2012-13 Hornets Season Predictions (post Draft and FA period)

[Attila The Hun]

Some really interesting answers and thoughts, great reading.

I like the hypothetical future acquisition suggestions.. pairing Ibaka with Davis would be a tour de force defensively. I have a nagging suspicion that OKC might find a way to convince him to stay- will be interesting to see what happens.

I can definitely see a big man with complimentary skills to those of Davis being targeted at some point in the future- along the lines of the Jefferson/Pekovic suggestions. Among the small forward suggestions, Deng is one that intrigues me- he seems to be well-loved in Chicago though.

I have tempered my expectations for NOLA for the coming season based on the roster as it stands at the moment- it's very young, and there's not a heap of depth. Is Jason Smith our longest-tenured player in the league at present? Everything seems to be pointing towards a developmental year. I think Ryan Anderson's value to the team will increase as the team gets better- for now it's nice to have at least one player who can reliably hit from deep.

In the West, I can only see two teams dropping significantly from playoff contention- Phoenix and Houston. Memphis is built to win now, Denver is unbelievably deep, Utah could conceivably improve, and Dallas still probably has enough talent to make the postseason. It's worth remembering that Minny and Golden State were playing .500 ball before Rubio got injured and the Warriors went the tank last season. If Minny get Batum and Rubio back healthy, and GS have Curry and Bogut relatively healthy, then I think they'll harbour realistic playoff expectations. Portland will probably miss again, unless they keep Batum or trade him for immediate help. Sacramento will probably have greater expectations to compete than one would otherwise expect- if they can learn to defend they might actually surprise people..

The West just looks too competitive for this season- I hope I'm wrong though. I'll be happy enough just to see glimpses from Davis and Rivers of things to follow..

[HornetsFan90277]

I can actually see this happening. Of those players, Iggy is my vote FWIW.

Seriously, with the defense of Ej, Davis and Iggy, how would a team score more than 80-85 pts against the Hornets?

[nikkoewan]

Seriously, with the defense of Ej, Davis and Iggy, how would a team score more than 80-85 pts against the Hornets?

Indeed. a DRTG somewhere in the mid 90s is very plausible. The fun fact is? if EJ & Anderson maintain their efficiencies, and Davis proves to be an efficient rookie, we have enough firepower to score more than 95 points on half the nights. Key is getting to that awesome DRTG

[504s Deek]

I expect them to package the 11th pick with Aminu and some salary cap space to land a vet small forward like Gay, Deng, Granger, or Iggy next summer (as the lux tax penalties kick in and teams shed big contracts) and be a contender for a top 4 seed by 2014-15, if not 13-14.

Love this idea. Gay, Loul, and Iggy all would make me wet.

[Nola3]

1) How many wins are you hoping for/realistically expecting ? (I'll plump for 30)30-35, we need to temper expectations. We lose almost all veteren production from last year and are depending on 2 rookies and a former d leaguer for major minutes. This team obviously has a lot of potential, but I seriously doubt we will be competitive (read: in playoff contention) from the start.

2) Where will we rank in the West? (I'll guess 12th).. feel free to expand on your predictions for the Western Conference in general, the movers and the sliders, etc.. Anywhere from 10-13

3) The Hornet who will will open some eyes this season? (I'll gamble on Vasquez)Eric Gordon will prove he's worth max money

4) The Hornet under the most pressure to perform in 2012-13? (I hope it's Gordon)Obviously Gordon with the contract and bad PR

5) What is the blueprint for Demps in 2013? Another solid piece added via the Lottery? A targeted FA signing? A mega-trade? A softly, softly approach?Develop all the young talent and bring in a few mentoring vets during the season. In the offseason draft a center and make a splash in free agency

6) Will New Orleans fall in love with this team?.. I really hope so....

[PelicanFever]

I think it is 100% dependent on Eric Gordon's games played. I expect the Hornets to win about 55% of the games he plays in, 25% of the games he does not. I will be optimistic today and say he plays in 70 games, therefore I expect the Hornets to win 39 of those 70 and 3 of the other 12. 42-40, good for 10th in the West.

I expect them to package the 11th pick with Aminu and some salary cap space to land a vet small forward like Gay, Deng, Granger, or Iggy next summer (as the lux tax penalties kick in and teams shed big contracts) and be a contender for a top 4 seed by 2014-15, if not 13-14.

do you really picture us going after one of those bad contracts?? that is not the way to patiently rebuild...i dont want another peja contract on this team

[PelicanFever]

Love this idea. Gay, Loul, and Iggy all would make me wet.

do you have any idea what those guys make??

[504s Deek]

do you have any idea what those guys make??

You're right, I'll just let my team of all rookie contracts carry us to the playoff. Theres certainly no point in adding a great championship piece when we've been saving cap space just for that reason.

