It Just Wasn't Their Time

The 2007-08 New Orleans Hornets season will undoubtedly be remembered as a resounding success with fond memories. This team equaled the franchise’s best ever postseason showing, losing in the deciding game of the conference semifinals for only the second time ever, and set a team record by winning 56 games this season. On top of that, Byron Scott’s team notched the Hornets first postseason series win since the team was in Charlotte back in 2002. For now, many will dwell on the missed opportunities against the Spurs in Game 7, but New Orleans’ body of work this season has been phenomenal. In pushing the defending champions to the brink, the Hornets received a bitter lesson in playoff basketball, but laid the foundation for something that’s on a fast track to greatness.

San Antonio played its first competitive game in the Big Easy, and it was enough to walk away with the series. The Spurs hardly had a heartbeat in Games 1, 2, and 5 once the third quarter ended, which ended up being shockingly convincing victories by the underdog Hornets. In those games, New Orleans effectively turned each one of those games on its head with a blistering run right after halftime. Combined, New Orleans outscored the Spurs 97-48 in third quarter when playing at home. It didn’t look proper to see a Gregg Popovich-coached team getting outplayed so comprehensively. The Hornets were clicking on all cylinders, with its trio of Chris Paul, Tyson Chandler, and David West. Each one has continued to improve ever since they got to New Orleans, and you can bet that it hasn’t stopped happening for them.

But, in the biggest game of their careers, they couldn’t produce the moxie to secure that elusive fourth home win. As much poise as Chris Paul and his teammates displayed over the course of the series, they still couldn’t handle the moment like the Spurs. It was a time of growth for the young Hornets, who have the talent to go further in the postseason real soon. The growing pains make you a stronger and hungrier team. The key sequence in the final game of this series came just after halftime, like usual. San Antonio finally buckled down after intermission, and played a solid third quarter on the road, showing why they have been able to win championships for over a decade. Despite holding a nine-point lead at the break, the Spurs had already blown halftime leads in Games 1 and 2. This time, though, they extended the lead to double digits, creating just enough space to survive the inevitable run that the gutsy Hornets were sure to throw at them.

New Orleans put together a flurry to cut a 15-point fourth quarter deficit down to three. If nothing else, that impressive run only served to demonstrate just how close these teams really are. During their 11 total meetings in the regular season and postseason, San Antonio won six of them. Every one of the Hornets five wins over the Spurs was by at least 17 points. Remarkably, Monday’s Game 7 was only the second time that any of the matchups between the top two teams in the Southwest Division had been decided by single digits.

Instead of dwelling on how the Hornets blew a 3-2 lead, or whether Robert Horry’s foul on David West merited a suspension, this season should be remembered for all the optimism and energy it brought to the city. David West’s first All-Star season, Tyson Chandler’s emergence as a slam-dunk extraordinaire, and Chris Paul’s leap to the NBA’s best point guard have all come to fruition at once. All three are under 27 and are fresh off a gritty postseason series that will provide priceless lessons down the road. For the New Orleans Hornets, the good times are only beginning.

To recap, I went 2-2 in the Conference Semifinals, putting me at 8-4 overall.


Conference Finals Picks

San Antonio over LA, 6 games
Who’s going to guard Parker?


Detroit over Boston, 6 games
The Pistons are capable of winning on the road, Cleveland and Atlanta were not.