Photograph by Jonathan Bachman

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It must be completely maddening to be a Hornets fan right now. As if teetering around .500 for most of the season isn’t enough, it seems as if every game that passes distances the Hornets even further from playoff contention (they’re currently 6.5 games back of the eighth seed). All this while David West puts up All-Star numbers and rookies Darren Collision and Marcus Thornton continue to produce in tough losses.

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Friday night’s 102-95 loss against the Denver Nuggets was almost like a microcosm of the Hornets’ season. David West put up 30 points and six rebounds, Thornton scored 23 points and Collison registered a double-double with 17 points and 10 assists. The Hornets were undermanned (only eight players dressed) and yet a game that had been close throughout fell apart in the span of around 2:30 minutes in the fourth quarter.

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“I think we made a couple of mistakes down the stretch offensively,” West said. “Then a couple of times on the defensive end, we had the rebound, then gave it back to Chauncey [Billups]. We just gave them extra possessions we didn’t need to give.”

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With the score tied at 86 with 6:05 left in the game, the Hornets proceeded to committed two fouls, two ridiculous turnovers and suddenly, with 2:46 left in the game, New Orleans was down by 10 and fans were walking dejectedly towards the exits. The Hornets are now falling completely out of the playoff picture, and every opportunity they have to build momentum seems to fall short. Granted, the Hornets have dealt with a slew of injuries, but they’re not using that as an excuse.

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“I don’t think it affected us,” Emeka Okafor said. “I think the guys knew we had to bring a little more energy. Everybody knew they were going to get more minutes.”

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Anyone who thinks that the Hornets are better than their record suggest are clearly deluding themselves into a better reality that what the rest of us see. Without Chris Paul in the lineup, the Hornets have steadily fallen farther and farther out of playoff contention. New Orleans has lost eight straight games against Western Conference teams that would be in the post-season if the playoffs started tomorrow. Their last win against a potentially playoff-bound team was January 30th against Memphis.

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“There are problem areas that we need to work on as with every game,” head coach Jeff Bower said. “We are definitely going to learn and grown form this game and make sure we apply what we learned into the next game coming up.”

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Despite what Bower said, this team has had a lot of troubler learning from their losses. As a playoff-less future comes closer to being the present, the Hornets are a team in limbo. Ever the competitor, Paul is dying to return to the court, even if it may be too late to rally his team to the post-season. Collison has played admirably in Paul’s absence and, having already played 40 or more minutes 18 times this season, letting him play out the season may be in the team’s best interest.

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There is also the issue of West. He’s playing head-and-shoulders above his teammates and, with the ability to opt-out of his contract after next season, rumors abound as to just how long he will be playing in the Crescent City. The Hornets are a relatively young team with an emerging core of players that could carry them in the years come, as well as a slew of contracts that expire after next season. As the present starts to slip away, you have to look toward the future. Then again, trying to figure out what’s in store for this team in the coming months may be as maddening and watching them play right now.

Photograph by Jonathan Bachman

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The easiest and most obvious way to measure the worth of a team is by looking at their record. The Hornets, after holding off the Golden State Warriors 135-131 Monday night at New Orleans Arena, the Hornets sit at 32-32 and in 10th place in the Western Conference standings. They are neither that good, nor that bad, relatively speaking and, if they played in the East, very well could be in the playoffs. In the end, you could make arguments either way as to the quality of this team.

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On one hand, the Hornets played well. Their 135 points was a season-high, Darren Collison set a new Hornets rookie record with 20 assists (also an NBA game-high this season) and six Hornets finished in double figures (including David West and Marcus Thornton, who each finished with 28 points) and three finished with double-doubles. Collison continued to show poise at the point and delivered late with the ball in his hands. The Hornets shot well and, in the end, scored more points than their opponents.

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On the other hand, the Warriors are objectively a terrible team. They have the third-worst record in the whole league, have the second-worst defense in the league and only had eight players in uniform in their loss to the Hornets (a game in which the Hornets gave up a season-high 131 points). So while there are definite positives signs to take away from the win for New Orleans, the glaring negative is that this team has been unable to show this type of production against potential playoff teams in the West.

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In their last four games, the Hornets lost all four to teams ahead of them in the Western Conference standings (including two terrible double-digit losses to the San Antonio Spurs). Dating back to the start of February, the Hornets have had just two wins against teams with better records (against Boston and Orlando). Of their 19 remaining games, 14 are against teams currently in the playoffs or fighting for a spot.

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And while every win counts, some wins mean more than others. Edging out one of the worst teams in the league in a defense-optional shoot-out does not make up for getting blown out by twice in three games against a division rival. Especially when those losses are part of a four-game losing streak against potentially playoff-bound teams. The Hornets scored quality wins against the Magic and the Celtics but couldn’t carry that momentum into wins against Western Conference teams in their next games.

