ESPN NBA

Posted by Kevin Arnovitz

Pre-game Notes: 

• Both Chris Paul and Jameer Nelson come into this afternoon's game as reigning Conference Players of the Week.  
• The Magic take 32% of their FGAs from beyond the arc, second only to Mike D'Antoni's Knicks.
  
• The Hornets consider the invitation to play on Christmas Day to be a watershed event for the franchise. 
• There have been fourteen 15-assist games in the NBA this season.  Six of those 14 belong to Chris Paul.
  
• Orlando: 8th in Offensive Efficiency, 4th in Defensive Efficiency. 
  

9:11 AM: Orlando made it a little too easy for David West to help underneath.  They have to make NOH pay for that help.

9:13 AM: NOH will need to beat ORL to their spots on the perimeter in transition, or else it'll be a long afternoon. 

9:14 AM:  The good news for NOH: A West-Nelson mismatch will eventually pay off...if they can get it. 

9:15 AM:  Kindly Stop Hating on Jameer Nelson. 

9:16 AM:  NOH is sagging...and it's not working.

9:18 AM:  NOH is getting shots...just not hitting 'em.

9:19 AM:  And there it is -- #2 on Chandler. Chandler has played four games since returning from a neck injury. He has picked up 15 fouls in those four games and twice has had five fouls. Chandler has picked up at least four fouls in 9 of the 19 games he has played this season. 

9:23 AM: If Devin Brown is going to take 36% of their shots, the Hornets can pack it in.  

9:24 AM:  A-ha.  The high screen/roll for CP3.  There's a concept. 

9:26 AM: D. West has to take that open shot on the pass-out at the top of the key. 

9:27 AM: Mo-Pete is a much better matchup for NOH against a lethal perimeter team like ORL.

9:27 AM: Unless they can work a big v. small mismatch on the inside -- or lure Howard out of the middle -- it's insane for the Hornets to try to go inside against three ORL defenders.  Just won't work.

9:29 AM: The Magic are doing a great job staying at home on the Hornet perimeter players, denying CP3 the pass-out option. 

9:30/9:31 AM: Paul splitting the defenders...gorgeous. Given how ORL is cutting off the weak side, it seems like Paul-to-the-rack is the path of least resistance for NOH. 

9:32 AM: Precisely when did Rashard Lewis cultivate a dribble-drive/slash game?  Very nice.

9:33 AM: Changing speeds off an effective S/R.  Now we're talking. 

9:34 AM: NOH continues to struggle from the field, but their last five shots have been much, much better looks -- if that's any consolation.  

9:37 AM: The Howard imitation of SVG is almost as good as the Rockets' Deke montage. 

9:39 AM: Much, much better rotation by NOH. 

9:39 AM:  Paul loves to draw contact when he draws the big man on the switch. 

9:40 AM:  The Magic dominate the quarter, but if there's any good news for the Hornets, it's that their shot selection isn't horrible.  On balance, they're getting what they want -- just not hitting.  

9:46 AM: David West -- one of the best cutting big men in the league.  Has a preternatural sense for where there's open space inside of 12 feet on a given set. 

9:47 AM: What makes Turk so good is that he can operate as both the pick man or the roll man on any possession because he handles the ball do dang well. 

9:48 AM: A Brandon Wright sighting!! 

9:53 AM: Howard is indefensible.  The Hornets tried to front him, but Turk is a great passer and they'll just hit Howard over the defense.  

9:56 AM: The soft spot in the Orlando defense is that high post, and West is starting to exploit it a bit. 

9:57 AM:  Again, Turk can do so, so much.  Basically a point forward, which gives ORL a multi-faceted offense, and a great menu of options in the halfcourt.  And if J. Nelson is going to drain shots, they can't be defended.  And remember, it's not like the opposition can step out on the ORL shooters, because then you leave Howard alone underneath.  I'd say that's generally a bad idea, don't you? 

10:00 AM: Stan Van Gundy is the fun brother, clearly. 

10:02 AM: Jameer Nelson with forward momentum on a spot-up jumper -- unstoppable. 

10:04 AM: Again, it's very hard to front Howard on the block because the entire Orlando team has learned to lob perfect passes over the top of the defense.  

