原文出自nola.com http://www.nola.com/hornets/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1112340560226030.xml Long division a tough equation for Hornets N.O. 1-14 against Southwest opponents Friday, April 01, 2005 By Jimmy Smith Staff writer HOUSTON -- Mercifully, it's about to end. Not the Hornets' season. Just the part in which New Orleans has to face an opponent from the NBA's Southwest Division, where the team has resided this season after realignment put it in the Western Conference. Tonight's game against the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center will be the Hornets' last within a division in which four teams will play in the postseason. "I'm looking forward to it," Hornets coach Byron Scott said, tongue placed firmly in his cheek. Last Saturday, the Hornets avoided becoming the first team in league history to go through a season without a division victory when they beat Memphis 96-85. That gave the Hornets a 1-14 record among a group that includes playoff-bound San Antonio, as well as the Rockets and Dallas, two teams that almost assuredly will secure berths. Memphis currently holds the eighth spot in the West. "I felt coming in this was the toughest division in basketball," said Hornets forward P.J. Brown. "But I don't think any team in this division went through what we did this year, with injuries and players not wanting to be here, trades. . . . No team has been through what we've been through. "So it's been a tough year. But even if everything would have been aligned right, it was still going to be a tough division to compete in and battle in." From a personnel standpoint, the Hornets had potential problems from the outset, a fact Scott concedes. "All of them have different things they do well. The matchups were going to be tough for all four teams," Scott said. "With San Antonio, you've got the big fellow (two-time MVP Tim Duncan) and Tony Parker and (All-Star guard Manu) Ginobili. So they've got three great, great players. "You go to Dallas and Dirk (Nowitzki, another All-Star) is a matchup nightmare for anybody. Talk about Houston and their big two (All-Stars Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady), and Memphis, overall, the group they can throw at you are tough at any given time. So we knew from day one it was going to be a tough division." But New Orleans' record against Southwest Division opponents belies the fact that, despite a myriad of problems, the Hornets at times have been at least competitive in a few of those 14 defeats. There was an eight-point loss on the road to the Rockets on Dec. 7 and a five-point home loss to Houston on Jan. 26, a four-point road loss at Dallas, seven- and six-point home losses to the Grizzlies and a 10-point loss at San Antonio. There are a dozen games remaining in the season. Despite his team's squandering a 17-point lead in an overtime loss to Cleveland on Monday night, Scott said he likes the way his team played in the win over Memphis and the loss to the Cavs. "I told them, if we take a look at the last two games, we've had 20-point leads against two teams that are going to be in the playoffs, one in the East and one in the West," Scott said. "So that's the one positive about having all these guys back, having David West back and Speedy (Claxton). I'm getting a chance to see these guys in a different light." To that end, Scott will start West tonight in place of Brown, and Claxton in place of Dan Dickau and Bostjan Nachbar for Lee Nailon. It is part of the short-term goal of remaining competitive in the last 12 games, Scott said, while looking ahead to next season. "You want to look at both," Scott said. "I don't think we're getting ahead of ourselves in looking to next year and seeing what we need to do. We're in a situation now with the games we have left that we're still in an evaluation mode. But, out of the corner of your eyes, you're looking at other things you might want to bring in in order to get better, to match up with some of these teams. "So it's a learning experience. If it's one or two (Southwest wins), we know we have something to build on for next year." --

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