Yardbarker: Morris Peterson

Team Preview #4: New Orleans Hornets

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 04:12:31 -0500

LAST SEASON The Hornets surprised many around the league by winning the toughest Division (Southwest) in the NBA and easily knocking out Dallas in the 1st round. Byron Scott was named Coach of the Year for his efforts, and Chris Paul had one of the greatest seasons EVER by a point guard, finishing 2nd in the MVP voting. They lost in 7 games to the Spurs, but it was a very successful season for such a young team. OFFSEASON MOVES Key Additions: James Posey Key Losses: Bonzi Wells, Jannero Pargo? Fresh off a key 6th man role for the champion Celtics, James Posey was able to parlay his solid play into a 4 year, $25 million deal with the Hornets. Posey's arrival means Wells is now expendable. New Orleans would like to re-sign backup guard Jannero Pargo, but he is receiving interest from other teams as well. And while the Hornets traded away their only draft pick, they had much more important matters at hand, as they signed Chris Paul to a 3-year contract extension for $68 million. ROTATION / PLAYING TIME How good was CP3 last year? Well, the only other player in NBA history to average 20+ points (21.1), 10+ assists (11.6), and 2.5+ steals (2.71) was Isiah Thomas in '83-84 (also at the age of 22). Two key differences: Paul had 2.51 turnovers per game vs. 3.74 for Isiah, and Paul shot 85.1% from the line vs. 73.3% FT for the former Piston. Needless to say, Paul (37.6 mpg) will get the bulk of the PG minutes once again. David West also had a stellar season, and will play roughly 38 minutes as well at power forward. At center, Tyson Chandler played a career-high 35.3 minutes, but blocked a career-low 1.06 shots per game (his rookie year, he blocked more shots in less than HALF as many minutes!). Chandler was supposed to be an alternate for Team USA this summer, but a toe injury has prevented him from travelling with the team. Obviously, this is a key injury that needs to be monitored. Minutes are a little more up in the air at the swingmen spots. In '07-08, Peja Stojakovic played 35.3 mpg at SF and Morris Peterson played 23.6 mpg at SG. Ideally, Posey would replace Mo-Pete in most situations, but as of now, Byron Scott is saying Mo-Pete will start and Posey will back up both players off the bench. Tentatively, I'm going to project 34 minutes for Peja, 28 minutes for Posey, 18 minutes for Mo-Pete, and 18 minutes for Pargo (assuming he returns). Julian Wright had a fine rookie campaign, and should see about 12-14 minutes of action at both forward spots. And lastly, Hilton Armstrong & Melvin Ely will battle for the remaining big men minutes, so keep an eye on them if TC's toe is still bothering him. DON'T SLEEP ON: David West & James Posey Despite being named to the All-Star team last year and nearly every single analyst calling him the most underrated power forward in the game, David West will still be overlooked by many on draft day '08. In this article from a year ago (http://www.82games.com/fantasy/1block_77ft.htm), I suggested that if West could just block a few more shots, he would be able to join the exclusive 1+ Block & 77% FT club. Well, he did just that and improved in other areas as well. In fact, only 4 players averaged 20+ points and 8+ rebounds while shooting over 48% FG and 80% FT in '07-08: Amare Stoudemire, Yao Ming, Chris Bosh, and David West. That's exclusive company right there. I strongly recommend drafting West before more popular players such as Tim Duncan, Pau Gasol, and Al Jefferson, and if you let him fall past the 4th round, you're going to regret it. I'm not certain of it, but there's a good chance that West met James Posey on a recruiting trip way back in 1998. You see, Posey led Xavier University in rebounding for 3 straight years before graduating in 1999. A few months later, West stepped onto campus and proceeded to lead Xavier to 94 wins in 4 seasons while being named the A-10 Player of the Year three years in a row. So don't be surprised if you see them throwing up a lot of X's this season. A lot of people are going to ignore Posey this year due to his lowly 7.4 ppg average, but I think he's going to be an excellent late round value pick. He may start the season on the bench, but the Hornets aren't paying him $25 million to ride the pine, so his minutes are sure to rise from the 24.6 that he played last year. As a result, Posey could easily crack the Top 50 in both threes and steals in '08-09. For his career, he's a rock solid 82% FT shooter, and he also pitches in with boards & blocks. I'm suggesting you target Posey in Rounds 10-12, which is exactly where people targeted Mo-Pete a year ago. Peterson didn't deliver, but Posey will. BE CAREFUL OF: Peja Stojakovic After playing in just 13 games the year before, Peja bounced back nicely in '07-08, playing in 77 games and knocking down 231 threes (2nd behind Jason Richardson). However, this is not the same fantasy stud that we used to know and love. For proof, let's compare some of his '07-08 stats to his '03-04 stats. In '03-04, he shot a blistering 92.7% FT on 5.2 attempts per game. Last season, he made a career-high 92.9% of his freebies, but he attempted just 1.8 per contest. In '03-04, he pulled down 6.3 rebounds and grabbed 1.3 steals per game. Last season, those averages were down to 4.3 and .7, and they could plummet even further with Posey now in town (a superior rebounder & defender). A lot of people are going to draft Peja in Round 5 because those 3 threes per game are so juicy, but those people probably don't realize that he had to shoot a career-best 44.1% from beyond the arc to make that many. Since most of Stojakovic's stats are going to decline this year, I suggest waiting until Rounds 7 or 8 to grab him. ROUND BY ROUND TARGETS (Where you should draft these guys in an 8-cat Roto league with 12 teams and 14 man rosters) Click on the link to find out!

