Hornets' Glen Rice knocks down Atlanta's Dikembe Mutumbo during a game earlier this month. The Hornets begin their playoff series with New York Thursday.FILE

Hornets ailing as NBA playoffs begin

Web posted April 23, 1997

Associated Press

FORT MILL, S.C. - Muggsy Bogues was in tears after aggravating a pulled hamstring. Dell Curry laughed when asked about his calf strain. And back spasms prevented Matt Geiger from even trying to practice.

The Charlotte Hornets were ailing Tuesday two days before opening the playoffs against the New York Knicks.

Dave Cowens was left shaking his head as he presided over the group of walking wounded at the Hornets' suburban practice facility.

In his first season as Charlotte's coach, Cowens guided the team to a franchise-best record of 54-28 without a roster of 12 healthy players for any game. Now, however, Cowens wonders how much longer the Hornets can buck the odds.

``It's kind of hard to go into a fight and win if you've already got one hand tied behind your back - and the other guy's slugging away with both of them,'' he said.

Charlotte's key injury is the strained right hamstring of Bogues, the 5-foot-3 point guard who has the best assists-to-turnovers ratio in NBA history.

Bogues sat out almost all of Charlotte's last five games to rest the leg and he said it felt better when he returned to practice Tuesday. But at the end of the two-hour session, Bogues let out a loud yell and pulled up lame during sprints.

He walked out of the gym, stopping only to punch a large plastic garbage can, and fought back tears when he returned a few minutes later.

``I can't end the season like this,'' he told reporters. ``I've got to at least give myself a chance.''

Bogues said he would see the same acupuncturist who has been helping him play without pain in his chronically sore left knee this season.

Curry, Charlotte's all-time leading scorer and one of the NBA's best 3-point shooters, also returned to practice Tuesday. But he made it clear that the strained right calf muscle that kept him out of action for most of the last 10 games is nowhere near healed.

``I'm not 100 percent,'' he said with a chuckle. ``I've still got a little twinge in there.''

While Curry said he could play at less than full speed, the status of Geiger, Charlotte's top reserve at center and power forward, is less certain. He skipped the last two games, then went through a light workout Monday, but spasms kept him out of Tuesday's practice.

Cowens said there was a chance that Geiger, who spent 27 games on the injured list after back surgery in January, might be able to practice Wednesday.

``Guys just have to step up,'' Cowens said. ``We don't have any choice at this point.''