New Orleans Hornets: 30 Teams in 30 Days

2008 Statistics

Finished 49-33, fourth in Southwest Division, seventh in Western Conference

Postseason

First Round: Lost to Denver Nuggets 4-1

Key Additions

Emeka Okafor via trade, Darren Collison via draft, Marcus Thornton via trade, Ike Diogu via free agency

Key Losses

Tyson Chandler via trade, Rasual Butler via trade

After a 2007-08 campaign in which the Hornets beat out teams like the San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks, and Houston Rockets for the Southwest Division crown, the team fell hard to fourth place in the division last year and ended its season on one of the worst notes in NBA history.

The team lost by a 121-63 score, tied for the worst loss in playoff history, in Game Four of its first-round matchup against the Denver Nuggets. It's hard to believe that a team that is one year removed from a division championship can fall this hard from grace and get beat out in the postseason this bad, even with All-Stars Chris Paul and David West still on the floor.

Chris Paul had another MVP caliber season and is widely recognized as the best point guard in the world. He averaged 23 points, 11 assists, and five rebounds last year in only his fourth season in the league. He has been the team leader since he joined the Hornets in 2005, and they have seen an improvement in their record ever since he joined—until last year, when the team had a seven-game decrease in wins.

His supporting cast has been criticized as there appears to be no other legitimate scoring options beside West. This upcoming season, though, there will be no excuses for not getting a high postseason seed after an offseason trade that could vault the Hornets back into championship contention.

The acquisition of Emeka Okafor brings another scoring option to the table. Okafor averaged a career-low 13 points last year, while also averaging 10 rebounds and two blocks per game. What's most important to the Hornets is that Okafor is a healthy center who is known for playing full season with no problems, unlike the center it traded away.

Fan-favorite Tyson Chandler was sent away to the Charlotte Bobcats in the exchange, and while Hornets fans may not enjoy it right now, they'll appreciate it later on when Okafor is actually playing in games and being a reliable scoring option. Chandler has never been a quality scoring option and had his career high of 12 points two years ago mostly thanks in part to the passing ability of Paul. Last year he only averaged eight points and nine rebounds in only 45 games. Chandler has never played a full 82-game NBA season.

The Hornets are also very lucky that West has evolved into the star that he is today. He averaged a career high 21 points and eight rebounds last year and made it to his second all-star game. West complements CP3 very well and has one of the most underrated shooting touches in the league. His jump shot is one of the purest and most consistent shots in the league, which has improved year by year and if he can keep that shot up, then it all but assures New Orleans a high seeding in an up for grabs Western Conference.

Despite having the best point guard in basketball, one of the top shooters, and a premiere, young center, the Hornets are still faced with problems on it's bench and other pure shooters.

Peja Stojakovic is known as one of the best shooting big men in NBA history, but last year proved all but different. He averaged 13 points per game which was his lowest average since his second year in the league ten years ago. The 40 percent average was the second lowest of his career as well and he also missed 21 games due to injury. The Hornets need Peja due to the fact that he is one of the few three-point threats and is in fact the best shooter on the team.

New Orleans traded away one of the few reliable scoring options it has in Rasual Butler to the Los Angeles Clippers for a second round pick seven years from now. Butler averaged a career high 11 points and three rebounds last year, while playing a full season. Butler filled in for Peja when he was out with injuries and did a decent job of standing in his spot.

The Hornets draft was for the sole purpose of bringing in consistent shooters. They traded for Marcus Thornton out of LSU on draft day and made the right move by bringing him in. Thornton is an underrated scorer and averaged 21 points last year, as well as grabbing five rebounds per game. His three-point shooting touch is also high quality and can shoot from just about anywhere on the floor.

The first round pick was Darren Collison out of UCLA who is also a notable scorer and can also shoot the lights out from three-point range. He is a little undersized though as he only weighs 165 pounds which is light even for someone that's 6'1". Despite his small stature, if he is able to create his own shot and use his already excellent ball handling to his advantage he should be able to become a legitimate scoring option for the Hornets.

The Hornets bench might struggle due to the fact that there are no reliable scoring options. James Posey is the best scorer and has an excellent three-point shot, but not much else. Hilton Armstrong, Julian Wright and Morris Peterson are not players to rely on when your starting lineup is taking a breather. New Orleans needed to make better moves this off season to bolster it's bench. Despite having a strong starting lineup, the bench could be the downfall of this team.

New Orleans has become one of the most successful teams since Chris Paul joined the squad and with Emeka Okafor joining the team, it's chances of a first NBA finals appearance are at their highest in the upcoming 2009-10 season. The team is always a postseason threat and next season means no different.

Projected Starting Lineup

PG-Chris Paul

SG-Devin Brown

SF-Peja Stojakovic

PF-David West

C-Emeka Okafor

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This is Pt. 17 of a 30-day series of 2009-10 season previews of each NBA team. My profile will contain every other team that has been previewed before.