Suns at Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets are losers of two of their last three and hang in precarious position in the Eastern Conference playoff race. The Hornets will get a little help from the schedule when they host the fading Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.
Charlotte had a chance to jump into fifth place in the East on Sunday but instead dropped into a three-way tie for the seven thru nine spots with a lethargic performance against the Atlanta Hawks in an 87-76 loss at Atlanta on Sunday. “(Day games) come down to readiness,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford told reporters of the afternoon start in Atlanta. “The game was won in the first quarter. They had more readiness than we did to start.” The Suns snapped a 13-game losing streak with a 111-106 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday by dominating on the interior with centers Tyson Chandler and Alex Len. The victory was just the third for Phoenix since Dec. 18, a stretch that includes a 111-102 home win over Charlotte on Jan. 6.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona (Phoenix), FSN Southeast (Charlotte)
ABOUT THE SUNS (15-44): Phoenix buried a season-high 19 3-pointers in that Jan. 6 win over the Hornets that snapped a nine-game slide, but they went a different way to break the latest losing streak on Saturday. Len and Chandler started alongside each other with P.J. Tucker at the small forward spot, which allowed the Suns to build up a 65-42 advantage on the glass. Len is averaging 18 points in the last four games – up from a season average of 7.7 – as Phoenix takes a longer look at some of the young talent on its roster in an otherwise lost season.
ABOUT THE HORNETS (30-28): Charlotte was making its way up the standings with a five-game winning streak before falling at East-leading Cleveland last week and had a chance at a 4-1 road trip before starting the game 1-of-19 and never pulling out of the hole against the Hawks. “If we leave here being happy because we had a 3-2 road trip, we’ll never be that good of a team,” Clifford told reporters after the loss. “If we leave here disappointed because we laid an egg with a chance to go 4-1, then we have a chance to move forward.” The Hornets will play eight of their next nine games and 10 of 12 at home to begin March.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Hornets C Spencer Hawes (back) sat out the last five games and remains questionable.
2. The Suns agreed to a buyout with veteran F Kris Humphries, who was acquired at the trade deadline.
3. Phoenix earned a 111-106 win in Charlotte last season and has taken seven of the last eight in the series.