NEW ORLEANS—Tyson Chandler and Peja Stojakovic were unable to return to New Orleans’ lineup when the Hornets faced the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night.
Hornets coach Byron Scott said following Sunday night’s victory over Golden State that he hoped both players would be ready by the time the Hornets took the court in a game that could affect the playoff seedings for both New Orleans and Denver.
Shortly before tip-off, however, Scott said Stojakovic would miss his 11th straight game with back soreness and Chandler his fourth straight game with left ankle soreness.
Both players’ injuries have been nagging them since long before their current stretches of games missed. They don’t have much more time to heal before the playoffs. The Hornets had 12 more games left in the regular season after Wednesday night.
“I’m concerned, but I also feel pretty comfortable that they will be back. One will be back pretty soon if not both,” Scott said. “Right now, I’m going to just keep doing what we’ve been doing, keep plugging guys in and keep asking them to step up.”
Scott said Stojakovic, who had back surgery two seasons ago but came back strong last season, has been feeling better lately and did more work than usual in shootaround Wednesday morning.
“We’ll see how he feels tonight and tomorrow, because that gives us an indication if we can do a little bit more with him to get him going,” Scott said.
He added that when Stojakovic eventually returns, he may do so initially coming off the bench because second-year swingman Julian Wright has been performing well recently as a starter.
“It might be a great idea to bring Peja off the bench … for a few games,” Scott said. “That will allow me to control his minutes even more so, where I can kind of gradually get him back into the grove of things rather than throwing him back out there right away.”
Stojakovic has played in 53 games this season, averaging 13.8 points. Chandler has played 44 games, averaging 8.8 points and 8.8 rebounds.
Meanwhile, the Nuggets learned before Wednesday night’s game that they would be without Nene, who was suspended two games by the NBA for head-butting and opposing player and making contact with an official on Monday night.
