The Hornets outrebounded the Celtics 48-37 and they held them to 37.2% shooting from the floor last night, which were big reasons for the easy win.  Jarrett Jack (21 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots) and Carl Landry (20 points, 11 rebounds and 1 blocked shot) led the way for the Hornets last night.  Emeka Okafor (13 points, 6 rebounds and 5 blocked shots), Marco Belinelli (13 points, 6 rebounds and 1 steal) and Chris Kaman (12 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 3 blocked shots) also pitched in with solid games last night.  The Hornets are now 2-0 on the season.

The Hornets played great defense in holding the Suns to 39.5% shooting from the floor and that is the main reason they got a nice road win to open the season.  Eric Gordon led the way for the Hornets in this game with 20 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot.  Carl Landry (14 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals) and Trevor Ariza (13 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 blocked shot) also had solid games for the Hornets.  Marco Belinelli, Chris Kaman and Greivis Vasquez pitched in with 10 points apiece in this game for the Hornets.  The Hornets are now 1-0 on the year.

The Hornets have acquired 24-year old point guard Greivis  Vasquez from the Grizzlies for 23-year old small forward Quincy Pondexter.  Vasquez played in 70 games (1 start) for the Grizzlies as a rookie last year.  He will back up Jarrett Jack in 2011-12, and he could develop into a starter down the road.  Quincy Pondexter played in 66 games (6 starts) for the Hornets last year and he averaged 11.1 minutes, 2.8 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game as a rookie.  This was a good deal for the Hornets as Vasquez has a nice upside and Pondexter way buried on their depth chart.

The Hornets have waived 31-year old PF/C David Andersen.  Andersen played in 29 games (0 starts) for the Hornets last year and he averaged 7.7 minutes, 2.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game.  He has now played in 103 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the NBA and he is averaging 12.3 minutes, 4.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  The Hornets have a loaded frontcourt, so they essentially did Andersen a favor as he will be able to look for a team that can give him more playing time in 2011-12.

The Hornets have re-signed 25-year old PF/C Jason Smith to a 3-year contract.  Smith played in 77 games (6 starts) for the Hornets last year and he averaged 14.3 minutes, 4.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  He has now played in 209 games (9 starts) in his first three years in the NBA and he is averaging 13.7 minutes, 4.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  Smith will back up at the power positions for the Hornets in 2011-12.

The Hornets have re-signed 28-year old forward Carl Landry to a 1-year deal worth around $9 million bucks.  Landry played in 23 games (10 starts) for the Hornets last year and he averaged 26.2 minutes, 11.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  He played in 76 games (26 starts) overall for the Hornets and Kings last year and he averaged 26.4 minutes, 11.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.  He has now played in 267 games (55 starts) in his first four years in the NBA and he is averaging 24.9 minutes, 12.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.  He will be the first big guy off the bench for the Hornets in 2011-12.

The Hornets have dealt 26-year old point guard Chris Paul to the Clippers for 22-year old shooting guard Eric Gordon, 29-year old center Chris Kaman, 21-year old small forward Al-Farouq Aminu and the Timberwolves’ first round pick in 2012.  Gordon will be the starting shooting guard for the Hornets in 2011-12.  He played in 56 games (all starts) for the Clippers last year and he averaged 37.7 minutes, 22.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game.  He has now played in 196 games (181 starts) in his first three years in the NBA and he averaged 35.8 minutes, 18.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  He is just getting better, which bodes well for the Hornets.  Chris Kaman will team with Emeka Okafor, to give the Hornets a very solid combo at power forward and center.  Kaman played in 32 games (15 starts) for the Clippers last year and he averaged 26.2 minutes, 12.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game.  He has now played in 493 games (425 starts) in his first 8 years in the NBA and he is averaging 29.7 minutes, 11.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game.  Al-Farouq Aminu will backup Trevor Ariza in 2011-12.  He played in 81 games (14 starts) for the Clippers as a rookie last year and he averaged 17.9 minutes, 5.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.  Aminu will likely bump Trevor Ariza out of his starting job in the near future.  The first round pick the Hornets are getting from the Timberwolves will likely be a good one, as this was the cherry on top for the Hornets.

Chris Paul played in 80 games (all starts) for the Hornets last year and he averaged 36.0 minutes, 15.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 9.8 assists and 2.4 steals per game.  He played in 425 games (all starts) in his first six years in the NBA and he averaged 37.1 minutes, 18.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, 9.9 assists and 2.4 steals per game.  Paul finishes his time in New Orleans #2 in assists (4,228), #2 in steals (1,010), #3 in points scored (7,936), #6 in games played (425) and #10 in rebounds (1,951) in Hornets’ franchise history.  He is going to be missed.

The Hornets have waived 27-year old power forward Patrick Ewing Jr.  He played in 7 games (0 starts) last year for the Hornets and he averaged 2.7 minutes, 0.4 points, 0.3 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  The Hornets aren’t going to miss him one bit in 2011-12 or the future.  He is definitely not a chip off the old block as his dad was a Hall of Fame center for the Knicks.

The Hornets have signed 25-year old shooting guard Marco Belinelli to a 1-year, $3.4 million dollar deal.  He played in 80 games (69 starts) for the Hornets last year and he averaged 24.5 minutes, 10.5 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.  Belinelli shot 41.4% from the floor and that is the reason the Hornets brought him back for the 2011-12 season.  He has now played in 221 games (93 starts) in his first four years in the NBA and he is averaging 19.0 minutes, 8.0 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.

29-year old center Emeka Okafor is a darn solid NBA center.  He played in 72 games (all starts) for the Hornets last year and he averaged 31.8 minutes, 10.3 points, 9.5 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.8 blocked shots per game.  Okafor has now played in 484 games (480 starts) in his career so far in the NBA and he is averaging 32.8 minutes, 12.9 points, 10.2 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.8 blocked shots per game.  He is a pure power player as most of his offense revolves around putbacks and dunks.  Okafor also is a good rebounder and defensive player.