Hornets sell #27 pick to Blazers

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 14:27:11 -0500

For the life of me, I just don't get this. "The Portland Trail Blazers have agreed to a deal with the New Orleans Hornets to acquire the 27th pick in Thursday's NBA draft for cash considerations, a Blazers source told ESPN.com. The deal was agreed to verbally between the two teams on Tuesday night, according to the source. The teams have scheduled a trade call with the league in the morning to make the deal official." Why does a young team like the Hornets decide to sell off a late first round pick? They aren't in luxury tax territory and they won't be well over the cap until the 2010 season and even then, they'll be able to look forward to the following summer when Peja Stojakovic's monster salary comes off the books. The team has Morris Peterson starting at the two and Peja at the three - don't they realize they need another young wing to complement Julian Wright in a couple of years? I would understand selling the pick if they were in dire need of a big man, but they need a wing and there are always gems available at that position late in the first round. Chris Douglas-Roberts was the leading scorer on one of the best teams in the nation and for the last month or so, he was projected to be the Hornets' pick. He's a dynamic scorer, but the word is that he's not impressing in workouts. But since he's such a crafty scorer, his game won't translate well to workouts. He's not going to wow anyone with the form on his jumper, but he'll drop 20 on you in a cocaine heartbeat. There are several other prospects that could be available at #27 - Donte Greene, Nicolas Batum, Jamont Gordon, Courtney Lee, Bill Walker, Kyle Weaver and Gary Forbes. This strategy befuddles me.

Video - New Orleans Hornets: masters of the elements

Mon, 19 May 2008 20:08:11 -0500

First it's Ring of Fire, now it's the cups of ice Mo Peterson drops on the court. What's the Hornets' obsession with slippery playing surfaces?

Kings Edge Hornets 94-91, Shift the West

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 23:11:29 -0500

Better late than never. The Kings took the season series 2-1 and Artest was the big hero from deep in the end, hitting 4 clutch 3 pointers to help the Kings knock the Hornets out of first place for the second time. The Kings are doing their part in the playoffs, even though they aren't in it.

