New Orleans Hornets Stock Watch: Rising and Falling Players After First Month

If you bought stock in the 2012-13 New Orleans Hornets (or Pelicans) in the preseason, you're probably noticing some mixed results after the season's first month. A combination of inspired play from a select few as well as some untimely injuries have left New Orleans with a measly 5-11 record entering their Dec. 5 showdown with the Lakers.

The Hornets have been without star guard Eric Gordon all season. Gordon suffered a setback in his recovery from knee surgery, and the team is still awaiting his triumphant return. Also, No. 1 overall pick Anthony Davis has joined Gordon on the team's injury report thanks to a bum ankle.

Hornets head coach Monty Williams told NOLA.com's John Reid that Davis is still "a week away from us thinking about ramping up his conditioning; let alone playing." The former Wildcat standout has played in just six games this season, missing eight games so far with an ankle injury after being forced to sit out two games earlier in the year with a concussion.

Davis is still the team's second-leading scorer with 16 points per game, and he leads the team in rebounding and blocked shots. A healthy Davis has been one of the few bright spots for this Hornets team along with point guard Greivis Vasquez, who is having a career year and is averaging 13 points and 8.7 assists a contest.

Vasquez and Davis are a couple examples of Hornets whose stocks are on the rise. There have also been others who are still a little slow getting out of the gate.

Here's a look at which Hornets are rising and falling after the season's opening month.

Stock Rising: PG Greivis Vasquez

Apparently, all Greivis Vasquez needed to show the world what he can do was an opportunity. Since taking over as the team's starting point guard, Vasquez has been one of the league's biggest surprises. He's averaging 13 points per game and is fifth in the NBA in assists, with 8.7 per contest.

Vasquez is tied with forward Ryan Anderson as the team leaders in minutes per game with 32.8. When he's on the court, Greivis has done an excellent job in choosing when to be a facilitator and when to call his own number. The early averages in his scoring and assist stats represent career highs for the third-year guard out of Maryland.

That's not to say that Vasquez doesn't have areas he needs to improve upon going forward. It would benefit him to take better care of the basketball, as he's averaging 3.4 turnovers per game. Vasquez also needs to become a more consistent shooter from behind the arc, where he's shooting just under 38 percent.

Vasquez could also slightly bump up his free throw percentage, which is around 79 percent for the season. For the most part, Vasquez has been one of the Hornets' best players and one of the league's breakout stars.

Any thoughts that rookie Austin Rivers would take the point guard job away from Vasquez have been rendered moot, and it looks as if New Orleans has a young stud that they can build around for the future.

Stock Falling: SG Roger Mason Jr.

Truth be told, it may have been unfair to expect big things from journeyman shooter Roger Mason Jr. After all, Mason hasn't had a productive season since his '08-'09 campaign with the San Antonio Spurs, and the Hornets really didn't need him to be more than an extra guard in case of emergency.

However, a mix of injuries and ineffectiveness forced the 32-year-old Mason into the starting lineup. Mason has started six games for the Hornets so far, but, just like predecessor Austin Rivers, he's struggled to get things going while filling in at shooting guard for the injured Eric Gordon.

Mason is averaging just under six points a game while playing about 21 minutes a night. His three-point shooting—normally his bread and butter—has left much to be desired. Mason is shooting just 37 percent from behind the arc. He's also scored in double-digits just three times all season.

Again, it is unrealistic to think that Mason would give the team a huge boost when they signed him in August. Still, a shooting guard with a reputation for being a marksman from deep should be able to put up some points when he's getting significant minutes, shouldn't he?

In his defense, Mason isn't the only guy in New Orleans' backcourt who isn't living up to expectations. Rivers has shot the ball poorly all season and the breakout season of Greivis Vasquez has limited backup point guard Brian Roberts.

When Gordon comes back, Mason can go back to being just a veteran at the end of the bench. In the meantime, the team needs Mason to play more like the Gordon insurance policy he was signed to be and less like the oldest guy on the roster.

Stock Rising: PF Ryan Anderson

Ryan Anderson has been the Hornets' best player so far. With rookie Anthony Davis out, Anderson has slipped into the starting power forward role, and he is picking up where he left off last season when he won the league's Most Improved Player award.

Anderson leads the Hornets in scoring with 17.5 points per game. He's also averaging 7.9 rebounds per game and leads the league in three-pointers made. The former Orlando Magic big man is learning to play with more balance and is not solely relying on his sweet shooting from behind the arc.

After his 22-point performance in a win against the Bucs, in which he hit just two three-pointers, Anderson told NOLA.com's Jimmy Smith that, "I'm definitely feeling comfortable under {the basket}," and thinks it's "something he needs to incorporate more and more.".

