JSM’s Nightly Matchups

Chucky Atkins vs Baron Davis: This will be our backcourt’s toughest test, so far. Davis is the second best PG in the NBA. Baron is a strong, fast, athletic, rebounding, passing PG…there isn’t really anything that he doesn’t do. Defense is our PG’s weakness. And Davis is going to expose that and probably have a big night against us. Chucky or Tierre don’t stand a chance in hell at stopping the tank in New Orleans. Chucky gives away 60 pounds to him, while Tierre only gives away roughly 30 pounds. I would expect to see a a Davis that camps out in the post, and backs our guards down, and gets to the basket at will. We are going to need for our frontline to deter Baron from attacking the hoop, which is unlikely, but one of our only chances at keeping him from dropping 35+ points on us tonight. The only other chance we have at stopping him, is if we put Kobe on him, which I wouldn’t rule out. I think Rudy will start off with our point guards against him, but if he gets going, Kobe will pick up Baron, and Chucky will be covering Wesley. I am actually more looking forward to the backup PG match, since it will be a lot more fair, and interesting. Armstrong against Tierre the Fearless. Both PG’s are quick, and similar in size, but Tierre is probably now better at offense, while Armstrong is still a solid defender.

Kobe Bryant vs. David Wesley: Kobe against a combo guard that is the size of a PG. David really has his share of problems against the bigger guards, like Kobe. I would expect Kobe to use this to his advantage. Kobe will do three things tonight…attack…attack…attack. Wesley doesn’t have a chance against Kobe, he gives up 5 inches, and is 20 pounds lighter. Kobe will move him around at will, shoot over him, dunk on him, take him to the basket, get him in early foul trouble. I expect another game from Kobe, where he lives from the line. Even though Magloire will probably get to some of his shots and send a few away, I expect that he will probably get some fouls on him too. This is a matchup Kobe is probably looking forward too. As long as he sticks with Wesley and prevents him from shooting, which is where his skill is, but since he probably won’t be able to see the basket, over Kobe, Kobe will just pack whatever he puts up. And Mihm will help when Wesley takes it inside. Kobe can easily get 30 and 8 tonight.

Caron Butler vs. George Lynch: Caron is listed as day to day, after he sprained his ankle against the Hawks. He said that he will try to play through the pain, and knowing him, he will. He probably got to the gym early and tested his ankle out, to see what he could and couldn’t do. Since he looks up to Kobe, I expect him to go out there and give it his all, even though I would expect that Rudy will try to rest him as much as possible, since we have a long road trip and we are certainly going to need him. Jones is playing very well, tough D, and throwing some Tierre passes down. I wouldn’t consider Lynch much better than Jones. He can shoot, play D, but isn’t as athletic is either of our SF’s. Caron probably won’t have a big game, like he did against the Hawks, because of his injury, but hopefully he and JJ can help on the glass.

Lamar Odom vs. PJ Brown: PJ is a very good defender and gives it 100% night in and night out, but he isn’t used to guarding such a versatile player as Odom. Lamar really gives defenders a tough time with his length. We are going to need for Odom to attack the glass, because the frontcourt and rebounding is where the Hornets strengths are (other than Davis). We can’t let them get second chance baskets, we need to try to limit them to one shot, and this means that Odom and Mihm have to snatch the ball out of the air and get the ball going the other way. I wouldn’t expect Odom to have a big offensive night against PJ, because he is such a good defender, but you never know. Lamar is very quick and athletic, if he is given the ball and attacks, he can beat PJ to the rim, and if nothing else, get to the rim. We are going to need for Grant to play for more than 10 minutes and to attack the rim too. I think he can really help us on the glass, if we play him enough. I really wouldn’t worry about Brown scoring too much, 10 points, at the most. The backup PF matchup should turn out to be a fairly good too, with Mr. Anderson and Rodgers as their backup bigs. Rodgers is a shooter and Chris as an athletic freak ( I wonder what hair style he will sport tonight). I think the Hornets win this matchup with the defense and rebounding abilities.

Chris Mihm vs. Jamaal Magloire: Jamaal is no stranger to Mihm, being in the East, he has played him for as long as they both have been in the league. Mihm is more athletic and the quicker of the two, but Magloire is the more talented. He is solid on both ends of the court and can really give us some problems. The All Star big man has to be guarded, hopefully the aggressive Mihm shows up, not the finesse one that was with Boston. He has to attack the basket, if he is going to shoot, or Jamaal will end up with 10 blocks off Mihm alone. I don’t think Mihm will be able to win this matchup, Magloire is the bigger, bulkier, more talented, better rebounding center. If Mihm doesn’t get us some rebounds, and prevent them from getting second chance shots…it’s going to be a long night.

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