Well, the playoffs aren't quite over for the Hornets, who can move on to the next round with a Game 7 victory in Miami. But enough has gone down for the Hornets' season to be reviewed. Here's a brief rundown: The Hornets started the year with the spinning door, firing successful coach Paul Silas after a 47-35 year which ended in the first round in favor of former unsuccessful Bulls' coach Tim Floyd. Floyd instituted several changes, but overall the team still belonged to Baron Davis and Jamal Mashburn. Former Sixth Man of the Year Darrell Armstrong was also brought in during the offseason. The season started off with a bang, as Baron Davis tore up the league and caused early MVP talk. Still, it didn't take long for the team to cool off, and the team played mediocre ball for much of the rest of the year. The story was once again Jamal Mashburn's absense, though that was threatened by the emergence of Jamaal Magloire. Magloire played solid ball and earned his first berth in the allstar game, where he was joined by Davis. Criticism of his selection not only fueled Big Cat to a stellar game but also lit him on fire for the remainder of the season, which he finished with a bang. Still, with an injury to Baron and a re-injury to Mashburn, the Hornets still struggled, and finished the season at 41-41 to grab the 5th seed in the playoffs and a third place finish in their last year in the Central Division and the Eastern Conference. The awards the Hornets won for the year include a Player of the Week and Player of the Month award each for both Baron Davis and Jamaal Magloire, and the Sportsmanship Award for P.J. Brown. Baron was also named 3rd team NBA, the second year in a row that a Hornet has earned a spot. Hopefully this team effort can continue into game seven and lengthen this 2003-04 season for at least one more series.
Now the Hornets have lost. This is their second 1st round exit in a row, and it doesn't seem like they'll even make it that far next year. But it was a good run. The Hornets' five year streak of making the playoffs will probably end now, with the Bugs seeing seven different series - two against the Sixers, two against the Heat, and one each against the Bucks, Nets and Magic. They ended up going 2-5 in those series, only beating the Heat once and the Magic. Their record in games during those playoff series was 16-20, showing that they kept those series close. With Baron and Jamaal, they have a strong foundation around which to build for next year in the West, and hopefully they can add some good young talent around those two.
How old is B Dizzle anyway? I agree, Magloire and him are definitely worth working around. Magloire needs to get playing like he did at ASW, more fierce, offensive and courageous. He was too quiet come playoff time. I think in order to do so he'd need to power up. Get stronger, put on weight, so he can contend with the others in his competitive position. I know PJ has been doing great things for you but I think you need a bigger, tougher center. He'd be in a worse state than Big Ben, so either make him better or ship him out. Also Wesley, get someone better than he is. He's good yes, but someone doing his job who plays better would help a great deal. Sadly I miss Monster Mash, it's hard to replace a guy like that, but you have to find someone as good as he was. That way B Dizzle and Magloire wouldn't have to keep the load to themselves. Above all though because of that load thing I've mentioned, you need a very effective bench, some sixth men material. As for who? I don't know, draft or trade.
