# 2008–09 New Orleans Hornets season

The 2008–09 New Orleans Hornets season was the seventh season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association.
The regular season was marred by injuries, with only Rasual Butler playing in all games. The remaining four starters missed a combined 68 games, of whom center Tyson Chandler missed 37 games. Even when not on the injured list, Chandler's season was sub-par. Perhaps partly as a result of this, on February 18 Chandler was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder for forwards Joe Smith and Chris Wilcox. Despite the less than stellar season, this was generally perceived as a payroll-shedding move. However, within a day, the trade was rescinded due to concerns regarding Chandlers turf toe, which curiously, according to Chandler and the Hornet organization was not the reason for his stints on the injury list.
Battling these issues for much of the season, the Hornets finished the season with a record of 49–33, 7 games off the franchise best record of the previous season. This meant that the Hornets only finished 4th in the Southwest Division and 7th in the Western Conference. In the 2009 NBA Playoffs, the Hornets lost 1–4 in the first round to the second seeded Denver Nuggets. All four losses were severe, with the worst being a 58–point drubbing at home in Game 4, losing 63–121, which tied for the most lopsided loss in NBA Playoff history. Naturally lamented by fans and media alike, the embarrassing performance can at least be partly explained by the health situation of the players, with arguably the top 5 Hornets ailing to varying injuries.

## Key dates

* June 26: The 2008 NBA draft will take place in New York City.
* July 1: The free agency period will start.

## Offseason

On July 9 the Hornets announced they had signed their All Star point guard Chris Paul to a contract extension. Hornets owner George Shinn saying ''Chris is the face of our franchise and a leader both on and off the court...Getting him signed to an extension was our number one priority...'' On July 23 it was announced the Hornets had acquired free agent forward James Posey. Posey, a member of the 2008 Boston Celtics team that won the championship said ''I am excited to be a Hornet, it was a coveted destination for me...''

## Draft picks

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
| 1 | 27 | Darrell Arthur (traded to Memphis via Portland) | (PF) | United States | Kansas |

## Trades

December 10, 2008: The New Orleans Hornets traded Mike James to the Washington Wizards for Antonio Daniels.
February 17, 2009: The Hornets traded Tyson Chandler to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Joe Smith, Chris Wilcox and rights to DeVon Hardin. The trade was nullified when Chandler failed his physical because of a previous turf toe injury.

## All Stars

For the second year in a row the Hornets were represented with two players at the NBA All Star Game as Chris Paul was voted in by the fans as a starter, and David West was selected as a reserve by the NBA coaches.

## Regular season
### Standings

| Southwest Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-San Antonio Spurs | 54 | 28 | .659 | — | 28–13 | 26–15 | 10–6 |
| x-Houston Rockets | 53 | 29 | .646 | 1 | 33–8 | 20–21 | 9–7 |
| x-Dallas Mavericks | 50 | 32 | .610 | 4 | 32–9 | 18–23 | 7–9 |
| x-New Orleans Hornets | 49 | 33 | .598 | 5 | 28–13 | 21–20 | 9–7 |
| Memphis Grizzlies | 24 | 58 | .284 | 30 | 16–25 | 8–33 | 5–11 |
| # | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| 1 | c-Los Angeles Lakers | 65 | 17 | .793 | — |
| 2 | y-Denver Nuggets | 54 | 28 | .659 | 11 |
| 3 | y-San Antonio Spurs | 54 | 28 | .659 | 11 |
| 4 | x-Portland Trail Blazers | 54 | 28 | .659 | 11 |
| 5 | x-Houston Rockets | 53 | 29 | .646 | 12 |
| 6 | x-Dallas Mavericks | 50 | 32 | .610 | 15 |
| 7 | x-New Orleans Hornets | 49 | 33 | .598 | 16 |
| 8 | x-Utah Jazz | 48 | 34 | .585 | 17 |
| 9 | Phoenix Suns | 46 | 36 | .561 | 19 |
| 10 | Golden State Warriors | 29 | 53 | .354 | 36 |
| 11 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 24 | 58 | .293 | 41 |
| 12 | Memphis Grizzlies | 24 | 58 | .293 | 41 |
| 13 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 23 | 59 | .280 | 42 |
| 14 | Los Angeles Clippers | 19 | 63 | .232 | 46 |
| 15 | Sacramento Kings | 17 | 65 | .207 | 48 |

