The Nuggets are one of the elite field goal percentage defense teams in the league (something Gregg Popovich utilized to allow SA to dominate for most of this decade). They close out shooters well, Nene is terrific on help defense, and their second unit is just as fearsome defensively. The Hornets' overall shooting took a hit this season; whether it was Peja slumping, Tyson slumping, West slightly off from the floor, etc., there was plenty of blame to go around in the regular season. The Hornets will be faced with the tough task of righting the eFG% ship against a terrific field goal defense. Advantage Nuggets.

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via www.23isback.com

More photos » by George Frey - AP

Utah Jazz's Deron Williams, depicted shooting against the Phoenix Suns in the second half of an NBA basketball game in Salt Lake City, is significantly worse than Chris Paul (not pictured).

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The Hornets return home from a tougher-than-it-should've-been Western swing today. Unfortunately, they'll face off against their toughest Western foe in the Utah Jazz.

All indications are that Peja Stojakovic will play again tonight, and probably in a reserve role. James Posey, initially expected back tonight from an elbow issue, will not play, and neither will Tyson Chandler.

The keys to tonight are simple in theory, but difficult in execution. Chief among them is defensive rebounding. Utah ranks 4th in the West on the offensive glass, and with Carlos Boozer and Paul Millsap patrolling the inside, Hilton Armstrong will be faced with his toughest assignment of his recent resurgence. With West's ankle issues, the Hornets figure to be in for a tough night on the glass. Contributions of Rasual Butler, Julian Wright, and even Chris Paul will be necessary.

New Orleans also needs to keep Utah off the foul line. The Jazz have the second highest free throw rate of any team in the league. While they aren't as successful at conducting unimpeded foul-fests on the road, they still draw a ton of whistles. The Hornets struggled severely to keep guys like Jamal Crawford and C.J. Watson in check on Friday, and the Jazz are obviously equipped with far more talented players.

So defensively, both the above keys can be encapsulated by one word: energy. If the Hornets are outhustled tonight, they really stand no chance of stopping the Jazz offense. I really would not mind seeing a Ryan Bowen stint in this game.

On the offensive side of things, the Hornets will have to watch out for the Jazz's active hands. Utah forces more turnovers than any team in the conference. Some may argue that this is also because they get away with more contact than any team in the conference, but the point still stands. If CP goes into the lane without knowing what he's going to do (a recurring theme over the last few weeks), the Jazz will take it. If David West reacts to the double a second late, the Jazz will take it. New Orleans' ball control has slipped from last year's levels, and the Jazz are the ideal team to take advantage of that.

Rounding out Utah's defense, it is worth pointing out that they are a below average defensive rebounding team, they foul a lot, and they have an average field goal defense. The offensive glass will be there for the taking, if guys are willing to step up. Utah's high foul rates should lead to a high-penetration game plan. Every jump shot we settle for is more costly against a team like Utah. As with all New Orleans-Utah matchups, this will be about far more than Chris Paul vs. Deron Williams. Utah has the substantially better supporting cast, but with their inexplicable struggles on the road, we do have a shot. Go Hornets.

The big news is Peja Stojakovic will return tonight. According to Byron Scott, he should get about 20-25 minutes off the bench. I will consider tonight a success if Peja is healthy at the end of the night; for now, I don't really care how he shoots. As long as he can build up some strength over these next few games, he can once again be an invaluable piece. There's still no word on Tyson Chandler, though Chandler did blog this week that his cast has been removed. The Times-Pic also reported that TC could return for the final three games.

Anyways, the Warriors are something of a mess right now. That said, they're still a very capable offensive team (10th in offensive efficiency). If we fail to close out on shooters, this could turn into a bad night in a hurry. The Dubs also have Monta Ellis back in the mix and playing well. He had a scary moment against Sacramento on Wednesday but otherwise appears to be fine. Stephen Jackson is out for the year, but that could actually be a bad thing for us. Instead of Jackson firing up ill advised threes at a 33% clip, they now have Kelenna Azuibuike, who not only shoots very smart threes, but also connects on 45% of his looks.

The key to coralling GSW's high key offense is to stop them from getting to the line. Currently the league's 3rd best free throw taking attack, the Dubs' foul drawing is led by Corey Maggette (9.4 FTA/36). Nobody else is close to that, but some other key players- Crawford, Randolph, and Wright- all average in the 3-4 range. That puts the onus big time on Hilton Armstrong tonight. He could either be in for a terrible night or he could take a big step forward defensively. We've seen him make significant strides on the offensive end, so I have some confidence.

