Last night's loss to the Blazers was not the biggest surprise ever. Far from it. But instead of looking back at yet another kick in the nuts, let's look forward and try to figure out if there's any hope left this season.

After the Blazers game, the Hornets are now 11-17 on the season, which is the worst record in the West save for Memphis at 6-24. Currently, the eighth and final Playoff spot in the conference is held by the 15-15 Warriors. Surprisingly, the Hornets shake out just 3.0 games behind G-State in the standings, which isn't bad considering the whole 14 losses in 17 games thing.

Now, we're about a third of the way through the season, and the Hornets have played 16 of their 28 games thus far on the road. That of course means that the schedule should be a little easier from here on out, with more home games than road games. The Hornets begin a four-game homestand next Tuesday against the Warriors. Our guys have not played more than two consecutive games in the same arena so far this season, so that should be a welcome change.

Ok, so they get to sleep in their own beds more. Great. But what about the injuries?

I'm writing Peja off for the season. I figure that even if he does get back, there's going to be some kind of hangover from the prolonged absence, so he can't be counted on for much. We should have kept the receipt.

CP and Bojangles will hopefully return in early January, which will be a massive boost to the backcourt.

I think the key though, is David West. If we get him back on the speedy side of that fabulous 2 to 8 week estimation (i.e. late next week), there's every chance the Hornets can get on a roll and make the Playoffs. He's good for almost 20 points a game, and defenses have to respect his mid-range jumper, which opens up the lane for everybody else.

So that's probably our best-case scenario. The Hornets can win more than they lose the rest of the way and tip back over .500, putting them right in the mix come April.

Judging by the Hornets' luck this season however, there's absolutely no chance of that happening. More likely, CP will rush back for the Denver game tomorrow and get both ankles broken by Allen Iverson. Then, David West will suffer a set back and have to get his elbow amputated, while Peja Stojakovic will never quite recover from that back injury, instead becoming the most dangerous outside shooter in the history of the NWBA.

Maybe next year.