Basketball Free For All

It appears much of the Hornets’ remaining season will hinge on Darren Collison (Dimes) and Marcus Thornton (Buckets).  If you’ve followed the Hornets closely either at At The Hive or Hornets 247, you would have picked up on these novel but very appropriate nicknames given to New Orleans rookie back court.  However, if you haven’t, don’t worry, I’ll more than introduce you to the league’s best young yet mostly unknown duo.

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Pretty easy to remember, right?  If not, don’t worry, every fan is going to get to know them pretty quick as it was announced yesterday Chris Paul will indeed undergo arthroscopic knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus.  Although no formal timetable has been announced, it is believe CP3 will miss approximately one month.  In the past this was similar to armageddon for Hornet fans, but this season it’s not the case.  In the 11 games CP3 has already missed, the Hornets have gone 5-6.  During these games, Darren Collison has put up an averages of 14.6 points (on 40.4 FG% and 90.7 FT%), .7 3ptm, 8.4 assists, 3.4 rebounds and .9 steals.  Now that’s solid considering the Hornets took Dimes 21st in last year’s NBA draft!

Amid a little less hoopla, Marcus Thornton will also be heavily relied on to carry the team.  Prior to CP3’s injury, this was already the plan as the team traded away Devin Brown for cap relief just a week earlier.  So far through 6 starts, Buckets has averaged 19.7 points (on 46.2 FG% and 88.9 FT%), 2.7 3ptm, 4.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.2 TO’s, .8 steals and even .5 blocks.  In addition, I expect his non-scoring statistics to increase as well as he gets more comfortable in his role especially assists if he is forced to backup Dimes at the point.

So where did these guys sprout from?

Dimes comes from a very accomplished background.  Both of his parents are renowned track and field athletes.  His mother represented Guyana in the 1984 Summer Olympics while his father represented the same South American country in the Pan American Games.

At Etiwanda High School in California, he led the team to a 31-2 his senior season including a USA Today ranking of number 2 in the country.  He garnered some prestigious acclaim including being named a McDonald’s All American Top 40 and a Top 100 Sporting News Player.

At UCLA, Darren spent 4 full years (3 of which ended in Final Four runs) refining his skills posting averages of 11.5 points  (on 47.5 FG% and 85.1 FT%), 4.1 assists and 1.6 steals in just under 30 minutes.  After his junior season, he made the Associated Press’s third All American team and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Pac-10 Tournament.

Coming out of college, Dimes simply wasn’t regarded as highly as other PG’s due to his physical size and unorthodox shooting style:

Weaknesses: His smaller size (body strength) makes it easy for bigger guards to have their way with him … Needs to hit the weight room and get stronger if he wants to hold his own at the next level … Has added some strength over the past few years, but it’s obvious he doesn’t have the body type to hold much muscle mass … Has a very unorthodox jumpshot that could make extending his range difficult. Also has a slow release due to his elaborate shooting motion … Must show that he can hit shots consistently at the NBA level, also needs to improve on his catch and shoot ability because right now most teams would look to sag off on him … Really needs to focus on using his smarts at the next level on the defensive end to make up for his small frame … Struggled to close out games in his senior year. Doesn’t appear to be a guy with great go-to ability … Lack of improvement in senior year brings his upside into question … While an above average on ball defender on the college level, concerns persist that bigger and stronger pro PGs will be able to exploit his lack of height and body strength …

Source:  NBA Draft Net

Not surprisingly, many scouts were not drooling over him as he seemed to lack the type of upside most teams want out of their picks.  As a Hornet’s fan, we say thank you!  We’ll take a guy who is the most experienced and winningest PG in the entire draft.  In his senior year, he had the 3rd highest FG% among his top peers and was the second best finisher with 1.26 points per possession.  He’s lightning quick (thanks mom and dad), regarded as a fantastic on the ball defender and a very good ball handler.  It’s no wonder he’s been able to step right into CP3’s enormous shoes and this team really hasn’t missed that much of a beat!

Marcus Thornton’s background isn’t shabby either.  While he doesn’t have famous athletic parents, his first cousin happens to be Al Thornton.  In addition, a ton of credit should go to one of his two brothers, Beanie who claims to have taught him that deadly jump shot.

While Buckets was a scoring machine at Tara High School in Baton Rouge, it was his play as a junior college player at Kilgore College that put him in the national spotlight.  In 2007, he was selected to be a first team All-American Junior College player by averaging 26.9 points and 6.5 rebounds.

The following year he turned down a host of renowned coaches including Bill Self of Kansas and Gary Williams of Maryland to attend his hometown school, LSU.  Buckets quickly became their best player as he averaged 19.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.4 steals.  He improved on those numbers in his final year of eligibility by racking up 21.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.6 steals.  He was named the Consensus SEC Player of the Year and was a Wooden Award Finalist.

Consequently, scouting reports glowed about his potential as a scorer at the next level, but many of them also felt he’d be nothing more than a role player:

Weaknesses: At 6-4 he is an undersized SG and does not have a great wingspan to make up for it … Athletically, he is decent, but will be facing more athletic players on a regular basis at the next level … Might have to become strictly a shooting specialist … Lacks the polish and natural game on the perimeter (he is not the most skilled player off the dribble) … Unless it’s off of a catch, he has a hard time creating separation using the dribble … Struggles finishing in the lane because he lacks the athleticism and body control to finish over the top of help defenses … His FT shooting has dipped to a subpar 74.5%, it may be a question of concentration, because he is far too good of a shooter to not shot over 80% … Because of his size, he may be a liability defensively, people will be able to shoot over top of him with ease (although his strength will definitely help) … Has moments where he looks strictly for his own shot, becoming predictable and hurting his team’s offense

Source:  NBA Draft Net

Well, lo and behold, Marcus fell all the way to the middle of the 2nd round as the 43rd player selected in last year’s NBA draft.  However, the Miami Heat were not very keen on him so they ended up trading him to the New Orleans Hornets.  Make this thank you numero duo!  All Marcus has done is prove he’s easily the Hornets most dynamic offensive threat not named CP3.  While he’s still working on his ball-handling, defense and playmaking abilities, most fans have no doubts he’ll continue to improve.

What should we expect the rest of the year?

It is supposed to be very rare for a team to have any success when they are led by one, let alone, two rookies in the backcourt.  Well, Dimes and Buckets failed to get that memo as they still have the Hornets on pace to make this year’s playoffs in the difficult Western Conference.  Not to take anything away from CP3, but it has been a revelation watching these two get after it to such a degree that has been infectious upon the rest of the squad.  Peja Stojakovic appears to be moving and cutting more akin to his days in Sacramento.  James Posey seems rejuvenated after his dreadful start to the year.  David West’s shoulders aren’t sagging since he’s not forced to carry the team during another CP3 absence.

I’m not going to go as far to say that we’ll make the playoffs regardless how many more games CP3 misses.  However, I do know this Hornet’s ballclub is now more than one or two players deep as evidenced by wins against Atlanta, Memphis and Phoenix with Chris on the sidelines.  Subsequently, they should better be able to handle typical adversity that tests most NBA teams during the course of a season.  So fans, stick together – the playoff picture hasn’t shut yet!