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Yet again, the Hornets lost to the surging San Antonio Spurs, who completed a season sweep of the Hornets for the second time in the last four years. Even worse, the Hornets dropped below .500 for the fist time since January 2nd.

It's becoming increasingly clear that missing their leader is wearing on the Hornets, as even big nights from the rookies go unrewarded in the win column. As great as Collison has been, and again was tonight, the drop off between solid point guard and superstar player has been simply too much for the Hornets. On the year they dropped to 10-16 without their superstar, and 21-16 with him. I personally count the game they blew against Portland as being without him, since his injury led to Portland's comeback. You don't like my math? Tough.

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The 31-31 Hornets finish up their season series against the Spurs tonight in San Antonio, trying to avoid the 0-4 sweep. Game tips at 8:30 Central, and you can catch it live on ESPN.

The Spurs haven't played since beating the Hornets last Monday in New Orleans. They relied heavily on the pick and roll in that game and caught the Hornets out of position repeatedly. George Hill, Tony Parker and Tim Duncan did most of the damage for San Antonio. Marcus Thornton did his best to keep the Hornets in it with a game-high 30-point effort, becoming only the fifth rookie in the last 20 years to drop 30 on the Spurs.

While the Hornets may not win tonight, I have two reasons to believe that they'll put up more of a fight than they did on Monday. First, they have Darius Songaila back healthy again, and he can defend that high pick and roll much better than any other big on the roster. Second, Darren Collison should be better rested for this one. He looked exhausted in the second half on Monday, playing that second game of a back-to-back and his third game in four nights. Not easy when you're getting no less than 42 minutes per.

Numbers:

Pace: Spurs 93.9 (22nd), Hornets 94.7 (17th)
Offensive Efficiency: Spurs 106.6 (9th), Hornets 104.5 (14th)
Defensive Efficiency: Spurs 102.5 (10th), Hornets 105.7 (18th)

Linkage:

• Journals: Marcus Thornton - The evolution of Buckets
  
• Lagniappe: Much love for the rooks, plus a breakdown of some key plays from Wednesday's game
  
• Standings: The Hornets are now 10th in the West, five games behind the 8th-place Blazers and 7th-place Spurs.
  
• Rival bloggers: 48 Minutes of Hell (THN) | Pounding The Rock | Project Spurs

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

The Hornets lost their fourth game in five tries tonight, falling to the visiting Spurs, 92-106 (box). San Antonio steadily built up a big lead with some hot shooting in the first half, and were able to answer every Hornets run with poise and precision. Marcus Thornton had a big night for New Orleans, putting on a torrid shooting display and finishing with 30 points in just 27 minutes.

Pick and rolled to death

Textbook offensive basketball by the Spurs when they had Tony Parker running the pick and roll with Tim Duncan. Darren Collison mostly went under the picks and Parker was able to capitalize with some jumpers. David West and Emeka Okafor took turns trying to hedge out on Parker but TP made them pay by turning the corner and getting to the basket, or finding Duncan rolling to the hole. When guys like Thornton or James Posey caved in to deny Duncan, Parker was able to deliver some great skip passes or swing the ball to find the open man for three or a slasher from the weak side.

That's simple, fundamental basketball, and it's hard as hell to do. But the Spurs do it as well as anyone and the Hornets had no answers for it tonight. Darius Songaila was missed big time, since he's nifty at hedging out and not getting lost in no man's land like West and Okafor are prone to.

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Okay, let's try not falling into a gigantic hole in this game, see how that works out. The Hornets welcome the villainous Spurs to New Orleans tonight, trying to shake off last night's loss to the Mavericks in Dallas. Game tips at 7 Central.

The Spurs are 33-24 on the season, 12-14 on the road. They're currently 7th in the Western Conference, 3.5 games ahead of the 9th-place Hornets. The Spurs beat the Suns in San Antonio yesterday afternoon, but had lost three of four before that. Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Richard Jefferson combined to score 62 points against Phoenix.

These teams have met twice already this season, and the Hornets lost both games. It was sloppy Nawlins defense in San Antonio on October 28th that led to a Spurs blowout win, and then Duncan and Tony Parker carved it up at the Arena on MLK day. The Hornets fell into big holes before halftime in both those games.

Numbers:

Pace: Spurs 94.0 (22nd), Hornets 94.7 (17th)
Offensive Efficiency: Spurs 106.5 (9th), Hornets 104.6 (13th)
Defensive Efficiency: Spurs 102.5 (11th), Hornets 105.6 (19th)

Linkage:

• Earlier on the blog: Does Collison belong on the trading block?
• Lagniappe: Unflattering nicknames for Aaron Gray, plus what DC has in common with AI
  
• Standings: The Hornets are 3 games behind the 8th-place Blazers, a half game ahead of the Grizzlies. Those two teams square off tonight in Memphis.
  
• Rival bloggers: 48 Minutes of Hell (THN) | Pounding The Rock | Project Spurs

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

Facing their toughest opponent in weeks, the Hornets failed to measure up today at New Orleans Arena. The Spurs built up a big lead in the first quarter and seemed to easily answer every Hornets run until the final buzzer. Tony Parker led San Antonio with 25 points while Tim Duncan delivered 21 and 14 rebounds. David West and Chris Paul managed 18 points apiece for the Hornets. 90-97 the final score (box).

Early struggles

The Spurs were wrapping up a four-game road trip, playing their fifth game in seven days, and they were without starting small forward Richard Jefferson. Despite all that, San Antonio came out ready to play. They were excellent at both ends of the floor in the first quarter. They had the pick and roll game working to perfection, disjointing the Hornets defense and taking advantage with quick drives by Parker or kick outs and swings for open looks. Tim Duncan had his way with Emeka Okafor in the post, they crashed the boards, and they knocked down four triples.

The Hornets tried to get Peja Stojakovic going but Keith Bogans did an excellent job sticking with him around screens, rarely giving Peja a clean look. Okafor tried to get his post game working against Duncan but found himself outmatched at that end as well. David West had some success, but had to work hard for every bucket. As for Chris Paul, he was deferring to his teammates early as usual, which may not have been the best tactic this time around.

The score was 29-16 heading into the second quarter, and the Hornets were never able to dig themselves out of that hole.

Rookie report

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