Hornets must deal with the buzz

Now they can't fly under league's radar

On the eve of training camp, Hornets coach Byron Scott's main message to his players was that they have officially gone from a thirsty hunter to being widely hunted. Since the Hornets have two All-Stars, the Western Conference's second-best record, and a title in the tough Southwest Division in hand from last season, the days of NBA teams thinking they can just come to New Orleans for gumbo, a daiquiri, and an easy victory are over. The Hornets are circled as a big game on opposing teams' schedules now.

One Hornet who is definitely familiar with such a bull's-eye is forward James Posey, who played for the NBA champion Celtics last season. And when Scott turned to Posey to get his take on dealing with the bull's-eye, he couldn't help but smile brightly when he got the response.

"I told them from my past experiences from when I played, we were always the hunted," said Scott, who won three NBA championships with the Lakers. "I loved the fact that everybody got up for our games. It's going to be a new thing for us as a basketball team.

"I asked Posey, 'How did you guys feel last year? Everybody wanted to beat you.' He said, 'I loved it.'

"That brought a big smile to my face because of the competitor that he is. And hopefully, our guys do understand that we are not that team that can sneak up on anybody this year. Teams are looking at us as one of the best teams in this league, so they're going to give us their best shot every night."

It's amazing that the Hornets are now considered a title contender and are happy to be in New Orleans, considering where they were just a year ago.

The Hornets returned to New Orleans last season after spending most of the previous two seasons in Oklahoma City because of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Shortly after returning, the Hornets considered leaving New Orleans by breaking their lease because of concerns over tickets sales and a new practice facility.

The expectations leaguewide were that a successful season for New Orleans would be just making the playoffs in the tough West for the first time since 2004.

But by midseason, the Hornets had the West's best record. Chris Paul and David West were named All-Stars and Scott coached the West squad.

Soon Hornets games were packed, and team officials publicly stated that they weren't going anywhere.

Paul, who signed a three-year contract extension last summer with an option for a fourth that could push the deal to $68 million, said, "We ain't going nowhere. I ain't going nowhere. We're just going to keep rocking with it."

But even with all the excitement surrounding the Hornets, their season could have ended with even more buzz. The more experienced Spurs ended the Hornets season with a 91-82 triumph in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals, even though the deciding game was at New Orleans.

"It hurt," said Paul. "I thought we did so many great things all season long. We worked so hard to get home-court advantage. I don't think we had anything to hold our head down about.

"We took the [defending] champion to a seven-game series. We took them to the brink of elimination. But I think the youthfulness and inexperience that we had finally showed up.

"As tough as it was to lose that game, about a week later I said, 'You know, it might have been the best thing that ever happened to us. It will make us even that much more hungrier the next year.' Now we have experience on our side because we've been through it."

The Hornets, surprisingly, landed a much-needed veteran leader during the offseason by luring Posey from the Celtics with a three-year, $25 million offer. Posey, who has won titles with the Celtics and Heat, is expected to be a strong leader and has already been pressing his teammates at practice about being focused daily and playing tough defense.

"He expressed himself in practice the first day," Scott said. "He was the best communicator on the defensive end. He was the best help defender on the defensive end. He talked to me about what we needed to do defensively.

"I told him, 'Posey, I know, believe me, that's something we talked about last year, getting on the floor and being a better help team defensively.'

"All those things we had to do to get better, he brought those things in practice. He's already had dinner with [Paul]. He and Tyson [Chandler] have talked. It's all been about the defensive end.

"From the coach's standpoint, you couldn't have a better guy come here after the type of season that he had and preach the same thing to a team that I have been preaching the last two or three years."

The Hornets added two other players with NBA titles in guard Devin Brown and center Sean Marks. With those players aboard and two rounds of playoffs under the belt for Paul, West, and Chandler, experience will not be a concern for New Orleans during the next playoffs.

To help prepare mentally for the new bull's-eye, Chandler said the Hornets are using the Celtics as a model. Boston went from laughingstock to title contender before last season by adding Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to go with Paul Pierce. And even with teams gunning for them from the start of the season, the Celtics were able to respond and win their first title in 22 years.

Now that foes are expected to bring their top game against the Hornets on a nightly basis, this new NBA power is dreaming of finishing this season the way the Celtics did the last one. With an NBA title.

"When we walk into town, people know we are in town now," Chandler said. "But that's what you live for as a basketball player and an athlete. You don't want to be on a losing team where no one knows who you are. I'd rather be on the hunted, be recognized, and accomplish things because of it.

"You saw what Boston did last year. They were hunted all year. They gave us a model as far as dealing with that."

Said Paul, "We have a chance to be really special. We have a lot of guys back from last year who know what the goal is, what the mind-set is for our team."