Charlotte Bobcats at New Orleans Hornets 1/18

[CMc$]

Being a fan of Ray I have to agree that CP3 is an elite point guard compared to Ray. I've always enjoyed Paul as a player and as a person. He is a good guy.

What sucks is that this year there has been a greater gap than in years before. In the two years before this one Felts would put on a show when it was time to play New Orleans. Chris Paul was also just a hint of what he would do once he was in the NBA when he was at Wake, which brings me to the point that I feel sums about all of our players . . .

You play good ball when your coach plays you to the best of your ability. All of our young players are great players. Emeka, Ray, etc would benefit from a system in which they could play to their strengths. There is no rhyme or reason to our team. No structure. No roles. No gelling. The only games in which we play well and win are when our guys are just completely on and win despite the coach. Chris Paul, and his teammates have found something. Each time one of them steps up their game, it opens up the door for the rest to excel.

Oh, and complaining that Ray isn't Paul is like complaining that Crash isn't LeBron, or that Hammer isn't Stackhouse. In my opinion Paul is, at the moment, the best PG in the league.

[ohara831]

CMc$ : I agree with you. My point of comparing the two is that the difference between them is much greater than we would have liked to admit. But we cannot just fool ourselves here. Ray, at best, is an avg PG in the NBA. If we have a chance to do better, I would not pass on it at all. You can see how the teams with a great PG always seem to be rising to the top of the standings. That is the straw that stirs the drink, and right now, our straw is not so strong as to be able to stir the drink on a nightly basis.
Just a much a difficlut pill to swallow is our averageness on the front line. Okafor is not one of the elite, and neither is Nazr. We have only one truly elite player, and that is Crash. J-Rich is next closest, but not quite in that league. No one else on the team even warrants comparison. We have to get our hands on the players who can become elite.

[TheBeagle]

Eh, this game is meaningless if we win tomorrow night. We were due for a stinker after playing so incredibly well, as was GW. The best of teams and the best of players have these nights, so let's make sure it doesn't happen again for another couple weeks.

For whatever reason, it's not mean for us to win more than 2 games in a row. That's fine as long as we follow up every loss with another 2 wins.

Not trying to make excuses for the guys, but it is really just one loss in the overall picture. I didn't get to see the game, but judging from the stats, even if we had been on, we probably couldn't have done anything against a team that shoots 60+% for the whole damn game. They were on; we were off; I actually don't mind that combo; beats losing a heartbreaker...

****************

As for CP3: like another guy posted a month or so ago, Hornets better enjoy it while it lasts, because once he is unrestricted (summer '09, I think), it's goodbye time. As Mayor of Winston Salem, he is a politician, so he says all the right things, and smiles when the camera is on, but the apathy of New Orleans for the Hornets (just like the Jazz before them) is wearing, and will continue to wear on him and the team for that matter. They are tops in the west, and last in attendance...by a lot! If he doesn't sign with his homestate Bobcats, hopefully he stays out west, because we have nothing to stop him with our current roster as it is. (Poor, Raymond, how you've fallen since the glory days in Chapel Hill )

[Keetch]

I appreciate what Chris Paul can do; he's a great player.

I also appreciate watching Raymond Felton play for the Bobcats. I'm pretty happy that he is our point guard. When I watch a game either live or on the TV I look forward to Felton playing and hope for the day when he is our starting PG and running the offense. I root for him pretty hard to do well and create plays for himself and the team. And no I'm not a Tar Heel homer; I'm a Bobcat homer.

There are other PG's in the league who are all-stars; Paul, Nash, Deron Williams, Baron Davis; but they don't play for the Bobcats. Raymond Felton does; and he's plenty good enough for me.

Rather than constantly comparing him to others; I'll rest on watching Felton as he is and as he gets better.

I might even buy a Felton shirt.

[Keetch]

I stay away from posting pre-game; speculating how much we will win by....because I truly never have any idea what this team will do; particularly with Sam playing small so much.

Having said that; it seemed pretty sure to me that tonite was trouble, as it proved to be. The Hornets run a clinic with great balance of inside and outside play. Good combination of technical play, good shooting and creativity at PG.

But who really can be sure about the outcome with the way we've been playing?

Anyways...the Hornets high FG% was partly due to all the free dunks they found and made. It was embarrassing. The Cats were staying in the game early on pure hustle and some good shooting while the Hornets were getting open slams on simple plays.

I blame Sam. I'm sorry, but we need 2 bigs in the lineup.

[davcbow]

I could tell by tonights game that we are still lacking in some very key positions, mainly the bigs and we have got to do something about this 2 pt gaurd line up.....

[Muttley]

Yeah, they started the game wearing us down inside, and then Peja hit some threes to put them way up and we couldn't claw back into it (Hooray Jumpshots!). Hate to see us lose to the freaking Ho-nets, but like Beagle said, it's erased if they win tonight.

On the subject of how awesome the small line-up is, who saw Jeff McInthegamefortoomanyminutes cross the ball over right into Paul's breadbasket? I was laughing my ass off. I look forward to next season when that guy is hopefully no longer on the roster. I'm no fan of Paul at all, but he's no doubt an elite point guard.

I don't think you can compare him and Ray. Paul's proven he's better. But, that doesn't mean that Felton's not a good point guard. Obviously if we could upgrade that position without losing too much, then we should. Whatever helps the team, but elite PGs don't just grow on trees. Now, O'Hara, I assume that you would find one in the draft? I would have no problem doing that, but we've gotta play with the team we've got now (barring some trade).

[ohara831]

You are right Muttley. As far as the draft, I think Rose and Augustine are the only 2 who I think would walk onto an NBA team and compete for the starting PG job. Depending where we fall in the draft, and any unforseen trades, we will just have to see where we finish and who is there for us. At this stage, I would take the very best player, regardless of position.

[CMc$]

I appreciate what Chris Paul can do; he's a great player.

I also appreciate watching Raymond Felton play for the Bobcats. I'm pretty happy that he is our point guard. When I watch a game either live or on the TV I look forward to Felton playing and hope for the day when he is our starting PG and running the offense. I root for him pretty hard to do well and create plays for himself and the team. And no I'm not a Tar Heel homer; I'm a Bobcat homer.

There are other PG's in the league who are all-stars; Paul, Nash, Deron Williams, Baron Davis; but they don't play for the Bobcats. Raymond Felton does; and he's plenty good enough for me.

Rather than constantly comparing him to others; I'll rest on watching Felton as he is and as he gets better.

I might even buy a Felton shirt.

Very, very well said Keetch. Let's root for every one of our players. Who cares about Dwight Howard? Who cares about CP3? We didn't even get the chance to draft them. No point in speculating or complaining about it.