Post game thoughts:
Well, I was wrong. The usually reliable third quarter at home for the Hornets turned ugly for them in Game 7. They couldn’t hit the backside of a barn in the third quarter. David West was very disapointing in the second half. Tyson Chandler did a great job on Tim Duncan in the second half when New Orleans stopped doubling him, but everyone on the Spurs stepped up down the stretch. Michael Finley hit two threes, Robert Horry hit a big three, Bowen hit some shots, Parker hit shots when the Spurs needed him to, and Ginobli played great the entire game. The Hornets didn’t show up coming out of the locker room in the third, and when the shots started falling in the fourth it was just too late to knock off the defending champions.
Fourth quarter:
The Hornets have started to hit some shots and Chris Paul is heating up. Chandler has done a great job on Duncan. The lead is only 11 now, but the Hornets still have a lot of work to do. 4:30 left- Pargo should not be taking shots. He shouldn’t even be in the game. Put Morris Petterson in and then let Chris Paul and Tyson Chandler pick and roll. This is ridiculous. Ok, I take that back, Pargo is starting to really heat up, but I still don’t think he should be leading the team. Three minutes left now and the Hornets have cut it to four. This should be a great finish. 50 seconds left- Wow, Pargo is playing great, I apoligize to him. Parker just hit a big shot to make it a five point game though. 30 seconds left- A couple missed shots and four made free throws means the Spurs just won the game. Now up nine, it looks like the Hornets will not have enough time to come back.
Third quarter:
About five minutes into the second half and the Spurs are still up 9- The Hornets have stopped doubling Duncan and Chandler is doing a great job on him so far. New Orleans has been missing a lot of shots though, and they need to get something going offensively if they want to beat down the Spurs in the third quarter like they did the last three games in New Orleans. 4:41 left in the third and Duncan just got his fourth foul. He came out of the game for now and he is going to have to play careful the rest of the game. The Hornets need to take advantage of Duncan being out right now and get something going offensively. 2:41 left in third, San Antonio up 63-50. The Hornets are not taking advantage of Duncan being out, and no one on the Hornets is stepping up and knocking down any kind of shot. New Orleans is also starting to look a little lazy on defense, which is ridiculous for a Game 7; they have got to wake up and get going. It’s time for Chris Paul to take over the game, or New Orleans will not be advancing. The end of the third quarter and San Antonio is killing New Orleans by a score of 71-56. The Hornets shot 2-13 the first 10 minutes of the quarter. The Spurs are knocking down their shots, the Hornets are not, that’s the bottom line. I just cannot see the Hornets coming back from this deficit. It looks like it will be a Spurs/Lakers Western Conference Finals.
Halftime thoughts:
Ginobli went off for eight points in the final two minutes to stretch the lead to 51-42. Ginobli has gotten open threes because of the double team on Duncan. New Orleans either needs to stop doubling Duncan and hope Chandler can contain him, or do a better job of switching when Duncan kicks it out. They look a little lazy recovering from Duncan passing out of the double team. The Spurs have had the lead at halftime all three other games in New Orleans in this series, and then got blown out in the third quarter all three times. We’ll see what adjustments Byron Scott will make and I expect the Hornets to have the lead going into the fourth.
Second quarter:
Offensive glass on the first possesion again. Why is Melvin Ely taking all the shots for New Orleans? And that missed lay-up by Bonzi Wells was terrible! Were at the 8:47 mark and New Orleans is really out of sync. Chris Paul needs to start handling the ball more instead of Ely and Pargo taking bad shots. Spurs are up 36-27 and they are really hot from three. Doubling Duncan is not paying off right now for New Orleans. The Hornets are also starting to miss free throws, Paul just missed two in a row! 4 minutes left now and the three point baskets have switched teams. The Spurs are now ice cold while the Hornets are red hot. Peja hit 2 and Mo Pete hit one. I am a little concerned that Paul just missed his third straight free throw though.
First quarter:
The Hornets doubled Duncan right from the beginning, but Timmothy has done a great job of handling it, getting Ginobli and Parker open shots and even somtimes beating the double team. I even saw a triple team on Duncan a few minutes ago, and they got a turnover, so maybe the Hornets should try that more often. David West is also getting off to a good start coming of the back injury. Chris Paul is playing awesome, like normal. I guess it takes 20 towel boys to wipe popcorn off the court, I mean ice. Sorry, I’ve been listening to Reggie Miller too much. End of the first now with the score 23-20. New Orleans hit a drought near the end of the quarter, but made a couple shots at the end to keep it close. Even though I am going for the Hornets, that was a good call at the end of the quarter to not give Paul three shots. The Spurs are killing the Hornets on the offensive glass, New Orleans has got to start boxing out.
Opening thoughts:
The home team has won every game in this series, so why go against that? I think the Hornets are the better team, having a lot more role players stepping up in this series. When you look at the role players that have been stepping up for San Antonio in past years, those players no longer are making a big impact in games. Robert Horry, Michael Finley, Brent Barry and even Bruce Bowen, although he has done great defensive work on Peja since coach Pop matched them up, are not what they used to be. New Orleans has better role players like Morris Petterson, Bonzi Wells and Peja over the Spurs aging ones. San Antonio no longer has a lot of offensive fire power behind their big three, and role players usually play much better at home than on the road. That is why New Orleans is blowing out the Spurs at home and why San Antonio has only averaged about 81 points per game in New Orleans. I expect another huge third quarter from the Hornets tonight after great half-time adjustments yet again by an underrated coach in Byron Scott, and I expect the Hornets to move on and play the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.
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