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About a week ago I sat down, thinking about writing something about 'Melo, but opted against it. The lingering hatred of the Chris Paul rumors stopped me for a while, but with each passing day more and more experts are mentioning New Orleans as a possible landing place for Carmelo and I can't help but feel excited that the Hornets are being mentioned as a destination.

Let's start with going over the differences in the situations so nobody bites my head off. 'Melo is about to be a free agent. His contract expires after this season if he decides to not pick up his player's option. That's about 9 months away at this point, assuming the Nuggets don't surprise anyone by making a deep run. If they want to get good value on him they need to move now. There just isn't time to re-tool and convince him to stay, and there's no guarantee that he wants to stick around even if the team was better.

To be fair, ESPN is now reporting that Chauncey Billups talked to 'Melo, and is claiming that he's happy in Denver. Well, actually it just says that he loves the team, loves the fans, and loves the City. Some, including myself, can see Anthony following those statements with "but I'm just not in love with you."

I'm making that up entirely, but wouldn't it just make sense to hear it? The guy has a 3 year, $65 million dollar deal on the table with a looming expiration date on it  - and he hasn't touched it.

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According to Wikipedia, which obviously is the end-all source on everything, the Hornets don't have a rival. That makes me remarkably sad considering the deep seeded mild anger that I feel toward opposing ball clubs. If we don't have a rival, how will anyone know which games matter most at the beginning of the season? Sure every game matters, but there is something to be said for manufacturing drama, especially on a sports blog.

Since the dawn of sports, long term rivalries have existed for a number of reasons, including...

• The two teams that are competing have fan bases that are in close geographical proximity to one another, often leading for fans to root for one or the other.
• The teams are thrust into competing in crucial games year after year in which only one can prevail
• Both teams have an excellent player whose accomplishments for whatever reason are always compared to those of another team's excellent player.
• They are a great marketing tool for teams to entice fans to come to the arena, even if a season isn't going quite as planned.
  
• The media needs stuff to write about, and the fans want a reason to care more.
  

Frankly I don't want to start a discussion about who Hornets fans like the least, but that's exactly what needs to happen to determine a rival. Lot's of teams have angered the Bees over the years, and it's time fans let them know exactly how they feel.

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It's playoff prediction time here at Hornets247. No, the Bees won't be part in the postseason, but that doesn't mean that we can't have some fun talking about the 16 teams that have earned a shot to compete for the title. The seeding is set, players and coaches are preparing, and we're predicting.

Ryan Schwan: If ever there was a time when seeding was unimportant, it was this year in the Western Conference.  Seven games difference between the 1 seed and the 8 seed?  Point differentials that only vary by 2.6?  Crazy place, the Western Conference.

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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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