Just back from the game....
Another impressively easy win at home over a talented New Orleans team.
As happy as I was that the city of New Orleans got to enjoy the Hornets amazing season last year, I'm REALLY starting to hate this Hornets team. Flop and whine, whine and flop and whine some more. Man it gets old, and it must be contagious. Peja is one of the worst - EVER, but West does it, too as does Devin Brown, and Tyson Chandler is one of the biggest whiners I've ever seen (at least he doesn't flop as much as his teammates - he just whines about EVERY call). I was at the home opener last season when Chandler got ejected for two technical - and he's lucky he lasted as long as he did. He was actually getting ALL of the calls and STILL complaining non-stop. I was glad to see him foul out tonight.
Yeah, they won 56 games last year, but that doesn't mean guys like Tyson Chandler and Devin Brown are suddenly entitled to superstar treatment - but they sure think they are. I loved it when Brown would flop and the the Blazers would score on him while he was laying flat on his back. Get up and play defense Devin.
I know Chris Paul is an amazing player, but he never seems to play his best in Portland - which is fine with me.
Joel's hot shooting seems to have expanded to include his FTs as he was 5-5 from the line tonight. We got there very early tonight and watched the players shooting. I focused on Joel for a good five minutes and the only shot he missed was one FT. In addition to shots around the basket, he also knocked down a few 14-16 ft. jumpers. I don't want him shooting those in the game, but he suddenly seems to have discovered a soft touch that seems to have improved his shot from everywhere (well, everywhere he shoots from during the games).
Oden still takes too long to gather himself and gets stripped too easy, but that will come with time. He's still not in tip top condition and not used to the speed and quick hands of NBA players.
Batum, on the other hand covers an enormous amount of ground without even looking like he's going full speed. With his long arms and gazelle like stride, he just eats up the court. I know people like to compare him to a young Scottie Pippen, but the ATHLETE he reminds me of most is Gary Maddox, the center fielder for the Phillies back in the 1970s and early 1980s. Anybody else remember him? His long, smooth stride made him one of the best fielding outfielders in the history of the game, and led to the famous quote: "Two-thirds of the Earth is covered by water, the other one-third is covered by Garry Maddox." That's who Batum reminds me of.
Speaking of Batum, I bought my youngest daughter, Lil' Bit, a black Batum jersey tonight. My older son and daughter both got black Rudy jerseys tonight, too. So, now in addition to our red alternate road jerseys (dad = Oden, son = Aldridge, oldest daughter = Roy, Lil' Bit = Oden), we now have a set of black jerseys to bust out once in a while. Look for them to debut at the Clippers game on December 12.
And, in case you didn't know, if there is any jersey you want, in any size, that they don't have in stock, they will make it for you during the game. I needed a youth small black Batum for Lil' Bit. It's not one they normally stock. So, we ordered one before the game and picked it up after the game was over (they said it would be ready at half time, but I figured it would be easier to just pick it up on our way out of the stadium). You order the custom jerseys at the shop near entrance A-15.
Oh, and one more thing - CHALUPAS BABY!
BNM
