2008–09 New Orleans Hornets season explained

Team:	New Orleans Hornets
End Year:	2009
Wins:	49
Losses:	33
Division:	Southwest
Division Place:	4
Conf Place:	7
Coach:	Byron Scott
Gm:	Jeff Bower
Owner:	George Shinn
Arena:	New Orleans Arena
Playoffs:	First Round (lost to Nuggets 1–4)
Bbr Team:	NOH
Television:	Cox Sports Television
Radio:	KMEZ

The 2008–09 New Orleans Hornets season was the 7th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association.

The regular season was marred by injuries, with only Rasual Butler playing in all games. The remaining four starters missed a combined 68 games, of whom center Tyson Chandler missed 37 games. Even when not on the injured list, Chandler's season was sub-par. Perhaps partly as a result of this, on February 18 Chandler was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder for forwards Joe Smith and Chris Wilcox. Despite the less than stellar season, this was generally perceived as a payroll-shedding move. However, within a day, the trade was rescinded due to concerns regarding Chandlers turf toe, which curiously, according to Chandler and the Hornet organization was not the reason for his stints on the injury list.

Battling these issues for much of the season, the Hornets finished the season with a record of 49 - 33, 7 games off the franchise best record of the previous season. This meant that the Hornets only finished 4th in the Southwest Division and 7th in the Western Conference. In the 2009 NBA Playoffs, the Hornets lost 1–4 in the first round to the second seeded Denver Nuggets. All four losses were severe, with the worst being a 58–point drubbing at home in Game 4, losing 63–121, which tied for the most lopsided loss in NBA Playoff history.^[1] Naturally lamented by fans and media alike, the embarrassing performance can at least be partly explained by the health situation of the players, with arguably the top 5 Hornets ailing to varying injuries.^[2]

Key dates

• June 26: The 2008 NBA draft will take place in New York City.
• July 1: The free agency period will start.

Offseason

On July 9 the Hornets announced they had signed their All Star point guard Chris Paul to a contract extension.^[3] Hornets owner George Shinn saying ''Chris is the face of our franchise and a leader both on and off the court...Getting him signed to an extension was our number one priority...'' On July 23 it was announced the Hornets had acquired free agent forward James Posey.^[4] Posey, a member of the 2008 Boston Celtics team that won the championship said ''I am excited to be a Hornet, it was a coveted destination for me...''

Draft picks

See main article: 2008 NBA draft.

Trades

December 10, 2008: The New Orleans Hornets traded Mike James to the Washington Wizards for Antonio Daniels.

February 17, 2009: The Hornets traded Tyson Chandler to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Joe Smith, Chris Wilcox and rights to DeVon Hardin. The trade was nullified when Chandler failed his physical because of a previous turf toe injury.^[5]

All Stars

For the second year in a row the Hornets were represented with two players at the NBA All Star Game as Chris Paul was voted in by the fans as a starter, and David West was selected as a reserve by the NBA coaches.

Regular season

Game log

|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 1| October 29| @ Golden State| | David West (24)| Tyson Chandler (16)| Chris Paul (11)| Oracle Arena
19,128| 1–0|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 2| October 30| @ Phoenix| | Morris Peterson (21)| Chris Paul (8)| Chris Paul (10)| US Airways Center
18,422| 2–0