### Game log

2008–09 game log :
October: 2–0 (home: 0–0; road: 2–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
October 29
@ Golden State
W 108–103
David West (24)
Tyson Chandler (16)
Chris Paul (11)
Oracle Arena 19,128
1–0
2
October 30
@ Phoenix
W 108–95
Morris Peterson (21)
Chris Paul (8)
Chris Paul (10)
US Airways Center 18,422
2–0 :
November: 7–6 (home: 4–3; road: 3–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
3
November 1
Cleveland
W 104–92
David West (25)
James Posey (6)
Chris Paul (15)
New Orleans Arena 18,150
3–0
4
November 5
Atlanta
L 79–87
Chris Paul (22)
David West, Tyson Chandler (7)
Chris Paul (11)
New Orleans Arena 16,030
3–1
5
November 7
@ Charlotte
L 89–92
Predrag Stojaković, Chris Paul (20)
Predrag Stojaković, Tyson Chandler (7)
Chris Paul (10)
Time Warner Cable Arena 13,435
3–2
6
November 8
Miami
W 100–89
David West, Chris Paul (21)
Tyson Chandler (10)
Chris Paul (13)
New Orleans Arena 17,701
4–2
7
November 12
L.A. Lakers
L 86–93
Chris Paul (30)
David West (12)
Chris Paul (13)
New Orleans Arena 18,239
4–3
8
November 14
Portland
W 87–82
David West (18)
Tyson Chandler (7)
Chris Paul (9)
New Orleans Arena 16,071
5–3
9
November 15
@ Houston
L 82–91
David West (18)
David West (10)
Chris Paul (12)
Toyota Center 18,303
5–4
10
November 19
Sacramento
L 96–105
David West (22)
Tyson Chandler (10)
Chris Paul (15)
New Orleans Arena 15,533
5–5
11
November 21
@ Oklahoma City
W 105–80
David West (19)
David West (8)
Chris Paul (6)
Ford Center 19,136
6–5
12
November 22
Oklahoma City
W 109–97
David West (33)
Chris Paul (10)
Chris Paul (16)
New Orleans Arena 16,023
7–5
13
November 24
@ L.A. Clippers
W 99–87
David West (27)
Chris Paul (10)
Chris Paul (17)
Staples Center 14,956
8–5
14
November 27
@ Denver
W 105–101
Chris Paul (22)
David West (8)
Chris Paul (10)
Pepsi Center 15,563
9–5
15
November 28
@ Portland
L 86–101
Predrag Stojaković (21)
Chris Paul, Tyson Chandler (6)
Chris Paul (6)
Rose Garden 20,638
9–6 :
December: 10–3 (home: 7–1; road: 3–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
16
December 3
Phoenix
W 104–91
Predrag Stojaković, Chris Paul (24)
David West (14)
Chris Paul (15)
New Orleans Arena 15,804
10–6
17
December 6
Memphis
W 106–87
Chris Paul (21)
James Posey (7)
Chris Paul (11)
New Orleans Arena 16,822
11–6
18
December 10
Charlotte
W 105–89
David West, Predrag Stojaković (17)
Tyson Chandler (11)
Chris Paul (15)
New Orleans Arena 15,750
12–6
19
December 12
@ Boston
L 82–94
David West (23)
David West (14)
Chris Paul (14)
TD Banknorth Garden 18,624
12–7
20
December 14
@ Toronto
W 99–91
David West (29)
James Posey (10)
Chris Paul (12)
Air Canada Centre 18,537
13–7
21
December 16
@ Memphis
W 91–84
David West, Chris Paul (18)
Tyson Chandler (6)
Chris Paul (9)
FedExForum 10,231
14–7
22
December 17
San Antonio
W 90–83
David West (21)
Tyson Chandler (11)
Chris Paul (12)
New Orleans Arena 16,593
15–7
23
December 20
Sacramento
W 99–90
Chris Paul (34)
Tyson Chandler (8)
Chris Paul (9)
New Orleans Arena 16,869
16–7
24
December 23
L.A. Lakers
L 87–100
Rasual Butler, Chris Paul (17)
Tyson Chandler (10)
Chris Paul (10)
New Orleans Arena 18,405
16–8
25
December 25
@ Orlando
L 68–88
David West (13)
David West (7)
Chris Paul (4)
Amway Arena 17,461
16–9
26
December 26
Houston
W 88–79
Chris Paul (26)
Tyson Chandler (12)
Chris Paul (10)
New Orleans Arena 18,326
17–9
27
December 28
@ Indiana
W 105–103
