Hornets finishing the season strong

The New Orleans Hornets aren’t going to the playoffs.

That was decided in the first month of the season when the team posted an abysmal 3-15 record.

But that doesn’t mean the Bees aren’t making improvement and won’t finish the season strong.

With nothing but pride on the line and several of their top players on the shelf for the year, the Hornets have played some of their best basketball of the season in recent weeks, a stretch that has included victories against the Clippers, Nuggets and Timberwolves and also close losses to the Lakers and Spurs.

“Just try to get better,” Hornets’ guard Jarrett Jack said. “Just try to get better as individuals and as a ball-club for the remaining however-many games we have. … That’s our goal – improvement.”

The Hornets’ recent play is probably closer to what fans expected of the team in the preseason.

The Hornets opened the 2011-12 slate with two-straight wins, posting a thrilling road win against the Phoenix Suns in the season opener before mauling the Boston Celtics 97-78 in the home opener.

Those wins gave the fans hope in the aftermath of the team’s decision to ship franchise face and All-Star guard Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers for a litany of pieces centered around guard Eric Gordon.

But when the calendars flipped to 2012, the team’s predominant theme for this season started to surface – injuries.

Four of the Hornets’ five opening-day starters have missed significant time to injury this year.

The biggest loss has been Gordon, who missed close to three and a half months and 52-straight games with a knee injury.

Gordon returned to the lineup on April 4 and played three-straight games. But he has since returned to the shelf with a back injury.

Hornets coach Monty Williams said he isn’t sure if the star player, who averaged 22.3 points and 4.4 assists per game last season, will return before the season ends in a few weeks.

“I skipped that class in college,” Williams said with a chuckle when asked about Gordon’s diagnosis. “He’s dealing with a muscle strain and some other stuff with his hips. It’s just one of those things. …With the back, you never know. I thought he’d be back by now. It’s just still sore.”

Gordon’s tale mirrors that of several Hornets throughout the season, as power forward Carl Landry, center Emeka Okafor, power forward Jason Smith, point guard Jarrett Jack and small forward Trevor Ariza have all missed time due to various bumps and bruises.

Williams said some of the injuries have given the season a “voodoo-like” feel to it.

“I got used to it earlier this year, actually,” Williams said. “When we didn’t have Eric and then Carl went down and then Jason had his concussion, it was tough. But it all came to a head when Jarrett went down with his knee. I was like, ‘This is weird. He never gets hurt.’ So we just go with the guys and go out and compete and play hard.”

With star power on the bench, the Hornets have been forced to survive with mostly young and inexperienced players.

Instead of having their starting five in tact, the Hornets have been playing lately with a skeleton squad of players like Lance Thomas, Chris Johnson, Xavier Henry and Jerome Dyson – all players who have had stints this season in the NBA’s Developmental League.

Those players are all factors in the team’s recent push.

“We’ve tried to use the developmental program the right way,” Williams said. “We’ve had guys in camp that go down to the D-League and play well and get a chance to come back. That helps us to have some continuity.”

“We’ve got to have that fire,” Jack added. “We’ve all got to be ready one-through-15 or one-through-however-many people we have. Everyone has to come out and be ready to contribute.”

The truth is the Hornets have started to see the fruits of their labor.

After a porous 13-39 start to the season, the Hornets opened April by winning three of their first six games, a stretch that includes a victory against the Nuggets, who are likely playoff-bound.

One of the team’s losses was also a gut-wrenching, 2-point defeat at the hands of the Lakers.

Playing good teams close has been a theme of the Hornets this season.

“We just get very hyped for big games,” Smith said. “We enjoy playing them and a lot of the guys step their games up in these types of games. … Overall, we just haven’t been able to get the big wins like we’ve wanted to. That’s been the source of disappointment.”

But with a nightmarish 2012, about to come to a close, the future appears very bright for New Orleans.

Start with the obvious – Gordon.

The Hornets’ star is a restricted free agent in the offseason and all indications are the team plans to match any offer laid onto his doorstep.

Having him tied down for the foreseeable future will provide the team with a closer capable of making big plays in big moments.

“I like being that guy,” Gordon said. “I like to be in a position to make those types of plays.”

Around Gordon, the team will also have flexibility.

The Hornets will have two lottery picks – their own selection and a draft pick that previously belonged to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

New Orleans’ pick will likely be a Top 3-4 selection. The Timberwolves’ pick will likely be in the No. 10-12 range.

Players who the team will likely be able to consider with the picks range from Kentucky star Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Thomas Robinson all the way to Austin Rivers, Perry Jones, Tyler Zeller, Kendall Marshall and Harrison Barnes.

Add those pieces to a little bit of salary cap flexibility and the Bees appear prime to make a run.

Either way, don’t tell them about next year – they are busy finishing 2011-12 strong.

“Try to get better and have that carry over into the next season,” Jack said. “That’s the goal.”

New Orleans Hornets’ Carl Landry, right, is defended by San Antonio Spurs’ DeJuan Blair during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, April 6, 2012, in San Antonio. San Antonio won 128-103. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

AP PHOTO