Category: New Orleans Pelicans Blog

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Hornets sign Sasha Pavlovic to 10-day contract

The New Orleans Hornets announced today that they have signed forward Sasha Pavlovic to a 10-day contract. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

In 462 career games (133 starts) over eight NBA seasons, Pavlovic holds career averages of 5.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 16.5 minutes. Pavlovic (6-8, 235) was most recently with the Dallas Mavericks with whom he signed back-to-back 10-day contracts beginning Jan. 10. He appeared in 10 games, marking six starts and scoring 4.1 points per contest.

Pavlovic began his NBA career with the Utah Jazz as the 19th overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. Following a solid rookie season in Salt Lake City, Pavlovic was selected by the Charlotte Bobcats in the 2004 expansion draft and later traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he played for the next five seasons, including an appearance in the 2007 NBA Finals. Last season, the Bar, Montenegro native played for the Minnesota Timberwolves before becoming a free agent this summer.

The Hornets roster now stands at 15.

Kevin Durant unleashes 43 points on Hornets

Behind a ridiculous 43 points from Kevin Durant, the Oklahoma City Thunder, playing at home, beat the New Orleans Hornets 104-93.

Durant was sensational. He shot 14-of-19, including 5-of-7 three-pointers, and hit 10-of-11 free throws to get his points. He also had 10 rebounds and five assists.

The AP reports:

Kevin Durant unleashes 43 points on Hornets

The league’s scoring leader hit two free throws, a jumper and a 3-pointer from the right wing, and then a driving foul-line jumper that made it 98-84 with 5:44 to play.

“Durant hit some shots that there’s no defense for,” Hornets coach Monty Williams said. “Some of that stuff is the same thing Chris does, the same thing David does, and you can’t overcome that.

“What I didn’t like was I thought a couple of our guys put their heads down tonight and let that get to them, and I thought some of our bench guys didn’t compete.”

Durant scored 47 points at Minnesota and then 40 against Washington in back-to-back victories last week that both went past regulation, and he shot 14 for 19 from the field in his latest scoring outburst.

“Amazing,” Jeff Green said. “He’s been scoring the ball with ease, getting any kind of shot he wants. He’s been playing well, and hopefully it continues.”

The Thunder and Hornets are both dark horse teams who could pull off an upset or two in the postseason. They’re worth keeping an eye on. Especially OKC, with a guy like Durant on their side.

Tom Thibodeau and Monty Williams named Coaches of Month for January, 2011

The Chicago Bulls’ Tom Thibodeau and the New Orleans Hornets’ Monty Williams today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively, for games played in January.

Thibodeau led the Bulls to a 12-4 record on the month, including a 90-79 win over the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Celtics on Jan. 8. The Bulls have gone 11-0 against Central Division opponents, and are the only team in the NBA without a division loss. Chicago’s 44.5 rebounds per game rank second in the NBA, and its 92.0 points allowed per game rank third.

Williams guided the Hornets to a 12-4 mark in January, including a franchise-record 10-game winning streak. New Orleans averaged 7.0 steals last month, and lead the NBA in second chance points allowed (9.71). The Hornets held 9 of 16 opponents under 90 points last month, including the Western Conference-leading San Antonio Spurs in a 75-71 victory on Jan. 22.

Other nominees for Coach of the Month were Boston’s Doc Rivers, Charlotte’s Paul Silas, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Vinny Del Negro, Miami’s Erik Spoelstra, Memphis’ Lionel Hollins, Philadelphia’s Doug Collins and San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich.

Emeka Okafor out 1-3 weeks

Emeka Okafor out 1-3 weeks

New Orleans Hornets center Emeka Okafor suffered a Grade 2 left rectus oblique strain an MRI revealed. Okafor is expected to be out one-to-three weeks.

Okafor suffered the injury with 1:59 left in the second quarter of Sunday’s 104-102 loss to the Phoenix Suns, he did not return to the game.

The University of Connecticut product has averages of 11.1 points on .593 percent shooting, 10.1 rebounds and 1.78 blocks in 49 games this season. He ranks second in the NBA in field goal percentage, seventh in rebounds and 13th in blocks.

Okafor’s streak of 306 consecutive regular games played (currently, the fourth longest streak in the NBA) will come to an end tonight when the Hornets play the Wizards at 7:00 p.m.

Coach Monty Williams doing great job for Hornets

John DeShazier of the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports:

Entering this season, the Hornets looked like a lottery team. More, the franchise looked as if it had taken the economical route when selecting its coach, a first-timer who never had served as a lead assistant in San Antonio or Portland.

