Hornets Lose Matinee To Trail Blazers

The New Orleans Hornets have lost 10 of their last 11 games after dropping a Monday matinee at home to the Portland Trail Blazers by the score of 84-77.

Defensively, the Hornets still rank 6th in the NBA. However, their offense has been offensive, ranking dead last in the Western Conference. That proved to be the story once again in today's loss.

Most NBA teams would love to hold an opponent to 84 points. In particular, an opponent as talented as Portland. But for New Orleans, with their lack of offense, 84 can seem insurmountable at times.They've scored less than 84 on 5 occasions this season.

Defense doesn't help you much when you can't make a 3 pointer and turn the ball over a ton. Monday at the Hive, the fleur-de-bees turned it over 19 times, while shooting 0-9 from beyond the arc. Jarrett Jack scored 21, but only had one more assist than he had turnovers. The next leading scorer for the Hornets only had 12.

Eric Gordon and Trevor Ariza continue to watch the game from the bench in street clothes due to injury. It's had a significant impact on Monty Williams' team.

Perhaps the lone bright spot as of late is 26 year old Mexican Center Gustavo Ayon (pictured above). He's seen his minutes increase over the last week, and he clearly has a solid skill set. Ayon scored 8 points and pulled down 5 boards in 20 minutes of action today.Unfortunately for New Orleans, Ayon is a big man, and doesn't play on the perimeter.

New Orleans has 5 rotation players that play down low, meaning Ayon's opportunites will be limited. The Hornets need health on the perimeter, otherwise they'll continue to lose more games than they win.