | 15.3 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 2.0 | 0.428 | 1.9 | 0.391 | 0.821 |
| SG | Marcus Thornton | 23 | 20.3 | 4.3 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 0.461 | 2.2 | 0.383 | 0.815 |
| SG | Willie Green | 29 | 14.6 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 0.446 | 1.0 | 0.330 | 0.795 |
| SF | Trevor Ariza | 25 | 14.4 | 5.9 | 3.5 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 0.419 | 1.6 | 0.337 | 0.675 |
| SF | Peja Stojakovic | 33 | 14.5 | 4.4 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 0.405 | 2.4 | 0.380 | 0.887 |
| SF | Quincy Pondexter | 22 | ||||||||||
| PF | David West | 30 | 18.8 | 7.5 | 2.6 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 0.490 | 0.1 | 0.270 | 0.867 |
| PF | Jason Smith | 24 | 11.4 | 7.3 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 0.449 | 0.5 | 0.352 | 0.706 |
| PF | Joe Alexander | 24 | 13.9 | 6.0 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 2.3 | 0.429 | 0.8 | 0.352 | 0.724 |
| PF | Pops Mensah-Bonsu | 27 | ||||||||||
| C | Emeka Okafor | 28 | 13.7 | 11.0 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 0.537 | 0.0 | 0.345 | 0.580 |
| C | Aaron Gray | 26 | 12.2 | 10.6 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 0.495 | 0.2 | 0.350 | 0.656 |
| C | Didier Ilunga-Mbenga | 30 | 11.8 | 7.7 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 2.6 | 1.8 | 0.463 | 0.2 | 0.344 | 0.623 |
2010-11 Blogger Outlook by Ryan Schwan, hornets247.com
Strengths:
- Point guard play. Even with no backup at the point other than Willie Green and maybe Marco Belinelli, Chris Paul will make this a position of strength.
- Ball Control. Though recent import Ariza has his issues holding onto the ball, the other major rotation players simply do not turn the ball over. Paul, Thornton, West, Peja, Bellinelli – they all were above average at holding onto the rock last season.
- Lowered Expectations. No one expects anything from the Hornets this year. Even the team itself is purely focusing on gelling and getting better. The last time that happened, they won 56 games.
Weaknesses:
- Rebounding. Okafor, Gray and Paul are above average rebounders. No one else is. With only the centers and point guards grabbing boards, the Hornets are always in a deficit.
- Interior defense. The Hornets upgraded their perimeter defense this year, but they didn’t address the major problems they had on the inside last year at all. When players reach the paint, expect easy looks.
- The bench. Marcus Thornton will be good if he reprises the role he played last year, but Willie Green, Jason Smith, Peja Stojakovic, and Aaron Gray aren’t going to strike fear into anyone’s heart.
Poll Time