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No, the Hornets may not be bad enough to completely miss out on the playoffs, but they haven’t shown they’re good enough to make it in either.

Photograph by Jonathan Bachman

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Coming off a tough home loss to the Utah Jazz two nights ago, the New Orleans Hornets sat three games out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. With more than two-thirds of the teams left on their schedules sporting winning records, New Orleans needed to take advantage of a weak Pacers team to keep their playoff hopes alive.

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Led by surging rookie Darren Collison’s first career triple-double, the Hornets put on just the effort they needed in their 107-101 win. Contributions came from all over the floor - David West put up 29 points and notched a career-high seven assists, Emeka Okafor had a double-double, all five Hornets starters scored in double figures and 12 points off the bench. The Hornets led by as many as 21 points and, though the Pacers made a late surge in the fourth to bring the game within four, the game was never really in doubt.

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“We made some very good plays, some very good basketball reads,” head coach Jeff Bower said. “We did some instinctive things throughout the game that we’re really happy with that showed signs of guys making progress.”

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Hornets fans would be hard-pressed to remember the last time their team put forth such a complete effort that led to such a dominating win (on the heals of a rough loss against a conference foe, no less). But while the whole team won the game, the highlights had to go to the Hornets’ two rookies. Forced into extended minutes because of the injury to Chris Paul, both Thornton and Collison have responded with veteran-like performances. Collison is averaging 17.4 points, 8.2 assists and 3.9 rebounds a game and managing his team (almost) as well as Paul.

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“I was just going out ther and playing and my teammates were just telling me what I needed and being supportive,” he said. “My teammates kept telling me that I was close and reiterating that I was close to a triple-double and that I kept stealing their rebounds.”

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Talented and humble. But that’s what happens when your teammates make you walk around with a Disney princess backpack (Morris Peterson’s brilliant idea) and they find ways to keep you grounded even when you’re playing out of your mind. When Collison nearly had a triple-double a few games back, it was Paul pointing out how he came up short. This time, Collison’s teammates pointed to his eight turnovers.

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So long as the Hornets keep winning and Collison keeps putting up All-Star numbers, the rookie should be able to take everything his teammates say in stride.

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Photograph by Jonathan Bachman

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Saints mania may have taken over this city but across the street from the Super Dome, the New Orleans Hornets are still hard on the grind, fighting for quality wins and to keep themselves in contention for a playoff spot. Tonight, they came up big with a 93-85 win against a Celtics teams playing suddenly without their usual championship swagger. More importantly, Darren Collison continues to shine in place of Chris Paul, putting up 25 points and nine assists (though he did commit 10 turnovers).

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“[Chris Paul] yelled at me even after a win, but it just shows how much he cares,” Collison said. “I was trying to be comfortable and manage the game like he does.”

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The Hornets continue to peak, dip and valley. After going 12-5 in the month of January, the Hornets opened February losing four of their first five games. After a 123-117 loss to the Orlando Magic on Monday, it seemed as if this team was about to fall apart with the Celtics coming into town. Instead, the Hornets responded by coming back from a 12-point deficit and limiting Boston to just 30 second-half points (including a paltry 12 in the third quarter).

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“The defense in the third and fourth quarter put us in the position for us to win,” head coach Jeff Bower said. “We did open up the floor with some transition opportunities and a lot of stops and steals which helped us a bunch.”

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The Hornets, though, still have much to accomplish. With the All-Star break coming up, this is a team looking at at the final stretch of the season a game and a half out of the playoffs. But with six teams at the bottom of the Western Conference standings separated by less than four games, nothing is certain. What the Hornets need is for Collison to continue to put up consistently good numbers, David West (who finished with 15 points and seven rebounds) to continue as a steadying force for the offense and, lest we forget, Chris Paul to recover 100% from his knee injury.

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But as good as tonight’s win was for a team struggling to maintain consistent results, it was pretty ugly at times. Both teams combined for 47 turnovers and New Orleans shot a horrendous 27.8% in the second quarter. The Hornets, though, are far from a perfect team. But their focus is to win games by any means necessary and they were able to do that tonight.

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“We hustled and got a lot of loose balls,” forward Darius Songalia said. “I’m sure it wasn’t pretty but we grinding it out and did what we had to do.”

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Photograph by Jonathan Bachman

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Good thing it’s the Super Bowl this week and New Orleans fans can ignore this. This Hornets’ season just got a whole lot tougher as Chris Paul will be out for up to two months after he undergoes arthroscopic knee surgery. And Phoenix comes to town tomorrow night. Great.

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Photograph by Jonathan Bachman

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After coming back from a 15-point third quarter deficit and having the lead with less than 10 seconds left in the game, the Hornets seemed poised to ride their home-court magic to another improbable victory. Then one bad David West pass and one bad Darren Collison turnover spelled doom for Bees as they fell 108-106 in overtime to the resurgent Chicago Bulls.

