Wednesday: Hornets (49-32) at Spurs (53-28)
Express-News
Time: 7 p.m.
TV: FSNSW
Radio: WOAI-AM 1200, KCOR-AM 1350
STARTING LINEUPS
POS - SPURS - HORNETS
PG - 9 Tony Parker (6-2, 8th yr) - 3 Chris Paul (6-0, 4th yr)
Both these point guards should garner MVP votes.
SG - 8 Roger Mason Jr. (6-5, 5th yr) - 45 Rasual Butler (6-7, 7th yr)
Spurs' loss (Manu Ginobili) is Mason's gain (more scoring opportunities).
SF - 4 Michael Finley (6-7, 14th yr) - 16 Peja Stojakovic (6-10, 11th yr)
Stojakovic coming off season-low 2-point outing in loss to Houston.
PF - 21 Tim Duncan (6-11, 12th yr) - 30 David West (6-9, 6th yr)
After logging 22 minutes in past two games, Duncan should be rested.
C - 15 Matt Bonner (6-10, 5th yr) - 6 Tyson Chandler (7-1, 8th yr)
Scott wants Chandler, out nearly a month, to return for 20 to 25 minutes.
SPURS RESERVES
12 Bruce Bowen, F, 6-7, 13th yr
90 Drew Gooden, F, 6-10, 8th yr
3 George Hill, G, 6-2, 1st yr
40 Kurt Thomas, C/F, 6-9, 14th yr
5 Ime Udoka, G/F, 6-5, 5th yr
11 Jacque Vaughn, G, 6-1, 12th yr
2 Marcus Williams, G, 6-7, 2nd yr
HORNETS RESERVES
4 Sean Marks, C/F, 6-10, 9th yr
23 Devin Brown, G/F, 6-5, 7th yr
33 Melvin Ely, F, 6-10, 7th yr
50 Antonio Daniels, G, 6-4, 12th yr
9 Morris Peterson, F/G, 6-7, 9th yr
41 James Posey, F, 6-8, 10th yr
32 Julian Wright, F, 6-8, 2nd yr
COACHES
Spurs: Gregg Popovich
Hornets: Byron Scott
INJURIES
Spurs: Manu Ginobili (stress fracture, right fibula) is out.
Hornets: Chandler (inflamed left ankle) is day-to-day.
PROJECTED INACTIVE PLAYERS
Spurs: Ian Mahinmi, Fabricio Oberto, Ginobili.
Hornets: Ryan Bowen, Hilton Armstrong.
NOTABLE
This game could mean everything for the Spurs, or nothing. A victory, plus a Houston loss to Dallas, gives the Spurs the conference's third seed. ... After losing five of its past seven games, New Orleans finds itself needing to win just to hold on to the sixth slot. ... The Spurs, looking to even season series with Hornets, enter game on first three-game winning streak since March 24-27. They have not won four in a row since the end of February.
- Jeff McDonald
If the Hornets lose and Utah beats a playing for nothing LA squad, NO could drop to 8th. OTOH, Dallas is in the same situation, and hopefully will fight like rabid dogs against the Rox. Dallas and New Orleans will be playing blind because Utah/LAL is the late game.
Oh, and the requisite error for a McDonald "masterpiece": we need to win and have BOTH Portland and Houston to lose to finish 3rd.This game could mean everything for the Spurs, or nothing. A victory, plus a Houston loss to Dallas, gives the Spurs the conference's third seed. ...
But if we win and Houston loses, wouldn't that give us the division, thus making us the 3rd seed as divisional winners?
The game is on tonight, they will know where they stand.
Yes. If Spurs win and Houston loses, the world is ours.
New Orleans Hornets center Tyson Chandler may return tonight against San Antonio Spurs
by Jimmy Smith
The Times-Picayune
SAN ANTONIO -- In the past few weeks, as the hopefulness of a repeat as Southwest Division champions gave way to the realization of a third-place finish, the Hornets, to a man, have insisted that their ultimate playoff seeding was meaningless.
"If we're healthy," Hornets Coach Byron Scott has continued to preach, "we can beat anybody in the Western Conference."
The Hornets need a victory tonight over the Spurs at AT&T Center to clinch the sixth seed in the postseason playoffs. Meanwhile, San Antonio's slim hopes of a division le will be kept alive only with a win over New Orleans and a Dallas victory at home over the first-place Houston Rockets.
