It's Friday, which means the Hornets are back in action, taking on the Miami Heat in Biloxi this evening for game 5 of their best damn preseason ever.

Ok, so maybe not their best preseason ever, but definitely top 20.

Let's hit the bullets…

• Ryan Schwan wonders what it would take for the Hornets to land Kobe Bryant. I've actually been thinking more and more about this lately. If the Hornets were to pull off Ryan's first trade suggestion, I think I'd be pretty happy about it. Let me get back to this topic in a few days.

  (Also, check out Ryan's grading of the Hornets past drafts which I haven't had a chance to read yet.)

• The news about Peja's "stiffness" is still pretty sketchy. He's saying the soreness in his back is expected after two weeks of hard work, and Byron Scott is backing that up as you'd expect. It should be interesting to see how much he plays this evening against Miami, if at all.

  I must say though that my confidence in Peja's ability to contribute this season is getting lower by the day.

• About the Heat: They're 0 and frickin' 4 thus far in the preseason, having dropped games to Detroit, Atlanta, Orlando and Charlotte. They were crucified by the Magic last week, 102-69.
• Of course, the Heat are riddled with injuries right now. Shaq has played just two preseason games and bruised his massive quadriceps against the Bobcats last Saturday. According to the Miami Herald, he'll miss tonight's game, along with Alonzo Mourning (foot), Michael Doleac (hip), Dwyane Wade (offseason knee surgery) and Wayne Simien (knee).

  With three bigs out, there should be no way the Hornets get beaten on the boards again. Chandler and Armstrong should clean up.

• Anyone know why the Heat have had five days rest since their last preseason game. Excessive, no?
• John Holla predicts the Hornets to finish with a 39-43 record this season. Yeah, that's the same as last season. Pessimistic, huh?
• Apparently P.J. Brown has decided to retire from the NBA. Would have been nice to bring him back to New Orleans and have him retire as a Hornet. Oh well. Good luck with life after basketball, Collier.
• Looks like Adam Haluska has a slight man-crush on Ryan Bowen…
  
  "I don't know how much he likes me telling him, but when I was growing up, he was one of the guys I idolized."

• From Bob Licht's latest column at The Official…

  The Hornets have changed their NBADL affiliation this season from the Tulsa 66ers to the Rio Grande Valley (Texas) Vipers.

  Not exactly a big deal, but why the switch? And won't they have to write "Rio Grand Valley Vipers" in really small letters to fit it on the jerseys?

Anyways, I'm done. I might not get to post this weekend because I'll be busy roaming the countryside like a ninja. I haven't done that in a while.