10:09 AM: The Orlando S/R defense is offering the jumper to Paul, and he's refusing it.  

10:10 AM: Mickael Pietrus: Useful

10:11 AM: That last NOH possession.  Paul gets the high S/R, then has a lot of open space because Howard sags back, behind the foul line.  Seems like Paul usually takes that uncontested jumper at the top of the key when the big sloughs off him like that.  But he chooses instead to pass out to a cold James Posey, who has his shot contested by both Pietrus and Lewis.  Rarely can Paul be criticized for poor decision-making, but it strikes me as odd that Paul passes up an uncontested J from 17 in favor of a contested Posey shot in the corner.   

10:17 AM: How bad has New Orleans been from the field?  Chris Paul has one assist at the half. 

10:33 AM:  A Devin Brown jumper from 22 feet right out of the gate?  Really? 

10:34 AM:  Paul gets that small-on-big mismatch, but again can't convert.  

10:36 AM:  Jameer Nelson manning up on David West inside of 15 feet.  I normally don't try to quantify things like 'heart' and 'cajones,' but Nelson is chutzpah incarnate.  

10:37 AM: TrueHoop just became the first liveblogger to use both a Spanish and Yiddish colloquialism in a single entry. 

10:38 AM: On that unintentional tip-in for New Orleans, Keith Bogans just became the Hornets' most effective offensive player. 

10:39 AM: Breaking News -- 2009 Slam Dunk participants: Dwight Howard, Rudy Gay, and Nate Robinson.  Fans will select the fourth participant from among Joe Alexander, Rudy Fernandez or Russell Westbrook. 

10:42 AM:  That's New Orleans' patented set:  The high S/R with Paul/Chandler.  The trap on Paul generally draws David West's defender low to help on Paul penetration.  West will then drift out to the top of the circle, where Paul hits him for an open jumper.  Too bad New Orleans couldn't execute that early.  [Though it's awfully hard to do so when Chandler is sitting on the pine with foul trouble]. 

10:44 AM: Rajon Rondo has been getting much love from the press. But Jameer Nelson might be your 2008-09 MIPG.

10:49 AM: Most annoying rule in the NBA: Defensive team forces a shot clock violation, then collects the missed airball and begins a well-earned fast break.  But because the buzzer sounds, the officials declare a dead ball and the team is denied that transition opportunity.  Shouldn't the defense be rewarded? 

10:57 AM: Signs of life?  Don't call it a comeback...yet. 

11:00 AM: To reiterate a point that Hornets247 made in yesterday's bullets: "When Tyson gets fired up for a game, two things can happen: the Hornets find him early, he gets some easy buckets, which gets
him clicking on defense, and he plays great OR the Hornets can't find him early or he's fouled hard repeatedly and can't get easy buckets, he starts getting frustrated, and the Hornets fall apart on both ends.  The guy really is pretty key to what they do, and tonight he was a mess."

11:04 AM: The Pietrus corner shot is a perfect illustration of how doubling Howard presents all kinds of opportunities for Orlando's perimeter guys.  All it took was a little baseline cut once Brown left Pietrus. 

11:08 AM: Is Byron Scott calling off the dogs? He just inserted Ryan Bowen, Melvin Ely, and S. Marks.  CP3 is likely done for the day.  His streak of 108 games with a steal has just been snapped.  He is clearly frustrated on the bench.  

11:20 AM: The Magic have a challenging stretch of games beginning January 7 when they play a home-and-home with Atlanta.  They follow that with a four-game swing out west that includes games against San Antonio, the Lakers, and Denver.  They then return home for a Thursday night TNT game against Boston.  

11:25 AM: Grammarians among you: In the context of sport, do we treat "Magic" as a singular entity or as a plural?  

11:28 AM: Squidmasterflash writes, " If orlando is hot and healthy come playoff time they'll be a force to reckon with." This is the zillion dollar question.  Are we ready to place Orlando on the same pedestal as Boston and Cleveland?  Maybe, maybe not.  But that #1 seed in the East is certainly more important now -- and not just for home-court advantage, but to avoid the Magic in the Conference Semis. 

11:31 AM: There you go, JJ-philes! Milkboy009 just got his stocking filled.

Thanks everyone for joining us.  We invite you to the next thread -- San Antonio vs. Phoenix!