Anderson's inside-outside game will become an even more lethal weapon once Davis returns. With "The Unibrow" commanding attention in the post, Anderson can bomb teams from the three-point line. Anderson's growing confidence inside also gives the team another strong rebounder in the paint as well as an interior presence to fill the void left by Davis' absence.

It remains to be seen how good this Hornets team can be when it is totally healthy. For now, Anderson has done an excellent job with the increased workload that he carries on his back on a nightly basis.

Stock Falling: SF Xavier Henry

Xavier Henry's woes can be attributed to a lack of playing time or lack of talent, depending on how much of a benefit of the doubt you'd like to give him. Henry has played in nine of the team's 16 games this season, and he is averaging the least amount of minutes per game of anyone on the team at 12.6 a night.

For the season, he's scoring a little over three points per game and is shooting just over 34 percent from the field. You can make the case that the opportunities haven't been there consistently enough for him to develop a rhythm.

That being said, Henry has played double-digit minutes in seven games this season. His best scoring effort this year was a five point performance in a loss to Philadelphia back on Nov. 7. In the team's Dec. 3 trouncing of the Bucks, Henry played a whopping 20 minutes, but he also only managed to score two points on 1-of-6 shooting.

Henry is in his third NBA season after being a lottery pick with the Memphis Grizzlies. He left the University of Kansas after one season with the reputation for being a scorer with an impressive shooting acumen. That hasn't been the case so far. Henry has played like a guy still struggling to find himself, and that's even become obvious to his coach.

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"He's at a point in his career where he has to show that he's a pro and I try to tell guys you know you're a pro when you can rely on something every night," Hornets coach Monty Williams told NOLA.com's Jimmy Smith. "That's what X has to do on a consistent basis, give us something, one thing he can do every night whether it's shooting the ball, rebounding. Whatever his thing is, he's got to do it every night.".

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With no shooting guard stepping up in Eric Gordon's absence and with no reliable option at small forward behind Al-Farouq Aminu, Henry has a chance to make his mark on this team with some inspired play. The problem, like Williams said, is that he isn't excelling in any one area.

Henry isn't shooting the ball well enough to be the team's scorer off the bench, and he doesn't rebound at a high enough rate to be relied upon in that area either. As a defender, Henry is average, to say the least.

Perhaps Henry should take a cue from Aminu and change his approach on offense. When Aminu was having troubles with his jumper, he became more of a slasher and used his athleticism to attack the basket more aggressively. The result is Aminu averaging a little over 10 points per game this season.

Even though Henry is just 21 years old, the door to his NBA career will only stay open for so long. The fact that he's playing less than rookie Darius Miller on a Hornets team with no proven wing players says something about how bad Henry has been.

The Hornets may be a young team that is years away from contending, but they aren't going to wait forever for Henry to find something to give them.

Stock Rising: PF Anthony Davis

The fact that Davis has played in just six of the Hornets' 16 games due to injuries could be reason to place the No. 1 overall pick in the "falling" category. However, Davis has played so well in those few games that he's appeared in that it's hard to not think of him as a rising star.

Davis is averaging 16 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. He leads the team in blocks at 2.2 a night—keep in mind that these numbers are coming from a 19-year-old kid who is still getting adjusted to life in the NBA. Despite the early production, Davis is still very raw.

He hasn't developed a real go-to move on offense. He hasn't perfected the range on his jumper. He hasn't added more bulk to his lanky frame to make him more of an imposing presence in the paint. Davis has been taking the league by storm using pure talent, athleticism, and the little nuggets that he picked up during his time with Team USA.

The six games we've seen from the former Wildcat is just the tip of the iceberg. Granted, the injuries have to be a bit of a concern for a Hornets franchise with high hopes that is also dealing with the health issues of franchise guard Eric Gordon.

When he's been on the court, Davis has given Hornets fans a glimpse of what to expect going forward. While he is not blocking shots at the same clip that he did in college, Davis has lived up to the hype as an excellent defender. He's also proven to be a real factor on the boards.

His offense, which was initially thought to be a work in progress, has come along nicely as well. He may get a bulk of his points on dunks and put-backs, but there are also times where you see Davis make plays in the post and off-the-dribble. He shows impeccable ball-handling skills for a big man and his jump shot is developing nicely as well.

It will be probably be another week or so before Davis returns from his ankle injury, but we've seen enough in the short amount of time that he has played to be brimming with anticipation.

Stock Falling: SG Austin Rivers

The toughest thing about Austin Rivers' rookie campaign was supposed to be his transition from college shooting guard to NBA point guard. Instead, Rivers has struggled at his natural position after initially filling in for Eric Gordon as the team's starting two guard.

How bad has Rivers been, you ask?

For starters, the former Duke product is shooting less than 30 percent...from the field. And he's shooting just over 32 percent from behind the arc, which was one of his strengths in college. He's averaging 6.4 points per game despite starting nine games and is playing just over 27 minutes a night.