James Posey, Chris Paul (19)
David West (10)
Chris Paul (12)
Conseco Fieldhouse 14,374
18–9
28
December 30
Washington
W 97–85
Rasual Butler (21)
Tyson Chandler (11)
Chris Paul (16)
New Orleans Arena 18,021
19–9 :
January: 9–7 (home: 5–2; road: 4–5)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
29
January 2
@ Portland
W 92–77
David West (25)
James Posey (9)
Chris Paul (11)
Rose Garden 20,708
20–9
30
January 3
@ Denver
L 100–105
Chris Paul (30)
David West (8)
Chris Paul (11)
Pepsi Center 19,614
20–10
31
January 6
@ L.A. Lakers
W 116–105
David West (40)
David West (11)
Chris Paul (15)
Staples Center 18,997
21–10
32
January 7
@ Utah
L 90–116
Chris Paul (26)
David West (6)
Chris Paul (7)
EnergySolutions Arena 19,911
21–11
33
January 9
L.A. Clippers
W 107–80
Rasual Butler (27)
Tyson Chandler (11)
Chris Paul (7)
New Orleans Arena 17,815
22–11
34
January 12
New York
L 95–101
David West (25)
David West (14)
Chris Paul (7)
New Orleans Arena 16,177
22–12
35
January 14
@ Dallas
W 104–97
Chris Paul (33)
Tyson Chandler (14)
Chris Paul (11)
American Airlines Center 19,947
23–12
36
January 16
@ Cleveland
L 78–92
David West (23)
Tyson Chandler (9)
Chris Paul (6)
Quicken Loans Arena 20,562
23–13
37
January 17
@ Detroit
W 91–85
Chris Paul (23)
Tyson Chandler (11)
Chris Paul (14)
The Palace of Auburn Hills 22,076
24–13
38
January 19
Indiana
W 103–100
Chris Paul (27)
Melvin Ely (6)
Chris Paul (9)
New Orleans Arena 17,237
25–13
39
January 21
New Jersey
W 102–92
Chris Paul (29)
Predrag Stojaković (10)
Chris Paul (8)
New Orleans Arena 14,748
26–13
40
January 23
@ Minnesota
L 108–116
James Posey (24)
Sean Marks (7)
Chris Paul (12)
Target Center 18,224
26–14
41
January 26
Philadelphia
W 101–86
Chris Paul (27)
Chris Paul (10)
Chris Paul (15)
New Orleans Arena 16,131
27–14
42
January 28
Denver
W 94–81
Predrag Stojaković (26)
James Posey (9)
Chris Paul (10)
New Orleans Arena 15,792
28–14
43
January 30
Golden State
L 87–91
Chris Paul (31)
David West (15)
Chris Paul (8)
New Orleans Arena 17,738
28–15
44
January 31
@ San Antonio
L 93–106
Chris Paul (38)
David West (10)
Chris Paul (4)
AT&T Center 18,797
28–16 :
February: 7–6 (home: 5–3; road: 2–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
45
February 2
Portland
L 89–97
David West (25)
David West (8)
Chris Paul (13)
New Orleans Arena 14,781
28–17
46
February 4
Chicago
L 93–107
Predrag Stojaković, David West (24)
David West (14)
Devin Brown (7)
New Orleans Arena 16,270
28–18
47
February 6
Toronto
W 101–92
Predrag Stojaković (28)
David West (10)
David West, Antonio Daniels (6)
New Orleans Arena 17,319
29–18
48
February 8
Minnesota
W 101–97
Rasual Butler (23)
Rasual Butler (8)
Antonio Daniels (7)
New Orleans Arena 16,046
30–18
49
February 9
@ Memphis
L 80–85
Predrag Stojaković (23)
Devin Brown (9)
Antonio Daniels (4)
FedExForum 10,896
30–19
50
February 11
Boston
L 77–89
David West (15)
David West (8)
Antonio Daniels, Chris Paul (5)
New Orleans Arena 18,080
30–20
51
February 17
@ Oklahoma City
W 100–98
David West (37)
David West (13)
Chris Paul (8)
Ford Center 18,593
31–20
52
February 18
Orlando
W 117–85
Chris Paul (36)
Melvin Ely, Rasual Butler (8)
Chris Paul (10)
New Orleans Arena 16,651
32–20
53
February 20
@ L.A. Lakers
L 111–115 (OT)
Rasual Butler (31)
David West (16)
Chris Paul (16)
Staples Center 18,997
32–21
54
February 21
@ Utah
L 88–102
Chris Paul (24)
Predrag Stojaković (11)
