41-year old head coach Monty Williams had a rough time in 2012-13 due to a lot of injuries on the Hornets’ roster.  The Hornets finished up with a 27-55 (32.9%) record in 2012-13.  The Hornets are now 94-136 (40.9%) in Williams’ first three years in charge during the regular season.  He is also 2-4 (33.3%) in the playoffs for the Hornets.  Williams proved that he could coach in his first year on the job when he had better players including point guard Chris Paul.  They are getting better though and I think Williams should be given a longer shot to turn things around in New Orleans.

The New Orleans Hornets got good work out of their rookies in 2012-13.  20-year old power forward Anthony Davis is off to a good start to his NBA career.  He played in 64 games (60 starts) for the Hornets last year and he averaged 28.8 minutes, 13.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 1.2 steals and 1.8 blocked shots per game.  He shot 51.6% from the floor and 75.1% from the free throw line last year, as he was pretty efficient offensively last year.  Davis had 20 double-doubles for the Hornets last year.  He had 47 games of double digit points, 23 games of double digit rebounds, 10 games with 3 or more steals and 15 games with 3 or more blocked shots last year…..which is impressive.  He is just scratching the surface on his immense potential.  27-year old undrafted point guard Brian Roberts had a pretty solid rookie year in 2012-13.  Roberts played in 78 games (5 starts) for the Hornets last year and he averaged 17.0 minutes, 7.1 points, 1.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.  Roberts had 2 double-doubles for the Hornets last year.  He had 22 games with 10 or more points and 12 games with at least five assists last year.  He out-played fellow rookie Austin Rivers.  20-year old SG/PG Austin Rivers played in 61 games (26 starts) for the Hornets last year and he averaged 23.2 minutes, 6.2 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.  Rivers only shot 37.2% from the floor, 32.6% from three point range and 54.6% from the free throw line as he was one of the least efficient offensive players in the NBA last year.  Rivers had 11 games in which he scored double digits for the Hornets in 2012-13.  23-year old small forward Darius Miller played in 52 games (2 starts) for the Hornets last year and he averaged 13.3 minutes, 2.3 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.  23-year old center Henry Sims only lasted 2 games (0 starts) for the Hornets last year in which he averaged 2.5 minutes, 2.0 points and 1.0 rebound per game before getting waived.

The Hornets had another rough year in 2012-13.  They finished in last place in the Southwest Division with a 27-55 record, 31 games behind the Spurs.  Here is a look at the players who made the biggest impacts for the Hornets in 2012-13, in my opinion:

TEAM MVP:  Ryan Anderson – 24-year old PT/SF Ryan Anderson was the Hornets’ best player in 2012-13.  He played in 81 games (22 starts) for the Hornets last year and he averaged 30.9 minutes, 16.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.  He had 11 double-doubles last year and he scored at least 20 points in a game 24 times last year for the Hornets.

BIGGEST SURPRISE:  Greivis Vasquez – 26-year old point guard Greivis Vasquez took over the offense for the Hornets and he did a good job of running the team in 2012-13.  He played in 78 games (all starts) for the Hornets last year and he averaged 34.4 minutes, 13.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 9.0 assists per game.  He had 25 double-doubles and 1 triple-double for the Hornets last year, which is pretty impressive.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT:  Austin Rivers – 20-year old rookie guard Austin Rivers was horrible for the Hornets last year.  He played in 61 games (26 starts) for the Hornets last year and he averaged 23.2 minutes, 6.2 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.  He only shot 37.2% from the floor, 32.6% from the three point line and 54.6% from the free throw line last year.

27-year old undrafted rookie point guard Brian Roberts outplayed 1st round pick Austin Rivers in 2012-13…..by a mile.  Roberts has played in 77 games (4 starts) for the Hornets so far this year and he is averaging 16.6 minutes, 7.0 points, 1.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.  In Roberts 5 games (4 starts) in which he played at least 30 minutes so far this year, he is averaging 40.0 minutes, 14.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 9.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  Roberts will likely have a bigger role for the Hornets in 2013-14.

24-year old power forward Ryan Anderson will step into Anthony Davis’ starting spot (he has been shut down with a knee injury).  Anderson has played in 78 games (19 starts) so far this year for the Hornets and he is averaging 30.6 minutes, 16.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.  But, he has not played too well in April so far for the Hornets.  In Anderson’s first five games this month (all off the bench), he is averaging only 27.0 minutes, 9.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.  The Hornets hope that Anderson finishes well for them.

20-year old rookie power forward Anthony Davis has turned in a pretty solid rookie season.  He has played in 60 games (56 starts) for the Hornets so far this year and he is averaging 28.6 minutes, 13.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 1.1 steals and 1.7 blocked shots per game.  Davis already has 17 double-doubles this year for the Hornets.  He is also shooting an impressive 51.4% from the floor and 72.9% from the free throw line so far this year.  Davis will likely finish 2nd in the voting for the 2012-13 Rookie of the Year to point guard Damian Lillard of the Trailblazers, but he has a higher upside for the future.

UPDATE: (4/12/2013) – The Hornets have shut down Anthony Davis for the rest of the 2012-13 season due to a MCL sprain and a bruised left knee.  Davis played in 64 games (60 starts) for the Hornets this year and he averaged 28.8 minutes, 13.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 1.2 steals and 1.8 blocked shots per game.  Davis had a good rookie season for the Hornets, but he could be dominating in the very near future.

22-year old small forward Al-Farouq Aminu has been up and down this year for the Hornets.  He has played in 66 games (61 starts) for the Hornets so far this year and he is averaging 27.1 minutes, 7.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game.  Aminu has played in 13 games (all starts) so far in March and he is averaging 27.4 minutes, 6.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game, but he is only shooting 38.6% from the floor.  The Hornets just wish that Aminu could be a little more consistently good.

24-year old SF/PF Ryan Anderson is probably the Hornets’ best offensive player.  He has played in 68 games (19 starts) so far this year for the Hornets and he is averaging 31.1 minutes, 16.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.  In Anderson’s 19 starts, he is averaging 35.0 minutes, 18.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.  Anderson has really proved to be a solid player for the Hornets and he will be a guy they build around for the future.

The Hornets got out-rebounded 42-31 and they were outscored 28-20 in the 4th quarter last night which did them in.  Eric Gordon (24 points, 3 assists and 1 steal) and Anthony Davis (17 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 5 blocked shots) led the way for the Hornets last night.  Greivis Vasquez (15 points, 1 rebound, 14 assists and 1 steal), Robin Lopez (15 points, 8 rebounds and 1 blocked shot) and Lance Thomas (12 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot in 18 minutes) also pitched in with solid games for the Hornets last night.  The Hornets are now 22-43 on the year.

The Hornets are going to sign 30-year old power forward Louis Amundson tomorrow after his 10-day contract runs out tonight with the Bulls.  The contract will be for the remainder of the 2012-13 season.  He has played in 21 games (0 starts) so far this year for the Timberwolves and Bulls in which he averaged 7.8 minutes, 1.5 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.  Amundson has now played in 309 games (7 starts) in his first 7 years in the NBA and he is averaging 12.9 minutes, 3.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  He is shooting 49.3% from the floor so far in his career, but only 44.3% from the free throw line.  He will help replace Jason Smith the rest of the 2012-13 season.