 |
January 2, 2009
BEST HANDS
CHRIS PAUL. The NBA-record streak of 108-straight games with steal says it all for the best 23-year-old in the league.
MOST HONEST I
BYRON SCOTT. Twice in two seasons he has had the most revealing and honest statements about his team. Prior to the start of a key West Coast road trip to begin 2008, he called out the bench following a 4-point output in a New Year's Eve loss at home to Toronto saying, "Everybody on the bench is available if their play doesn't improve". The bench promptly scored in double figures in all but one game in January and served as a catalyst to the Hornets winning the Southwest Division.
MOST HONEST II
BYRON SCOTT. Following a blowout loss on national TV to the Orlando Magic, the Hornets head coach expressed his displeasure by telling the media that his team had 'embarassed itself"...and "didn't come to play in Florida." The Hornets responded with a huge home win over Southwest Division-leading Houston at home and a comeback win at Indiana.
BEST RESPONSE
HORNETS FANS. Following the Hornets first-ever division title, more than 10,000 season tickets were sold and since the team's full-time return post-Katrina, there have been 25 sellouts (including all seven playoff games against Dallas and San Antonio).
BEST GAME
@ PHOENIX, FEBRUARY 6, 2008. The Hornets won 132-130 in double overtime on Peja Stojakovic's buzzer-beating jumper. Steve Nash, Leandro Barbosa, Jannero Pargo, and Chris Paul also had big, late-in-the-clock shots. Paul had 42 points and 9 assists. It was also voted the NBA Game-of-the-Year.
MOST AMAZING NUMBER
20. The number of games in Chris Paul's entire NBA career without a steal.
BIGGEST SURPRISE
BOSTON’S FAILURE TO RE-SIGN JAMES POSEY. Posey inked a four-year deal with the Hornets as their key offseason move. Posey's play off the bench was critical to the Celtics NBA title run last season.
BEST DAY(S)
ALL STAR WEEKEND…FEBRUARY 15- 17, 2008…IN NEW ORLEANS. Superman steals the show on Saturday with a never-before-seen slam dunk (was it actually a dunk?) and the Sunday All-Star Game was an incident-free, beautifully orchestrated, prideful display of how far New Orleans had come in rebuilding post-Katrina.
BEST REWARD
CHRIS PAUL AND DAVID WEST AS FIRST-TIME ALL STARS. Paul has emerged as the league's best point guard, while West has improved his scoring, rebounding and assists in each pro season.
BEST SECOND-BEST
CHRIS PAUL. Finishing second to Kobe Bryant in the NBA's MVP race is the closest any Hornet has ever been in the voting.
BEST FROM BEYOND THE ARC
PEJA STOJAKOVIC. He set a franchise record with 231 made threes and 10 in a game against the Lakers.
BEST FROM ABOVE THE RIM
TYSON CHANDLER. He and Chris Paul combined for the most alley oop dunks in the NBA...good enough to earn a New Orleans nickname...The Crescent City Connection.
BEST FROM THE BENCH
BYRON SCOTT. He became the first Hornets coach ever to win the NBA's Coach-of-the-Year Award.