Chris Paul (7)
EnergySolutions Arena 19,911
32–22
55
February 23
@ Sacramento
W 112–105
Chris Paul (27)
Tyson Chandler (10)
Chris Paul (13)
ARCO Arena 11,633
33–22
56
February 25
Detroit
W 90–87
David West (30)
Tyson Chandler (17)
Chris Paul (13)
New Orleans Arena 17,215
34–22
57
February 27
Milwaukee
W 95–94
David West (28)
David West (12)
Chris Paul (20)
New Orleans Arena 17,621
35–22 :
March: 11–5 (home: 6–2; road: 5–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
58
March 1
@ New Jersey
W 99–96
David West (32)
Tyson Chandler (12)
Chris Paul (9)
Izod Center 15,509
36–22
59
March 2
@ Philadelphia
W 98–91
David West (30)
James Posey (12)
Chris Paul (12)
Wachovia Center 14,299
37–22
60
March 5
Dallas
W 104–88
Chris Paul (27)
Tyson Chandler (11)
Chris Paul (15)
New Orleans Arena 17,230
38–22
61
March 7
Oklahoma City
W 108–90
Chris Paul (21)
David West (12)
Chris Paul (14)
New Orleans Arena 18,114
39–22
62
March 9
@ Atlanta
L 79–89
Chris Paul (24)
David West (20)
Chris Paul (10)
Philips Arena 14,204
39–23
63
March 11
@ Washington
W 109–98
Chris Paul (30)
Chris Paul, Tyson Chandler (10)
Chris Paul (13)
Verizon Center 15,255
40–23
64
March 13
@ Milwaukee
W 95–86
Chris Paul (30)
Tyson Chandler (17)
Chris Paul (9)
Bradley Center 15,701
41–23
65
March 14
@ Chicago
L 79–97
Chris Paul (29)
Tyson Chandler (9)
Chris Paul (6)
United Center 22,135
41–24
66
March 16
Houston
L 84–95
Chris Paul (29)
David West (13)
Chris Paul (11)
New Orleans Arena 17,723
41–25
67
March 18
Minnesota
W 94–93
Chris Paul (26)
David West, Hilton Armstrong (8)
Chris Paul (10)
New Orleans Arena 17,253
42–25
68
March 20
Memphis
W 96–84
Chris Paul (32)
James Posey (8)
Chris Paul (9)
New Orleans Arena 17,837
43–25
69
March 22
Golden State
W 99–89
Chris Paul (27)
Hilton Armstrong (11)
Chris Paul (8)
New Orleans Arena 16,351
44–25
70
March 25
Denver
L 88–101
Chris Paul (19)
David West (8)
Chris Paul (13)
New Orleans Arena 17,274
44–26
71
March 27
@ New York
L 93–103
David West (29)
Julian Wright (14)
Chris Paul (10)
Madison Square Garden 19,763
44–27
72
March 29
San Antonio
W 90–86
Chris Paul (26)
David West (16)
Chris Paul (9)
New Orleans Arena 18,204
45–27
73
March 31
@ Sacramento
W 111–110
David West (40)
David West (9)
Chris Paul (15)
ARCO Arena 17,317
46–27 :
April: 3–6 (home: 1–2; road: 2–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
74
April 1
@ L.A. Clippers
W 104–98
Chris Paul (30)
Julian Wright (9)
Chris Paul (14)
Staples Center 19,060
47–27
75
April 3
@ Golden State
L 103–111
Chris Paul (43)
David West (14)
Chris Paul (9)
Oracle Arena 19,596
47–28
76
April 5
Utah
L 94–108
David West (23)
David West (12)
Chris Paul (12)
New Orleans Arena 17,362
47–29
77
April 7
@ Miami
W 93–87 (OT)
Chris Paul (26)
Chris Paul (9)
Chris Paul (9)
American Airlines Arena 19,600
48–29
78
April 8
Phoenix
L 100–105
Chris Paul (29)
David West (12)
Chris Paul (16)
New Orleans Arena 17,781
48–30
79
April 10
@ Dallas
L 92–100
Chris Paul (42)
David West (14)
Chris Paul (7)
American Airlines Center 20,370
48–31
80
April 12
Dallas
W 102–92
David West, Chris Paul (31)
Chris Paul (9)
Chris Paul (17)
New Orleans Arena 16,640
49–31
81
April 13
@ Houston
L 66–86
David West (14)
David West (10)
Chris Paul (7)
Toyota Center 18,409
49–32
82
April 15
@ San Antonio
L 98–105 (OT)
David West (34)
Paul, West (7)
Chris Paul (14)
AT&T Center 18,797
49–33 :
2015–16 season schedule :

