<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The New Orleans Hornets activated Jamal Mashburn on Tuesday, meaning the star small forward is expected to play his first game of the season Wednesday night against the visiting Milwaukee Bucks. Mashburn, an Eastern Conference All-Star last season, has been out since he banged his right knee early in training camp, leading to arthroscopic surgery to remove loose particles. He has missed all eight preseason and 44 regular season games. </div> Nice to see him coming back to action, he should help this team out a lot. Full article
Did you see that fadeaway he did recently? Man it's great to see him back, now B Diddy can take a break and have Mash share the load and take some of the shots. Great to have some size, strength and offensive power back on the Hornets.
As long as Mash has been out, I don't foresee a really long transition time for him. He's got a style that allows him to be effective without being fully physical, by creating and playing without the ball. In his first month back, i see 16 ppg coming from Mash, and then he'll work it back up towards 20 as the season comes to a close. Important thing to remember: just because Mash is back doesn't mean that Baron will take a back seat. In fact, Floyd will want Baron to continue to be the first option on offense for a little while longer. But come playoff time, Mash will be 'the Man' once again.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Jamal Mashburn didn't even need a full game to regain the form that made him an All-Star last season. Returning from minor surgery on his right knee, Mashburn made his first game of the season one to remember by scoring New Orleans' final 13 points as the Hornets pulled out a 101-100 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night. He started slow but was 8-for-10 in the second half -- draining the eventual game-winner on a 15-foot turnaround over Desmond Mason with 12 seconds left -- and finished with a team-high 24 points. ``In the second half, the anxiousness pretty much went away,'' Mashburn said. ``I enjoyed myself tonight and I'm glad the guys had enough confidence in me and I had enough confidence in myself to go out there and produce.''</div> http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2004012803 I don't think we need to worry about Mashburn making a slow comeback or how he is going to fit into the offense. Mash is a streaky shooter and when he's making shots, he will be the one the Hornets go to. Scoring New Orleans's last 13 points tonight shows that.
