Who Will Start at Shooting Guard for the Hornets?
After the Rasual Butler trade, a hole needed to be filled, a hole in the name of 31.9 minutes per game. The Hornets have options and have made it a contest for the starting shooting guard spot in the rotation. Nothing makes players bring their “A” game more than good old competition, especially when the winner gets a prominent role on the team and the loser gets a supporting role. So who are these guys? Which ones really have a chance to start and who has the best chance of taking the spot next to Chris Paul?
Devin Brown:
Brown is a decent player and he’s not a liability on defense, but his career 40% FG percentage and mediocre off-the-ball play makes him tough to stomach on offense. He’s the guy who gives teams like the Hornets some insurance in case their starter and second string bench player happen to both be out on the same night. He’s the guy who gets his minutes at the end when the games have already been decided. Then and only then does Devin Brown get his minutes. If New Orleans has him as their starting shooting guard, if Devin Brown has to cover Kobe Bryant in the Western Conference Finals, then it’s going to be a disappointing year for Hornets fans.
Morris Peterson:
An incredible player for the Raptors, Mo-Pete’s talents failed to transfer to the Hornets due to a variety of factors. He’s been unlucky with back issues in the past and his inconsistency has been at the very least frustrating. He’s had chances to shine in the past and hasn’t succeeded. In other words, he’s fighting an uphill battle with the organization when it comes to earning a bigger role.
James Posey:
Posey was the big acquisition for the Hornets last offseason. At almost 9 points and 5 rebounds per game in 28 minutes, Posey is a fantastic backup swingman on a championship caliber team (aka Boston), but it doesn’t sound like he’s got enough ability to be anything more than a sixth or seventh man off the bench if his team wants to be a legitimate contender.
Marcus Thornton:
Thornton derfinitely has potential and youth which come hand-in-hand, but he’s also got substantially more going for him than other second round draft picks. He’s a hometown kid from LSU and has the opportunity to compete for a starting spot on a contending team. Other former second round draft picks such as Michael Redd, Rashard Lewis, Gilbert Arenas, or Ramon Sessions all needed to carpe diem when their opportunity came and all of them did just that. Marcus Thornton has that opportunity, albeit at an earlier time than the rest, but he must seize it and use every training camp practice and every preseason game in New Orleans’ schedule to show Byron Scott & Co. that playing anyone or any combination of players that doesn’t involve Thornton getting 30 minutes a game is a huge mistake.
It’s the difference between the actor and the understudy. Some players spend their entire careers as understudies waiting for a chance at the spotlight and most never get it. Marcus Thornton may have gotten his chance a little early, but he deserves an opportunity in the spotlight to do with it what he can. Players can even surprise themselves sometimes.
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My brother would appreciate this post. We were just talking about this. hehe