Ariza's season ends early : Hornets coach Monty Williams said forward Trevor Ariza has been excused from the team's remaining two games of the regular season, reports the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Ariza, who hasn't seen the court since April 7, averaged 10.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.7 steals in 41 games this season. (Updated 04/24/2012)
Injury Report
No information available at this time (Updated 5/25/12).
Fantasy Analysis
Ariza was told a few weeks ago that Al-Farouq Aminu would be getting his minutes at small forward and the 26-year-old has been stuck on the bench ever since. Ariza's second season in New Orleans was a frustrating one, which was plagued by injures. Now there are whispers the Hornets will look to trade him in the offseason, so Fantasy owners should keep an eye on how things play out over the next few months. Ariza performed pretty well when he was on the court and continues to be a solid stat-sheet filler. He can be considered a solid low-end Fantasy option whose value lies in category-based formats heading into the 2012-13 campaign. (Updated 04/24/2012).
03/31/2012 18:07 Kobe plays hero despite 3-for-21 effort
Kobe Bryant hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 20 seconds left, after starting the game with 15 straight misses, and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied to beat the last-place New Orleans Hornets 88-85 on Saturday.
03/30/2012 01:09 Trail Blazers pull away from Hornets late
LaMarcus Aldridge had 25 points and 12 rebounds, and the Portland Trail Blazers pulled away from short-handed New Orleans and beat the Hornets 99-93 on Thursday night.
03/27/2012 01:56 Paul, Griffin lead Clippers past Hornets
Chris Paul had 25 points and 10 assists against his former team, leading the Los Angeles Clippers to a 97-85 victory against the New Orleans Hornets on Monday night.
03/24/2012 22:45 Duncan, Spurs fight back to win
DeJuan Blair scored 23 points and Tim Duncan had four key points down the stretch as the San Antonio Spurs beat the short-handed Hornets 89-86 on Saturday night.
Trevor Ariza has been a fringe option in Fantasy leagues throughout his career, but he proved during the 2010-11 postseason that he has the ability to be more than that by averaging 16-7-3 over the team's six-game series loss to the Lakers. A defensive hound, he can always be relied upon to average more than a steal per game, but the rest of his production depends upon the way he is used offensively. He averaged 13.9 shot attempts per game in his best statistical season in 2009-10 with the Houston Rockets, resulting in a 14.9 ppg scoring average. In his first season with the Hornets, his shot attempts dropped to 10.2 per game, resulting in a scoring averaged that dipped to 11.0 per game. An injury to David West created a need for him to step up offensively late last season and he proved once again that he is up to it when needed. Going into the 2011-12 season, there remains a question mark as to how much he will be needed to step up offensively, but Fantasy owners should consider him a solid value pick in the later rounds as a player who could conceivably average around 15-6-4 with over a steal and a 3-pointer made per game under the right circumstances. (Updated 8/28/11)
