http://www.nola.com/hornets/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/10804679536320.xml Hornets must regroup for tough road stretch Sunday March 28, 2004 John Reid For the first time since the 1991-92 season, the Hornets are in jeopardy of ending the regular season with a losing record. After Friday's 99-94 loss to the Phoenix Suns, the Hornets fell to 37-36. The Hornets are trying to hold on to the fourth seed to secure home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The team leaves this week for its longest and most difficult road trip of the season, starting Tuesday with a game against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Hornets play five games in eight days, including an April 6 matchup against the Sacramento Kings, who have the best record in the Western Conference. The Hornets haven't won a road game since their Feb. 17 victory over the Indiana Pacers. They have lost eight consecutive road games. On Thursday night, the Atlanta Hawks defeated the Hornets 84-76 at Philips Arena. At 23-49, the Hawks have the third-worst record in the Eastern Conference. They had lost seven of nine before knocking off the Hornets. "It's not supposed to be like this," guard David Wesley said. "We're kind of getting at each other because it's frustrating out there when things are not going well." The Hornets have lost 19 times to teams with losing records. They have five more games against sub-.500 teams. The Hornets haven't closed out a month with a winning record since December, although they finished February 6-6. They went 6-9 in January and are 5-9 this month. The Hornets haven't had a two-game winning streak since Feb. 25 and 27, when they defeated the Los Angeles Clippers and Indiana Pacers at New Orleans Arena. "I thought we would win at least 50 games, especially after we got off to the 17-7 start," forward P.J. Brown said. "It's just been a weird season. We haven't been able to handle weaker teams." With 12 games remaining last season, the Hornets were 40-30, and they clinched a winning season March 28. BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY: Coach Tim Floyd and his players agreed in training camp that no practices would be scheduled on the day after they played back-to-back games. But backup Shammond Williams, who was acquired in a trade in February from the Orlando Magic, has paid no attention. Williams, a 6-foot-1 point guard, has been at the Alario Center working on his off days. "I'm not playing, so I've got to try and keep my game sharp," Williams said. "Other than the past two games, I haven't really played in the past four or five weeks. So there really isn't an off day for me." He also spends time after practice competing against teammates in fun-filled, one-on-one scrimmages. "I just tell him to remain patient because his time is going to come," said forward George Lynch, who, like Williams, played at North Carolina. Williams has not played in 12 of 18 games because of coach's decision. But his minutes are expected to increase with starting point guard Baron Davis out indefinitely with a sprained left ankle. "I just need an opportunity each night to show what I'm capable of doing, but I've tried to be patient," Williams said. The Hornets added depth in the backcourt when they signed former LSU guard Maurice Carter to a 10-day contract. STATS WATCH: The Hornets are 15th in the league in scoring, averaging 92 points a game. But they rank 27th among the 29 teams in field-goal percentage at 42 percent. In 3-point percentage, the Hornets are 27th at 32.1. They are 21st in free-throw percentage at 74.1. UPCOMING: The Hornets' next home game is April 9 against the Boston Celtics. Their final regular-season home game is April 12 against the New York Knicks. . . . . . . . John Reid can be reached at [email protected] or (504) 826-3405. --

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