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The Hornets have another late game tonight as they take on the Warriors in Oakland. Tip is at 9:30 Central.

The Warriors are 18-48 on the season, 14-20 at home and have lost seven of their last eight. However, they did put a scare in the Lakers on Monday night and have recently gotten Monta Ellis back from injury.

It was just nine days ago that New Orleans last played G-State, picking up a 135-131 win in the Big Easy to take a 3-0 lead in the season series. David West and Marcus Thornton dropped 28 points apiece in that game, while Darren Collison broke the rookie record with 20 assists (some of them questionable). Anthony Morrow and Reggie Williams led the Warriors with 28 points each.

Golden State is still missing key players due to injury and they've had to resort to short rotations, much like the Hornets.

Tonight's game won't be on national TV or CST, so hopefully you have the League Pass so you can tune in. You can get that for as low as $24.95 these days.

Numbers:

Pace: Warriors 102.3 (1st), Hornets 94.9 (15th)
Offensive Efficiency: Warriors 104.7 (14th), Hornets 104.6 (15th)
Defensive Efficiency: Warriors 108.7 (29th), Hornets 106.3 (18th)

Linkage:

• Lagniappe: Videos of Chris Paul and Marcus Thornton, plus more rookie love from ESPN
  
• Standings: Hornets 7.5 games behind the 8th-place Blazers with 14 games left to play.
  
• Rival bloggers: Golden State Of Mind | Warriorsworld.net (THN)

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

Rejoice! Here comes an opponent struggling even more than the Hornets. We shall see who sucks less tonight at 9:30 Central.

The Clippers are 25-42 on the season, 18-14 at home and have lost their last seven straight. They've been outscored by an average of 20 points per game during that losing streak, and D.J. Foster of ClipperBlog.com notes that the they've been just awful defensively. On top of all that, Baron Davis is disgruntled (surprise!) and Mike Dunleavy was recently fired twice.

The Hornets have beaten the Clippers three times already this season, most recently on January 13. Six Hornets scored in double figures in that one as they cruised to a 108-94 victory. The Hornets have also beaten the Clippers once without Chris Paul this season, back in mid-November for Jeff Bower's first win as head coach. 

Numbers:

Pace: Clippers 94.8 (16th), Hornets 94.9 (15th)
Offensive Efficiency: Clippers 100.8 (26th), Hornets 104.4 (16th)
Defensive Efficiency: Clippers 106.6 (19th), Hornets 106.4 (18th)

Linkage:

• Just launched: Morris Peterson's brand new website
• Lagniappe: Among other things: Should Chris Paul play again this season?
  
• Standings: The Hornets are now 8 games behind the Blazers for the final playoff spot. 15 games left on the schedule for New Orleans.
  
• Rival bloggers: ClipperBlog.com (THN) | Clips Nation

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

Perhaps the toughest stretch of the season for the Hornets starts tonight in Phoenix (tip off at 8 Central): Five games, seven days, all on the road, three against Western Conference playoff teams. Not exactly a welcome sight when your team is banged up and has lost eight of its last ten.

The Suns are 40-26 on the season, 24-9 at home and have split their last six games. The had a big showdown with the Lakers on Friday in Phoenix but came out on the losing end, 96-102. Amare Stoudamire led the Suns with 29 points and 16 rebounds, doing most of his damage in the first quarter. Head coach Alvin Gentry was ejected during the fourth quarter for arguing with officials.

Steve Nash has been struggling in March, averaging 10 and 10, but also coughing the ball up more than four times per game and shooting well below his averages, especially from three (3-17, 17.6%). He'll be playing in his 1000th career game tonight.

This will be the fourth and final meeting of the season between the two teams. The Hornets won just one of the previous meetings, 110-103 in New Orleans in November behind seven triples from Peja Stojakovic. On February 1, also in New Orleans, Marcus Thornton led five Hornets in double-figure scoring with 25 points, but the Suns got up big in the first half and had six guys finish with 10+ points en route to the 109-100 win.

Injuries:

The Hornets will be without James Posey, Peja Stojakovic, Chris Paul and Sean Marks. We posted a full report on them earlier. The Suns' Leandro Barbosa has missed the last six weeks with a wrist injury, but is very close to returning and is listed as a game-time decision for tonight.

Numbers:

Pace: Suns 97.9 (4th), Hornets 94.8 (15th)
Offensive Efficiency: Suns 111.6 (1st), Hornets 104.4 (15th)
Defensive Efficiency: Suns 107.7 (25th), Hornets 106.2 (18th)

Linkage:

• Standings: The 32-34 Hornets are 10th in the West, seven games behind the 8th-place Blazers.
  
• Rival bloggers: Bright Side of the Sun | Valley of the Suns (THN)

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

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.)

The Hornets are in Oklahoma City today to take on Kevin Durant and the Thunder. Game tips at 7 Central.

The Thunder are 38-24 on the season, 19-11 at home and they've won five of their last six. Durant continues to pour in the points, averaging 29.6ppg on the season, good for second in the League. Russell Westbrook has also been playing well for OKC, averaging 20 points and 9.8 assists in his last ten games.

The Thunder last played on Sunday, beating the Kings in Sacramento, 108-102. Durant led the way with 27 points in that one, though Westbrook proved to be the hero by scoring 13 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter.

The Hornets are coming off Monday's much-needed 135-131 win over the Warriors. Lots of big numbers in that one, most notably the 28 points apiece from David West and Marcus Thornton, and a rookie-record 20 assists from Darren Collison. Unfortunately, the Hornets lost Peja Stojakovic to an abdominal injury in the third quarter, and he's expected to miss a minimum of two weeks. Julian Wright will start in his place tonight.

This will be the third and final meeting between the Hornets and Thunder this season. They split the first two games, with the Hornets using a balanced attack to win in OKC in January, and the Thunder leaning heavily on Durant and Westbrook to steal one in New Orleans in February.

Numbers:

Pace: Thunder 95.5 (13th), Hornets 94.8 (16th)
Offensive Efficiency: Thunder 104.0 (15th), Hornets 104.8 (13th)
Defensive Efficiency: Thunder 100.2 (4th), Hornets 106.2 (19th)

Linkage:

• Journals: The State of the (Hornets) Union
  
• Lagniappe: Chaos, conversations and video
  
• Standings: Hornets still 10th in the West, five games behind the 8th-place Blazers
  
• Rival bloggers: Blue Blitz | Daily Thunder.com (THN) | Thunder Rumblings

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