New Orleans Hornets open season with cautious optimism

Written by Ken Trahan Tuesday, 27 October 2009 23:39

Hornets News

As the old Abbott and Costello routine goes, "who's on first?" For the New Orleans Hornets, the take on that old routine is "what's up first" and "who's at center?"

Unfortunately for the Hornets, the NBA schedule-maker did not do New Orleans any favors, sending the Hornets on the road to face the San Antonio Spurs Wednesday night at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

It's an early season showdown in the Southwest Division. San Antonio is one of the NBA's model franchises. Owners of four NBA titles since 1999 (including 2003, 2005 and 2007), the Spurs have done a masterful job of retooling an aging roster surrounding veteran superstar

While the Big Fundamental is aging, it is not big fun to face him, even at this advanced stage of his career. The 33-year old lost a couple of pounds and took it easy in the offseason to prepare for the grind of the 2009-2010 season.

Meanwhile, his supporting cast looks as solid as ever. Last year, the Spurs incorporated the shooting of Matt Bonner while injecting the youth of George Hill and Roger Mason, Jr. to the attack. This year, they have added more valuable pieces in swingman Richard Jefferson, veteran front-court star Antonio McDyess, rookie DeJuan Blair, reserve Keith Bogans and veteran Theo Ratliff to the mix.

Of course, they still have the daunting presence of Manu Ginobili and the brilliance of point guard Tony Parker to provide tremendous firepower. The Spurs are the favorite to repeat as Southwest Division champions, a title they claimed last season with a 54-28 mark. San Antonio was beaten in the opening round of the playoffs by division rival Dallas in five games.

The New Orleans Hornets stumbled down the home stretch in 2008-2009, finishing 49-33 before being dismissed in five games in the opening round of the playoffs by Denver. New Orleans was tired and lacked depth, a by-product of injuries to Tyson Chandler, David West and Peja Stojakovic and a lack of productivity from the bench with the exception of James Posey and Sean Marks.

New Orleans had an aggressive offseason, trading Chandler for Emeka Okafor and adding Ike Diogu, Darius Songaila and Bobby Brown. They drafted Darren Collision and Marcus Thornton. All are part of this year's team and figure to provide a considerably deeper bench for New Orleans. That's the good news.

The bad news is that Okafor and Diogu have not played at all during the preseason due to injuries. Okafor now says that his toe injury has improved enough to play. How long can he go? How effective will he be? Are there any lingering effects? As for Diogu, time will tell.

Chris Paul has help with Collison and Brown though both may not be active behind him. David West has help with Songaila, Diogu and Marks though all three likely will not be active. Hilton Armstrong remains the reserve center.

Julian Wright will finally get a chance to prove himself as an NBA player and a starter. Can he handle it? Posey and Peja Stojakovic are ready to go if he cannot handle it. Does Morris Peterson have anything left in the tank? Can Devin Brown stick and provide a lift, at least as a defensive specialist? If not, Thornton could become a starter in the league rather quickly, incomplete contrast to the philosophy of veteran-friendly Head Coach Byron Scott.

While the Hornets depth is vastly improved (if healthy), do they have five legitimate NBA starters? The moving parts are nice but most would seem best suited in a reserve role. One thing you will see is New Orleans pushing the pace more. Brown or Collison may see substantial minutes on the floor with Paul. Of course, when one replaces Paul, there will be no more walk-it-up, stagnant style of Antonio Daniels.

General Manager R.C. Buford, now in his 19th season with the Spurs and his eighth as G.M., has done a masterful job of building a consistent winner and Head Coach Gregg Popovich is entering his 13th year at the helm. He is among the elite coaches in the league, a masterful tactician and a coach who gets into the heads of opposing players and coaches.

With their offseason moves, the Hornets of Jeff Bower and Scott, who have made two consecutive playoff appearances in the tough Western Conference, hope to ascend to the high-rent district of the NBA. That's where San Antonio resides. To do so the Hornets will first have to deal with the first-place Spurs, hoping that their starting center can take the floor and be effective as an effective first-team, first-rate post-player. If he does, perhaps the Hornets can truly broach the question of "who's on first" in the Southwest Division by season's end.