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“That one’s on me,” the rookie Collison said after his turnover sealed the Hornets fate tonight. “I let my team down. Definitely going to lose sleep on that play.”

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Granted, Collison’s turnover came at the worst possible time and prevented the Hornets from even attempting a game-tying shot, but there were many other factors that contributed to this loss. For one, the Hornets could have called a timeout before Collison dribbled wildly into the opposing defense. Secondly, New Orleans could have come out of the halftime break a little stronger than they did before giving up a 15-point lead. Most importantly, the Hornets would’ve won if they weren’t so sloppy.

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“We weren’t real sharp in the first three quarters,” head coach Jeff Bower said.

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If there’s any positive to take from this game is that the Hornets shot just 39.4% the entire game and were outscored 60-36 in the paint, yet still only lost by two points. This on a night where the Hornets PA system did everything it its power to channel the Saints’ good vibes by playing the Ying Yang Twins’ “Get Crunked” and showing black and gold-clad fans as often as possible in the fourth quarter.

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“We gave ourselves an opportunity to win,” Chris Paul said. “We made a few mistakes there at the end.”

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No, the Hornets are most definitely not the Saints right now and, yes, they have a long way to go to before becoming a team that can be relied on to consistently win these types of games. But what have the Hornets done to have their fans expect anything else this season? At 25-21, New Orleans is just good enough to compete for the eighth and final playoff seed in the West. Against a 23-22 Bulls team doing just the same in the Eastern Conference, the Hornets came up short. The question is whether this is a reflection of the Hornets season as a whole, or just a bump in the road on this teams’ road to finding itself in the winner’s circle.

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Photograph by Jonathan Bachman

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You can excuse Hornets fans for being a little giddy after tonight’s 108-94 win over the L.A. Clippers. For one, it was the largest home win all season, their 12th-straight win against the Clippers and, since they’ve just one eight of their last eleven games, the Hornets are just one game out of the last playoff spot in the Western Conference. Oh, and they surpassed 100 points, giving everyone in attendance a free chicken wrap at Popeyes!

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And yet, with any kind of joy it’s always nice to take a step back and look at the reality of the situation. Of their last eight wins, only two were against opponents with a winning record (Utah and Houston). And despite winning by 14 tonight, the Hornets still gave up 23 second-chance points and were out-rebounded 46 to 38 (the Hornets also only secured nine offensive rebounds off of 42 misses, not good).

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“I didn’t feel overall that our execution was at a high level,” coach Jeff Bower said. “I thought it was OK. It was good enough tonight.”

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Key phrase: “good enough tonight.” What may be good enough against the 17-20 Clippers is not going to be good enough against teams like the Spurs (whom the Hornets play next Monday) let alone powerhouses like L.A., Dallas and Denver. By Bower’s own admission, this team is still a ways off from being a true contender.

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“Based on what I watch and the goals and pictures in our heads of how we want to play, with the efficiency we’re capable of, we have a long way to go,” he said.

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That said, there’s no denying that the offense is starting to come together. Every Hornets starter scored in double figures and they registered 26 assists to just six turnovers. That, combined with a strong defensive effort, is what put the Hornets over the hump tonight.

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“We’re starting to learn that, on the defensive end, if we can get stops when we need to, that we’re pretty good,” Devin Brown said.

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The Hornets can be pretty good, and they can also be pretty bad. Luckily for them, they look like they’re getting better before they get worse. But the Hornets are at a point in their season where how wins come about isn’t as important as them actually getting those wins. Asked if he realized his team shot over 50 percent on the night, Chris Paul delivered what has become the mantra for this team:

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“I’m just trying to get wins,” he said. “I could care less how many shots we take or how many shots we missed.”

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Screengrab lifted from NBA.com

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With all the excitement since New Years, the Sugar Bowl and a friend’s birthday our weekend was so busy that we missed the Hornets win two great games (against good-to-great teams, no less!) to bring their record back to .500 for the first time since the second game of the season (!). And they won the second one last night on the road after being down double-digits against the Utah Jazz (!!!!!!). Dare I say, the Hornets are gathering some steam?