Yes, he came highly recommended, but for all anyone knew, those were nothing more than courtesy platitudes.

So far, Williams has made the recommendations appear to be more than professional courtesies spouted by friends. So far, Williams has been about the best salesman — and he and his staff have been about the best teachers — in the league.

Simply, the Hornets have been transformed under Williams, from a team that periodically defended to one that prides itself on making stop after stop after stop. New Orleans is the stingiest team in the league, allowing 90.9 points per game, and the brakes are being applied by players who aren’t great individual defenders, but collectively have learned to lock down.

Hornets match club record with 10th straight win

The AP reports:

Hornets match club record with 10th straight win

Chris Paul had 18 points and 17 assists, and the New Orleans Hornets matched a franchise record with their 10th consecutive victory, beating the Golden State Warriors 112-103 on Wednesday night.

David West added 22 points as New Orleans kicked off a three-game West Coast trip by equaling the club’s longest unbeaten run, also produced from Feb. 21-March 13, 1998. The Hornets also avenged a disappointing seven-point home loss to the Warriors back on Jan. 5 with their fifth straight road victory.

New Orleans, owner of the NBA’s longest active winning streak, also got 19 points from Trevor Ariza and 11 from former Warrior Marco Belinelli.

Monta Ellis scored 26 points in another big night for his bid to become Golden State’s first All-Star since Latrell Sprewell in 1997. Stephen Curry added 20 points and six assists a day after spraining his troublesome right ankle during practice and the Warriors shot 50.7 percent.

Hornets hold Hawks to 59 points

Sometimes, a team is at its worst and puts up a really awful performance. And then you can be even more terrible and play like the Atlanta Hawks yesterday.

The AP reports:

Hornets hold Hawks to 59 points

Josh Smith slumped in front of his locker, trying to figure out how a team that played so hard in an overtime win at Miami could return home and get blown out by 41 points.

That’s just what happened Friday night. Coming off a victory over LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the mighty Heat, the Hawks were held to the lowest-scoring game in Atlanta history by Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets, who took control late in the first half and cruised to a 100-59 rout…

The Hawks have never had an offensive performance like this, at least since moving to Atlanta in 1968. Previously, their lowest-scoring game was a 73-63 loss to Cleveland in 1996.

Only Jordan Crawford’s 3-pointer with 32 seconds remaining kept Hawks from their worst offensive effort ever—a 57-point game in 1955 when the team was in St. Louis…

Paul scored 16 points and dished out eight assists in leading the Hornets to their seventh straight win against a team that shot 29 percent…

David West and Marco Belinelli both scored 15 points and Emeka Okafor pulled down 12 rebounds. The Hornets dominated on the boards, 55-32.

Jamal Crawford led the Hawks with 14 points, and Smith was the only player in double figures with 13. Johnson was 4 of 12 for nine points, less than half his 19.6 average.

Both the Hawks and Hornets are currently the 5th seed in their respective conferences.

Tyrus Thomas suspended for foul on Emeka Okafor

Tyrus Thomas of the Charlotte Bobcats has been suspended one game without pay for his Flagrant Foul, Penalty Two against Emeka Okafor of the New Orleans Hornets, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President Basketball Operations.

The incident, in which Thomas made elbow contact to Okafor’s head and was ejected following the Flagrant Foul, Penalty Two call, occurred with 2:38 remaining in the 4th period of the Bobcats 88-81 loss on Saturday to the New Orleans Hornets at Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte.

Thomas  will  serve  his  suspension  today  when  the  Bobcats  visit  the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center.

Hornets waive Pops Mensah-Bonsu

The New Orleans Hornets announced today that they have waived forward Pops Mensah-Bonsu.

Mensah-Bonsu (6-9, 235) appeared in seven games for New Orleans this season, scoring two points and grabbing 11 rebounds in 35 minutes of action. Originally signed September 24, 2010, Mensah-Bonsu played in all eight preseason games for the Hornets, averaging 5.0 rebounds and 4.6 points in 15.4 minutes.

The North London, England native has been inactive the past 22 games for New Orleans and has six DNP-CD on the year. Originally undrafted out of George Washington University in 2006, Mensah-Bonsu has appeared in 61 games over a four-year career with the Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors, Houston Rockets, and New Orleans Hornets, holding averages of 3.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in 8.3 minutes of play.

The Hornets roster now stands at 14.