http://www.hornets247.com/awards2004.html Welcome to the 2004 Hornets247.com Regular Season Awards. "The most prestigious New Orleans Hornets awards in existence." - Ron Hitley's mom M.V.P. (?) Winner: Jamaal Magloire Why?: I'll get what's likely to be my most controversial pick over with straight away. The main reason I take Magloire over Davis for Hornets' MVP is simple: The team is deep at point, so without Baron, they can still compete. Without Magloire though, New Orleans is a donut. Honorable Mention: Davis. Sixth Man (?) Winner: Darrell Armstrong Why?: DA started just 22 games for the Bugs this season, making him a no-brainer for this award. Armstrong averaged 10.6 points, 3.9 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.7 steals in just over 28 minutes per game. Honorable Mention: Stacey Augmon. Most Improved (?) Winner: Jamaal Magloire Why?: Since the All-Star break, Magloire has averaged 16.8 points and 11.9 rebounds. Enough said. Honorable Mention: Baron Davis. Best Defensive (?) Winner: Stacey Augmon Why?: Certainly one of the tougher awards to decide, but this one goes to Augmon, mainly because of his ability to defend at three positions. Honorable Mention: George Lynch, P.J. Brown. Worst Defensive (?) Winner: Jamal Mashburn Why?: Mashburn's 19 games this season saw him average over 20 points, but his woeful defensive effort nullified that advantage. The Bugs went just 8-11 with him in the lineup. Honorable Mention: Steve Smith, David Wesley. Greatest Tragedy (?) Winner: Courtney Alexander's injury Why?: The news of Alexander's injury was tough to take. CA had been having a superb training camp and preseason, and I believe he could have had a shot at the NBA's Most Improved if he had been healthy all season. Honorable Mention: Tim Floyd, Mashburn's injury. Clutch Player (?) Winner: Darrell Armstrong Why?: This can't go to Baron due to his miserable free-throw shooting, and for some reason, nobody looks for Magloire at crunch time. Armstrong however, has taken and made some big shots for the Bugs this season, none bigger than his game-winner in San Antonio in January. DA wasted no time introducing New Orleans to his clutch ability either, leading the Hornets past Atlanta in overtime on Opening Night. Honorable Mention: Magloire, Davis, Jamal Mashburn. Bobby Phills Award (?) Winner: Darrell Armstrong Why?: Whether starting or coming off the bench, it doesn't matter, DA plays every game like it's his last. He tore both bursa sacs in his elbows diving for a meaningless loose ball against Houston back in December. He played the next night in Chicago with padding and bandages, and scored 23 points in 24 minutes. He also refuses to respect the big men of the NBA, constantly hustling for blocks and rebounds amongst the trees. In January, he blocked 6-11 Nuggets' forward Nene. Armstrong has also founded his own charity. Honorable Mention: P.J. Brown. Best Game of the Season (?) Winner: Hornets 98, San Antonio 96 - January 24 Why?: The Hornets had just nine players available for this game (seven if you don't count Rooks and Drew). They were playing the defending champs, on the road, on the second night of a back-to-back. Davis, Mashburn, Wesley and West were absent, but Darrell Armstrong refused to let the Hornets lose. His career-high 35 points were topped with a last-second three over the outstretched arm of Tim "Reigning MVP" Duncan. Absolute classic. Honorable Mention: vs. Lakers (11/7), @ Detroit (11/23), vs. Milwaukee (1/28), @ Indiana (2/17), vs. Detroit (3/23). Worst Game of the Season (?) Winner: Raptors 84, Hornets 76 - March 7 Why?: So many low points to choose from, but I'll take this game in Toronto. That whole Sunday was horrible. From Baron being benched for missing a team breakfast, to Jamal Mashburn aggravating his knee injury, to Tim Floyd benching the starters in the fourth quarter; it was all just one big sloppy mess. Only for Jamaal Magloire's 20-20 effort, I would have stuck my head in the oven. Honorable Mention: vs. Chicago (11/8), @ Dallas (11/11), @ Clippers (12/15), vs. Miami (1/31), @ Milwaukee (2/7), @ Cleveland (23/2), @ Atlanta (3/25), vs. New York (4/12). Best Individual Performance in a Game (?) Winner: Baron Davis, vs. Celtics - November 1 Why?: 37 points, 7 assists, 5 steals, 4 rebounds, 13-21 FGs, 6-7 3FGs, 5-10 FTs. The vast majority of Baron's best games this season came in November and December. This type of game against Boston was the reason he was being touted as an early MVP candidate. Shame it couldn't last. Honorable Mention: Magloire's 20/20 in Toronto (3/7), Armstrong's 35 at San Antonio (1/24), Wesley's 32 vs. Atlanta (12/26), several more by Baron. Best Performance in a Game by Opposing Player (?) Winner: Vince Carter, Toronto Raptors - March 21 Why?: 42 points, 12 assists, 6 rebounds, 13-20 FGs, 4-5 3FGs, 12-13 FTs. Carter scored 8 of his points in OT against the Hornets (in New Orleans) and nailed the game-winning three with 18 seconds left. The 42 points are a season-high for a Hornets' opponent this season. Honorable Mention: Michael Redd's 40 points (1/28), Jalen Rose's 34 off the bench (11/8), Brad Miller's near triple-double (12/18), Jermaine O'Neal's 26pts, 16rebs, 6 blks (1/3), Kevin Garnett's 29pts, 