wijayas
05-13-2008, 09:12 AM
Sorry again if this has been posted here. I sure hope Chandler gets his wish!!! :lmao :lmao :lmao
http://www.nola.com/sports/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-37/121065624096690.xml&coll=1&thispage=2
N.O. hopes shooting star lights it up
Scott: Hornets lacked intensity in Game 4 rout Tuesday, May 13, 2008By James Varney
The Hornets have a basketful of things to work out before tonight's Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals against San Antonio, but among the most pressing is this: Peja Stojakovic must shoot more.
After all, Stojakovic played a key role in the Hornets' achieving home-court advantage for this and the previous playoff series. Stojakovic averaged 16.4 points and shot the ball 13.3 times per game during the regular season. He averaged three 3-pointers on 6.8 attempts, a percentage bettered among Western Conference scorers only by Phoenix's Steve Nash.
And that was the recipe when the Hornets whipped the Spurs in the first two games at the New Orleans Arena. In Game 2, with Stojakovic right around his season averages for attempts, he scored 25 points in a convincing Hornets victory. He scored 22 points in the first game.
After two desultory games in San Antonio (eight points and six points), his playoff scoring average has slipped to 15.3 points.
Coach Byron Scott said Monday he's not sure what kind of tactical changes might help Stojakovic get back in the flow.
"They're doing a good job; they're sticking like glue on Peja," Scott said. "The (shots) that he's getting right now, all of them seem to be under duress."
Point guard Chris Paul said the slipping numbers don't reflect a drop-off on Stojakovic's part.
"It looks like that, but they're really locked into him," Paul said. "We've just got to keep trying to get him going. Peja, whether he's scoring or not, he's a huge threat for us out there on the court at all times."
Even so, Scott noted Stojakovic missed three layups early in Game 4. And that sloppy beginning led to a general offensive malaise the team seemed to have shrugged off "three or four months ago" and a subsequent collapse in defensive intensity, according to Scott.
Perhaps the most glaring statistic from Stojakovic's line Sunday was one 3-point attempt. Hounded much of the game by defensive specialist Bruce Bowen, Stojakovic shot 3-of-9 from the field. The NBA's best free-throw shooter did not make it to the line.
Stojakovic did not hang around Monday to answer questions after the Hornets' shoot-around. After doing some stretching under one of the baskets, he hurried into the locker room, and team officials said he would not be available for interviews.
TAPE TELLS TWO TALES: The coach with three championship rings and the MVP runner-up pursuing his first appeared to have watched different game tapes, according to their assessments Monday of the 100-80 debacle Sunday in San Antonio.
On Scott's part, the disgust he felt with the Hornets' overall effort in Game 4 had not dissipated in New Orleans. In Game 3 he saw some things to praise; for Game 4 Scott said bluntly the Spurs "beat the crap out of us."
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"We've got to understand that defense is what got us to this particular point, and we've got to make sure we come out and put some pressure on them on the defensive end more," Scott said. "We can't worry about the offense, to be honest with you. It's not the offense that is beating us."
Although the Hornets took the first two games at the Arena easily, Scott said the erosion in intensity has been evident between the first game and the fourth, particularly when contrasted with the improved effort the Spurs seem to deliver each game.
"And this is the playoffs -- it's unbelievable," Scott said.
As evidence, Scott cited a shifting on-court emphasis among Hornets defenders. On one possession, the Hornets cut off Spurs point guard Tony Parker, as intended, only to get burned when the Spurs knocked down an outside shot. On the following possession, Scott said, the team neglected to cut off Parker, and he drove for a layup.
Paul, on the other hand, didn't notice as many defensive lapses.
"We didn't defend as well as we could, but after watching the film, we played good defense," he said. "Better offense will beat better defense any day. We were in their face; they just made shots."
Perhaps in response to the conflicting conclusions, Scott said he allowed the players to float defensive schemes Monday. If they had a more effective way of clamping down on Spurs forward Tim Duncan or sealing off the Spurs' pick-and-roll, he was willing to entertain it. Chandler said he considered seeking Scott's permission to take on Duncan single-handedly, but that did not appear to be an option either the players or the coaches have seriously entertained.
