Bee Hive Blog

Hornets (34-25), Clippers (21-37)

Thursday, February 24th, 2011      Email Print

It was over when… Jason Smith tipped in a close-range David West miss, giving New Orleans a 12-point edge with 1:16 remaining. In their first national TV game of 2010-11, the Hornets ended a three-game losing streak overall, as well as a three-game skein on their home floor. It was their first victory in the New Orleans Arena since Feb. 1 against Washington.

Hornets MVP: Willie Green continues to play well since claiming the starting shooting guard spot, scoring 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting in Wednesday’s game. Green tallied 14 of his points after halftime. “It was just a good defensive effort,” Green said of the Hornets allowing their fewest points since the San Antonio win Jan. 22. “We got back to some of our fundamentals, keeping guys out of the paint and making sure we box out. We kept them in the 80s. When we do that we’re a good team.”

Hornets Sixth Man of the Game: Many times NBA players will say all they need to play better is more minutes, but Marco Belinelli has actually seemed to sometimes perform effectively in a smaller role. Belinelli, who was often logging around 30 minutes as a starter, now gets sporadic playing time, such as Wednesday’s 16-minute outing. The Italian guard responded with 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting. Belinelli immediately took to his substitute role with 17 points at New Jersey.

The buzz on… Carl Landry. A teammate of Landry’s for the first half of last season with the Houston Rockets, Hornets small forward Trevor Ariza agreed with a reporter’s sentiment that Landry is one of the premier backup big men in the league.
“He’s a guy who can go out there and flat-out score,” Ariza said. “He can fill it up anytime he gets the ball. He’s a great rebounder, a good offensive rebounder and very consistent. He’s also a great guy to be around, a fun teammate.” In his first season with New Orleans, Ariza added that the Purdue product’s blue-collar style should be popular among fans in the Big Easy: “I think the people here are going to really love him because he plays hard and plays to win.”
On a New Orleans team that has often struggled to generate easy baskets over the past few seasons, the athletic 6-foot-9 Landry thrives on short jumpers, layups, dunks and putbacks – the kind of points that could benefit the Hornets’ offense greatly.
“I think he’ll definitely help out with that,” Ariza said of Landry’s ability to score around the rim. “He’s very good.”
Chris Paul on Landry: “I’m excited. I think he has the opportunity to come in and help us out a lot. He’s a really good player. He’s one of those guys that regardless of the system, he plays hard. We need that.”
West: “He’s solid. He’s been a contributor for the last few years. He’s going to come in and solidify some of the things we’re trying to do up front. He’s a solid NBA guy.”

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