While I am happy as can be that the Lakers are doing better than projected, I still have my doubts. Yet, all I hear are showers of praise about how surprising the Lakers are, and how they could soon be "contenders" in the stacked West. This worries me. With that aside, this post is about what reallyshould be THE story of this year (besides those damned Celtics): the Lakers' next opponent The New Orleans Hornets.
Oh, you haven't heard of them? I'm not surprised, considering the lack of national airtime this team gets, the empty seats in their arena, and little "insider" hype around their team. Make no mistake, this is a great team, and people better pay attention.
It begins and ends with the all-world Chris Paul. This guy is the REAL DEAL. Nobody can stay in front of him, he has the vision that ranks with the Steve Nashes and Jason Kidds of the world, and oh yeah, he's only 23!!!!! Nash is 33 and Kidd is 34. Who said it takes a while for point guards to develop in this league? Paul, along with Deron Williams, are throwing that age old NBA theory to the wayside. Paul is an MVP candidate in my book, leading this Hornets team to a top seed in the west, only 1 game off the top seed! Look at it this way, if you put Paul on the Chicago Bulls, instantly they become a top 3 seed in the East, who could contend for a title. Replace Paul with Hinrich, and well, you get the Chicago Bulls (and I mean that in the worst way). This all trickles down to the underrated cast the Paul leads.
Tyson Chandler, who at this point has become Ben Wallace with slightly more scoring ability and without the horrible contract. He defends the paint, grabs a bunch of boards, and flushes down the dimes dropped to him by Paul. Let him run the floor, defend the basket, and dunk the ball. Sure he can't create his own shot, but with Paul, and the next guy, he doesn't have to.
David West is the most underrated player in the league right now. His stat line: PPG 19.4 | RPG 9.4 | BPG 1.3. David West is averaging nearly 20 and 10 a game. He is a post up threat, can hit a J, leads his team in blocks, and does this all without much fanfare.
Peja Stojakovic is still one the best shooters in the game. With a team with these stars, Peja is still a threat to stretch out the defense, shooting 43 percent from the three. If he can stay healthy, Peja can add the three point shooting to this team that will free up the lanes for Paul and West to operate.
Their bench isn't as strong as others, but their top three players are still very young, and they will be a mainstay in the already crowded Western Conference for years to come. Even this year, I think they will push another, more celebrated team to the brink. They are really just a wing defender, a little more maturity, and a better home crowd away.
And they don't have Kobe Bryant.
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