Yet, for the Hornets, tonight's game could be an indication of what it could be like in the playoffs with a roster at full strength, if Scott decides to use recovering center Tyson Chandler. Or, it could be a concession to fate if Scott opts to rest Chandler once again, as well as All-Stars Chris Paul and David West, letting the seeding chips fall where they may.
Under myriad scenarios, the Hornets could be the sixth, seventh or eighth seed in the postseason, although the outcome of Tuesday night's late game between the Lakers and Utah could eliminate the eighth spot if Los Angeles wins. If Utah wins, the eighth position still would be in play.
Scott's ultimate lineup determination tonight may or may not affect the outcome, for both teams.
The Rockets' 86-66 drubbing of the visiting Hornets on Monday night, in a game that could be a preview of a first-round matchup, merely made Scott's thought process for his rotation tonight a little more difficult.
"I'd like to get one game under (Chandler's) belt before we start the playoffs," Scott said. "I'm optimistic he'll be fine for the playoffs. Risking one game is not that bad. I can play him 15, 20 minutes and shut him down and get ready for the playoffs."
Or Scott could opt to keep Chandler out of the lineup and give his injured left ankle a little more time before the first postseason game this weekend. Scott could sit weary Paul and West, as well, although both got extra time on the bench Monday night when Scott conceded the loss to Houston, Paul playing 29:41, West 31:41.
"But my thing is with that," Scott said, "is if I can play Tyson in that last game, I would like him to play with the starters, the guys he's used to playing with. If that's the case, it might be where Chris plays one quarter and a little bit of the third, and the same with David.
"But just to have those guys out there for 10 or 15 minutes together I think is important. If that's the way I go, basically it's not so much thinking about the game, but preparing for the playoffs, with the starters having a little bit of time together, because they haven't been together for a while. I think it would be important for them to be on the floor in a regular-season game, just for five or 10 minutes, just to get familiar with one another again."
The last time the Hornets' starting unit played together was March 2 in Philadelphia against the 76ers, a game in which Peja Stojakovic left in the third quarter with back spasms. Stojakovic returned to the lineup April 3 after missing 15 games.
Chandler left the lineup two weeks later when his long-standing ankle injury flared up again. He has not played since March 16.
Chandler's absence from the lineup this season has had a definite effect on the bottom line. The Hornets are 19-18 in games Chandler has not played, 30-14 when he has been on the floor.
"We're just trying to come up with the best scenario and what makes most sense for the team," Chandler said. "I want to have some timing and my first game back not be the first game back in the playoff series."
New Orleans (49-32) at San Antonio (53-28) Preview
Game info: 8:00 pm EDT Wed Apr 15, 2009
TV: CST, FSSW
By Santosh Venkataraman
The San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Hornets face a myriad of playoff possibilities entering their regular-season finale.
While those permutations may be complex, both teams realize they want to enter the postseason with momentum.
The Spurs will need help to claim the Southwest Division crown Wednesday night when they host the Hornets, who will finish as either the sixth or seventh seed in the Western Conference.
San Antonio (53-28) is tied with Houston for the Southwest lead, but the Rockets own the tiebreaker. The Spurs must beat New Orleans (49-32) and hope Houston loses at Dallas for San Antonio to win the division and gain the No. 3 seed in the West.
If that happens, the Spurs will meet the Mavericks while the Hornets will take on Denver in the first round. San Antonio, though, will guarantee itself the fifth seed - and no home-court advantage - with a loss Wednesday.
New Orleans gains the sixth seed with a win or a loss by Dallas. The Hornets will be seventh with a loss and a win by the Mavericks.
With so much still to be decided, the Spurs are looking to close the regular season with a fourth straight win. They cruised past Golden State 101-72 on Monday as Drew Gooden had 20 points and 15 rebounds and Tim Duncan added 16 and 13.
“We need our rhythm, we need some confidence, and we need to play well against some of the elite teams in the West,” said Duncan, who returned after sitting out Sunday’s game against Sacramento to rest his aching knees. “Whatever happens, happens. We’re going to go in there (against New Orleans) and try to take that game and figure out what happens.”
