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Back to the grind. The Hornets take on the Nuggets this evening to start a hellish stretch of games (combined winning percentage of next six opponents: .685). Tonight's tip is 8:30 Central, and you can catch it on TNT.

The Hornets and Nuggets met just last week in New Orleans, when the Nuggs finished strong to grab a 102-95 victory despite a spirited effort by the Bees. Carmelo Anthony led Denver in that one with 32 points, while David West scored 30 for New Orleans. The Nuggets lead the season series 2-1.

Denver has played three games since that last meeting, winning two of them. Their record now stands at 46-22 overall, and 29-5 at home. Kenyon Martin (knee) and Ty Lawson (shoulder) are still out. Chris Andersen might also be unavailable tonight, as he's been battling knee and finger problems and missed Tuesday's win over the Wizards due to a sprained ankle.

The Hornets are coming off a disappointing loss to the Warriors in Oakland last night, and didn't arrive at their Denver hotel until almost 4 a.m. this morning. Combine that with tonight's game being their fourth in five nights on the road, and it could well be a bloodbath. Better news: Chris Paul continues to work his way back from injury, and may return within the next week. He looked pretty good warming up a few days ago.

Numbers:

Pace: Nuggets 97.8 (5th), Hornets 95.1 (15th)
Offensive Efficiency: Nuggets 109.5 (2nd), Hornets 104.7 (15th)
Defensive Efficiency: Nuggets 104.4 (16th), Hornets 106.6 (18th)

Linkage:

• Earlier on the blog: Missing the clutchness of Chris Paul
• Standings: The Hornets are 8 games behind the 8th-place Blazers with 13 games left to play.
  
• Rival bloggers: Denver Stiffs | Roundball Mining Company (THN) | The Nugg Doctor

(Many thanks to Dariusz for today's banner featuring Sean Marks. Be sure to check out more of Dariusz's designs in our Wallpapers vault.)

The Nuggets came visiting and though the Hornets fought all game long, the Nuggets executed beautifully at the end behind Carmelo and Billups and took the win at the Hive.  The last two minutes of Hornets posessions were a bit frustrating.  They took lots of what I call "Hero Shots" as multiple Hornets took off-balance three pointers instead of chipping away at the Nuggets lead.  They had lots of chances there - but came up empty on all those poor attempts.

Still, I enjoy watching the team playing hard.  It's why I watch basketball.

Oh, and this was odd . . . the Hornets didn't seem to miss James Posey much.  Any surprise at this?  No?

David West

For the second time in recent games, I came away very happy with David West's play.  He seemed really focused and played aggressively.  Against Nene, he drove hard, picking up fouls on help defenders, and against Andersen, he did exactly what you need to do against a lanky shot-blocker - he put his shoulder into his chest, made it near impossible for him to leap quickly, and powered in a shot over his head.  Even defensively West was working hard, talking and switching and doubling on Carmelo hard in the second quarter.  He even led a fast break, taking the middle of the floor with the ball, and then sprinted ahead of the field for a fast break dunk off a turnover he wasn't even involved in.

Try as I might, I can't really figure out where this West has been all season.  He looks almost joyful out there at times.  I know its a bit of blasphemy, but sometimes I wonder if Chris Paul's intensity and continuous barking sometimes wears on his teammates.  I know if a teammate at work kept vocally pointing out my errors, I'd probably accidentally spill coffee all over his or her laptop.  Not that I make errors.  Really.

The Rookies

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Before the struggling and shorthanded Hornets embark on their season-long, five-game road trip, they have the small matter of dealing with the 43-21 Denver Nuggets tonight at the New Orleans Arena. Game tips at 7 Central.

The Nuggets own the fifth-best record in the NBA, are 15-16 on the road and come in having won four straight. During that streak, they've averaged 117 points per game. Most recently they played the Timberwolves in Minnesota on Wednesday, coming away with a 110-102 victory despite the absence of head coach George Karl. Chauncey Billups led the way with 25 points against the T'Wolves. Carmelo Anthony chipped in with 19 points, but had scored at least 30 in each of his previous three. Denver has also been getting huge contributions from J.R. Smith and Chris Andersen off the bench lately.

This is the third of four meetings between the teams this season, with the final showdown coming next Thursday in Denver. Chris Paul dropped 30 and 19 on the Nuggs back in December as the Hornets pulled out a 98-92 win in New Orleans. The Nuggets got revenge on their home floor in January, as they dominated the glass and had all their starters score in double figures for a 116-110 win.