"I went to them today and said, 'You guys tell me how you want to play pick-and-rolls and how you want to play Tim Duncan, because I felt in games three and four we pretty much got away from trusting what we were doing," Scott said. "So I put it in their hands. They had some ideas. Some of them I liked, some of them I didn't."
http://www.nola.com/sports/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-37/121065624096690.xml&coll=1&thispage=2
N.O. hopes shooting star lights it up
Scott: Hornets lacked intensity in Game 4 rout Tuesday, May 13, 2008By James Varney
The Hornets have a basketful of things to work out before tonight's Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals against San Antonio, but among the most pressing is this: Peja Stojakovic must shoot more.
After all, Stojakovic played a key role in the Hornets' achieving home-court advantage for this and the previous playoff series. Stojakovic averaged 16.4 points and shot the ball 13.3 times per game during the regular season. He averaged three 3-pointers on 6.8 attempts, a percentage bettered among Western Conference scorers only by Phoenix's Steve Nash.
And that was the recipe when the Hornets whipped the Spurs in the first two games at the New Orleans Arena. In Game 2, with Stojakovic right around his season averages for attempts, he scored 25 points in a convincing Hornets victory. He scored 22 points in the first game.
After two desultory games in San Antonio (eight points and six points), his playoff scoring average has slipped to 15.3 points.
Coach Byron Scott said Monday he's not sure what kind of tactical changes might help Stojakovic get back in the flow.
"They're doing a good job; they're sticking like glue on Peja," Scott said. "The (shots) that he's getting right now, all of them seem to be under duress."
Point guard Chris Paul said the slipping numbers don't reflect a drop-off on Stojakovic's part.
"It looks like that, but they're really locked into him," Paul said. "We've just got to keep trying to get him going. Peja, whether he's scoring or not, he's a huge threat for us out there on the court at all times."
Even so, Scott noted Stojakovic missed three layups early in Game 4. And that sloppy beginning led to a general offensive malaise the team seemed to have shrugged off "three or four months ago" and a subsequent collapse in defensive intensity, according to Scott.
Perhaps the most glaring statistic from Stojakovic's line Sunday was one 3-point attempt. Hounded much of the game by defensive specialist Bruce Bowen, Stojakovic shot 3-of-9 from the field. The NBA's best free-throw shooter did not make it to the line.
Stojakovic did not hang around Monday to answer questions after the Hornets' shoot-around. After doing some stretching under one of the baskets, he hurried into the locker room, and team officials said he would not be available for interviews.
TAPE TELLS TWO TALES: The coach with three championship rings and the MVP runner-up pursuing his first appeared to have watched different game tapes, according to their assessments Monday of the 100-80 debacle Sunday in San Antonio.
On Scott's part, the disgust he felt with the Hornets' overall effort in Game 4 had not dissipated in New Orleans. In Game 3 he saw some things to praise; for Game 4 Scott said bluntly the Spurs "beat the crap out of us."
Advertisement
"We've got to understand that defense is what got us to this particular point, and we've got to make sure we come out and put some pressure on them on the defensive end more," Scott said. "We can't worry about the offense, to be honest with you. It's not the offense that is beating us."
Although the Hornets took the first two games at the Arena easily, Scott said the erosion in intensity has been evident between the first game and the fourth, particularly when contrasted with the improved effort the Spurs seem to deliver each game.
"And this is the playoffs -- it's unbelievable," Scott said.
As evidence, Scott cited a shifting on-court emphasis among Hornets defenders. On one possession, the Hornets cut off Spurs point guard Tony Parker, as intended, only to get burned when the Spurs knocked down an outside shot. On the following possession, Scott said, the team neglected to cut off Parker, and he drove for a layup.
Paul, on the other hand, didn't notice as many defensive lapses.
"We didn't defend as well as we could, but after watching the film, we played good defense," he said. "Better offense will beat better defense any day. We were in their face; they just made shots."
Perhaps in response to the conflicting conclusions, Scott said he allowed the players to float defensive schemes Monday. If they had a more effective way of clamping down on Spurs forward Tim Duncan or sealing off the Spurs' pick-and-roll, he was willing to entertain it. Chandler said he considered seeking Scott's permission to take on Duncan single-handedly, but that did not appear to be an option either the players or the coaches have seriously entertained.
"I went to them today and said, 'You guys tell me how you want to play pick-and-rolls and how you want to play Tim Duncan, because I felt in games three and four we pretty much got away from trusting what we were doing," Scott said. "So I put it in their hands. They had some ideas. Some of them I liked, some of them I didn't."