The Hornets were down 70-48 after the first three quarters last night before showing signs of life.  Marco Belinelli led the way for the Hornets with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assist.  Gustavo Ayon (10 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals) and Chris Kaman (10 points, 11 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot) also pitched in for the Hornets in this game.  The Hornets are now 9-29 on the year.

The Hornets were down 79-54 after the first three quarters before the Pacers called off the dogs.  Jarrett Jack led the way for the Hornets last night with 18 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 blocked shot.  Marco Belinelli (15 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists) and Solomon Jones (12 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists in 24 minutes on the floor) also had solid games last night.  Gustavo Ayon  and Chris Kaman each had 10 points apiece last night.  The Hornets are now 9-28 on the season.

The Hornets outrebounded the Mavericks 50-34 last night and it was a big reason for the nice home win.  Chris Kaman led the way for the Hornets last night with 20 points, 13 rebounds and 3 assists.  Xavier Henry (19 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in 24 minutes on the floor) and Jarrett Jack (15 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists) also had solid games for the Hornets last night.  Marco Belinelli (14 points), Solomon Jones (11 points) and Gustavo Ayon (10 points) also pitched in for the Hornets last night.  The Hornets are now 9-27 on the year.

The Hornets were outscored 33-15 in the 4th quarter last night and it killed them.  The Hornets outrebounded the Raptors 49-36 last night but it just didn’t matter in the end.  Marco Belinelli (20 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists) and Chris Kaman (17 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 blocked shots) led the way for the Hornets in this game.  Trevor Ariza (11 points), Gustavo Ayon (11 points) and Jarrett Jack (10 points) also pitched in for the Hornets last night.  The Hornets are now 8-27 on the year.

The Hornets played hard last night but it just wasn’t good enough to beat the Bulls in Chicago.  Chris Kaman led the way for the Hornets in this game with 17 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 blocked shot.  Trevor Ariza also had a rock solid game with 16 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 1 blocked shot.  Greivis Vasquez (12 points), Xavier Henry (12 points), Solomon Jones (10 points) and Jarrett Jack (10 points) also pitched in for the Hornets.  The Hornets are now 8-26 on the year.

The Hornets have decided to sign 23-year old rookie forward Lance Thomas for the remainder of the 2011-12 season.  Thomas  has played in 11 games (0 starts) for the Hornets so far this year and he is averaging 9.1 minutes, 2.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.  Thomas is only shooting 34.6% from the floor so far this year, but the Hornets might as well see what he can do the rest of the season as they aren’t going to make the playoffs this year.

The New Orleans Hornets finished up the first half of the 2011-12 season with an 8-25 record, which has them in last place in the Southwest Division, 15.5 games behind the Spurs.  The Hornets are #15 in the Western Conference right now, 9.5 games behind the Trailblazers for the last spot in the playoffs.  Here is a look at the players who made the biggest impact in the first half of the 2011-12 season according to me:

Team MVP:  Jarrett Jack:  28-year old point guard Jarrett Jack has replaced the departed Chris Paul and he has done a good job running the offense.  Jack has played in 26 games (22 starts) for the Hornets so far this year and he is averaging 34.6 minutes, 15.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game.

Biggest Surprise:  Gustavo Ayon:  26-year old undrafted rookie power forward Gustavo Ayon out of Mexico has exceeded all expectations for him.  Ayon has played in 26 games (9 starts) for the Hornets so far this year and he is averaging 17.8 minutes, 5.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.0 steal per game.  The Hornets hope he continues to play well in the second half of the year.

Biggest Disappointment:  Al-Farouq Aminu:  21-year old small forward Al-Farouq Aminu was a key part of the return from the Clippers in the Chris Paul trade and he has been pretty awful this year.  Aminu has played in 33 games (5 starts) for the Hornets so far this year and he is averaging 19.5 minutes, 5.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  Aminu is only shooting 38.2% from the floor this year which is unacceptable for a player his size.

The Hornets outrebounded the Cavs 56-48 and they held them to a paltry 31.8% shooting from the floor, which led to a nice road win tonight.  Chris Kaman led the way for the Hornets in this game with 21 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots.  Marco Belinelli (19 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist) and Jarrett Jack (16 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists) also pitched in with solid games for the Hornets.  Greivis Vasquez pitched in with 13 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal in this game.  The Hornets are now 8-25 on the year.

The Hornets shot a red hot 53.2% from the floor last night but they were outscored 17-8 in overtime and it did them in.  Trevor Ariza (21 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot) and Jarrett Jack (19 points, 5 rebounds and 10 assists) led the way for the Hornets in this game.  Chris Kaman (17 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 blocked shots) and Marco Belinelli (15 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 blocked shot) also pitched in for the Hornets last night.  The Hornets are now 7-25 on the year.

The Hornets only shot 36.3% from the floor last night and it did them in.  Jarrett  Jack (18 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal) and Greivis Vasquez (15 points and 2 rebounds) led the way for the Hornets in this game.  Al-Farouq Aminu (14 points and 6 rebounds in 23 minutes) and Chris Kaman (12 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists) also had decent games for the Hornets.  Marco Belinelli pitched in with 10 points, 2 rebounds and 2 steals last night.  The Hornets are now 7-24 on the year.