Chris Paul Injures Ankle - Jeff Bower's Dismal Start- Hornets Lose

The new season couldn't have started any worse for the Chris Paul led New Orleans Hornets.The all star point guard is experiencing the most difficult start to a season so far in his prodigious career as his team fell to 3-7 in the standings following last night's loss 78-86 at home ,

against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Prior to the game Hornets Owner George Shinn announced in a press release on November the 12th that former coach of the year , Byron Scott was relieved of coaching duties and replaced by General Manager Jeff Bower.

Jeff Bower spent 14 seasons with the club and proved his importance for the franchise but mainly as the director of scouting and as general manager.
But he never served as the head coach of an NBA team and not even the addition of former Hornets coach Tim Floyd as his top assistant manager couldn't compensate for the lack of experience as the Blazers easily overpowered passed a stingless Hornets team.

Byron Scott's and his former team's downfall started much earlier as New Orleans was knocked out of the playoffs in the first round last spring by the Denver Nuggets in a humiliating manner, being totally dominated by Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups.

The offseason didn't unfold as expected either as the Hornets couldn't find any solutions for the shooting guard and small forward positions. They also failed to add depth to their bench and to find a backup point guard for Chris Paul.

All this problems became evident during the first nine games of the season which eventually led to Scott's dismissal as head coach.

Jeff Bower's promotion might prove to be a mistake, as usually firing a coach should create a shock among the players that will enable them to respond in a positive manner. But this wasn't the case with Byron Scott as he had a very good chemistry with All Star Chris Paul who in an

interview prior to the Blazers game , clearly showed his disappointment with the board's decision to let Scott go.Naming Jeff Bower to the new position obviously backfired for the team as during the game against Portland , he seemed uncomfortable with his new role and even worse, the players realised Bower's lack of authority as Chris Paul took over the job as coach on the floor as he was the only person talking during timeouts and trying to motivate his lethargic teammates.

Throughout the game the Hornets didn't display any structure on the offensive end as they only shot 30% in the first half. The lack of rhythm , communication and ball movement underlined that Bower didn't find any solutions for his first game in charge of the Hornets.

The Blazers didn't contribute either to the aesthetics of the game as the first half ended with both teams scoring a combined season low 70 points.

The halftime didn't bring any wisdom to the Hornets locker room as the Blazers were the first to realise that the outside game wasn't working and changed their strategy trying to get more points in the paint . They immediately went to Lamarcus Aldridge who scored 10 straight points during a decisive spurt in the third quarter which eventually decided the outcome of the encounter.

To make things even worse the curse of Friday the 13th contributed to add to New Orleans' misery as Chris Paul injured his left ankle with 40 seconds left in the third quarter by landing awkwardly on J. Przybilla's foot. Coincidental or not, Paul suffered the same injury last February against the same opponent in the closing minutes of the infamous third quarter.

The home team went on to lose the game without their leader as the only significant bench contribution came when reserves Songalia and Marks helped Chris Paul off the court.

The only spark for the Hornets was supplied by rookies Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton as they scored a combined 38 points but their efforts will surely not be enough to revitalize a team which looks poised to be routed by the Hawks in the next game at the Hive.