15rebs, 7asts (1/19), Gilbert Arenas' 35pts, 11asts, 4stls (3/1). Biggest Rival (?) Winner: Indiana Why?: This may go both ways, as the Pacers don't have much fondness for the Hornets either. The main reason Indy picks up the Biggest Rival Award is because of what went down at the Bugs' January 3 meeting with them in Indiana. The game was highlighted by a scuffle early in the fourth quarter between George Lynch and Al Harrington, which spilled onto the Pacers bench. Both Lynch and Harrington were ejected, as was Jamaal Magloire (for no particular reason). All three players were also fined afterwards, though no suspensions were issued as no punches were thrown. In total, five technicals and 61 fouls were assessed in the game, which the Pacers went on to win 91-84. As Baron Davis said afterwards, "They don't like us, and we don't like them. That's just how it's going to be." Also factoring into this rivalry was the Pacers one point defeat of the Hornets in New Orleans back in November, when David West missed an open layup at the buzzer. The Bugs did beat the Pacers convincingly twice after the All-Star break however, including the February 17 game in Indianapolis. Honorable Mention: Detroit, Milwaukee, Miami. Who's Your Daddy (?) Winner: Washington Why?: The Hornets only swept four teams all season, and the Wizards weren't even one of them: Despite being at full strength on March 1, the Bugs fell in Washington, 111-106 in overtime. Other than that though, New Orleans owned the Wiz. A ten point win in January, a 22 point win in February, and then the 16 point victory at season's end, makes Washington our bitch. Say my name D.C. Honorable Mention: Boston, Orlando, G-State, Portland. Who's Our Daddy (?) Winner: Dallas Why?: Five teams swept the Hornets this season, and they were all from the West. The Mavericks did it more convincingly than anyone though, with a 28 point spanking of the Bugs in Texas on November 11. They followed that up with a nine point victory in New Orleans on February 4. Everybody, kneel and kiss the ring. Honorable Mention: Minnesota, Sacto, Seattle, Houston, Toronto, Cleveland, Miami. Photo of the Year (?) Winner: http://www.hornets247.com/images/poy_baron_sura.jpe Why?: Baron over Sura. For the game. The M.V.P. chants grew louder. Honorable Mention: http://www.hornets247.com/images/floyd_eject.jpe http://www.hornets247.com/images/harrington_lynch_fight.jpe http://www.hornets247.com/images/poy_bd_blake.jpe http://www.hornets247.com/images/poy_bd_cat_allstar.jpg http://www.hornets247.com/images/poy_da_hustle.jpe http://www.hornets247.com/images/poy_rare_5.jpe http://www.hornets247.com/images/poy_wes_duncan.jpe http://www.hornets247.com/images/davis_west.jpg Most Potential (?) Winner: David West Why?: Kirk Haston was a wasted draft pick in 2001, but the same cannot be said of David West. He has proven he can play in this League, and could take P.J. Brown's starting spot next year. Honorable Mention: Shammond Williams, Jamaal Magloire. Best Reporting (?) Winner: The Times-Picayune Why?: You'll read it here first. Then after you read it everywhere else, you'll realize that the TP said it best. Honorable Mention: HornetsReport.com, Baton Rouge Advocate. Best Reporter (?) Winner: John DeShazier Why?: He may not write about the Hornets very often, but when it comes to John DeShazier, it's all about quality, not quantity. Honorable Mention: John Reid, Jimmy Smith, Les East, Ralph Malbrough. The Boot (?) Winner: Jamal Mashburn Why?: He's never going to co-exist successfully with Baron, his contract is undeserved, he's not getting any younger, and his favorite letters in the alphabet seem to be I and L. A lot of people should be booted from the team this summer, but nobody more so than Mashburn. Honorable Mention: Tim Floyd, Bob Bass. Best Dunk (?) Winner: Baron Davis over Jermaine O'Neal, February 27 Why?: Oh this was uber-nasty. And it was on the best player in the East no less. It was also one of the rare times Mashburn and Davis actually passed the ball to each other, as the jam came off a give and go between the two. Honorable Mention: Baron over Sura (11/23). Best Roster Move (?) Winner: Signing Darrell Armstrong Why?: All I'm going to say is this: Imagine what the Hornets record would have been had they not signed DA. Honorable Mention: Extending Magloire's contract, drafting David West, Rooks for Williams, waiving Bryce Drew. Worst Roster Move (?) Winner: Firing Silas / Hiring Floyd Why?: If Paul Silas was still Hornets head coach, we'd be looking back on a 50-win season right now. As it happened, the brass decided to replace the most popular helmer in franchise history, with an unproven local boy. Tim Floyd may be a nice guy, but he's also a lousy NBA coach. Honorable Mention: N/A. Best Fight (?) Winner: Lynch vs. Harrington, January 3 Why?: As physical a team as the Hornets are, they never actually came to blows with anybody this season. The shove-fest in Indiana was the closest thing to a brawl we saw all year. Honorable Mention: Augmon & Traylor vs. Odom @ Miami (3/16) That's all the picks for this season. Don't forget to leave your comments via the link at the top left of this page. --

※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 218.166.80.12