Hornets win, so why am I concerned?

Ralph Malbrough over at WWLTV.com is concerned about the injured Hornets...

Forecast: Are Hornets in trouble despite the win?

Not to put a damper on the Hornets' Game 5 romp, but our local basketball team is in trouble if David West and Tyson Chandler have serious injuries.

It’s that simple.

West scored 24 points and kept the Hornets close during a first half where San Antonio was raining in threes and New Orleans was ice cold shooting.

The Hornets were very fortunate to trail by only three at the half.

Chris Paul then took control in the third quarter as the Hornets outscored the Spurs 28-11. The Spurs never got closer than eight the rest of the way.

So after a replay of the first two games, the Hornets answered the question of whether they can handle playoff pressure.

Now two of their main weapons will have to answer the question of health going into Game 6.
Both West and Chandler say they’ll be fine for Game 6 but in a post-game interview, Chandler acknowledged he won’t be able to walk on his injured foot tonight.

I’m no doctor but that can’t be good.

The Hornets need Chandler’s defense on Tim Duncan and his offensive rebounding if they are going to win this series.

If either Melvin Ely or Hilton Armstrong play a prominent role in the final two games -- be afraid; be very afraid.

David West did continue to play great even after injuring his back in the second quarter so the outlook for him seems better.

Let’s hope so because the Spurs have absolutely no answer for him.

Gregg Popovich admitted as much in his post-game press conference and looked almost sick talking about West’s 38 point explosion.

So you think you can be an NBA head coach? How should Byron Scott handle the injuries to West and Chandler?

What if Tyson Chandler and David West struggle with their injuries? Does he pull them early and give them rest for a Game 7?

Not easy choices. Good luck with that, Byron.

Don’t think all is doom and gloom in Hornetville.

Chris Paul and company get a pressure free shot to close out the world champions.

Yes, it’s on the road and the Hornets are banged up but eventually a game in this series will come down to the final minutes.

It might as well be Thursday night.

Besides, while Chris Paul has been nothing short of spectacular, he needs a buzzer beating shot to win a close game to silence the few doubters left.

That would be great except something about this series says, “Classic Game 7.”

I can’t exactly tell you why but something tells me Chris Paul and Tim Duncan will have a duel to the death come next Monday night.

But what do I know?

I thought the Spurs would win Game 5.

Ralph Malbrough is a Hornets fan living in Houston. He can be reached at ralphmalbrough@hotmail.com