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Alas, only in the past would it be safe to assume that the Hornets would beat a team like the Oklahoma City Thunder (whom they play on Wednesday in Oklahoma) but New Orleans hasn’t pulled together a legitimate win streak in almost two years — one can no longer give this team the benefit of the doubt. That being said, this would be the perfect time to start winning streak to turn around their season. After the Thunder, the Hornets face opponents with the following records:

• New Jersey Nets - 3-30
• Washington Wizards - 10-21
  
• Philadelphia 76ers - 11-21
• L.A. Clippers - 15-18
• Detroit Pistons - 11-21
• Indiana Pacers - 10-23

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Now, let’s be conservative and say the Hornets won’t go undefeated and be at 22-16 when the San Antonio Spurs come to town (I know, it’s exciting, but let’s try to be rational). Four of these games are on the road, which is wherever Hornets go whenever they want to forget how to win basketball games, and this could be a problem. But even if they drop, say, two on the road but pick up a solid home win against a decent (well, for them) Clippers team, they would still have some budding momentum before facing the Spurs in a game that may very well define how good this Hornets team is.

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Of course, after all this we could be just were we started, with the Hornets playing up and down for the rest of what ultimately becomes a mediocre season. But after a performance like the one they just had in Salt Lake City, on can reasonably hope CP3 and Co. decide to make things interesting.

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Photograph by Jonathan Bachman

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The Hornets 95-91 win against the Miami Heat tonight was notable as much for what it wasn’t as much as what it was. To be more specific, this was a Hornets victory against a strong opponent at home and not, as many of the post-game questions noted, another road loss. (I realize this all sounds obvious and confusing, but bear with me).

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At 12-3 the Hornets have one of the best home-win percentages in the NBA, comparable to league powehouses like Denver (13-2), Orlando (13-3), Cleveland (13-2) and Boston (10-4). It’s a shame that the Hornets have to play road games, because their two wins away from New Orleans Arena is less road wins than all but three NBA teams (New Jersey, Chicago and Charlotte). What’s more depressing (at least for Hornets fans) is that if New Orleans could must to just got to around .500 on the road (say 7-8 instead of their current 2-13), their overall record would be 19-11, good for fourth overall in the West, six spots ahead of their current standing.

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“If I there is any way I could bottle up a formula for that I’d sell it to every team in the NBA,” Devin Brown said. “We’re trying to do anything we can to play this way on the road.”

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All jokes aside, the home-court advantage for the Hornets this year is mystifying (especially considering that the Hornets are in the bottom third of the NBA in home attendance). With the home win against the Heat coming off a tough road loss against Houston the night before, the home-road discrepancy is stark.

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“We’re just not able to put together complete games [on the road],” David West said after tonight’s victory. “We’re able to do that at home, to make key plays.”

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That was the prevailing sentiment among Hornets players and head coach Jeff Bower, all of which preached the line that if the Hornets just made one or two more plays a game on the road, they’d have a much better record. In all fairness, the Hornets did play their best road game all season in the loss to Houston (mainly because of Chris Paul’s triple-double and David West’s career-high 44 points), but the line about just needing to make one ore two more plays doesn’t apply to the seven road games they lost by double digits.

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But while a majority of the questions asked by us media folk had to do with the home-away discrepency, many of the answers looked at the big picture of the season. Time and again players talked about just finding a way to win games - David West said “we just gotta pick up wins” and one of Chris Paul’s New Year’s resolutions is “to win a few more games” - like that wasn’t an obvious goal before.

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“I’d like to focus on the success we’ve had a home,” Bower said, seemingly frustrated with the endless obsession about his team’s road woes. He does have a point. Right now, there aren’t many other positive things the Hornets can focus on.

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Photograph by Jonathan Bachman

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You may not have guessed it with the way they collapsed against the New York Knicks at home last Friday or how they trailed Dallas by as much as 24 on Monday, but this Hornets team still has some fight in them. Sure, the first half was tepid moments of bored punctuated at times by incompetence, but the Hornets, despite being down by as much as 16 points, came back and beat the Detroit Pistons 95-87.

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“This is a group that will compete, they will battle,” head coach Jeff Bower said. “We have to play better.”

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Yes, the Hornets outscored Detroit 53-32 in the second half and, yes, they earned their seventh win at home in eight opportunities, but they’re still digging holes for themselves for large stretches of games and they are woefully inconsistent. How can one explain New Orleans’ 14 first-half turnovers (they finished with 18) and 17 second-quarter points in a game they ultimately won by eight?

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“We weren’t taking care of the ball,” David West said. “It’s just a matter of us coming out and being a little bit more confident in what we’re trying to do on offense.”

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West seemed confident all game long and was probably the single driving force for the Hornets’ win. His season high 32 points along with 12 rebounds proved to be a steadying influence on a team struggling to find points. Though Chris Paul finished with a double-double, he finished the first half with just two points. Paul, who was diving after loose balls left and right to make up for his lack of scoring, found West for two huge baskets in the second half.

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“D-West got us going,” he said. “We just picked up the intensity. We got after [the Pistons] a little bit.”

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The Hornets, at times listless and at other times electrifying, still haven’t found what it takes to be a winning team day in and day out. Lucky for them, the season is just a quarter of the way done and there’s plenty of basketball left to play.