The New Orleans Hornets went trudging back into their home town, down 2-1 in their first round battle with #2 seed Denver. Facing a must win the Hornets proceeded to get completely dismantled in a historic 121-63 blowout, matching the biggest playoff loss in NBA history. To get an idea of the historic proportions behind the margin of victory, the last time a team lost by 58? How about 1956, with the Minneapolis Lakers (now based in Los Angelos) trouncing the St. Louis Hawks 133-75.
To be blunt, this was the worst systematic destruction of the city of New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina. For a team entering the playoffs with a formidable lineup led by the best point guard in the game (Chris Paul) and featuring current and former All Stars David West and Peja Stojokavic. Chris Paul, the heart and soul of these Hornets, finished with one of the worst games of his young career, putting up only 4 points and 6 assists. The leading scorer for New Orleans in this game? David West, who put up a not so mind boggling 14 points.
With the win, the Nuggets have a chance to do something they've failed to do ever since Dikembe Mutumbo rolled out of town back in '94: Win a playoff series. Mid season acquisition Chauncey Billups has dominated in this postseason, averaging 27.7 points on 53 % shooting, and All Star Carmelo Anthony looks to make good on his massive potential and lead the Nuggets to their first second round appearance in 15 years. While the Nuggets feature a solid, physical lineup led by a point guard (Billups) who has 6 Eastern Conference Finals appearances and 1 title (2004) to lean on during these playoffs.
That being said, this was just one of many such massacres in NBA history. As much talk remains surrounding the parity of the NBA game, the fact remains that out of the thousands of games played each season, there will always remain blowouts right alongside the double overtime thrillers and nail biting buzzer beaters.
However, it was still a failure of epic proportions. Watergate, communism, and the Detroit Lions all rolled into one horrendous experience. To further the humiliation New Orleans head coach Byron Scott admitted that the Hornets basically got ran out of their home arena, and followed that realization up with this gem: “I don’t know what you can do to change that.”
Awful. Just awful.
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