by By Jimmy Smith, Staff writer , Times-Picayune

Hornets centers Tyson Chandler and Hilton Armstrong in no way will threaten Wilt's feat.

The record for consecutive NBA games without a disqualification is held by another big man, Moses Malone, who went 1,212 consecutive games without fouling out. In Malone's 1,573 career games, including playoffs, he fouled out five times.

In 12 games this season -- Chandler has missed two because of injury and one for the birth of his son he has been assessed 45 personal fouls. He fouled out of the Hornets' 101-86 loss to Portland on Friday night, picking up three fouls in a 2-minute, 25-second span of the third quarter. It was the 37th disqualification of Chandler's career.

In 15 games this season, three of them starting in place of Chandler, Armstrong has been whistled for 45 fouls. In New Orleans' 105-101 victory Thursday night at Denver, Armstrong, who started, committed two fouls in a 40-second span at the outset of the second quarter, then two more in a 21-second stretch of the third.

With monolithic Shaquille O'Neal in town with the Phoenix Suns tonight to face the Hornets, such rapid-succession personal fouls could become a serious factor in the outcome of the game.

"It's a little bit of a concern," Hornets Coach Byron Scott said this week as the team took film-study steps to correct the problem. "I think a lot of it we tried to address (Sunday) as far as a lot of the fouls that they're getting. It's because they're out of position.

"We're trying to make them aware they've got to be a little quicker to the ball. Sometimes they're getting caught flat-footed. They're not ready to react. We tried to show them that on tape, as well, so it won't be a concern. We're trying to nip that in the bud right now so the guys understand they've got to do a better job of trying to beat people to the spot.

"We're getting reach-in fouls because we're not there. That's the one thing we tried to point out to them the other day. Hopefully, it will help us."

If the message sunk in, tonight's game against the Suns should offer a measuring stick.

Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Steve Nash will be doing what he does best: dribble penetrating to pass off to O'Neal and Amare Stoudemire, or take the layup or jump shot himself.

The Hornets' emphasis this season on defense has created an unwanted side effect for their post players in that they're picking up quick fouls that force them to the bench, sometimes creating positional mismatches.

The sometimes quick whistles, Chandler said, won't make him tentative, however.

"I've just got to come out and continue to play my game, play with the intensity I'm supposed to," said Chandler, who left the loss to Portland with 2:09 to go and the Hornets trailing by 15. "It affects you, though, and you're not the player you are. So I've got to play my game and make the refs call it and understand the way I play Basketball."

Armstrong's foul trouble against the Nuggets last week wasn't as critical as it could have been. The Nuggets were going with a smaller front line most of the game, which allowed the Hornets to compensate with Melvin Ely and Sean Marks, each 6 feet 10.

"I'm all over the place," said Armstrong, who has one career disqualification, "but that's just the way I play. I know I've got to cut back on fouls, but I'm just trying to be aggressive. Some of those fouls are just being aggressive."

Chandler and Armstrong said they're aware some of the foul difficulty in which they've found themselves this season can be attributed to their defensive technique.

"I think a lot of the fouls I've been getting have been really ticky-tack plays where I think it's just been bad positioning, not necessarily fouling people going to the basket," Chandler said. "But I'm not going to stop the way I play. Eventually, the refs will adjust."

Said Armstrong: "I'm playing the game and end up hacking like that because I'm in a bad position sometimes. It happens a lot on the wing when I'm trying to guard some of the guards and stuff. Some of them are a little quicker than me, and I'm a little late. I'm watching the film and trying to learn how to play it a little better."

The Suns will no doubt present a challenge, although Scott says the time invested working on the problem the past three days should help.

"Somebody gets beat and our bigs are late to help, and that's what we've been trying to address as far as understanding they've got to see both, and when that move is starting to being made, we've got to come over, even if we come over sometimes too early," Scott said. "We're coming over too late. That's the biggest problem. And that's where we're getting hurt."

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Jimmy Smith can be reached at jsmith@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3814.

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