This is why the Hornets need Jamal Mashburn back:

Sunday should have been a gimme: At home against one of the worst teams in the NBA. In their last game before Mashburn's return, the Hornets shot an anemic 34 percent from the field in a 92-78 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies at the Charlotte Coliseum.

Out since November with a severe abdominal strain, Mashburn is scheduled to start tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks. His ability to create halfcourt offense was sorely missed Sunday, particularly in the first half.

That's when the Hornets missed 21 of their first 24 shots and trailed by as much as 18.

The Hornets briefly led in the second half, but three straight offensive rebounds by Grizzlies forward Tony Massenburg put them away in the last three minutes.

"They deserved to win; they played better," Hornets coach Paul Silas said. "We just didn't have any `oomph' ... whatever that means."

Mashburn is the "oomph" provider. He led the team in scoring last season, good for about 20 points per game, and could bail the Hornets out of the bad possessions that plagued them Sunday.

Grizzlies coach Sidney Lowe, whose team had lost 13 of 14, considered himself fortunate to avoid Mashburn's return.

"He does so many things -- score inside, score outside, handle the ball," Lowe said. "When they've got (center Elden) Campbell in the post, you can't double-team as much when he's there. Between him and David Wesley, they're short a couple of key shooters.

"It's just like us missing Jason Williams and Lorenzen Wright."

In-grown toenails had kept Williams out of the Grizzlies' last seven games. Though he made 1 of 9 from three-point range, Williams hit back-to-back 20-footers in Memphis' decisive 10-0 run.

Massenburg did the rest with those three offensive rebounds.

"I was just playing the long bounces," he said. "Sometimes it's actually easier to get those when you're boxed out, because you're the only one with a path to the long ball."

Silas, still on the NBA's all-time rebounding list, knew how devastating Massenburg's boards were.

"When we needed the ball we couldn't get it," Silas said. "That hurt us even more than not making shots."

Notes

Doctors have decided to leave Wesley's left foot (cracked bone) in a protective boot for another week, although Hornets vice president Bob Bass said Wesley could begin some rehabilitative work. ...

Bass doesn't expect Thursday's trade deadline to prompt much activity -- for the Hornets or the league at large.

He said the possibility of the luxury tax kicking in over coming seasons has teams reluctant to acquire big contracts.