Wilbert Joseph Dupre Sr.
January 7, 2012
The one that got away
January 10, 2012
Although the New Orleans Hornets traded Chris Paul prior to the end of the elongated NBA offseason, the first month of basketball at the New Orleans Arena features a mixture of veteran talent, young stars and championship contenders.
In the trade that sent Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers, the Hornets acquired some young talent of their own in shooting guard Eric Gordon and small forward Al-Farouq Aminu.
Gordon has missed a spate of early-season games after he injured his knee in the season opener, but the fourth-year player who averaged more than 20 points per game last year is expected to return sometime this month.
Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City, Jan. 11), Tim Duncan (San Antonio, Jan. 23) and Dwight Howard (Orlando, Jan. 27) are the marquee names visiting the Hive this month, but NBA enthusiasts can also look forward to visits from the up-start Portland Trailblazers (Jan. 16) and Atlanta Hawks (Jan. 29), two teams looking to cash in this season with the core players they’ve culled and developed over the last few years.
Interdivision games with the defending-champion Dallas Mavericks (Jan. 21) and Memphis Grizzlies (Jan. 18) are also on tap this month.
The Minnesota Timberwolves play in New Orleans on Friday the 13th. Hornets fans will be rooting against the Wolves all season long after the team acquired Minnesota’s 2012 first-round draft pick in the deal that sent Paul out of town.
Tickets are available through www.Ticketmaster.com.
