I actually had a plan for a long Hornets post knocking around "in my head" as Ed Blakely might say. But I've been too busy with other stuff so you'll just have to do with Oyster's take.
Like many New Orleans-based sports observers, I'm still dubious about the Hornets because: 1) They don't have a long or interesting enough history here to imbue their games with the kind of emotional meaning that accompanies a Saints mini-camp practice. 2) They may still leave town. 3) The teal. 4) Coach of the year, Byron Scott is kind of an asshole.
Having said all of that, it's really hard not to like watching this team play. The Hornets play fast and smart and benefit greatly from the fact that David West could hit a 15 foot jumper even with two hands in his face, one on his arm, and Ray Nagin's fist bearing down for a solid cold-cock. They're missing an enforcer type under the boards and allow too many second-chance shots which I think will ultimately be their undoing. But for now, it's all good fun.
And fun is all they are until (and this is one of those big IFs) they're around long enough for local fans to have any real emotional investment in them. I must say, they came very close to actually earning a bit of that "emotional investment" cred last night by nearly blowing a 15 point lead in the final minutes. If they had found a way to lose that one, many of us, I'm sure, would have understood "Okay this is our team now." So in a way, the Hornets are still victims of their own success.
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