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November 12, 2009
Only five players named BROWN have ever played for the Hornets and two of them are on this team’s roster: Bobby Brown and Devin Brown. And only one of them figured to be in Byron Scott’s regular rotation early this season: Bobby, or “LB” as he is affectionately known. So, as just another example of how the first couple of weeks haven’t exactly gone as planned at 1250 Poydras Street in New Orleans it is Devin who now starts alongside Chris Paul in the backcourt.
Inserting Devin Brown into the starting lineup was the first of two different lineup changes by Byron Scott in as many games on their recent west coast road trip (the other move found Peja Stojakovic back in the lineup for Julian Wright). As luck would have it Devin’s first start of the season came against the defending champion Lakers who just happen to have a pretty good two-guard with a decent chance of going down as one of the top players in NBA history.
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The 30-year-old in his 8th NBA season scored 10 points in the first half (Kobe Bryant poured in 26), which was the highest total for a Hornets starting shooting guard this season. The following night against LA’s other NBA team he racked up a career high-tying 25 points in just 30 minutes.
“I couldn’t get a nap like I usually do before a game after playing Kobe the night before. I came in with a focus and tried to help the team any way I could. We got the ball up and down the floor, CP did a great job. We were running, we were playing ‘D’. If we play that way we’re going to be all right…”
It is assumed that Devin Brown will also be all right after he replaced Morris Peterson in the starting lineup in Los Angeles. After all, his trek to the National Basketball Association was pretty atypical. How many current starters were never drafted by the NBA? How many starters have been a D-League MVP and went on to the Association? How many starters have won an NBA championship? And how many can say they have played with LeBron, Duncan, and Paul?
My guess is Devin Brown is the only player in the NBA who can answer all of those questions affirmatively.
Not bad for someone who has played for five different NBA teams in seven seasons. Not bad for someone known better as a Roadrunner than a Cavalier or Hornet.
That’s not Roadrunner like the speedy, beep beep, I’m stopping on a dime as the Coyote flies over the cliff Roadrunner. It’s superstar, all-time leading scorer (1,922 points), #23 jersey was the first-ever retired at the University of Texas San Antonio Roadrunner.
It’s not like Brown has never started before (93 starts in 420 career games). It’s not like he’s never started for the Hornets before (five last season and 49 games during his first stint with the club in 2006-2007). It’s just that most of us didn’t expect to see the 6-5 210 pound veteran become so important to the success of the team so early in the season.
Brown has been one of the most intriguing stories of the young season for the Hornets – not because we were unaware of what he could do – he’s a proven NBA player. Rather, it’s because he’s been counted out so many times, with so many teams, that seeing him on the inactive list one night and in the starting lineup the next sort of reminds us how of how quickly a player’s fortunes can change at the big league level.
And that’s a good thing for both the Hornets and Brown.
| FIVE PLAYERS NAMED “BROWN” HAVE PLAYED FOR THE HORNETS | |
| Bobby Brown | 2009-2010 |
| Chucky Brown | 1998-2000 |
| Devin Brown | 2006-Present |
| PJ Brown | 2000-2006 |
| Tierre Brown | 2003-2004 |
