MLK Day at the Hive, with the Spurs in town to take on the Hornets for the second time this season.

The first meeting between these teams was the season opener in San Antonio back in October, which saw the Spurs cruise to a 113-96 victory behind a 61-17 edge in bench scoring.

The Spurs arrive in New Orleans today with a 24-15 record, but have lost their last two games (@ Charlotte, @ Memphis) to drop to 7-9 on the road. This is their last stop on a four-game road trip, and their fifth game in seven days to boot. Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Richard Jefferson have all struggled the past two games. Tim Duncan had himself a big night in Memphis on Saturday, delivering 23 points, 8 boards and 5 blocks.

The Spurs are a little banged up. Parker has been playing through plantar fasciitis, Michael Finley is out with an ankle sprain, Matt Bonner is still recovering from a broken hand, Antonio McDyess missed the Grizzlies game with a neck injury, and Duncan has been sitting out games here and there in an attempt to reverse the aging process.

Meanwhile, the Hornets have been doing pretty well, winning eight of their past ten games. They bounced back nicely from Friday’s loss in Detroit to beat the Pacers on Saturday behind a near triple-double from Chris Paul. The Hornets are 21-18 overall, 15-3 at home.

Numbers:

Pace: Spurs 93.5 (26th), Hornets 94.3 (20th)
Offensive Efficiency: Spurs 107.8 (7th), Hornets 104.0 (16th)
Defensive Efficiency: Spurs 101.4 (7th), Hornets 105.3 (19th)

Linkage:

• Lagniappe: Cavs offering Ilgauskas for West
  
• Rival bloggers: 48 Minutes of Hell | Pounding The Rock | Project Spurs

(Many thanks to Dariusz for today’s banner featuring Marcus Thornton. Be sure to check out more of Dariusz’s designs in our Wallpapers vault.)