|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 3| November 1| Cleveland| | David West (25)| James Posey (6)| Chris Paul (15)| New Orleans Arena
18,150| 3–0|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 4| November 5| Atlanta| | Chris Paul (22)| David West, Tyson Chandler (7)| Chris Paul (11)| New Orleans Arena
16,030| 3–1|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 5| November 7| @ Charlotte| | Predrag Stojaković, Chris Paul (20)| Predrag Stojaković, Tyson Chandler (7)| Chris Paul (10)| Time Warner Cable Arena
13,435| 3–2|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 6| November 8| Miami| | David West, Chris Paul (21)| Tyson Chandler (10)| Chris Paul (13)| New Orleans Arena
17,701| 4–2|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 7| November 12| L.A. Lakers| | Chris Paul (30)| David West (12)| Chris Paul (13)| New Orleans Arena
18,239| 4–3|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 8| November 14| Portland| | David West (18)| Tyson Chandler (7)| Chris Paul (9)| New Orleans Arena
16,071| 5–3|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 9| November 15| @ Houston| | David West (18)| David West (10)| Chris Paul (12)| Toyota Center
18,303| 5–4|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 10| November 19| Sacramento| | David West (22)| Tyson Chandler (10)| Chris Paul (15)| New Orleans Arena
15,533| 5–5|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 11| November 21| @ Oklahoma City| | David West (19)| David West (8)| Chris Paul (6)| Ford Center
19,136| 6–5|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 12| November 22| Oklahoma City| | David West (33)| Chris Paul (10)| Chris Paul (16)| New Orleans Arena
16,023| 7–5|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 13| November 24| @ L.A. Clippers| | David West (27)| Chris Paul (10)| Chris Paul (17)| Staples Center
14,956| 8–5|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 14| November 27| @ Denver| | Chris Paul (22)| David West (8)| Chris Paul (10)| Pepsi Center
15,563| 9–5|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 15| November 28| @ Portland| | Predrag Stojaković (21)| Chris Paul, Tyson Chandler (6)| Chris Paul (6)| Rose Garden
20,638| 9–6

|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 16| December 3| Phoenix| | Predrag Stojaković, Chris Paul (24)| David West (14)| Chris Paul (15)| New Orleans Arena
15,804| 10–6|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 17| December 6| Memphis| | Chris Paul (21)| James Posey (7)| Chris Paul (11)| New Orleans Arena
16,822| 11–6|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 18| December 10| Charlotte| | David West, Predrag Stojaković (17)| Tyson Chandler (11)| Chris Paul (15)| New Orleans Arena
15,750| 12–6|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 19| December 12| @ Boston| | David West (23)| David West (14)| Chris Paul (14)| TD Banknorth Garden
18,624| 12–7|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 20| December 14| @ Toronto| | David West (29)| James Posey (10)| Chris Paul (12)| Air Canada Centre
18,537| 13–7|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 21| December 16| @ Memphis| | David West, Chris Paul (18)| Tyson Chandler (6)| Chris Paul (9)| FedExForum
10,231| 14–7|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 22| December 17| San Antonio| | David West (21)| Tyson Chandler (11)| Chris Paul (12)| New Orleans Arena
16,593| 15–7|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 23| December 20| Sacramento| | Chris Paul (34)| Tyson Chandler (8)| Chris Paul (9)| New Orleans Arena
16,869| 16–7|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 24| December 23| L.A. Lakers| | Rasual Butler, Chris Paul (17)| Tyson Chandler (10)| Chris Paul (10)| New Orleans Arena
18,405| 16–8|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 25| December 25| @ Orlando| | David West (13)| David West (7)| Chris Paul (4)| Amway Arena
17,461| 16–9|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 26| December 26| Houston| | Chris Paul (26)| Tyson Chandler (12)| Chris Paul (10)| New Orleans Arena
18,326| 17–9|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 27| December 28| @ Indiana| | James Posey, Chris Paul (19)| David West (10)| Chris Paul (12)| Conseco Fieldhouse
14,374| 18–9|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 28| December 30| Washington| | Rasual Butler (21)| Tyson Chandler (11)| Chris Paul (16)| New Orleans Arena
18,021| 19–9

