New Orleans Hornets Tickets

New Orleans Hornets 2011 Playoffs Preview The New Orleans Hornets overcame more injuries to Chris Paul and distracting rumors off the court to sneak into the playoffs as the eighth seed in the Western Conference.

I can tell you one thing for sure: the Los Angeles Lakers are none too pleased to see the Hornets in the first round.

Paul is one of the NBA's top point guards and can almost single-handedly carry his team to victory.

David West went from underrated to overrated and back to underrated again. He should be able to hold his own against Pau Gasol, and that's huge for the Hornets' hopes of pulling a major upset.

Emeka Okafor has turned himself into a serviceable low-post player, but he isn't much of a scoring threat. Trevor Ariza has failed to live up to his big contract, so there are a lot of holes in this Hornets team.

It could be now or never for the Hornets, who expect Paul to head elsewhere after next year when he becomes a free agent. The franchise is also in flux given the tough business climate and low attendance from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

The problem remains that New Orleans simply doesn't have much surrounding Paul and West, so they have to handle almost all of the scoring burden. That's a lot to ask, and combined with a tough first-round opponent, it looks like a short postseason stay for the Hornets.