The mood is a bit different for New Orleans, which lost 86-66 at Houston on Monday. The Hornets missed a chance to clinch the No. 6 seed, but coach Byron Scott was more upset with the effort that resulted in his club’s lowest point total of the season.
“It is very disappointing,” Scott said. “I think most of our guys in that locker room think that it’s like a light switch, that you can just turn on when the playoffs start. It’s not going to happen, it’s just not.”
Superstar point guard Chris Paul had just nine points and seven assists, marking the first time all season he failed to reach double figures in at least one of those categories. The Hornets have lost five of their last seven games.
“We got smashed,” Paul said. “It was embarrassing. They beat us in just about every way possible.”
Hornets center Tyson Chandler is expected to play for the first time since March 16. He has missed New Orleans’ last 15 games with inflammation in his left ankle, but Scott intends to play him 20-25 minutes Wednesday.
The Hornets have won two of three this season against the team that eliminated them from the playoffs last year, with the home team winning each meeting. Paul is averaging 27.7 points and 8.3 assists against San Antonio in 2008-09.
He will be matched up against Spurs point guard Tony Parker, who is shooting 60.9 percent and averaging 21.7 points versus the Hornets this season.
Notes
Hornets:
Hornets C Tyson Chandler, out since March 16 with inflammation in his left ankle, was inactive, but coach Byron Scott was hoping to play him 20-25 minutes in Wednesday's regular-season finale in San Antonio. "Just to get him out there and get his timing a little bit," Scott said. ... Monday's loss was the fifth in the last seven games for the Hornets. ... The Hornets had only 11 points in the third quarter en route to a season low output.
Spurs:
If Houston and San Antonio both win their regular-season finales on Wednesday, the Rockets will win a complex tiebreaker and get the No. 3 playoff seed, while San Antonio could end up starting the postseason on the road against the Trail Blazers unless Dallas knocks off Houston.
Team Stat Leaders
Points
Chris Paul NO 22.8
Tony Parker SA 21.9
Rebounds
Tyson Chandler NO 8.9
Tim Duncan SA 10.6
Assists
Chris Paul NO 11.0
Tony Parker SA 6.9
Team Comparison
Team Record Standings PF PA Road/Home Streak L10
New Orleans 49-32 3rd Southwest / 6th West 95.8 94.1 Road 21-19 Lost 1 5-5
San Antonio 53-28 2nd Southwest / 5th West 97.0 93.2 Home 27-13 Won 3 6-4
blazers have nothing to really play for and might want to lose to match up with nugets IMO but at the same time there game starts after ours so its kinda a lose or lose situation for new orleans because they either might play houston or san antonio
hope chandler sits out
2 words only
"must win"
Go Hornets!
http://blog.nola.com/hornetsbeat/200...er_tys_11.htmlChris Paul and David West could play "one quarter and a little bit of the third" in Wednesday's season finale, according to coach Byron Scott.
Hopefully the Hornets don't try. It'd be nice to get another easy game before the playoffs begin.
Nope...if the Spurs win and the Rockets lose, the Spurs are SW Division Champs and automatic 3rd seed, regardless of whether the Blazers win or lose...and they would face the Mavs in the first round.
Nope. We'd win the division, but of course, after one season as top seed (2006) where we get butt ed by having the Mavs forced into the 4th spot by not winning their (our) division, they changed the rule. The three division winners will be among the four top seeds, but it DOES go by records and tie breakers within the top 4. Portland owns the tiebreaker with us, so unless they lose, even if we win and HOU loses, we'd be 4th.
I think that if you're the division champ it doesn't mean that you're 3rd. Didn't this rule change last year.
yes, IIRC you can be at worst 4th (because of the mavs in 06).
Hopefully spurs win tonight and Rockets lose.
Not this again... Go to nba.com and read tie breaking rules for a multi team tie, then come back.
If the Spurs win and Rockets lose we have an automatic #3 seed by virtue of being division champs.
They would be #3 because they would have the same record as a non-division champ (Portland), while also being tied with the other division champ (Denver). The #1 rule for a multi team tiebreaker is to determine the division champs, which automatically places Denver at #2 and Spurs at #3.
The only way to a non-division champ to be above a division champ in the top 4 is to have a better record, or be tied with ONLY ONE of the division champs, and own the tiebreaker.
Wishful thinking about the Hornets not trying. They aren't bringing Chandler back to look pretty.
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