<div align="center"> vs. New Orleans Hornets (0-0) vs. Sacramento Kings (0-0) Date: Tuesday, November 1, 2005 Time: 7:00 PM, Eastern Time TV: CST, NBA League Pass <div align="center"><font color="deepskyblue">Hornets Starting Lineup</font></div> PG: Chris Paul SG: J.R. Smith SF: Desmond Mason PF: Jackson Vroman C: P.J. Brown <div align="center"><font color="Indigo">Kings Starting Lineup</font></div> PG: Mike Bibby SG: Bonzi Wells SF: Peja Stojakovic PF: Shareef Abdur-Rahim C:Brad Miller</div> <font color="darkgreen"><div align="center">Match-ups</div></font> <div align="center">Point Guard vs. Chris Paul vs. Mike Bibby</div> On opening night, Chris Paul is welcomed to the NBA with a point guard match-up against Mike Bibby, one of the NBA?s elite point guards. Bibby, the Sacramento Kings? best player, will have to receive special defensive attention by Chris Paul. On the college level, Bibby was a solid defender; on the NBA level, Paul could struggle. Tonight his task will be to make things tough for Bibby. <div align="center"> vs. J.R. Smith vs. Bonzi Wells</div> Smith will have his work cut out for him, tonight. Smith is not a good defender by any stretch and if he wants to stay on the court longer, he?s going to have to improve his defense. Wells, a very streaky shooter and inconsistent player, is very capable of having a bad night depending on the defensive pressure Smith puts on him. Rebounding will also be a key for Smith. Wells is a very good rebounder and Smith isn?t. Young J.R. will have to put those God-given hops to work and snatch a couple of boards. <div align="center"> vs. Desmond Mason vs. Peja Stojakovic</div> Yes, defense will need to be the key to yet another match-up. Stojakovic is a one-dimensional shooter and struggles to create his own shot. Although he does have a significant 5-inch height advantage on Mason, the 2001 Slam Dunk Champ, has the athleticism and leaping ability to contest any shot Stojakovic attempts, however, with Smith--a terrible defender--playing defense (if he decides to do it), Mason might have to guard to people at the same time. This match-up will depend heavily on Smith?s performance on defense. <div align="center"> vs. Jackson Vroman vs. Shareef Abdur-Rahim</div> Jackson Vroman. What a household name! He will be guarding Abdur-Rahim who when healthy, is capable of putting up a solid 20/10. Well, at least he can on the Hawks? Anyway, the high-energy Vroman will get some valuable experience playing against a post-up threat of Shareef?s caliber. <div align="center"> vs. P.J. Brown vs. Brad Miller</div> We have Brad Miller, an all-star, and P.J. Brown, an MVP (according to some). This should be the games most intense match-up with these two veterans competing for every board, looking to contest every shot, in search of one goal ? a win to kick off the 05-06 season. Both are similar players in that they thrive off the midrange jumper and are aggressive on the boards. It should be interesting to see who?ll take this match-up. Prediction: The Hornets are a bon-a-fide lottery team. The Kings are a bon-a-fide Western Conference powerhouse. Need I say more? I?ll take the Kings 100-83.
I'm watching this game, and the Hornets are owning the Kings all the way around. The Kings announcer are complaining about the refs, but I think it's pretty good.
congratulations on beating the kings however, one big big question concerning me is that why desmond mason played only 16 min? was it that he just got traded...not used to the system or byron scott hates him and want him on bench or he was just plain bad/injured? i have mason on my pool...and i certainly didn't expect him to be on bench
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting hohoyoyoyo:</div><div class="quote_post">congratulations on beating the kings however, one big big question concerning me is that why desmond mason played only 16 min? was it that he just got traded...not used to the system or byron scott hates him and want him on bench or he was just plain bad/injured? i have mason on my pool...and i certainly didn't expect him to be on bench</div> i was surprised too about mason not starting and not even getting playin time!!!! btw j.r. got 19 today pretty good, to anybody that watched this game what kind of shots did he take???
I forgot tonight was opening night, and I came along the Nuggets and Spurs game. At the bottom I saw the Hornets were up 72-53, I was shocked. I'm a huge Hornets fan. I looked at the box score, JR and Paul did good for opening night. So did PJ. Speedy did real well off the bench. Mason was a disappointment. He got 16 minutes, and only dropped a free throw. Hopefully he picks up the slack and becomes a huge factor during the season. I think people are under estimating this team. They got tons of speed, and will do just fine with PJ at center. They had 20 fastbreak points tonight. They're going to score a lot of points night in and night out. And if they play D as good as they did tonight, look out! I see an awesome season coming out of my Hornets. They got all the right weapons. They just need to stay healthy.
That was a great win by the Hornets. Hopefully for them it wasn't a fluke and they can have a decent season.
Final <div align="center">Final Score</div> <div align="center">Hornets: 93, Kings: 67</div> <font color=""DeepSkyBlue"">Hornets Top Scorer:</font> 20 points (9-12) <font color=""DeepSkyBlue"">Hornets Top Rebounder:</font> 11 rebounds (0-11) <font color=""DeepSkyBlue"">Hornets Top Assist Man</font> and Tied with 4 assists <font color=""Indigo"">Kings Top Scorer:</font> 18 points (5-15) <font color=""Indigo"">Kings Top Rebounder:</font> 8 rebounds (4-4) <font color=""Indigo"">Kings Top Assist Man</font> 4 assists <font color=""Red"">Player of the Game:</font> [IMGl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/pj_brown.jpg[/IMGl] The 37-year-old veteran shows is truly the leader of this young Hornets franchise. He had the best stat line with 20 points, and 10 rebounds, and he also kept an all-star in Brad Miller to just 4/3/2 with 4 personal fouls, and 3 turnovers in 25 minutes of action. If Brown can give similar production every night, could the Hornets be a 30+ wins team?
The reason why Desmond Mason only got 16 minutes is nothing to worry about. Mason was just acquired by the Hornets 6 days ago and is yet to fully adjust to a different system. He was also struggling in the game while everyone else for the most part was playing well. I think in about a week or so we'll see the Desmond Mason from Milwaukee. Once Scott gets Mason adjusted to the Hornets' style of play, I think we'll see a much better Hornets team.
