ducks
07-30-2003, 12:17 PM
Hornets' brass not pleased with end of schedule
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Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS (AP) _ New Orleans Hornets fans will have a better selection of weekend home games in 2003-04, but team officials were not pleased with a West Coast road trip scheduled at the end of the season.
``I don't know what we're doing out there that late in the season,'' general manager Bob Bass said, adding that he would prefer to focus on Central Division of Eastern Conference rivals as the playoffs approach.
``We can't put somebody out (of the playoffs). We can't put ourselves in. We just have to win every game,'' Bass said. ``And they're nearly all playoff teams.''
The 2003-04 NBA schedule was released on Tuesday.
The Hornets' five-game West Coast trip runs from late March through early April, starting with a game against the Los Angeles Lakers and continuing with visits to Utah, Portland, Seattle and Sacramento.
Hornets head coach Tim Floyd said he would have preferred such a trip to come in the middle of the season, but he was pleased about the increase in Friday and Saturday games.
The Hornets, who played only one Saturday night home game last regular season, will have seven Saturday night home games this season, in addition to 12 Friday night home games and one Sunday home date.
That will give fans in towns such as Lafayette, Mobile, Ala., and Jackson, Miss., many more opportunities to mix a game into a weekend trip to New Orleans.
``Growing up in Hattiesburg (Miss.), people are always looking for an excuse to get to New Orleans and I'm sure people in those other communities feel the same way,'' Floyd said.
The Hornets open the regular season in New Orleans against Atlanta on Oct. 29. The Hornets next two home games are against strong teams from both coasts _ Boston on Nov. 1 and the Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 7.
San Antonio, the defending NBA champion, arrives Jan. 9. New Jersey, the defending Eastern Conference champions, plays here on Feb. 2. And Philadelphia, the team that knocked New Orleans out of last season's playoffs, comes to New Orleans on Jan. 21 and March 17.
The regular season ends on April 14 at Washington, with the final home game two days earlier against New York. scoop (http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/gen/wire?messageId=18490989)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS (AP) _ New Orleans Hornets fans will have a better selection of weekend home games in 2003-04, but team officials were not pleased with a West Coast road trip scheduled at the end of the season.
``I don't know what we're doing out there that late in the season,'' general manager Bob Bass said, adding that he would prefer to focus on Central Division of Eastern Conference rivals as the playoffs approach.
``We can't put somebody out (of the playoffs). We can't put ourselves in. We just have to win every game,'' Bass said. ``And they're nearly all playoff teams.''
The 2003-04 NBA schedule was released on Tuesday.
The Hornets' five-game West Coast trip runs from late March through early April, starting with a game against the Los Angeles Lakers and continuing with visits to Utah, Portland, Seattle and Sacramento.
Hornets head coach Tim Floyd said he would have preferred such a trip to come in the middle of the season, but he was pleased about the increase in Friday and Saturday games.
The Hornets, who played only one Saturday night home game last regular season, will have seven Saturday night home games this season, in addition to 12 Friday night home games and one Sunday home date.
That will give fans in towns such as Lafayette, Mobile, Ala., and Jackson, Miss., many more opportunities to mix a game into a weekend trip to New Orleans.
``Growing up in Hattiesburg (Miss.), people are always looking for an excuse to get to New Orleans and I'm sure people in those other communities feel the same way,'' Floyd said.
The Hornets open the regular season in New Orleans against Atlanta on Oct. 29. The Hornets next two home games are against strong teams from both coasts _ Boston on Nov. 1 and the Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 7.
San Antonio, the defending NBA champion, arrives Jan. 9. New Jersey, the defending Eastern Conference champions, plays here on Feb. 2. And Philadelphia, the team that knocked New Orleans out of last season's playoffs, comes to New Orleans on Jan. 21 and March 17.
The regular season ends on April 14 at Washington, with the final home game two days earlier against New York. scoop (http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/gen/wire?messageId=18490989)