March 23, 2009

Eying a Midweek Return

Though the Hornets have weathered the storm, posting three straight wins in his absence, TC knows business is about to pick up.

When it does, he hopes to be ready to go to war with his teammates.

Tyson sat out wins over the Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors this weekend, but the competition is about to get tougher as the Hornets host Denver on Wednesday. Ty has targeted the game for his return to the court, as quoted in the Times-Picayune:

“I probably played two or three more games than what I should have played,’’ Chandler said. “Now that I’m not playing, I’m in some serious pain. I’m hoping to play Wednesday, but I don’t think it is going to be 100 percent.’‘

Hornets coach Byron Scott, speaking to reporters befote Sunday’s win, was cautiously optimistic about the returns of TC and Peja Stojakovic:

“My gut feeling is that I think Wednesday we will have both of those guys back,’’ Scott said. “I would be surprised if one or both told me they are ready to go before then.’’

REST WHILE YOU CAN
No. 6 has been afforded the opportunity to sit as the Hornets glided through an easy stretch of their schedule, but only 13 games remain in the season and nine of those 13 games are against teams in line to make the playoffs.

New Orleans closes out the regular season with five consecutive games against Western Conference playoff contenders:

  • Wednesday April 8th vs. Phoenix
  • Friday April 10th at Dallas
  • Sunday April 12th vs. Dallas
  • Monday April 13th at Houston
  • Wednesday April 15th at San Antonio

Coach Scott believes that, health willing, the Hornets can play with anyone, as quoted in the Times-Picayune:

“I still feel, and I think those guys in the locker room feel the same way, if we’re healthy, we can beat anybody in the West,” Scott said. “So I think it’s more important, now that we start the playoffs in less than a month, that everybody has that renewed focus, is healthy and ready to go. I’m a little greedy. I’d like a good seed, as well. But I want my guys as healthy as possible.”

TWEET TWEET
The subject of NBA players and Twitter has become a hot topic across the country after Milwaukee Bucks player Charlie Villanueva “tweeted” during halftime of a Bucks game earlier this month.

As we all know, the Big Easy has a Twitter account that he updates frequently (but not during games).

Coach Scott was recently asked about his Twitter policy and his response was chronicled in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:

“Byron Scott won three NBA championships when he played for the Lakers and he coached the New Jersey Nets to the NBA Finals twice. He is a worldly guy who can talk intelligently on a variety of subjects.

But if you want to see his head explode, just ask the New Orleans coach if he has a team policy on tweets and tweeting.

“A what?” he asked, his eyes widening.”

The reporter later went on to tell Scott that Tyson tweets, the response was just as comical:

“I know he has a blog. Is that the same thing?”

Of course not, silly.

“Oh, hell,” Scott said, “I don’t know.”

HORNETS GO TWEET
At Hornets 247, Niall Doherty compiles a list of essential Twitter Feeds for Hornets fans. Naturally TC’s Twitter makes the list:

RELATED STORIES
Tweet no longer a whistle (Minneapolis Star-Tribune, March 22, 2009)
http://www.startribune.com/sports/wolves/41601797.html?page=1&c=y
Hornets on Twitter (Hornets 247, March 21, 2009)
http://www.hornets247.com/blog/2009/03/21/hornets-on-twitter
Injured starters, Stojakovic, Chandler not expected to return until Wednesday (Times-Picayune, March 22, 2009)
http://blog.nola.com/hornetsbeat/2009/03/injured_starters_peja_stojakov....
Hornets being cautious with injured starters (Times-Picayune, March 23, 2009)
http://blog.nola.com/hornetsbeat/2009/03/new_orleans_hornets_being_caut....