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."
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