|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 29| January 2| @ Portland| | David West (25)| James Posey (9)| Chris Paul (11)| Rose Garden
20,708| 20–9|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 30| January 3| @ Denver| | Chris Paul (30)| David West (8)| Chris Paul (11)| Pepsi Center
19,614| 20–10|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 31| January 6| @ L.A. Lakers| | David West (40)| David West (11)| Chris Paul (15)| Staples Center
18,997| 21–10|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 32| January 7| @ Utah| | Chris Paul (26)| David West (6)| Chris Paul (7)| EnergySolutions Arena
19,911| 21–11|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 33| January 9| L.A. Clippers| | Rasual Butler (27)| Tyson Chandler (11)| Chris Paul (7)| New Orleans Arena
17,815| 22–11|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 34| January 12| New York| | David West (25)| David West (14)| Chris Paul (7)| New Orleans Arena
16,177| 22–12|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 35| January 14| @ Dallas| | Chris Paul (33)| Tyson Chandler (14)| Chris Paul (11)| American Airlines Center
19,947| 23–12|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 36| January 16| @ Cleveland| | David West (23)| Tyson Chandler (9)| Chris Paul (6)| Quicken Loans Arena
20,562| 23–13|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 37| January 17| @ Detroit| | Chris Paul (23)| Tyson Chandler (11)| Chris Paul (14)| The Palace of Auburn Hills
22,076| 24–13|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 38| January 19| Indiana| | Chris Paul (27)| Melvin Ely (6)| Chris Paul (9)| New Orleans Arena
17,237| 25–13|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 39| January 21| New Jersey| | Chris Paul (29)| Predrag Stojaković (10)| Chris Paul (8)| New Orleans Arena
14,748| 26–13|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 40| January 23| @ Minnesota| | James Posey (24)| Sean Marks (7)| Chris Paul (12)| Target Center
18,224| 26–14|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 41| January 26| Philadelphia| | Chris Paul (27)| Chris Paul (10)| Chris Paul (15)| New Orleans Arena
16,131| 27–14|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 42| January 28| Denver| | Predrag Stojaković (26)| James Posey (9)| Chris Paul (10)| New Orleans Arena
15,792| 28–14|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 43| January 30| Golden State| | Chris Paul (31)| David West (15)| Chris Paul (8)| New Orleans Arena
17,738| 28–15|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 44| January 31| @ San Antonio| | Chris Paul (38)| David West (10)| Chris Paul (4)| AT&T Center
18,797| 28–16

|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 45| February 2| Portland| | David West (25)| David West (8)| Chris Paul (13)| New Orleans Arena
14,781| 28–17|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 46| February 4| Chicago| | Predrag Stojaković, David West (24)| David West (14)| Devin Brown (7)| New Orleans Arena
16,270| 28–18|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 47| February 6| Toronto| | Predrag Stojaković (28)| David West (10)| David West, Antonio Daniels (6)| New Orleans Arena
17,319| 29–18|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 48| February 8| Minnesota| | Rasual Butler (23)| Rasual Butler (8)| Antonio Daniels (7)| New Orleans Arena
16,046| 30–18|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 49| February 9| @ Memphis| | Predrag Stojaković (23)| Devin Brown (9)| Antonio Daniels (4)| FedExForum
10,896| 30–19|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 50| February 11| Boston| | David West (15)| David West (8)| Antonio Daniels, Chris Paul (5)| New Orleans Arena
18,080| 30–20|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 51| February 17| @ Oklahoma City| | David West (37)| David West (13)| Chris Paul (8)| Ford Center
18,593| 31–20|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 52| February 18| Orlando| | Chris Paul (36)| Melvin Ely, Rasual Butler (8)| Chris Paul (10)| New Orleans Arena
16,651| 32–20|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 53| February 20| @ L.A. Lakers| | Rasual Butler (31)| David West (16)| Chris Paul (16)| Staples Center
18,997| 32–21|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 54| February 21| @ Utah| | Chris Paul (24)| Predrag Stojaković (11)| Chris Paul (7)| EnergySolutions Arena
19,911| 32–22|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 55| February 23| @ Sacramento| | Chris Paul (27)| Tyson Chandler (10)| Chris Paul (13)| ARCO Arena
11,633| 33–22|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 56| February 25| Detroit| | David West (30)| Tyson Chandler (17)| Chris Paul (13)| New Orleans Arena
17,215| 34–22|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 57| February 27| Milwaukee| | David West (28)| David West (12)| Chris Paul (20)| New Orleans Arena
17,621| 35–22

