The Hornets have lost starting small forward Peja Stojakovic for the next 2-4 weeks due to a abdominal strain. Stojakovic has played in 62 games (55 starts) this season for the Hornets and he is averaging 31.4 minutes, 12.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. The Hornets will likely get Julian Wright out of mothballs and put him into the starting lineup. Wright has played in 53 games (8 starts) for the Hornets this season and he is averaging 11.4 minutes, 3.3 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. The Hornets will also likely use rookie Marcus Thornton some at shooting guard the rest of the year to help cushion the loss of Stojakovic.

The New Orleans Hornets’ star point guard Chris Paul has missed 12 straight games with a knee injury, but the Hornets have still  been getting great production from the point guard position.  That is because CP3’s rookie back-up, Darren Collison, is playing some great basketball for the Hornets.  Since Paul’s injury, Collison has stepped in as the starting point guard for the Hornets and in the 12 games without Paul he is averaging 20.5 points, 9.6 assists, 4.4 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and is shooting 48% from the field and 35% from three.  Those numbers are very close to the season averages Paul had before his injury:  20.4 points, 11.2 assists, 4.6 rebounds, 2.3 steals, 50% FG, and 42% from three.  The Hornets are 5-7 in Paul’s absence, but they should be happy with that record as most expected the Hornets to completely fall apart without their superstar.  Collison is proving he can be a great point guard in this league and Chris Paul doesn’t have to worry about rushing back from injury.  That being said, Paul still makes the Hornets a much better team and Collison may not be able to continue playing at such a high level, especially since he is just a rookie.

The Hornets have signed 31-year old point guard Jason Hart to a 10-day contract. Hart played in 1 game earlier this season for the T-Wolves in which he played 5 minutes, had 1 assist and 1 steal. Hart has now played in 337 games (56 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 15.6 minutes, 4.8 points, 1.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. This was a smart move by the Hornets to bring in a veteran hand to work behind Darren Collison until Chris Paul is ready to return to action.

The Hornets will be without all-world point guard Chris Paul for the next 4-8 weeks as he will have surgery soon to repair torn cartilaga in his left knee. Paul has played in 38 games (all starts) for the Hornets this season and he is averaging 38.7 minutes, 20.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 11.2 assists and 2.3 steals per game. He is also shooting well from everywhere on the floor hitting 50.4% from the floor, 40.2% from three point range and 86.2% from the free throw line. The Hornets are 26-21 on the season and they are tied for the 8th spot in the conference right now with the Thunder. It will be up to rookie Darren Collison to keep the Hornets in the playoff race.

SG/SF James Posey is out indefinately with a Achilles problem. This will hurt the Hornets some as the bench is pretty thin now due to the recent trades of Devin Brown, Bobby Brown and Hilton Armstrong. Posey has played in 45 games (2 starts) for the Hornets this season and he is averaging 22.4 minutes, 5.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. His shooting has been way off this season as he is only hitting 37.7% of his shots from the floor and 34% from three point range. Look for the starters to play more minutes for the Hornets until Posey returns to action because Julian Wright still appears to be in the Dog House.