 |
Contact us Write for Us |
| InsideHoops.com |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Hornets to put the Sting to the League Once Again By Michael S. Lewis October 20, 2000 Charlotte, North Carolina—The summer of 1993 was an exciting time for Charlotte Hornets basketball fans. Visions of Alonzo Mourning’s buzzer beater against the experienced Boston Celtics in the fifth game of the first round of the playoffs were sweet, vivid, and hinted at an auspicious future. Though the team eventually bowed out in the second round to Ewing and the New York Knicks, they had done so in a five game dog-fight that seemed to signal Alonzo Mourning’s ascendance as a major force to be reckoned with in the NBA. In those days many basketball pundits would have put their money on Mourning, Larry Johnson, Mugsy Bogues and Dell Curry to one day conquer the Eastern Conference. As history has shown, no bet is a safe bet. We find ourselves in a new millennium. Alonzo has long since left North Carolina for South Florida, while Larry Johnson was sent to New York, where he has helped the Knicks reach the Eastern Conference Championships two years running. For the last five years Charlotte has been a virtual non-factor in the Eastern Conference, and many barely remember that the Hornets were once the team to watch. The Hornets of the 21st Century, however, are starting to show some new promise. In their pre-season opener on Wednesday, Charlotte stomped all over the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in a 103-90 romp, and proceeded to do the same to the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday, defeating them 113-92. Ironically, Alonzo Mourning’s season-ending kidney ailment puts Charlotte in the very Eastern Conference front-runner position once held by Mourning’s Heat. If pre-season play is an indication of anything, we should all watch for Charlotte to get off to a great start come November. The Hornets are anchored by Jamal Mashburn, the talented journeyman who is looking to find a more permanent home for himself in North Carolina. Last year, Mashburn averaged 17.5 ppg, but has the potential to put up All-Star numbers. In 1994, and 1995, Mashburn averaged well above 20 ppg, and should be Charlotte’s go-to man this season. Derrick Coleman will bring size and big stats to Charlotte’s front court. Last year, Coleman averaged 16.7 ppg, and grabbed 8.5 rpg. As long as he remembers to play defense, he will perform solidly for Charlotte against Eastern Conference forwards like Larry Johnson, and Brian Grant. P.J. Brown will serve as the Hornets’ utility man. He will quietly fill the gaps when needed. With Elden Campbell, the Eastern Conference leading returning scoring center, it will be hard for any Eastern Conference team to match the size and strength of the Hornet’s frontcourt. In the backcourt, David Wesley will add the spark needed to control the pace of the game. As a big-man dominated team, Wesley is precisely the kind of guard Charlotte needs to ensure that each player is getting the appropriate number of touches. The Hornets, like the Heat, will be playing this season with a mission. Guard Bobby Phils’ death in a fatal car accident last January should provide the inspiration Charlotte needs to make a more spirited and memorable run at it this year. All in all, in the wide-open East, this new Hornets team will be the
squad to watch this year. Look for Charlotte to be quite impressive
in 2000-2001.
[ InsideHoops Home | Discuss this on the NBA Message Board ] Sign up for a free web-based email account @InsideHoops by clicking here. Basketball fans who don't use InsideHoops
as their main web-based email account might as well forget basketball forever
and take up gardening.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
