Inside Report: Mavericks-Hornets preview — Possible playoff preview set on the Bayou

Earl K. Sneed reports from New Orleans and previews Wednesday night's matchup between the Mavericks and Hornets in a potential playoff preview.

NEW ORLEANS — If the playoffs began on Wednesday night then the matchup between the Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Hornets would be an opening-round series between the No. 2 and No. 7 seeds in the Western Conference.

That’s not the case just yet, but there could definitely be a playoff-like atmosphere at New Orleans Arena when the two teams meet up for a third time this season, after splitting a home-and-home series back in November.

Fortunately for the Mavericks (46-17), they could get their emotional leader back Wednesday night, while the Hornets could be without their All-Star floor general.

Mavericks center Tyson Chandler could make a return to the lineup, after missing three games with a sprained right ankle. The 7-footer’s status for the Southwest Division showdown remains unclear, however, although Chandler personally hopes for the opportunity to make a return against his former team.

“I’m feeling that I should be able to go Wednesday,” Chandler said after missing his team’s 108-105 win in Minnesota Monday night.

Meanwhile, the Hornets (37-29) may have to take the court without point guard Chris Paul, after a serious situation in which he was carried off the court on a stretcher against Cleveland on Sunday fortunately ended with just a concussion.

Paul missed his team’s 85-77 loss to Chicago on Monday night and remains listed as day-to-day, likely further handicapping a Hornets squad that ranks 27th in the league in scoring (94.3 points per game) if he is unable to return to action with the Mavericks in town to celebrate the Mardi Gras festivities.

Unaware of whether or not Paul will be in uniform, the Mavs will still seek a 20th victory in a 22-game span, hoping to build off their win in Minnesota with another in the third matchup of a stretch of four games in five nights.

And it’s the 21 games prior — in which the Mavericks’ only two defeats came on last-second scores — that coach Rick Carlisle hopes his players recall and learn from when they take the court Wednesday night for the start of a back-to-back.

“There’s a lot of positive aspects to the last 20 games or whatever, but I think there’s got to be some perfectionist inside a team that’s trying to get where we’re going,” Carlisle said.

The team will also try not to look past the Hornets, in a potential playoff preview, hoping to move to 2-1 in the season series. And with the new-look New York Knicks and two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers still on deck this week, Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki admits that he and his teammates will have a tough road ahead.

“We’ve got four in five nights, so it’s a tough stretch for us, tough week,” Nowitzki said. “And at the end of the week we’ve got the Lakers coming in. So, it’s a tough week, a lot of challenges.”

Still, Nowitzki remains confident that his team will stay focused on the task at hand, knowing that the Mavs have lost seven straight in New Orleans and could once again see the Hornets down the road in the postseason.

Note: The Mavericks-Hornets matchup Wednesday night will tip off at 7 p.m. CT, airing locally on Fox Sports Southwest.

The Mavericks return to the American Airlines Center on Thursday night, hosting Carmelo Anthony and the new-look New York Knicks. Tip-off for that game will be at 8:30 pm. CT, airing nationally on TNT and locally on Fox Sports Southwest. Great seats are still available and tickets can be purchased by visiting the American Airlines Center box office, logging on to Mavs.com or by calling 214-747-MAVS (6287).

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Fans can visit Mavs.com or call 214.747.MAVS for more information and a complete listing of regular-season home games.