The good ole days...

Remember that magical 2008 season? Seems like long time ago for Chris Paul and those Hornets. Something about that season always sticks out to me. The crazed hunger from every single member of the team. They all had something to prove, no one was at the top of their game. They all wanted to be right next to the greats.

Chris Paul had to win best point-guard honours as well as best player ones too. David West was still greatly unappreciated around the league. Tyson Chandler was considered a bust by most. Peja Stojakovic couldn’t stay healthy. Morris Peterson was past it and no longer a scorer. Byron Scott was still a mediocre coach at best.

Most importantly though, all of these traits reflected the city of New Orleans at that time. They were fighting for not only their own careers, but the city they played in. Sure it wasn’t sold out all the time, but the large amount that were supported them to the very end.

Moving into the present it seems a lot of that spunk, fire, whatever you want to call it, is gone. Chris Paul still has something to prove, but has already climbed to the top once before. David West has received the respect he deserves, yet is coming off an injury. Emeka Okafor has done nothing in his career of great significance and it doesn’t appear likely to change. Trevor Ariza has won a championship and Marco Belinelli is still prone to mistakes that over-rides any progress.

Next season, if there is one (it doesn’t seem like there will be) I want to see that passion from 2008. Whether that’s bringing in some new guys (Carl Landry was a great complement to last seasons team, he had that fire) or whether it’s starting from scratch, the Hornets must find a deep, talented pool of players that all have something to prove for themselves and the city of New Orleans.

Check out how excited NBA fans are! Wow thanks David Stern and Billy Hunter!

I know that this is a New Orleans Hornets blog, but times are slow in the basketball world and things ‘aint easy being a blogger. With that I thought I’d round up some of the events in the NBA world, albeit somewhat dull.

• This one’s from a while back, and some may already of read it, but it’s about Trevor Ariza. It’s an interview between he and the Land ‘O Lakers. Here’s an excerpt:

 I started to get a whole lot of attention in the 10th grade. That’s when I kind of came out of a little bit of a shell, or whatever, as far as basketball was concerned. I stopped being so goofy. For a high school kid, my game matured a little faster. It got better from the ninth to tenth grade. Night and day, in understanding the level of competition, and understanding what I was trying to do, and my goals and all that.

•  There’s headline’s flying all around here in my country, Australia. Andrew Bogut is strongly rumoured to be playing in the NBL if there is a lockout that cancels out games. He’s linked with the Perth Wildcats, Adelaide 36ers and my team the Sydney Kings. For those that don’t know the NBL used to be a top-flight league a long time ago. The league went defunct a few years ago and is on the return. With Patty Mills returning to play for the Melbourne Tigers it would create a huge buzz if Bogut were to return too.
• Marco Belinelli had 19 points on 13 shots against France the other day. The Italians lost 91-84 in a closely contested match. Beli also had 3 assists, 2 rebounds and shot 4 of 8 from three point range.
• Hey did you know that after a hard work-out (one where you sweat and increase your heart rate significantly i.e. running not walking) that you keep burning calories off? David West was featured in an article where new research displays the benefits of hard workouts.