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Heat, Hornets seek consistency

Apr 6, 2009 - 5:58 PM By Justin Einhorn Stats Senior Editor

New Orleans (47-29) at Miami (41-36), 7:30 p.m. EDT

MIAMI (AP) -- Though the New Orleans Hornets and Miami Heat recently clinched playoff berths, neither will feel real good about its chances in the postseason if its inconsistent play continues.

One of them, however, will get a confidence boost Tuesday night by winning this matchup of teams still seeking home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

The Hornets (47-29) have split their last 12 games, with five of those six wins coming against teams that won't make the playoffs. The Heat (41-36) have lost seven of 12 and none of the victories were against teams currently above .500.

New Orleans only wrapped up a postseason berth Sunday because Phoenix, the ninth-place team in the West, lost to Dallas. Miami clinched one Friday night by beating Charlotte.

The Heat have five games left and are in fifth place in the East, two games behind Atlanta for the No. 4 seed and home-court advantage in the opening round. New Orleans is sixth in the West and 1 1/2 games behind Houston for fourth.

"We got to come out with much more intensity and a lot more passion than we did," Hornets coach Byron Scott said after a 108-94 home loss to Utah on Sunday. "If we do that then we'll be OK, if not we'll be in trouble."

One reason his team has run into trouble is injuries. Regulars Tyson Chandler (ankle) and James Posey (elbow) remain sidelined, and Peja Stojakovic has 13 points on 5-of-15 shooting in two games since missing 15 with back spasms.

Among the New Orleans role players failing to step up is Rasual Butler, who has averaged 11.7 points in the last 12 games while shooting 25.8 percent (16-of-62) from 3-point range. He averaged 17.6 points and hit 46.3 percent (38-for-82) from beyond the arc in his first 14 games after the All-Star break as the Hornets went 11-3.

All-Stars Chris Paul and David West combined for nine turnovers Friday and may be feeling burdened to contribute more.

"Right now I think they are pressing because they are trying to do too much because we aren't getting enough from the other guys," Scott said. "We need to get more from other people."

The Hornets also have been struggling defensively, allowing more than 100 points in five of their last seven games after going 14 straight without doing so.

"We just haven't been able to defend the potent teams," West said. "We have to find a way to pick up some wins down the stretch. We're going to have our hands full."

All six of the Hornets' remaining games come against teams with winning records and four are on the road.

The Heat have lost four straight to above-.500 teams, but they are returning from a three-game road trip with some momentum after beating Charlotte and Washington to end it.

While New Orleans waits for its role players to step up, Miami had that happen Saturday as seven players scored in double figures in a 118-104 victory over the Wizards. Yakhouba Diawara and James Jones, who both average less than four points, combined for seven 3-pointers and 29 points.

"I love to see James Jones shoot the ball that way," said Wade, who like Jones had three of the Heat's team-record eight 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. "That's going to be really big for us in the playoffs, especially having him and Diawara on the floor at the same time to spread it."

Wade had 33 points Saturday and scored a game-high 30 in the only meeting this season with New Orleans, but the Heat fell 100-89 on Nov. 8 for their third straight loss in the series.