[外電] Hornets' free fall shows no signs of end
原文出自nola.com
http://www.nola.com/hornets/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/110197087716910.xml
Hornets' free fall shows no signs of end
Thursday, December 02, 2004
John DeShazier
So far, not nearly so good for the stripped-down Hornets,
who are relegated to carrying little more than harsh
language, clenched teeth and frustrated stares into battle.
Their record standing at make-a-nun-cuss 1-13, their depleted
roster looking more NBDL-ish by the day, their attendance
dwindling to pockets of well-wishers and New Orleans Arena
ushers, the Hornets trudge on toward history. Time, perhaps,
to begin marking the schedule, looking for the parallels and
placing the inevitable calls to members of that dreadful
Philadelphia 76ers team of 1972-73, whose record of 9-73
remains the fool's gold standard.
No one figured they'd challenge for supremacy in the Western
Conference, and even contending for a playoff berth was going
to be a long shot that depended on a slew of variables working
in the Hornets' favor. But no one figured on this, either.
One win in 14 games, after a 94-81 loss to Sacramento on
Wednesday night at the Arena?
Even with All-Stars Baron Davis and Jamaal Magloire nursing
several-months-long injuries, and much of the offensive fuel
of late being supplied by Lee Nailon and Junior Harrington,
and New Orleans routinely playing defense as if it's fighting
bulls (ole!), you figure the law of averages would have reared
its head a little more often.
You figure the basketball gods would have decided to toss the
Hornets a bone.
You figure that, if even a blind squirrel eventually can
stumble upon a nut, the Hornets by now would've staggered
upon a pair of victories.
But, no. The search continues for the five or six wins that
would lift New Orleans' record from putrid to merely bad.
"There's no room for error," P.J. Brown said. "It is what it is.
"For us to be able to stay in games, to be able to compete
with anybody in the league -- not just the elite teams, but
anybody -- we've got to play harder and better on defense.
It starts on the defensive end. And we've got to run our
offense almost to perfection. We've just got to keep pushing,
keep playing, (and) believe we're going to come out of this.
"We're at the bottom right now. This is about as low as you
can be."
The fine print following almost all Hornets games has noted
that, at least, it appears the effort hasn't shriveled. New
Orleans is being rolled, but won't roll over.
But unless effort culminates in victory, it's a hollow mention.
Either a team learns to win with what it has -- whatever that
is -- or it looks to the standings and sees 1-13 sitting across
from its name.
"Nobody is going to feel sorry for us," Brown said. "Nobody is
going to put an asterisk by our name and say we had injuries."
Nobody should, not with Indiana finding a way to win without its
three leading scorers (Jermaine O'Neal, Ron Artest and Stephen
Jackson) sitting out significant chunks of the season because
of the brawl against Detroit Pistons fans.
Even though the Hornets have the look of a rebuilding team, one
that likely will be blown up and reconstructed after this season,
paying customers want and deserve a little more than being able
to say they attended a game and the home team played hard.
The bottom line of the bottom-line business is wins and losses.
And when the latter totals 13 times as much as the former,
tolerance and patience dry to dust and blow away.
"Any win right now would do for me," David Wesley said.
It would for a lot of people. Any piece of good to curtail the
flood of not nearly so good would.
. . . . . . .
John DeShazier can be reached at jdeshazier@timespicayune.com
or (504) 826-3410.
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