Live at the Hive report: Suns at Hornets
April 6, 2007
Suns 103, Hornets 95
Suns (57-19); Hornets (35-41)
With starters Tyson Chandler (toe), Chris Paul (foot) and Desmond Mason (cheek bone, nose) all sidelined by injury, the Hornets turned Friday to the likes of seldom-used Marcus Vinicius and Brandon Bass, who entered the game having played a combined total of 191 minutes in 2006-07.
Given the situation, New Orleans/Oklahoma City couldn’t have been too disappointed by its performance against the second-best team in the Western Conference. After falling behind by 20, the Hornets fought back to trail by only seven with 1:26 remaining, receiving several strong outings from their reconfigured rotation.
“I think we understand that under the circumstances, everybody has kind of written us off because of the injuries,” Hornets coach Byron Scott said. “The guys who weren’t getting any playing time (prior to the injuries), feel like they have something to prove. … When you get an opportunity, you want to try to take advantage of it.”
Marc Jackson capitalized the most on his extended playing time, racking up 16 points and five rebounds over 28 minutes. Hilton Armstrong added eight points and three rebounds in 18 minutes.
Scott was hopeful that Chandler and Paul will be back on the floor as soon as Saturday in Minnesota. Now three games behind the eighth-place Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference standings, the Hornets have almost no remaining margin for error over the final six games of the season.
“It will be a game-time decision on whether they’ll play,” Scott said of the team’s center and point guard. “Both of those guys want to play very badly, (but) I don’t know if they can play. Obviously we need them both. But if they can’t play, we’ll go with the guys we have and see if we can pull out a W (at Minnesota).”
The Hornets flew to Minneapolis for a 7 p.m. Saturday game at the Target Center.
Hornets MVP: Marc Jackson turned in a second straight solid game, following up a 13-point, 12-rebound effort vs. Seattle with 16 points and five boards.
Hornets Sixth Man of the Game: Bobby Jackson notched 11 points and four assists in 22 minutes.
It was over when… Leandro Barbosa drained a three-pointer to give the Suns a 10-point lead with 33 seconds remaining.
Hornets.com’s intriguing matchup: At power forward, Shawn Marion held the upper hand on David West, finishing with 20 points (9-for-12 shooting) and 11 rebounds. West netted 17 points and five rebounds.
Suns MVP: Super sub Leandro Barbosa, whom Phoenix coach Mike D’Antoni often refers to as the Suns’ “sixth starter,” piled up six three-pointers en route to a 26-point effort.
Suns X-factor: James Jones helped Phoenix balloon its fourth-quarter lead to 20 by dropping in seven points in the period. Jones totaled 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting.
Hornets.com’s three points
- Without Paul, Mason and Chandler, West’s offensive role has increased significantly, which may require him to take more field-goal attempts than the 14 he fired Friday. The challenge for West is that opponents can now focus on trying to stop the 6-foot-9 power forward, making it difficult for him to get open shots. “We’ve got to look to play through him a lot more obviously, with all of these guys out,” Scott said. “He’s more of the go-to guy now. But I don’t want to get stagnant on offense and try to force-feed a guy the ball every time down the floor. We have to get other guys involved, but when we need a bucket, we need to get the ball in (West’s) hands.”
- Vinicius is a player to keep an eye on entering next season. Regular observers of Hornets practices have noted that the Brazilian appears to have the potential to be much improved in 2007-08. The second-round draft pick was impressive during his 10-game D-League stint in Tulsa, averaging 18.5 points and 7.0 rebounds, including a 33-point game vs. Fort Worth.
- Scott was asked to assess the Hornets’ playoff chances during his postgame press conference. “It depends,” Scott answered. “If (Paul and Chandler) come back, I still think (our playoff hopes) are pretty good. If they don’t, they’re very slim. I’m always optimistic.” From a mathematical standpoint, unless the Hornets receive some unexpected help, they may need to go 6-0 the rest of the way to give themselves a chance to get in the postseason. No matter what the Hornets do, the Clippers can eliminate the Hornets by going 5-3 or better in their final eight games, while the Warriors can do likewise with a 4-2 or better finish.