|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 58| March 1| @ New Jersey| | David West (32)| Tyson Chandler (12)| Chris Paul (9)| Izod Center
15,509| 36–22|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 59| March 2| @ Philadelphia| | David West (30)| James Posey (12)| Chris Paul (12)| Wachovia Center
14,299| 37–22|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 60| March 5| Dallas| | Chris Paul (27)| Tyson Chandler (11)| Chris Paul (15)| New Orleans Arena
17,230| 38–22|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 61| March 7| Oklahoma City| | Chris Paul (21)| David West (12)| Chris Paul (14)| New Orleans Arena
18,114| 39–22|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 62| March 9| @ Atlanta| | Chris Paul (24)| David West (20)| Chris Paul (10)| Philips Arena
14,204| 39–23|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 63| March 11| @ Washington| | Chris Paul (30)| Chris Paul, Tyson Chandler (10)| Chris Paul (13)| Verizon Center
15,255| 40–23|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 64| March 13| @ Milwaukee| | Chris Paul (30)| Tyson Chandler (17)| Chris Paul (9)| Bradley Center
15,701| 41–23|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 65| March 14| @ Chicago| | Chris Paul (29)| Tyson Chandler (9)| Chris Paul (6)| United Center
22,135| 41–24|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 66| March 16| Houston| | Chris Paul (29)| David West (13)| Chris Paul (11)| New Orleans Arena
17,723| 41–25|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 67| March 18| Minnesota| | Chris Paul (26)| David West, Hilton Armstrong (8)| Chris Paul (10)| New Orleans Arena
17,253| 42–25|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 68| March 20| Memphis| | Chris Paul (32)| James Posey (8)| Chris Paul (9)| New Orleans Arena
17,837| 43–25|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 69| March 22| Golden State| | Chris Paul (27)| Hilton Armstrong (11)| Chris Paul (8)| New Orleans Arena
16,351| 44–25|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 70| March 25| Denver| | Chris Paul (19)| David West (8)| Chris Paul (13)| New Orleans Arena
17,274| 44–26|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 71| March 27| @ New York| | David West (29)| Julian Wright (14)| Chris Paul (10)| Madison Square Garden
19,763| 44–27|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 72| March 29| San Antonio| | Chris Paul (26)| David West (16)| Chris Paul (9)| New Orleans Arena
18,204| 45–27|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 73| March 31| @ Sacramento| | David West (40)| David West (9)| Chris Paul (15)| ARCO Arena
17,317| 46–27

|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 74| April 1| @ L.A. Clippers| | Chris Paul (30)| Julian Wright (9)| Chris Paul (14)| Staples Center
19,060| 47–27|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 75| April 3| @ Golden State| | Chris Paul (43)| David West (14)| Chris Paul (9)| Oracle Arena
19,596| 47–28|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 76| April 5| Utah| | David West (23)| David West (12)| Chris Paul (12)| New Orleans Arena
17,362| 47–29|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 77| April 7| @ Miami| | Chris Paul (26)| Chris Paul (9)| Chris Paul (9)| American Airlines Arena
19,600| 48–29|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 78| April 8| Phoenix| | Chris Paul (29)| David West (12)| Chris Paul (16)| New Orleans Arena
17,781| 48–30|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 79| April 10| @ Dallas| | Chris Paul (42)| David West (14)| Chris Paul (7)| American Airlines Center
20,370| 48–31|- bgcolor="#bbffbb"| 80| April 12| Dallas| | David West, Chris Paul (31)| Chris Paul (9)| Chris Paul (17)| New Orleans Arena
16,640| 49–31|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 81| April 13| @ Houston| | David West (14)| David West (10)| Chris Paul (7)| Toyota Center
18,409| 49–32|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 82| April 15| @ San Antonio| | David West (34)| Paul, West (7)| Chris Paul (14)| AT&T Center
18,797| 49–33

Playoffs

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 1| April 19| @ Denver| L 84–113| Chris Paul (21)| David West (6)| Chris Paul (11)| Pepsi Center
19,536| 0–1|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 2| April 22| @ Denver| L 93–108| David West (21)| Tyson Chandler (11)| Chris Paul (13)| Pepsi Center
19,623| 0–2|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"| 3| April 25| Denver| W 95–93| Chris Paul (32)| West, Posey (9)| Chris Paul (12)| New Orleans Arena
17,489| 1–2|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 4| April 27| Denver| L 63–121| David West (14)| James Posey (7)| Chris Paul (6)| New Orleans Arena
17,236| 1–3|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 5| April 29| @ Denver| L 86–107| David West (24)| David West (9)| Chris Paul (10)| Pepsi Center
19,744| 1–4|-

