Raptors at Hornets
THE STORY: Putting a scare into one of the top teams in the NBA must qualify as the closest thing to a win for the New Orleans Hornets these days. They'll look to secure an actual victory - and a rare home triumph, at that - as they entertain the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night. The Hornets return home after fighting gamely but ultimately falling short in a 99-95 loss to the Bulls in Chicago a night earlier. New Orleans will try to improve on a conference-worst 3-14 home mark against a Raptors team that has dropped eight of 10.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Rogers Sportsnet, Cox Sports Television
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (10-24): For Toronto guard Jerryd Bayless, Wednesday represents a return to one of his former teams. Bayless played 11 games for the Hornets last season before being sent to the Raptors in a five-player trade on Nov. 20, 2010. Toronto marks Bayless' fourth NBA club - he was selected by Indiana in 2008 and promptly shipped to Portland in a draft-day trade - but it's the first that has given him legitimate playing time. The 23-year-old averages a career-best 10.1 points in just under 22 minutes per game.
ABOUT THE HORNETS (8-26): The New Orleans Hornets are widely expected to deal center Chris Kaman out of town prior to the league's trade deadline next month. The veteran 7-footer has increased his value in recent games; he went off for 17 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in the narrow loss to Chicago and has scored at least 12 points in all seven games since taking over the team's starting role just over two weeks ago. Kaman has seen plenty of court time, surpassing 35 minutes played in five of those seven contests as the Hornets look to showcase him.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. The teams last met March 1, 2011, with the Raptors escaping with a 96-90 win behind 22 points and 16 assists from Jose Calderon.
2. New Orleans is 5-7 against the Eastern Conference so far this season, but has just three victories in 22 games versus the West.
3. Toronto owns a plus-20 rebounding advantage in its last two games.