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Photo by Jonathan Bachman

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It seems like it’s been an eternity since the last time the New Orleans Hornets  were able to have two-straight blowout wins. After dominating Oklahoma City by 25 points last night, there was no let-down, no lack of energy and no lack of focus during the Hornets 109–97 win tonight. For a team that has struggled of late to put together solid back-to-back performances, you can’t understate how much these two wins mean. But don’t start planning the championship parade just yet.

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“I’ll let you know in about a week or two,” Coach Byron Scott said when asked if these two wins are an early turning point for his team. “You could say that after two games it’s a little bit of a turning point, but I don’t know. The challenge for us is to continue to play hard every single night.”

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Photo by Jonathan Bachman

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Is it just me or do the Hornets have a knack for getting opposing teams’ head coaches fired? First it was Avery Johnson, who was dismissed from the Dallas Mavericks after New Orleans knocked his team out of the playoffs in five games last season. Now it’s P.J. Carlesimo, the (former) Oklahoma City Thunder head coach who was unceremoniously fired after his team fell to 1–12 last night after the Hornets waxed them 105–80.
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And you thought the Hornets were off to a shaky start.

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Photo by Jonathan Bachman

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Say what you will about the Hornets’ inconsistent play in the early part of this season, but there’s one thing that has been a constant: Julian Wright’s pre-game dance.

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It started last year when Julian Wright was a rookie and his teammates basically made him dance for them while they huddled around him right after the starting lineup is introduced.

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“I don’t care about dancing,” Wright explained before last Wednesday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers. “I just kept the role this year.”

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(Video after the jump).

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Photo by Jonathan Bachman

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It’s possible that people should start to show concern about this Hornets team. Sure, it’s still early in the season and many an NBA team has come back from slow starts to finish strong and make the playoffs. But just how many jarring losses to poor teams do the Hornets have to endure before they start playing like everyone expected them to?

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Photo by Jonathan Bachman

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So it’s been confirmed: New Orleans has won it’s bid to host the NCAA Men’s Final Four in 2012 (note: I totally called it).

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Photo by Jonathan Bachman

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First off, I’d just like to say that I have not had the opportunity to formally talk to Fletcher Mackel like I’ve had with other New Orleans media members (possibly because I can never tell if it’s him or one of his brothers) and that I enjoy his on-air work and his blog. I say all that for fear that what I’m about to say might come off sounding as a cheap shot. Really, this is just an attempt at having an open discourse.

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A discourse about how Mackel needs to come to terms with his addiction to the ESPN NBA Trade Machine.

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Photos by Jonathan Bachman

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Flashback to this past Friday night right after the Hornets won a tight game against an up-and-coming Trailblazers team and Saints fans felt like they had hit rock-bottom, fearing the possibility that their team might actually lose to the Chiefs. One team’s season was just beginning while the others’ seemed on the brink of ending.

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And now we’re here today and those same two teams seemed to have their roles reversed. Now it’s the Hornets who are on edge and fighting in practice and it’s the Saints spreading (most likely false) hope to the masses. Who knew, indeed.

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Photo by Jonathan Bachman

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Hornets fans hoping for a completely turnaround after that debacle against L.A. got exactly what they wanted. Chris Paul and David West combined for just 35 points yet New Orleans never trailed by more than five the entire game thanks to a productive bench.

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“I thought the bench was big,” Coach Byron Scott. “I think they brought great energy. I think the forth quarter they really got us this victory.”

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Photo by Jonathan Bachman

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In which I take all the best news, quotes, pictures and everything else Saints-related toss it together and serve it up for our readers. This week we’ll be tackling the Saints (4–5) week 11 matchup in Kansas City, the home of barbecue, confusing geography and the 1–8 Chiefs. 

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The Scuttlecast is back this week and we’re talking to Bethlehem Shoals of the impeccable FreeDarko.com. Shoals also writes for the Sporting News and he and his comrades completed their first book, Free Darko Presents: The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac: Style, Stats and Stars in Today’s Game (you can check out some excerpts from the book here).

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Shoals and I talked at length about how to deal with the marathon that is an 82-game NBA season and what exactly you can tell about teams less than 10 games in. Enjoy.

 

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