Hornets sweep season series vs Suns with win in New Orleans
(Layne Murdock/NBAE Photos) Led by MVP candidate Chris Paul (25 points, 15 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals) the Hornets beat the Suns, 120-103, for the fourth straight time this season. Shaq or no Shaq it just won’t matter to the Hornets who are now 4-0 vs the Suns this year.
Stoudermire led the Suns with 32 points and 14 rebounds while LSU alumni Shaq, sharing board-patrolling duties with him, added 15 points and 7 rebounds in 32 minutes of play.
The remaining three/fifth of the Suns starting five had a night to forget as Nash scored 8 points (13 assists), Bell added 14 and Hill 10; but the three combined for a mere 10-of-28 shooting.
I am coming to the conclusion the Hornets are actually a better basketball team than the Suns this year or at least they match up very well against Phoenix. It’s no mystery the Suns are often unable to match the type of effort the Hornets put on the floor last night and keep losing games against the best teams in the Western Conference.
It’s been discussed a lot lately and that was possibly the key to the Shaq trade but this trend is becoming very alarming. Right now I can’t see how the Suns could match a team like the Hornets – or the Lakers - (young, athletic, well-coached teams with a deep bench) in a long playoff series.
They’re all preaching for patience at the Suns HQ, I know it will take time to find the right equilibrium on the court but so far what we have witnessed since the O’Neal trade is a team trying to play the same game they did before. Shaq so far had a relevant impact on rebounding and on STAT’s performance but defense and intensity – two of the keys for the future – haven’t really improved.
I am not going to worry about win-loss record too much for at least another couple of weeks but I have found myself nervously looking at the standings each morning. Just in case you didn’t notice the Suns now at 39-19, stands 1.5 games behind the Lakers and currently would be seeded 5th in the Conference, just half a game ahead of the Mavs. Better watch out.
New Orleans put a lot of energy on the court and felt the extra motivation coming from a 3-game losing streak entering last night’s game.
The Hornets opened the game in the third quarter and the Suns couldn’t match their intensity nor their outside shooting.
David West scored 27 points, Peja Stoiakovic added 17 points and Jannero Pargo contributed with 22 off the bench on 9-of-15 shooting. While the guards provided the outside shooting it was high-energy Tyson Chandler controlling the boards with a game-high 15 rebounds including 4 on offense.
The Suns will now come back home from this short 2 games in 2 days road trip to face the Sixers on Saturday March 1st (7 PM).
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Posted by Steve Fan
Blogger and Steve Nash enthusiast. Don't get in his way, he'll MVP your ass.
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