Raptors vs. Bobcats - The Day After

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 09:28:39 -0500

Yikes. When the Bobcats are posting points on you not once, but twice in a week, you have defensive issues. Wait, you have defensive issues, rebounding issues, transition issues…I'm talking Bobby & Whitney in the 90s sized issues. But before we get into the Raps and their shameful loss to the Bobcats, let's take a minute to remember the man that was Rasho. The man who got POSTERIZED by J-Rich tonight. I mean, I'm no Bobcat lover, but that was a big time dunk. I don't know how many better dunks I've seen this year. Actually, let's roll with this for a bit. Coming down the lane, there was no doubt what Jason Richardson was going to do. He saw the opportunity and took it, throwing down a dunk with such force and reckless abandon, he looked like a guy who forgot he was playing for Charlotte. Let's also give J-Rich a former Raptor claw for his MoPete-worthy circus shot to set up the and 1. We pretty much saw everything from Richardson tonight, 27 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and he even found time to throw in a couple of steals. That's a guy taking full advantage of the opportunities presented to him. We saw from Richardson, some of the aggression that the Raptors lack night in and night out. His performance tonight was essentially him saying, "I am going to keep attacking these open lanes until somebody stops me." No Raptors answered the challenge. Since returning to the starting PG role, we have seen a new TJ Ford. One who hasn't been forcing the issue, a TJ who has actually looked in control for the most part and has been attacking when defenses have shown that they can't keep up with his pace. It has been good to see TJ come back and play the kind of ball we know he can. 14 assists tonight for TJ, which is good to see, but for God's sake, if you can't control the ball when the game is on the line, if you turn it over without even making a move, you're not going to win any fans in Toronto. If you want to be the starter and want to be the man running the team, then you have to be able to close the game out when it is on the line. Sure, on more than one occasion, we have seen TJ seal games down the stretch, but ones like this are going to stand out. Starters CLOSE games. That's what he needs to get into his head. Starters CLOSE games. The Raptors had 3 different ways they could have ensured their playoff spot tonight. If they beat Charlotte, they were in. If Washington won, they were in and if Jersey lost, they were in. So of course, the Raptors couldn't just win their game, they had to lose to an inferior team and then watch the other two scenarios fall into place. Maybe going into the playoffs, the Raptors strategy will be to have their opposition just win for them. Count on them making more mistakes than they do. Getting into the playoffs by backing in is sort of like showing up for a party that you weren't really invited to, but everybody there knows you and they know that you crashed the joint. We've been saying it for a while, but along with getting tougher, the Raptors have to have some pride. When you have your team's fate in your own hands, you have to step up and show everyone that you're ready for the playoffs. The Raptors clearly aren't.

Important Fantasy Lines: March 12

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:53:43 -0500

If each night one had the time, energy and will to look through every NBA stat line, one might be very successful at fantasy basketball. One would be able to pick up emerging studs, drop eventual duds and monitor those ify suds. Unfortunately, a manager rarely has the time to do this, but here at Fantasy Basketball Pros we care about you, so we look through all the lines and tell you in summary form what you really need to know. Here are the most telling fantasy lines from Wednesday.

Top 10 Raptors Of First 999 Games

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:40:06 -0500

Twelve years, 13 seasons, and 999 games; that is the amount of time that has passed since the Toronto Raptors played their inaugural game on November 3, 1995. Tonight, February 8, 2008, when the ball is thrown up at approximately 7:11 p.m., it will be the 1000th game in franchise history.