Defensively, Golden State allows opponents to shoot great percentages, doesn't force turnovers, and fouls more than average. Most importantly, they are the worst defensive rebounding team in the NBA by a good margin (Interestingly, 3 of the bottom 5 and 5 of the bottom 11 defensive rebounding teams reside in the Pacific Division). So I expect Julian Wright to have a big impact on this game, given his high offensive rebounding totals of late. Go Hornets.

For starters, does this picture make anyone else sad? Feels like just last week that Allan Houston and Dell Curry were out on the courts. I feel old.

Anyway, if you haven't heard yet, the Ceiling Fan is out 1 to 2 weeks. Judging from the "stabilizing boot," it would appear that the 2 week side is more likely. In all probability, the 1-2 week assessment means he's done for the regular season. How effective he would be in a postseason series is anybody's guess. As for Peja... still no word on him. The last story indicated that he had shooting pain in his legs, stemming from his back. Doesn't take a doctor to realize something sounds very, very wrong there.

What does it all mean? Well, we can all but kiss homecourt advantage good bye. Between our horrific performances against other contenders, Houston and S.A. playing very good basketball, and our injuries, we're probably staring at a 6 or 7 seed. The first round matchup could still end up being anyone... San Antonio, Houston, Denver, Utah, Portland... even L.A. if we slump some more.

So it's a somber state of affairs the Hornets find themselves in, on the way to New York. The Knicks are coming off an embarassing loss, where an Al Harrington hanging-on-the-rim penalty cost them a probable win. Still, if Quentin Richardson and Wilson Chandler get hot against James Posey's "defense," things could become very rough.

I'll be watching this one solely to see Chris Paul do his thing. Hey, looks like it's 2005 all over again.

Boston in New Orleans tonight. Last season, it was one of the defining moments of the year. This time around, it could very well be one to forget with Chris Paul potentially out and Tyson Chandler definitely out. I talked to CelticsBlog for a few Bostonian questions:

At the Hive: Seems like everyone's in the market for a big man these days, whether it be the cellar dwelling Grizzlies or world champion Celtics. How much of Boston fans' desire for another big man is knee jerk reaction to a few tough losses, and how much is legitimately warranted?

Celtics Blog: Very close to all of it is legitimately warranted.  No matter the result on a given night, this team is lacking usable length on the bench.  I say "usable" there because Patrick O'Bryant has the physique to provide it, but Doc Rivers has given little indication that he trusts the notorious POB to be a significant part of the operation right now.  O'Bryant's work ethic and interest level have been questioned since his collegiate days at Bradley, and Rivers has referred this season to differences between "Celtic speed" and "Patrick speed" in practice.  Not a good sign.  Thus far, O'Bryant has seen nearly exclusively garbage time except for a couple of brief second-quarter stretches in the two games Kevin Garnett missed recently.  But as of right now, he really isn't a member of the rotation.

As for the guys that do play, Leon Powe and Large Baby are both high-hustle guys who lack (vertical) size inside.  While both have had their hot stretches and slumps this season, it is going to be a challenge (not impossible, but without doubt a difficult task) for the Celtics to face top-tier teams like Cleveland, Orlando and the Lakers without adding more height.  On Thursday night, for instance, we saw Pau Gasol hit a crucial shot simply by elevating over the Infuriated Infant, who has no chance to stay with him off Pau rises staright up to shoot.  With the Lakers having Gasol, Lamar Odom and possibly Andrew Bynum back, the Cavs having Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Ben Wallace and Anderson Varejao and the Magic playing that really enormous fellow in the middle, the idea of the Celtics relying on two 6-foot-8 (maybe the Pugnacious Papoose is all the way at 6-9) guys behind Garnett and the in-questionable-health Kendrick Perkins is a bit disconcerting. 

Dikembe Mutombo seemed like the sort of guy who would ahve been a perfect fit.  I would have taken Alonzo Mourning.  Having P.J. Brown back would no doubt be lovely.  But at this point, it appears Joe Smith might be the best realistic option out there.  His veteran presence, ability to shoot the ball from mid-range and post up, and the fact that he's simply a big body would all help.

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So it appears we will probably be without Chris Paul tonight. With the way David West has struggled with his jumper since returning, New Orleans is a slightly above average team at best. Boston, Orlando, L.A., and Utah all loom large on the horizon, but tonight's Chicago game will be no gimmie. Some thoughts from Blog-a-Bull:

At the Hive: We need one of Tyrus Thomas/Joakim Noah in the absolute worst way. What do you think the Bulls would be looking for in return?

Blog-a-Bull:David West? As much as I worry about the Bulls' feelings towards (and how they 'develop') Thomas and Noah, I do not think they'd trade them this season unless it was in a larger deal for a real, long-term, frontcourt piece. Like Chris Kaman (which I wouldn't do personally) or hoping Bosh or Amare become available for cheap, like Gasol was last season.

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