http://www.nola.com/hornets/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/108227897583080.xml Floyd is in a no-win situation Sunday, April 18, 2004 Peter Finney If I were Tim Floyd, I'd almost want to be fired. Of course, that's just me talking. I'm sure those feelings are not shared by the coach of the Hornets. Whatever happens in the playoffs, I'm sure he'd like to return next season, when the Hornets move over to a tougher Western Conference, when the challenge for the man running the team will sharpen significantly, whoever that might be. For the moment, let's say this. On Thursday, Tim Floyd got some good news when it was announced, to the surprise of no one close to the organization, that Jamal Mashburn will not play in the postseason. Good news when last season's All-Star is out of the lineup? That's right. While Mashburn suited up for 19 of 82 regular-season games, he really was never a part of the 2003-04 Hornets. I don't think he wanted to be. Mashburn walked out on his teammates. He used a preseason minor knee injury, followed by an in-season re-injury of the same knee, as a medical excuse to essentially take the year off. His stance went something like this: "I don't play until I'm 100 percent." Tell that to the guys in the NFL. Joe Horn was rarely 100 percent for the Saints last year, but the Pro Bowl receiver was out there on Sundays. You couldn't keep him away. My bottom line on Mashburn: It was a selfish decision by a selfish player. Saying this, let me give you my bottom line on the head coach: In 82 games, Tim Floyd has yet to prove he can be the kind of head coach in the NBA he was in the NCAA. It's an old story. The ball is the same, the court is the same, but the games are totally different. In college, the coach calls the shots. In the land of guaranteed contracts known as the NBA, the players do. While all teams are forced to deal with injuries, it's accurate to say the Hornets were not as equipped to deal with injuries to their top two scorers, Mashburn and Baron Davis, as some of the more talented clubs, such as the Lakers and Kings. Still, Floyd's miseries had as much or more to do with defense than offense, the irony being, in college, defense was Floyd's stock in trade. But time after time, the Hornets were victimized by loose defense in the paint, by major breakdowns with the game on the line. More than anything, the Hornets are Baron Davis' team. Davis had his moments, as a penetrator, as a creator, sharing the basketball. Still, there were times when he tried to do too much, when he jacked up low-percentage 3s, when he overplayed his hand. Let's acknowledge that Davis is the Kobe Bryant of the Hornets. And let's consider what happened the other day when Phil Jackson of the Lakers, a coach who has won nine NBA championships, took Bryant to task. Jackson did this after games in which Bryant tossed up crazy shots despite triple-teaming, resulting in blowout losses to the Spurs and Trailblazers. "Kobe," Jackson said, "could be the glue that holds us together or the force that breaks us apart. I know he's a great player that won't be influenced by my will. My chastising him, my correcting him, that's not going to change what he does." So Kobe goes out, in a big game against the Kings, and decides to take one shot in the first half, finishing with eight points, almost 20 below his average. All to prove a point. Many years ago, when Elgin Baylor was coaching the New Orleans Jazz, a chastised Pete Maravich went into a pout and did the same thing. All to prove a point. Jackson, with nine rings, with all the leverage in the world, has to tread ever so lightly when it comes to dealing with Bryant's psyche. Compare this to Tim Floyd, a coach with next to zero leverage, trying to deal with Davis. A year ago, Paul Silas was dealing with the psyches of Mashburn and Davis, attempting to get them to defer to one another on the court, as a Hornets team that finished the season 47-35 prepared to face the 76ers in the first round of the playoffs. As it happened, the Hornets' elimination in six games greased the skids for Silas who, like Floyd this season, faced an assortment of injuries on a team that already was starting to show its age. It's going to be interesting to see how the Hornets, Mashburn and his 20 points having said goodbye, conduct themselves against the Miami Heat. Win or lose, the Hornets are better off without their All-Star forward, also an All-Star distraction. Lose the series, and Floyd could well be out of a job. Lose, and Floyd at least will have failed while trying. . . . . . . . Peter Finney can be reached at [email protected] or (504) 826-3802. --

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