After struggling to consistently defend their homecourt during the first two months of the regular season, the New Orleans Hornets take a three-game home winning streak into their Saturday matchup against the Golden State Warriors. New Orleans recently went 3-0 on its Jan. 7-11 homestand, defeating formidable Western Conference clubs San Antonio and Houston, as well as West postseason contender Minnesota. Combined with a Jan. 5 overtime victory in Dallas, the Hornets have reeled off four consecutive wins against teams from their own conference. Overall, the Hornets are 6-1 since Jan. 5.
New Orleans’ turnaround has coincided with the return to the floor of shooting guard Eric Gordon, who has given the Hornets a full-strength lineup for the first time all season. The Hornets went 6-3 with Gordon in uniform during the 2011-12 season and are 6-2 this season, for a combined won-loss record of 12-5.
Over the past few weeks, the Hornets have exacted revenge on several teams they’d lost to early in the 2012-13 season. They will try to do the same Saturday vs. Golden State, one of the NBA’s most surprising teams. The Warriors and Hornets faced off on Dec. 18 in California, with Golden State posting a 103-96 victory. New Orleans rallied back into the game in the second half, but couldn’t overcome an early deficit or dig out of a 59-50 halftime hole.
Much like with the Hornets, one of the biggest determining factors to success over the past two seasons for the Warriors has been a healthy roster. Golden State leading scorer Stephen Curry has battled severe ankle sprains throughout his career, but played in each of the team’s first 36 games this season. The Warriors’ season also figured to hinge on the health status of center Andrew Bogut, but despite Bogut appearing in just four games, the club was 23-14 entering this weekend.
Intriguing matchup: Power forward, Anthony Davis vs. David Lee
In the Dec. 18 meeting in Oakland, both players put up big numbers in the paint. Lee paced the Warriors by registering a team-high 26 points (including 10-for-16 shooting from the field) along with nine rebounds. Davis produced one of his best early-season performances by notching 15 points, 16 rebounds and four steals. Defending the 6-foot-9, 240-pound Lee is no easy task, particularly given his accurate mid-range shooting and array of post moves.