Player statistics

Regular Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
	50	16	15.3	.520	.000	.672	2.7	0.4	0.4	0.7	4.6
	12	3	12.1	.625	.000	.333	1.3	0.5	0.8	0.3	2.6
	47	5	14.9	.367	.280	.840	2.1	1.0	0.6	0.1	5.9
	59	50	29.2	.453	.426	.766	3.3	0.8	0.6	0.7	10.8
	37	36	31.7	.571	.000	.574	8.7	0.6	0.4	1.3	9.1
	38	4	13.6	.409	.341	.808	1.1	2.8	0.5	0.0	4.4
	23	2	11.7	.384	.000	.656	2.0	0.6	0.1	0.4	3.3
	40	5	13.5	.443	.222	.625	3.1	0.3	0.1	0.6	3.1
	55	55	37.7	.493	.394	.849	5.3	11.0	2.7	0.2	21.3
	28	9	12.9	.430	.417	.786	2.1	0.5	0.4	0.1	5.4
	59	0	28.7	.429	.394	.820	4.9	1.1	0.8	0.3	9.4
	53	53	34.1	.405	.382	.910	4.4	1.3	0.8	0.1	13.8
	53	53	38.5	.468	.250	.888	8.0	2.3	0.7	1.0	20.5
	33	2	9.2	.467	.143	.400	1.7	0.6	0.4	0.2	2.7

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
	5	5	40.2	.411	.313	.857	4.4	10.4	1.6	.0	16.6
	5	5	35.6	.400		.897	7.4	1.2	1.0	.4	18.0
	5	5	32.4	.367	.308	.923	2.8	.4	.8	.2	11.2
	5	5	31.6	.459	.526	1.000	3.0	.2	.2	.8	10.6
	5	0	24.6	.375	.263	.846	6.2	.6	.6	.0	11.4
	5	0	16.0	.462	.000	.800	4.0	.0	.6	.4	3.2
	5	0	12.8	.154	.250	.818	.6	1.8	.4	.2	2.8
	4	4	23.5	.500		.500	5.3	.5	.5	.3	3.8
	4	1	13.3	.462		.300	2.0	.3	1.0	.3	3.8
	4	0	8.0	.429		.500	1.5	.5	.0	.3	2.0
	3	0	11.0	.375	.000	1.000	1.7	.0	.0	.0	2.7
	2	0	10.5	.200	.333	.750	1.5	.5	.5	.0	3.0
	1	0	2.0	.000			.0	.0	.0	.0	.0

Awards and records

Awards

• Chris Paul, All-NBA Second Team

Records

Transactions

Free agents

Additions

Player	Signed	Former team
James Posey	July 16	Boston Celtics

Subtractions

Player	Left	New team
Jannero Pargo^[6]	August 15	Dynamo Moscow of the Russian League

See also

• 2008–09 NBA season

Notes and References

1. http://www.nba.com/games/20090427/DENNOH/recap.html Hornets-Nuggets Game 4 recap
2. https://www.espn.com/nba/playoffs/2009/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&page=Hornets-090430 Stein: What is next for the Hornets?
3. http://www.nba.com/hornets/news/Hornets_Sign_Chris_Paul_to_Ext-277210-31.html HORNETS SIGN CHRIS PAUL TO EXTENSION
4. http://www.nba.com/hornets/news/Hornets_Sign_James_Posey-278529-31.html HORNETS SIGN JAMES POSEY
5. Web site: New Orleans Hornets, center Tyson Chandler back to square one - Hornets Beat - Times-Picayune - NOLA.com . 2009-02-20 . 2009-02-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090223113354/http://blog.nola.com/hornetsbeat/2009/02/new_orleans_hornets_center_tys_9.html . dead .
6. Web site: CANOE -- SLAM! Sports - Basketball - NCAA: Hornets guard Jannero Pargo signs one-year deal with Dynamo Moscow . 2008-08-16 . 2008-09-26 . https://archive.today/20080926083331/http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Basketball/NCAA/2008/08/15/6467236-ap.html . usurped .