## Playoffs

2009 playoff game log :
First Round: 1–4 (home: 1–1; road: 0–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
April 19
@ Denver
L 84–113
Chris Paul (21)
David West (6)
Chris Paul (11)
Pepsi Center 19,536
0–1
2
April 22
@ Denver
L 93–108
David West (21)
Tyson Chandler (11)
Chris Paul (13)
Pepsi Center 19,623
0–2
3
April 25
Denver
W 95–93
Chris Paul (32)
West, Posey (9)
Chris Paul (12)
New Orleans Arena 17,489
1–2
4
April 27
Denver
L 63–121
David West (14)
James Posey (7)
Chris Paul (6)
New Orleans Arena 17,236
1–3
5
April 29
@ Denver
L 86–107
David West (24)
David West (9)
Chris Paul (10)
Pepsi Center 19,744
1–4 :
2009 schedule :

## Player statistics
### Regular Season

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Hilton Armstrong | 50 | 16 | 15.3 | .520 | .000 | .672 | 2.7 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 4.6 |
| Ryan Bowen | 12 | 3 | 12.1 | .625 | .000 | .333 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 2.6 |
| Devin Brown | 47 | 5 | 14.9 | .367 | .280 | .840 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 5.9 |
| Rasual Butler | 59 | 50 | 29.2 | .453 | .426 | .766 | 3.3 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 10.8 |
| Tyson Chandler | 37 | 36 | 31.7 | .571 | .000 | .574 | 8.7 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 9.1 |
| Antonio Daniels | 38 | 4 | 13.6 | .409 | .341 | .808 | 1.1 | 2.8 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 4.4 |
| Melvin Ely | 23 | 2 | 11.7 | .384 | .000 | .656 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 3.3 |
| Sean Marks | 40 | 5 | 13.5 | .443 | .222 | .625 | 3.1 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 3.1 |
| Chris Paul | 55 | 55 | 37.7 | .493 | .394 | .849 | 5.3 | 11.0 | 2.7 | 0.2 | 21.3 |
| Morris Peterson | 28 | 9 | 12.9 | .430 | .417 | .786 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 5.4 |
| James Posey | 59 | 0 | 28.7 | .429 | .394 | .820 | 4.9 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 9.4 |
| Peja Stojaković | 53 | 53 | 34.1 | .405 | .382 | .910 | 4.4 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 13.8 |
| David West | 53 | 53 | 38.5 | .468 | .250 | .888 | 8.0 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 20.5 |
| Julian Wright | 33 | 2 | 9.2 | .467 | .143 | .400 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 2.7 |

### Playoffs

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Chris Paul | 5 | 5 | 40.2 | .411 | .313 | .857 | 4.4 | 10.4 | 1.6 | .0 | 16.6 |
| David West | 5 | 5 | 35.6 | .400 | | .897 | 7.4 | 1.2 | 1.0 | .4 | 18.0 |
| Peja Stojaković | 5 | 5 | 32.4 | .367 | .308 | .923 | 2.8 | .4 | .8 | .2 | 11.2 |
| Rasual Butler | 5 | 5 | 31.6 | .459 | .526 | 1.000 | 3.0 | .2 | .2 | .8 | 10.6 |
| James Posey | 5 | 0 | 24.6 | .375 | .263 | .846 | 6.2 | .6 | .6 | .0 | 11.4 |
| Sean Marks | 5 | 0 | 16.0 | .462 | .000 | .800 | 4.0 | .0 | .6 | .4 | 3.2 |
| Antonio Daniels | 5 | 0 | 12.8 | .154 | .250 | .818 | .6 | 1.8 | .4 | .2 | 2.8 |
| Tyson Chandler | 4 | 4 | 23.5 | .500 | | .500 | 5.3 | .5 | .5 | .3 | 3.8 |
| Hilton Armstrong | 4 | 1 | 13.3 | .462 | | .300 | 2.0 | .3 | 1.0 | .3 | 3.8 |
| Julian Wright | 4 | 0 | 8.0 | .429 | | .500 | 1.5 | .5 | .0 | .3 | 2.0 |
| Devin Brown | 3 | 0 | 11.0 | .375 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.7 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 2.7 |
| Morris Peterson | 2 | 0 | 10.5 | .200 | .333 | .750 | 1.5 | .5 | .5 | .0 | 3.0 |
| Ryan Bowen | 1 | 0 | 2.0 | .000 | | | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

* Chris Paul, All-NBA Second Team