2011-12 New Orleans Hornets Predictions
Written by Jack Jones
Despite coming into last season with very little expectations, the New Orleans Hornets managed to make the playoffs. They entered the postseason as the No. 7 seed with a 46-36 record and managed to take the Los Angeles Lakers to six games, which was a minor win in itself.
However, the Hornets have undergone some drastic changes this offseason. The expectations are even lower for this team now that they will be moving forward without their two best players from last season; point guard Chris Paul and power forward David West.
Paul was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in a deal that got them C Chris Kaman, PF Al-Farouq Aminu and SG Eric Gordon. They lost the heart and soul of their franchise in Paul, but it was the right move at the right time. He was going to leaving in free agency at the end of the season, anyway.
The Hornets were not able to re-sign West, who left for the Indiana Pacers in free agency. He has been one of the most underrated players in the league for years now. West averaged 18.9 points and 7.6 rebounds last year, which is slightly up from his career averages of 16.4 points and 7.3 rebounds. Indiana now has themselves one heck of a player.
New Orleans was able to re-sign Marco Belinelli, Carl Landry and Jason Smith, while also adding DaJuan Summers in free agency. They did let free agent Aaron Gray walk, though. So as you can see, this will be a completely different team in 2010-11.
The starting lineup is expected to consist of PG Jarrett Jack (8.9 points last year), SG Gordon (22.3 points, 4.4 assists), SF Trevor Ariza (11.0 points, 5.4 rebounds), PF Emeka Okafor (10.3 points, 9.5 rebounds) and C Kaman (12.4 points, 7.0 rebounds). While these names don’t “wow” you, this is going to be one of the more underrated starting fives in the West.
What concerns me about this team is the lack of a bench. While I do like Landry coming off the pine, I don’t believe that Al-Farouq Aminu, Brian Butch, Quincy Pondexter, Marco Belinelli and Terrico White are going to provide much of a spark. There are simply too many question marks among this group, and not enough answers.
Western Conference Prediction: 5th Southwest Division – As stated earlier, I do believe that the Hornets are going to have one of the more underrated starting fives in the Western Conference. I foresee all five starters averaging in double-figures with a balanced attack. Jack and Gordon are going to form a very solid backcourt, though I’m not totally sold on the frontcourt.
What is going to hold this team back is their bench. Starters are going to be forced to play a lot of minutes, because the fact of the matter is, the Hornets have almost no proven talent coming off the pine. They have some potential in a few youngsters (White, Pondexter), but that potential is going to have to turn into production in a hurry.
Check out what expert handicapper Jack Jones has in store with his 2011-12 NBA predictions article. It shows you where he has every team finishing in their respective divisions.
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