Thursday, November 22nd, 2007 by Adam Wagner
Trying to find an NBA team to root for - New Orleans Hornets Edition
Yes, this series is back. And yes, I know that it is more than 1/8th into the season, so I am going to try to finish this up as soon as possible. I have somewhere from seven to nine more teams that I want to cover and am going to try to do so quickly so that I can actually start seriously following whatever team it is that I pick.
With that said, next on the list is the seemingly resurgent New Orleans Hornets, who are
9-4 to this point in the season. Before that start, they would have honestly been one of the teams I gave serious consideration in this process, but ended up not picking. They are a team that has been located in three separate cities (Charlotte, New Orleans, and Oklahoma City); they have worn some of the most painful uniforms to look at in NBA history (as modeled by Larry Johnson to the right); they have made awful trades (the rights to Kobe for Vlade Divac?); they have George Shinn, a cheap, unpopular owner who wrote an autobiography entitled “Good Morning, Lord” and yet was still accused of rape at one point. If anything, the Shinn family is even goofier than Shinn himself. Son Chris is the “talented vocalist for the Chris Shinn Band” according to the Hornets’ website. Interpret that as you will. Even goofier, however, is Shinn’s daughter, Susan, who is a “rawfoodist,” meaning basically that she does not cook anything and only eats non-meats. (Couldn’t she just have called herself a vegan and been done with it?)
Amazingly enough, the Hornets are still a likable team, stemming mainly from the fact that they are sticking with New Orleans even though New Orleans does not seem nearly as happy to be stuck with them. Attendance this season has been awful, as they are averaging 11,992 fans per game as of November 2nd. People in New Orleans either do not want to attend Hornets’ games or can not afford tickets. Neither one would be particularly surprising, as the city obviously has more to worry about than NBA basketball and the NBA is a much bigger commitment than the NFL from a fan’s perspective. The Hornets’ even returning to New Orleans shows a great commitment to the city and, potentially, to doing what is right even if attendance is just a shade over 50 percent in their home arena and they had to abandon over 12,000 season ticket holders in order to return. Shinn, however, is already making noises that he is unhappy with attendance and that the team needs support in order to survive.
There is, therefore, a ready-made story with the Hornets as they must try to gain the city’s support in the coming days in order to maintain their existence there. Whether or not the Hornets can gain more support from their home fanbase is one of the most important stories in the NBA season, whether anyone is willing to admit so or not. A successful season, in terms of attendance, would show that the NBA is able to survive pretty much anywhere. An unsuccessful season could result in awful publicity for the NBA, as it would look like a money grab by George Shinn that is perceived to be typical of many basketball owners.
The story, however, is not what is happening in the stands, but what is going to occur on the court. The Hornets have built a deep, versatile roster through the draft and free agency over the past three years and that roster may finally be ready to contend. This appeared to be the case last season, but they lost Chris Paul, David West, Tyson Chandler, Peja Stojakovic, and Marc Jackson for extended period of time due to injuries.
In Paul, the Hornets have the best young point guard in basketball. This season, however,
Paul seems to have taken his game to another level. Last season, in his second year in the season, for instance, Paul averaged 17.2 points and 8.9 assists per game along with a 43.7% field goal percentage. This season, Paul is averaging 18.5 points and 10.7 assists per game along with a 48.7% field goal percentage. Paul’s main asset is his explosive quickness, making him a threat to do something every time he has the ball. Watching the growth of a superstar is one of the more interesting developments in any sport and Paul could be prepared to have his breakout this year.
Paul is not the only more than capable position player around the Hornets, however, as the Hornets brought Peja Stojakovic and Tyson Chandler in prior to last season to provide 
Paul with some veteran help. Stojakovic is the quintessential European shooter, averaging about 15 points a game to this point and hitting 46.9% of his three point tries. Peja’s presence gives Paul an outside option to work with, while the presence of Tyson Chandler (who could be out for a little bit due to a hyper extended knee) gives him a maturing inside presence. Chandler is currently averaging 10.8 points and 11.2 rebounds per game. He is vitally important to the success of the Hornets as he is the main big man that they have. He must be able to match up against the elite big men in the West, including Tim Duncan and Yao Ming, if New Orleans expects to compete.
On top of this, New Orleans has David West and Morris Peterson, two valuable players who are never quite fully appreciated. Peterson, a Raptor until this season, is an extremely valuable role player who can score, rebound, and play solid defense who played on some of Michigan State’s great teams in the late ’90s. West is a scorer who is finally developing touch and a knack for staying healthy, maybe.
The Hornets are a talented group with a potential story line (the moving thing). It does not seem, however, as if they would be a very fulfilling team to cover. Any news that comes out of them will be bad, as Shinn will probably be looking to move the team pretty soon so that the people of Oklahoma City or St. Louis can watch Chris Paul develop.
I’m probably not going to choose them, but they are a team worth paying attention to if not only because of their all-around skill.
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