by Norris Ortolano

Branded the New Orleans Hornets for one final game, the team had a chance to make a statement leading into the era of the Pelicans. They didn’t. Instead, the Hornets ended their season with a record of 27 - 55, fifth worst in the league. With a team already loaded with youth, hopefully this record will be viewed in a positive light come draft time when the Pelicans draft the next game-changer who will lead us to a playoff birth in 2014.  

The Hornets showed a valiant effort in the absence of Anthony Davis and Greivis Vasquez, holding the Los Angeles Clippers — currently enmeshed in an intense battle for playoff seeding — to 45 percent shooting, while outrebouding them 48-41. Blake Griffin and Matt Barnes’ gritty play prevailed, however, helping to push the Clippers to a 96-93 victory. New Orleans now holds the league’s fifth-worst record, all the better to draft with.

It’s a familiar scene by now: The Hornets hang tight with a playoff team through three quarters, only to fall apart in the fourth. While the Hornets held their own on the offensive end, they were completely unable to stop Kobe Bryant & company from getting to the line down the stretch. The Lakers ultimately outpaced us 104-96, dropping us to 27-51 for the season, currently the sixth-worst in the league.

The Hornets appeared complacent in their now-routine errors on Wednesday night, dropping an away game to the always-fun Golden State Warriors. The final score was 98-88, a fairly predictable result against a focused Warriors squad competing for playoff position. New Orleans fell to 26-49 with the loss, still locked in with the league’s other bottom-feeders in a race-to-the-bottom for draft position.

by Ryan Ray

After dropping their first game in 28 appearances to the Chicago Bulls earlier this week, the Miami Heat came to New Orleans Arena Friday looking to get back to their winning ways. The Hornets didn't do much to stand in the way of King James and company, as the Heat dropped the Hornets, 108-89. The loss moves the Bees to 25-48 on the season.

The Hornets held tight through three quarters Wednesday night, before letting Chris Paul and the Clippers pull away in the final frame. Careless execution and rookie mistakes were our undoing, as a fatigued Clippers team held the Bees to 14 points in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles’ 105-91 win ends New Orleans’ three-game winning streak against playoff teams and drops us to 25-47, as we remain in a dead heat for lottery position with eight other teams.

by Norris Ortolano

In what will hopefully be a sign of things to come, the New Orleans Hornets frontcourt took over Friday night, lifting the Bees to their second consecutive victory over a playoff-likely team in the Memphis Grizzlies. While not as dramatic as the last second tip-in versus the Boston Celtics earlier in the week, the 90-83 final spotlighted serious strengths of the future Pelican players. The win gives them a record of 24-46, good for sixth-worst in the NBA.

A brilliant last second tip-in by Anthony Davis propelled the Hornets past the Boston Celtics Wednesday night. An 87-86 win against a playoff team is the last thing New Orleans needs in their current race-to-the-bottom, but a win is what they got — and damn, did it feel good. The Bees showed some encouraging cohesion on both ends of the floor tonight as they improved their record to 23-46.

The New Orleans Hornets managed a clutch loss in the final moments of Sunday’s matchup with the Minnesota Timberwolves, thanks to a reliably unproductive Eric Gordon isolation play to close the game. The final tally read 97-95, dropping the Hornets to 22-45. All the better to draft with, of course — there are seven teams with 22 or 23 wins, and fans have to be hoping New Orleans winds up on the lower end.

by Norris Ortolano

Even versus one of three teams in the NBA with a record worse than their own, the New Orleans Hornets were unable to avoid the same mistakes that have beleaguered them all season, losing 96-87 to John Wall and the Washington Wizards Friday night. The Bees had no answer for Wall, who was 12-of-15 shooting with a surprising nine jump shots. The loss drops the Hornets to 22-44 on the season, or, from a more glass half full perspective, third place in the lottery.