http://www.nola.com/hornets/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1084095572180320.xml Hornets, Floyd spark varied opinions Sunday, May 09, 2004 By Benjamin Hochman Staff writer You know the guys -- television's opinionated NBA analysts, dressed to the nines, spouting off into your living room, sometimes so vociferously that the family pooch jolts in fright. These guys know their basketball. And they're not shy. Especially, about the tumultuous Hornets. And recently, with the teams' lackluster playoff performance and the ensuing pink slip for the coach, there has been a lot to talk about. "I think they've been underachieving for the last several years based on the talent," said Tim Legler, an ESPN studio analyst. "This is a team that should not be worried about being .500. This is a team that should be winning 48, 50 games." New Orleans, on paper, was an enticing team this season. But beyond the names and the statistics were injuries and personalities, two things that cannot be measured but can indisputably affect a team. During the season, for instance, the trio of guards Baron Davis and David Wesley and forward Jamal Mashburn averaged just less than 58 points and 13 assists per game. But the players' injuries -- Davis' left ankle, Mashburn's right knee and Wesley's left big toe -- forced the trio to miss a combined 99 games. The Hornets were 6-14 when any two or all three players missed a game. And then there were the personality clashes. There was the well-documented Mashburn tiff during the playoffs, in which the team asked the injured player to remain scarce after degrading remarks about the franchise. And, some analysts suggested, there was new coach Tim Floyd's difficulty to motivate the players. "I think credibility hurt Floyd," Legler said. "I don't think they believed he would help get them to the next level. I think Tim Floyd lost some control of the team." "I think the team stopped playing for Tim Floyd about the half-way point," said ESPN's Greg Anthony, who also has a personal relationship with Floyd, having played on Floyd's 2001-02 Bulls, the coach's final team in Chicago. "I don't think he had the credibility with that group -- your words have to resonate with them. (Upon the hiring), all of the guys on the team that I talked to were scratching their heads at management. (Players thought) they weren't taking a step forward. . . . That led to their demise." Legler said that for the first six weeks of the season, Davis, the point guard, was the NBA's MVP. At that time, with Mashburn sidelined and the new offense in its early stages, the franchise player was doing everything as the Hornets started 17-7. "It took a toll on him physically," Legler said. "He wasn't only being asked to score, but run sets, create for others, and defend. It's exhausting. It really wore his body." By the end of the season, Davis was still the pulse of the team, but he was visibly hobbled and battered. Analysts have mixed feelings about the season of center Jamaal Magloire. He was one of only four players in the Eastern Conference who averaged a double-double. And he was picked the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for April, which seemed so be a perfect segue into a potentially successful postseason. Magloire averaged 21.7 points and 12.1 rebounds and shot 49.4 percent in seven April regular-season games. In the seven playoff games, he averaged 11 points and 9.1 rebounds, and he wasn't his dominant self in the final two losses - Games 5 and 7 - getting pushed around by older Brian Grant. "I think Magloire probably needs to get better for that team to get better," said TNT broadcaster Steve Kerr, pointing out that New Orleans will play in the center-rich Western Conference next season. "He needs to be a dominant threat -- the West changes everything. Brian Grant did a great job on him. Because of that, Miami could focus on Baron Davis, jumping out at him, trying to take the ball from his hands." "Jamaal Magloire was a legit star post player in this league," Legler said. "Hopefully, a coach will utilize him. I don't think Floyd utilized him, got him touches. . . . I think the team needs to be more inside-out." Anthony, a former guard, feels New Orleans lacks speed. "They have depth, but they're a very slow team," he said. "They showed it in the playoffs, very slow. No energy and pace with which they played the game. You have to play with energy and pace. Look at Indiana and Detroit. . . . The Hornets need to be quicker in the front line and find size at the two-guard position." . . . . . . . Benjamin Hochman can be reached at [email protected] or (504) 826-3405. --

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