In the most highly anticipated matchup since Harry Potter took on the Twilight things, the Bobcats take on the Hornets tonight at The Hive.

edit– Najera is out, so the big story line of the night isn’t going to take place.

In all seriousness, this game kind of is a big deal.

1. The Hornets are heavily favored for the first time that I can remember. They really should beat this hapless Bobcats team, even though as Jim Eichenhofer reports, they won’t get getting Gordon, Landry, Okafor, or Smith back. Here’s his update on the injury front, which starts off quoting Monty.

“I think (Landry) is close (to returning). Just watching his workouts and listening to (trainer Jon Ishop), I think Carl is closer than I thought he would be. I’m guessing – and I stress the word guess – that he’ll be back this week. … Emeka is getting more tests done and he’s talking to different doctors. … Jason is progressing. He’s starting to take shots, and that was a big thing for him. He’s progressing to the point where he’s not having the (concussion) symptoms anymore.” Williams added that Okafor has experienced some swelling in his knee, causing Okafor to try to get more information on the injury. “Until they can figure out why there is swelling, Ishop and (the team’s training staff) want to hold him out,” Williams said.

2. This is the first time in NBA history that two Mexican-born players (Gustavo Ayon and Eduardo Najera) will play in the same game or face off against each other. It won’t be the last.

3. There’s an interesting trade rumor out of HoopsWorld that involves Chris Kaman, although they aren’t sure how. I’ll leave the speculation to y’all–

The Magic, Warriors and Hornets are in discussions on a three-team trade, two league sources confirmed. Monta Ellis, Andris Biedrins and Dorell Wright would be sent by the Warriors to the Magic. Ryan Anderson, J.J. Redick, Hedo Turkoglu and Quentin Richardson would be the main outgoing pieces from Orlando.

If you didn’t know already, Miami is the strong favorite to sign Kaman if he ends up being bought out.

4. There are free Entergy tote bags for the first 5,000 fans to show up!

5. The Hornets haven’t won two home games in a row the entire season. This is the night it could happen.

6. With Rubio out for the year, the Timberwolves pick is looking like it could still be pretty good.

7. Enter the Hornets247 NCAA tournament challenge, and earn eternal bragging rights and some free stuff.

8. Today is March 12th. You probably know what that means in terms of ownership, but if not, here’s a hint– it rhymes with shmegislative shmession.

9. Gerry V has a nice look at the many talents of Gustavo Ayon. (Don’t be fooled by the title, this really is just a compilation showcasing all of all his talents.)

10. This could potentially be the least attended Hornets game of the season.Buzzfest is cancelled because the weather is, for lack of a better word, yucky. It’s dark, thundering, rainy, and honestly I didn’t even feel like leaving my house when I got out of bed this morning. It’s only gotten worse since then. It’s been beautiful in New Orleans lately, and it won’t surprise me at all if a lot of people decide to stay at home on the couch for this one as a result. Sometimes sitting at home in the rain is just what the doctor ordered. Not Dr. Attendance, mind you, but some sort of doctor.

Hopefully I’m wrong, but unless the Hornets gave away a lot of free tickets, I just don’t see the crowd showing up in full force tonight.

—

Updates from the Arena

• Belinelli has hit double figures in 15 of his last 16 games. Remarkably, he actually leads the team in double digit scoring games this year with 28.
• Kaman leads the team with 10 double-doubles this year.
• Jimmy Smith was talking with Gustavo with a translator for a while. I imagine he’ll have something nice up at the TP tomorrow about it. He finished the interview by saying, “Next time in English!”. Gustavo understood, and laughed.
• Najera will play!
• Xavier Henry likes Kansas in the big dance. Lance Thomas went with Duke (surprise, surprise). Both seem to really enjoy being in New Orleans.

7 Comments