In the Lane with Licht: Beware the Ides of March

March 2, 2007

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Julius Caesar was warned by a soothsayer to “beware the Ides (middle of) of March”. Caesar called the man a dreamer, ignored the warning, and of course was assassinated on March 15th. So, the assumption that follows is that there is a certain foreboding of doom each March. Somehow such beliefs have found their way into the sports world, and more specifically into the Hornets playoff stretch run. I personally laugh in the face of such superstition since I was born in March and Caesar, although quite a leader who indeed crossed up quite a few, never crossed over any opponent.

That having been said…facts are facts and right now the ugly truth for the struggling Hornets is that everything that seemed to work in February is now failing in March. Opponents are scoring over 100 points each night. The bad guys are grabbing more rebounds than a Hornets team that out boarded all 13 teams they faced in February. The Bees are getting outshot .513 to .410 this month.

What’s wrong with Byron Scott’s team?

The coach says it’s effort.

The players say it’s effort and communication.

I say it’s a combination of those things and a little bad luck; namely the horrendous schedule that just appeared in March. In February the team faced ZERO first place teams and won 9 of 13 games. In March the Hornets face three first place teams in seven days (Utah, Phoenix, Utah), will face two more before the month is over, and also go to San Antonio. Last month when Byron Scott was asked about the soft February schedule with the multitude of sub .500 opponents, he answered that the Hornets were also below .500 so the meaning was less significant. What’s one to think about a March slate that includes 11 games against current playoff teams?

Let’s look at how proficient the Hornets were in February and compare it to the early troubles the team is having in March:

Fabulous February

• 9-4 RECORD
• 100+ POINTS (8x)
• OUTREBOUNDED ALL 13 OPPONENTS
• POINTS IN THE PAINT (49.5/GM)
• TYSON CHANDLER: 16.1PPG/13.2 RPG/.613 FG%

Not-So Marvelous March

• 0-3 RECORD
• 92.2 PPG
• 100+ POINTS ALLOWED ALL THREE (106.0 PPG)
• FG PCT ALLLOWED (.513)
• HAVE NOT OUTREBOUNDED A SINGLE OPPONENT
• POINTS IN THE PAINT (42.5/GM)

Unfortunately, this early March slump is not an aberration in recent Hornets history. Last season the Bees won just 3 of 14 games in the month, losing their first seven in a row. In 2004-2005 the team went just 5-9 in March (losing 3 of their first 4), and in 2003-2004 dropped 6 of 16 in March. The last successful March for the Hornets occurred in 2002-2003, Paul Silas’ last season as coach, when they went 8-6 in third month.

For all of this gloom and doom the bottom line is the players and coaches must collaborate to drive carefully over what, for now, is just a late season speed bump. If it becomes a sink hole then the season ends on April 18th. If they rediscover the Hornets Heartbeat that served as the catalyst to a nine-win February then the post season awaits.

And by the way, for those of you who are still superstitious about this Shakespearean aura hovering overhead, the REAL Ides of March falls on the 15th of the month…an off day for the Hornets.