[外電] Scott: Hornets like '90 Lakers
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http://www.nola.com/hornets/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1099986954279450.xml
Scott: Hornets like '90 Lakers
Former team struggled before reaching finals
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
By Benjamin Hochman
Staff writer
The year was 1990. George Bush was president. American troops
had infiltrated Iraq. "The Simpsons" was one of television's
most popular shows. Michael Jackson was entrenched in
discomforting legal problems. And Byron Scott's team began
the NBA season on a losing skid.
Some things never change, huh, Byron?
Coach Scott's Hornets have started the season 0-3, entering
tonight's home game against the Los Angeles Lakers (2-2).
And, yes, the 1990-91 Lakers, featuring shooting guard Scott,
lost four of their first five games and five of their first
seven.
"It's the same thing," Scott said. "We had a new coach -- Pat
Riley had left, and we brought in Mike Dunleavy, who was
totally different than Riles. He didn't want to push it up
and down the floor, he wanted to make us more of a halfcourt
team, so it took us a while to adjust. Same thing with (the
Hornets, adjusting to the Princeton offense)."
At 2-5, those Lakers proceeded to win eight straight games,
and went on to lose to Chicago in the NBA Finals. Obviously,
that team had a couple of things going for it -- Magic Johnson
and James Worthy. Still, Scott remembers dealing with the
growing pains early that season, and he said he believes his
Hornets will be able to morph into a solid team. The overriding
question is -- how soon?
"I'm asking a lot of these leopards to change their spots,"
Scott said. "These guys are trying to get familiar with my
system. It's going to take us a little time. I know the record
is 0-3, but I'm very positive in the moves that we've made and
the strides we've made from the first game to the third game."
"I think it's new territory for the majority of us here,"
Hornets forward P.J. Brown said of being 0-3. "It doesn't feel
good. This is not what we expected. We can turn this thing
around, but we've got to take care of things like rebounding."
New Orleans has been outrebounded by an average of 42.7-36.3,
including its most recent effort when Minnesota had a 44-31
edge. The Lakers have outrebounded opponents by an average of
42.5-40.7. While that is not an overwhelming margin, try this
out for size -- Hornets power forward Brown and center Jamaal
Magloire average 4.3 and 8.0 rebounds per game. And Lakers
power forward Lamar Odom and center Chris Mihm? Eleven and 9.0.
The average Hornets fan remembers lanky Odom from the Miami
playoff series last season, when Odom averaged a team-high
16.3 points per game, along with 7.9 rebounds.
"You let those kind of players get into a rhythm, and they're
hard to stop," Brown said. "You try to make a physical presence
early."
And while Mihm isn't Shaq, he hardly has been a hack. In four
games, the Texas product who replaced Shaquille O'Neal has
averaged 14.0 points and 2.5 blocks. On Sunday against Atlanta,
Mihm had 19 points and 10 rebounds.
"He's been hurt a lot, and got the tag of being soft, but I
always liked him as a basketball player," Scott said of Mihm --
who in four seasons has not averaged more than 7.7 points per
game. "We definitely have to pay attention to him. Offensively,
we have to go at him as much as possible, trying to get him
into foul trouble or not let him be the big impact player that
he's been this season."
In regards to impact players, there's not many that have as big
an impact on a game as Kobe Bryant.
His saga the past two years -- from battles in court to battles
with O'Neal -- have spilled from the sports page to the front
page. This is Bryant's first season without O'Neal, and the
perennial All-Star guard is averaging 28.8 points per game while
shooting 40.6 percent.
"It is almost pick your poison," Scott said of defending the
free-shooting Bryant. "If you double-team, triple-team Kobe,
you're leaving (Caron) Butler, (Chucky) Atkins, Odom, those
guys open. And those guys are pretty good basketball players."
"Kobe Bryant is probably the best player in the league next to
Shaquille O'Neal," said Hornets guard Baron Davis, who will
spend time guarding Bryant, as will David Wesley. "He makes a
lot of tough shots, but you just have to force him to work for
his shot. Every time. Make sure he doesn't get any open looks.
Anytime he's open for a 3-pointer, you've got to run at him,
and make sure he doesn't have an open look."
. . . . . . .
Benjamin Hochman can be reached at bhochman@timespicayune.com
or (504) 826-3405.
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