Pistons at Hornets
Everything went extremely well for the New Orleans Hornets over the first dozen games of the NBA season.
Hardly anything has gone right since.
After an 11-1 start, the Hornets are in the midst of a deep slide and an uncertain future as they host the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday.
The Hornets (13-7) are just 2-6 since their strong start and were slaughtered by San Antonio 109-84 on Sunday, easily the club’s worst loss of the season.
Off the court, the NBA took over ownership of the club earlier this week when majority owner George Shinn was unable to complete a sale with minority partner Gary Chouest.
The NBA tentatively purchased the club with the intent to find a buyer that will keep the Hornets in the New Orleans area.
Meanwhile, the fast on-court success has dissolved over the past two-plus weeks.
The slide began with a loss to the lowly Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 22 and was followed up an 18-point loss to the Utah Jazz. Sunday’s loss to San Antonio was the second in a week to the Spurs.
New Orleans’ only victories during the stretch have come against the Portland Trail Blazers and Charlotte Bobcats.
The latest loss to San Antonio was particularly brutal. The Hornets trailed 68-41 at halftime and saw their deficit reach 38 points. They allowed the Spurs to make 58.6 percent of their shots, the best percentage against New Orleans this season.
Forward David West leads the Hornets with an 18.5 scoring average and point guard Chris Paul is averaging 16.2 points and 10.4 assists.
Forward Trevor Ariza and guard Marco Belinelli are both averaging 11.5 points per game.
Detroit (7-15) to the Houston Rockets 97-83 on Wednesday to fall to 2-10 on the road. The Pistons have lost six consecutive road games since defeating the Sacramento Kings on Nov. 14.
Guard Rodney Stuckey was the only Pistons’ starter who had a decent game against Houston. Stuckey had 18 points and five assists. The other four Detroit starters combined for 24 points.
Forward Charlie Villanueva missed the game for personal reasons but is expected to return for Wednesday’s game against New Orleans. Villanueva is third on the Pistons with a 13.2 scoring average.
Guard Richard Hamilton was ejected in the final minute of the first half for arguing with the officials. Hamilton had just six points before leaving. He scored 27 against the Cleveland Cavaliers three nights earlier.
Stuckey leads the Pistons with a 16.7 scoring average. Forward Tayshaun Prince is second with a 14.5 average.