[PelicanFever]

You're right, I'll just let my team of all rookie contracts carry us to the playoff. Theres certainly no point in adding a great championship piece when we've been saving cap space just for that reason.

an iggy will not make us a champ contender in the next couple yrs while davis and rivers are still 19 and need at least a couple of yrs to grow their man bodies

[c money muery]

1) How many wins are you hoping for/realistically expecting ? (I'll plump for 30) I"m predicting anywhere from 28-33 wins. This team is just not very good or deep this year. X is suppose to be a pretty big role player on our roster this year and is sucking it up in the summer league. I know the summer league means very little but for a player going into his third NBA season he should be doing much better then he is. We also are losing trevor ariza , emeka oakafor, chris kamen, carl landry and Captain jack. Thats our three best post players from last year, our best wing defender and our best point guard. A lot of people like to talk about how well we played without them last year ( they missed a lot of time not sure exactly how many games combined, but it was close to 200 ) but we finished last in the west. Adding anthony davis, ryan anderson and austin rivers is not equivalent to losing the 5 players i just mentioned. Anthony davis will sturggle his rookie year, it generally takes big men three years to become dominate players.

2) Where will we rank in the West? (I'll guess 12th).. feel free to expand on your predictions for the Western Conference in general, the movers and the sliders, etc.. I think we finish 12th or 13th. The only teams that we are clearly better then right now are Houston and Sacramento. Houston is in play to get a legit center in either Bynum or Howard so they can over take us. Portland and Phoenix are on the same level as us. Both are more talented, as of right now, but our coach is much better then theirs. If anthony davis plays like an All pro from day one and Gordon stays healthy then we could potentially be in play for an 8th seed, but with no real center and no bench outside of anderson i think we will struggle mightily.

3) The Hornet who will will open some eyes this season? (I'll gamble on Vasquez) I'll take General Greivis as well. I think he will become a quailty starting point guard. I really like his length and floater. With his height and wingspan i think he will allow us to play a backcourt of Rivers gordon and vasquez, ( not to start just a couple minutes a game, he will be starting pg with Rivers trying to fill JJacks role) with him covering the opposing teams 3. That would put three players who can create their own shot and create for other on the floor at the same time. I also think Gordon will play at an all-star level and make his first all-star game. He will cement himself as the third best SG in the league behind kobe and Dwade.

4) The Hornet under the most pressure to perform in 2012-13? (I hope it's Gordon) Gordon wont have pressure to perform because we all know what he can do when he is healthy but he will need to prove that he can stay healthy. General Greivis will be the player with the most pressure to perform. Not only is he replacing a fan favorite in captain jack ( after he had his best year of his career ) but it appears we got rid of him just for cap space. Alot of hornets fans trust everything dell does with a cult passion, and rightfully so he has done a masterful job as GM since becoming one. This is the first trade he made where a lot of fans were questioning it and if Greivis fails a lot of people will be on his and Demps back. Even though it's unrealistic to think a GM can bat 1.000.

5) What is the blueprint for Demps in 2013? Another solid piece added via the Lottery? A targeted FA signing? A mega-trade? A softly, softly approach? I have no idea what demps is doing, but seeing how we are considering signing ryan hollins to play significant minutes at the 5 i have to assume we are done with FA and will be patient with the rebuilding process. Next years draft is very weak accept for center, i think we are hoping for a high draft pick next year so we can grab one.

6) Will New Orleans fall in love with this team?.. yes i do.........BOW TO THE BROW B****ES

[BeeBall Reasons]

Wins
low 40's but low 30's if Gordon is injured often

rank in the west
8th (just hoping for playoffs) -12th

Player that will surprise
Darius Miller, but I'll let him continue under the radar... Anderson. I mean I too am a Vasquez fan and think he'll be a solid starting point guard but I think Anderson is looked at as soft for being a shooter, but I think he'll make people rethink the need for a starting center and putting him at the 3.

Player under the most pressure
Aminu no doubt, I think the Hornets will address Sf if he doesn't play well. Make or break year for him with lots of playing time

Blueprint
I think SF should be priority #1 really, Demps is going Spurs model, he likes the front court in my opinion. He'll go out and grab a big but it won't be the big move (yes this is kind of betting against Aminu)

NOLA LOVE?
What is Love, baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me, no more
after the re-brand

[neitzelbaby12]

1. 44 games
2. 8th
3. Ryan Anderson
4. Gordon
5. We will never know Dells plans
6. Of course!!

[Attila The Hun]

This 'prediction' from the Bleacher Report sees us being a 30-win team next season, but it's a horrible, baseless article.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1...a-team/page/20

The writer predicts that Charlotte will improve more than Brooklyn??!!

[Pantazis76]

Can someone tell me the logic of charlotte having a better win percentage then us????????

[Kibner]

It's BleacherReport. Pretend they don't exist because nothing useful comes from that site.

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