Kings Knock Off Hornets 112-103

Sat, 02 Feb 2008 12:42:27 -0500

The Kings are ready to make a run after dethroning the Hornets of the best record of the Western Conference. They led by as much as 26 points against a team of All-Stars. But the Kings played them like they were rookies almost all night after a high octane start almost guaranteed an upset in the making. A perfect gift for Kevin Martin's 25th birthday. (Video on link) 1ST QUARTER Former Kings Peja Stojacovic and Bobby Jackson were welcomed by the crowd, but Peja was unfazed by hometown memories, almost like it was a home for him. The game got off to a blazing start as the Kings started off with a 15-5 run to start the quarter which included an array of show stopping dunks from Mikki Moore and Brad Miller. That would be the root of the Hornets' despair. After the Hornets fought back to get within 5 points, the Kings unleashed a huge 11-2 run to close out the quarter at 34-19 as Ron Artest led the Kings with 9 points, while Chris Paul had 5 assists. 2ND QUARTER Things would only get worse for the Hornets as the run carried over to finish as a 20-9 run for the Kings with Artest leading the way. In fact, the Kings started the 2nd quarter with a 15-5 run. It would be no matter for the Kings as Arco Arena was seemingly re-living the old days with the crowd on it's feet as it looked like the Kings were ready to get a big win. Both teams exchanged shot after shot, but the Kings would come out on top, leading at the half 66-44. The Kings took advantage of every possesion, getting offensive rebounds and most importantly, shutting down Chis Paul going up the court. But like I've said before, in the NBA, no lead is safe. 3RD QUARTER Stojakovic had been on fire from downtown, hitting four 3 pointers in the 1st half, and got his first lay-up early in the quarter. He went on a scoring rampage getting 13 points and finished with 25 points for the game. The Hornets went on an 8-0 run before Moore's putback dunk seemingly halted their run. It was back to exchanging shots again with the Kings coming out on top 96-82. It was no doubt that the Hornets were on a run, and they weren't giving up their view from the top without a fight. 4TH QUARTER It went back to trading shots for the first 3 minutes, then both teams went scoreless the next 2 minutes until Morris Peterson hit a 3 pointer. One minute later, John Salmons would answer back with a 3 of his own. The game was going down to the wire to see if the Hornets could complete their comeback. Although they held the Kings to only 16 points in the quarter, it was not enough for them to win as the Kings knocked off the now 2nd place Hornets 112-103. Highlights of the Night: Kings Brad Miller: 22 pts, 14 reb, 4 ast, blk. Ron Artest: 24 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl. Mike Bibby: 15 pts, 7 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl. Kevin Martin: 22 pts on 25th birthday. Mikki Moore: 10 pts (5 dunks, 2 putbacks), 3 blk. John Salmons: 10 points, 2 blk. (bench). Beno Udrih: 4 pts, 5 ast. (bench). Hornets Chris Paul: 15 pts, 5 reb, 19 ast, 1 stl (Longest active streak: 48 games w/ at least 1 steal). Peja Stojakovic: 25 pts through 3 quarters (7/13 3pt, scoreless in 4th) 9 reb. Tyson Chandler: 21 pts, 9 reb. David West: 12 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast, 3 blk. Morris Peterson: 15 pts, 7 reb, 2 stl. BOXSCORE: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=280201023 If you don't like the Kings, say what you want. Say that it was a fluke, that the Kings caught them on a bad night after a loss at home. Say CP3 and Tyson Chandler weren't at their best, that the Kings got lucky and have no chance against contenders. Reality check, CP3 had 15 points and 19 assists, Peja hit seven 3 pointers and TC had 21 points, no fluke that they got beat. If they'd won, it be one of the first games on ESPN. The Kings are 6 wins away from what people thought the Kings would finish this year, 27 wins. 12 wins away from what they finished the year before, 33 wins. Let me list the playoff teams they've beaten: Spurs, Pistons (swept), Rockets, Jazz, Magic, Mavs, Nets, and now, the Hornets. Forget the Kings going on a run, they've been on one for 3 weeks already (9-4). This team is the real deal, give them props. They shut down the hottest team in the NBA, focusing on the right player, CP3. He ran their whole offense and they forced him to turnover to turnover the ball 5 times. Artest hit the three when he needed to and passed when he needed to. The whole team got into the game whcih led to this huge win. It makes you wonder if Bibby wasn't injured for 36 games where would they be right now. Maybe in the mix for that 8 seed. They might have won a few games that they lost by 5 points or less. Chicago is in town for a "rare" home back-to-back. I don't see what's so rare about it, the Kings have 3 of them this year, and are 2-1 in those type of series as of now. They look to tie the season series with the Bulls after a heated loss to the Bulls in the final seconds on Ben Wallace's last second heroics. He made his only point of the night with the game-winning free throw and blocked Miller's last second shot. Miller put the ball back up and Chris Duhon fouled him, but it was a no call as time expired. With the Bulls recent struggles, the Kings look to stay hot to try to get their 10th win in 14 games.