That isn't the kind of production the team could have been hoping for from its other first-round pick. Rivers' stint in the starting rotation was so bad that the team eventually opted to replace him with veteran Roger Mason Jr. In fairness to Rivers, Mason hasn't done any better.

On the bright side, Rivers is averaging more assists than turnovers this season. That's a promising sign if the team does decide to go through with making Rivers their point guard of the future. The excellent play of Greivis Vasquez this season has given New Orleans the luxury of not having to rush the No. 10 overall pick into his new position.

With Gordon out, however, the Hornets don't have the luxury of waiting on Rivers to contribute from his natural position. The poor shooting percentages are disheartening, especially from a kid who was such a dynamic scorer in college. Rivers didn't hit his first regular season three-pointer until the fifth game of the year.

Head coach Monty Williams has known Rivers since the rookie was a child. That kind of close bond can only help Rivers through this rough start.

Hopefully, being taken out of the starting lineup is just the wake-up call Rivers needs to start living up to his potential.

Stock Rising: C Robin Lopez

Robin Lopez was brought in to be a presence on defense and on the boards while also keeping Anthony Davis from manning the center position before he's physically ready.

Instead, Lopez has had a career resurgence in New Orleans and has given the Hornets a bona-fide center that the team needs to strongly consider re-signing at the end of the season. The former Stanford big man has done his part on defense, averaging nearly two blocks per game.

The rebounding numbers could be better than the 5.6 per contest that he's currently averaging, but the most impressive impact that Lopez is making comes from his scoring. The former Phoenix Sun is averaging 11.8 points per game, which is nearly double his career average.

Lopez has scored in double-digits in nine of the team's 16 games, including a 21-point performance in the team's most recent win over the Milwaukee Bucks. Lopez's big scoring night is even more impressive when you consider that he was facing one of the game's best rim protectors in Milwaukee's Larry Sanders.

With Davis out and backup Jason Smith coming back slowly from a preseason shoulder injury, Lopez has really stepped it up for a thin frontcourt. Smith told NOLA.com's Jimmy Smith that Lopez adds "a different dimension to our team."

"When he dives hard to the basket, he has such a high release when finishing so close to the basket. It looks so easy for him, but it's definitely a hard thing to do." Smith added.

The scoring output is a nice surprise, especially for a big man who isn't known for his offense. Lopez and Greivis Vasquez have been the team's two breakout stars early on the season. Going forward, it would be nice to see Lopez improve his rebounding numbers, and that could happen once Davis returns to command attention in the paint.

For now, Lopez looks like an offseason steal who just became a free agent priority.

Stock Falling: SG Eric Gordon

When the Hornets kept Eric Gordon out of training camp and the preseason, it was seen as a precaution to keep their star guard fresh for the regular season. When Gordon practiced with the team for the first time—just a few days before the season opener—there was hope that he was finally ready to make the splash many hoped he would make last season.

Eric Gordon has played in just nine games for the Hornets during his career. Over the summer, he signed a four-year, $58 million offer sheet from the Phoenix Suns, which the Hornets quickly matched. This season, he hasn't so much as taken a meaningful dribble for New Orleans.

Gordon was initially expected to miss four-to-six weeks after suffering a setback while recovering from surgery on the troublesome knee that kept him out most of last season. We're three weeks of intense rehab in and there's still no timetable as to when Gordon will return.

Optimism over Gordon living up to the hype in New Orleans is fading quicker than LeBron James' hairline. Gordon already came over from Los Angeles with a reputation for being brittle. His inability to stay healthy was one of the biggest risks in giving Gordon such a large contract.

Yet the Hornets did it anyway, hoping that his knee troubles were behind him and that he and Anthony Davis could be the core the team could rebuild its franchise around. New Orleans isn't the only team playing the waiting game with their injured stars.

The Indiana Pacers are in a similar situation with star forward Danny Granger, and the Philadelphia 76ers are waiting patiently for offseason addition Andrew Bynum to make his debut. The difference is that both of those teams have the talent to, at the very least, keep their head above water in their star's absence.

The Hornets aren't as fortunate. On top of Gordon's issues, Davis has had his own injury woes. Making matters worse, Gordon's contract and laundry list of health problems make him almost impossible to trade.

That means the team, much like Hornets fans, has no choice but to wait for Gordon to get healthy. When he's on the court, the former Indiana Hoosier is one of the league's best young shooting guards. He's excellent at both attacking the rim and shooting from long-range. He's the kind of guard teams dream of building around.

Currently, he's a disappointment. As the centerpiece of last year's Chris Paul trade, Gordon's inability to stay healthy has been just as big of a stomach punch to the Hornets as CP3's departure.

Time will tell if Gordon can stay healthy and turn things around. As of right now, Gordon's stock isn't just falling, it's pretty much a sunk cost.