Both clubs are pretty beat up for this one, especially the Hornets, who are down to just eight healthy bodies since James Posey is out with flu-like symptoms. The good news though is that Chris Paul has finally been cleared to start running again. As for the Nuggets, they'll be without Kenyon Martin (knee), while Ty Lawson has missed the last five games with a shoulder injury and is listed as questionable tonight.

Numbers:

Pace: Nuggets 97.9 (5th), Hornets 94.7 (18th)
Offensive Efficiency: Nuggets 109.1 (2nd), Hornets 104.6 (13th)
Defensive Efficiency: Nuggets 104.2 (16th), Hornets 106.2 (18th)

Linkage:

• Standings: The Hornets are 10th in the West, 6 games behind the 8th-place Blazers.
  
• Rival bloggers: Denver Stiffs | Roundball Mining Company (THN) | The Nugg Doctor

(Many thanks to Dariusz for today's banner featuring Desmond Mason. Be sure to check out more of Dariusz's designs in our Wallpapers vault.)

On the second night of a back to back, the Hornets went into Denver to take on a team that has only lost 3 times on its home court.  Missing David West, they took the game to overtime, and then fell short as the guy they were leaving to double Carmelo(Afflalo) hit two big threes to bury them.

I'm still staring at the box score, though, and trying to figure out how the game ever went to overtime in the first place.  The Nuggets shot better(and hit more shots) from three, took 14 more free throws, and outrebounded the hornets by 24(!!!) but still only managed 6 more points.  They had 6 more turnovers, which I guess helps close the gap, but . . . still.

James Posey & Devin Brown

These two guys drew the duty of containing Carmelo tonight, and they did a remarkable job against him.  Yes, Carmelo scored 30, and yes, the AP recap seems to think he carried his team, but that's pretty far from the truth.  Brown and Posey were physical with him all game while Collison, Paul and Songaila regularly doubled him.  I've seen Melo handle that sort of defensive pressure well in other games, but tonight he seemed dead-set on taking shots no matter what.  It was good for the Hornets as he scored 30, but took 28 shots to do it.  Yeah, that wasn't really helping.

That all said, Posey and Brown may have been making Carmelo's life hard on one end of the floor, but they were making it easy at the other end of the court.  Melo was guarding them all night, and they ended up going 4-15 and 2-9 from deep, and a lot of the missed shots were wide open.

The Starters

Sometimes it's stomach-churning how little athleticism there is in the Hornets starting linup.  Okafor is okay.  Paul is superb.  That's it.  That causes tremendous problems late in games.  In the first quarters, when teams haven't yet dialed up the defensive intensity, Brown or Peja can get free for shots.  Songaila can get open looks from mid-range.  But when overtime kicks off, and teams are buckling down defensively, Brown and Peja do not get free, no matter how many screens are set for them.  Songaila can not get seperation on a pick and pop.

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A tougher test for the the Hornets tonight as they take on the Denver Nuggets way up in the Rockies. Segababa, coming off two skin-of-your-teeth wins, should be fun. Game tips at 8 Central.

The 28-14 Nuggets are flying high at the top of the Western Conference, trailing only the defending champs. They've won five straight games, scoring an average of 113.4 points per game during that stretch, +12 on their opponents. Chauncey Billups has been especially hot, averaging 25.6ppg and 6.6apg in the last five, shooting 50 percent from the field and from deep.

Most recently the Nuggs blew out the visiting Clippers on Thursday, 105-85, 24 hours after prevailing in OT against the Warriors in Oakland. Carmelo Anthony led the way against L.A. with 28 points and 10 boards.

The Hornets have already done the meet and beat thing with the Nuggets once this season, knocking them off 98-92 in New Orleans a month ago. Chris Paul had 30 points, 19 assists and 9 boards in that one, clearly still not cool with how the Nuggets smacked his team in last year's playoffs.

According to the Times-Pic, David West is listed as questionable for tonight's game after turning his ankle last night in Minnesota. I'd be surprised if he played. Meanwhile, the Nuggets are fully healthy.

Numbers:

Pace: Nuggets 98.2 (5th), Hornets 94.1 (21st)
Offensive Efficiency: Nuggets 109.3 (2nd), Hornets 104.3 (14th)
Defensive Efficiency: Nuggets 103.7 (14th), Hornets 105.5 (19th)

Linkage:

• Lagniappe: Deja vu for Posey and some unkind playoff odds
  
• Rival bloggers: Denver Stiffs | Roundball Mining Company (THN) | The Nugg Doctor

(Many thanks to Dariusz for today's banner featuring Tyson Chandler. Be sure to check out more of Dariusz's designs in our Wallpapers vault.)