Day 72 of 170: The Day RajaBell.com Went Live

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 14:46:41 -0500

Okay, no, it didn't. Still Coming Soon. Not that it has anything to do with fantasy basketball anyway… Line of the Night: Raja's website may not be ready yet, but apparently he finally is. Bell tossed in 6 threes on his way to 27 points last night, along with the Marion-like line of 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and a partridge in a pear tree (aka a block). I was somewhat surprised to see Bell pulling the LotN, and not just because it's Raja Bell… but because… Honorable Mentions: Dwyane Wade had 34 points on 11-22 and 12-13, to go with 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. I guess it was the 5 turnovers that dropped him to 2nd on the night; Yao Ming had 36 points on 14-21 and 8-9 with 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Both of those seem LotN worthy to me… but they'll have other opportunities, while Bell… probably not so much. Waiver Wire Line of the Night: Steve Blake is available in at least one of my leagues, and understandably so. But last night he had 24 points on 8-10, with 5 threes. He also had 4 assists and 0 turnovers, for an assist-to-turnover ration of INFINITY. I wouldn't count on him to continue to exceed his averages by that much (I mean, it is hard to achieve INFINITY every night), but if you're going small ball and need to fill an injury or extra Util spot, you could do worse. Goat of the Night: And by worse, I mean you could have put Morris Peterson in your lineup after his 22 point, 5 three-pointer, 7 rebound performance on the 5th, and been stuck with his 0 point, 2 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal performance last night. Of course, Mo Pete did also have 0 turnovers, meaning he had an A2T ratio equallng that of Steve Blake; namely INFINITY. However, Peterson will do you one better! He was 0-0 from the free throw line, which, if my higher level math skills are correct, comes out to a FT% of INFINITY. Finally - but unrelated to infinity - Morris Peterson's website is even worse than Raja Bell's. Mo Pete's website is not only still Coming Soon, but it features a Raptors logo, and Peterson wearing a Raptors jersey. Really, Morris Peterson? You make how much? Really? And you can't find some CS-major hoops-fan to do your website for like $1000 real quick? Really, Morris Peterson? Really? There's probably some other Goat-worthy performances, but I've got work to do today. So maybe you can help me out; tell me about the guys on your team who are just killing you… It's something we could call The Biggest Loser, y'know, if that weren't already taken.

Stojakked and ApPauled

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 20:25:17 -0500

Coming into the year, the Hornets were expected to be in contention for a playoff spot. Heck, they almost stole one last year without the services of Chris Paul and David West for extended periods of time. Oh yeah, and Peja Stojakovic too. Now, four games in, the Hornets are looking like they may be able to fight for a fifth seed or better.

Chris Paul &The Hornets Shoot Poorly and Still Beat Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson, &The Nuggets, 93-88

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 12:02:32 -0500

The Nuggets have lost their first game, and a big challenge for the Nuggets, if they want to compete with the top teams for the NBA title, has been identified. The Nuggets have to adjust their offense, because they are not the same offensive team they were last year. This article gives you the details on this challenge, including what the coaches and players need to do to get the Nuggets up to speed. This article also covers the game itself, and how and why Chris Paul, Tyson Chandler, and the Hornet won over Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson, Marcus Camby, and the Nuggets in Denver.

Game Preview: Nov.4: Hornets at Nuggets

Sun, 04 Nov 2007 02:31:15 -0500

This is game #3 in the Nuggets quest for the ring. The key matchups are Chris Paul vs Allen Iverson and Tyson Chandler vs Marcus Camby.The Nuggets are going to have their hands full, because all five Hornets starters are solid, whereas the Nuggets are weak at SG and suspect at PF right now. All of the details to get you ready for this game are at this link.

Fantasy Team Preview: New Orleans Hornets

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:23:56 -0500

A few years ago, did anyone think Tyson Chandler would become C1 caliber? Not me. Chandler had a nice year for the Hornets where he bumped up his rebounds to 12.4 (and increase of 3.4) and almost doubled his points per game. And there's reason to be even more excited about him this year (in addition to the fact that he's still only 25). From February of last year on, he averaged 13 points and 14 rebounds a game. Putting those numbers into the GMTR player rater, he would have ranked as #54 best player last season, right between Tony Parker and Andre Miller.

Top Ten Fantasy Basketball Offseason Impacts

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:47:16 -0500

There have been dozens of signings totaling more than $625 million this summer, as well as 15 trades involving 40 players since the moment that Greg Oden was selected #1 by Portland. FIO and TalkHoops.net writer Zach Harper discusses some of the top trades and signings that will have a huge impact of fantasy basketball this year.

Cavs Keen on Raps' Peterson

Wed, 04 Jul 2007 00:42:53 -0500

The Cavaliers did not waste time after the free-agent negotiating period began Sunday. According to a source, the Cavs contacted Toronto Raptors guard/forward Morris Peterson shortly after the market opened. Peterson, according to the source, is interested in playing for the Cavs because they are a "championship-caliber" team. Playing time also is important to Peterson, said the source. Peterson wants to become a starter or get significant playing time. He lost his starting spot this past season.