Chris Paul scored 27 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and dished out 15 assists in leading the Hornets to a victory in Game 4 against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the 2011 Western Conference playoffs. (GETTY IMAGES)

Chris Paul is having fun again, and that’s bad news for the rest of the league.

After two injury-plagued seasons, the Hornets superstar point guard is back in the mix in terms of BPG (best point guards), and he’s proving all those naysayers wrong for doubting he’d ever return to his old form.

Chris Paul is still the best point guard in the NBA, despite all what you’re hearing from the experts who have fallen in love with Derrick Rose. Nothing against Rose, who deserves to be the 2010-11 NBA MVP, but he’s more of a lead guard than a true facilitator. Rose is more dangerous when he’s scoring. Paul is more dangerous when he’s setting up his teammates, which is a true definition of a point guard.

“Chris Paul . . .  that was one of the better performances that I have ever seen in the playoffs,” said Hornets first-year coach Monty Williams after Paul’s triple-double against the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs. “A lot of guys have performances where they score. He scored, he dished it out, he rebounded; he made tough, tenacious plays. A lot of times when that ball goes up and the rebound is a 50-50 ball and you see a 6-foot guy go up and get it just describes his heart. He makes me look better as a coach.”

Williams added, “Chris doesn’t have to score to control the game. He can pick his spots.”

The most impressive part of Paul’s triple-double against the Lakers was his 13 rebounds. The points (27) and the assists (15) can easily be attained, but grabbing 13 rebounds by a 6-foot guard (and that’s probably pushing it) is just mind-boggling.

“When you get to the playoffs, no one feels sorry for you,” Paul told reporters during his postgame press conference after Game 4. “They don’t care what’s wrong with your ankle, what’s wrong with your knee or anything like that. This is where players are made. I just looked at it as a great opportunity, for us as a team, to forget about the [regular] season and try to seize the moment.”

He added, “I play with a chip on the shoulder day in and day out. I’m not trying to make a statement. There’s nothing that I’m trying to do new or anything like that. I’m just being me.”

Paul’s relentless pursuit of the ball is a microcosm of how the Hornets were able to extend the two-time defending champions to six games. Even though the Hornets lost the series, Paul embraces being relevant again. “I’m just so thankful. This is my way of life. They pay me to do this,” Paul said. “I’m just happy I get to hoop.”

Spoken like a guy who truly loves the game and loves his job.

When healthy, nobody in the league can do what Paul does. Offensively, he runs the offense, he sets up shots for his teammates, he destroys a defense with his dribble penetration and when all else fails he has found his shooting stroke, which had been missing for most of the season. Defensively, Paul is a pest. He gets through screens and has extremely quick, strong hands, which allows him to disrupt a team’s offense.

“I just try to impact the game, whether its rebound or defending or getting those guys open shots. Just trying to be a point guard,” said Paul.

Paul will be a free agent at the end of the 2012 season, so there’s a 50-50 chance he’ll leave New Orleans. If he stays, the Hornets will remain a contender. If he leaves, basketball in New Orleans will become a ghost town.

Joel Huerto is the publisher and editor of OneManFastBreak.net. Follow hi on Twitter: twitter.com/onemanfastbreak.

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Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol have reached the NBA Finals three consecutive years. Can they make it a fourth this season? (GETTY IMAGES)

Since the L.A. Lakers acquired – or stole, depending on how you interpret the historic heist – Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies in 2008, the Lakers have been to the NBA Finals three consecutive years. They lost to the Celtics in 2008, defeated the Magic in 2009 and outlasted the Celtics in seven brutal games in 2010.

As the 2011 NBA playoffs is about to begin, the Lakers are once again heavy favorites to reach the NBA Finals. This will be their fourth consecutive trip into June, which is unchartered territory. Not since the Showtime Lakers (1982-85) has an NBA team logged so much playoff mileage. It’s equivalent to almost two full regular seasons. So, the biggest question facing the Lakers in the 2011 playoffs is this: Do they have enough left in the tank to advance past the Western Conference and reach a fourth straight NBA Finals? The answer lies in the legs of Andrew Bynum. If Bynum stays healthy, the Lakers should be back in the Finals. If not, and Bynum has shown to be vulnerable to knee injuries (he hyperextended his right knee recently against the Spurs) then the West is wide open.

FIRST ROUND

(1) San Antonio Spurs vs. (8) Memphis Grizzlies
The Spurs shot out like a cannon and ran away with the best record in the West, but they didn’t exactly finish the race strong. Gregg Popovich carefully managed the minutes of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker to save their legs for the playoffs. Now that the playoffs are here, it will be interesting to see if San Antonio reverts back to its methodical approach or maintains its uptempo, 3-point attack. Ginobili injured his right arm in the regular-season finale, and if this latest injury turns out to be serious the Spurs’ title hopes could be dashed. The Spurs split their season series with Memphis so the Grizzlies will be a tough out. Prediction: Spurs in 6.

(4) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (5) Denver Nuggets
Nuggets coach George Karl publicly wanted a matchup with the Mavericks because he thinks his speedy squad will be negated by the extremely fast and athletic Thunder, who now has a defensive anchor in Kendrick Perkins. This series will be a track meet, with speedsters Ty Lawson and Raymond Felton in one lane, and Russell Westbrook and Eric Maynor in another. Prediction: Thunder in 5.

(3) Dallas Mavericks vs. (6) Portland Trail Blazers
This will be the best first-round matchup. The Blazers, bolstered by the addition of Gerald Wallace, will give the Mavs all they handle and then some. LaMarcus Aldridge will probably draw Tyson Chandler because Dirk Nowitzki won’t be able to guard Aldridge in the post. The key to the series will be guard play, and the Blazers have an advantage over the smaller guards of Dallas. And if Portland can get 20 quality minutes per game from Brandon Roy then the Mavs are in deep trouble. Prediction: Blazers in 6.

(2) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (7) New Orleans Hornets
The Lakers swept the Hornets during the regular season and they should sweep the Hornets again in the postseason. The Hornets simply do not have enough size to compete with L.A.’s formidable frontline, and Chris Paul needs to play out of his mind just to eek out a game against the defending NBA champs. Prediction: Lakers in 4.

CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

(1) San Antonio Spurs vs. (4) Oklahoma City Thunder
A classic battle of The Old & the Beautiful” against “The Young & the Very Restless.” The Spurs swept the Thunder during the regular season, but their last contest was in February and the Thunder have since retooled their starting lineup and now have Perkins to protect the basket, grab rebounds and set hard screens. Perk also brings a nasty streak to the mix, something the Thunder sorely needs. Originally, I had the Spurs winning this series in seven hard-fought games. But Ginobili’s sprained right arm could be troublesome for Gregg Popovich and Co., and without a healthy Manu the Spurs become extremely ordinary. The Thunder pushed the Lakers to limit last year, and this year they push the Spurs out of the playoffs. Prediction: Thunder in 6.

(2) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (6) Portland Trail Blazers
The Lakers-Blazers rivalry reached a fever pitch in 2000 and 2001 when the Blazers, led by Scottie Pippen, Rasheed Wallace and Brian Grant, gave the Lakers all they can handle but just couldn’t get over the hump. It’ll be the same story this season as the Blazers will make this a very competitive series with their depth and defense, and may even push this thing to the limit. But in the end, the Blazers’ perimeter players will have no answer for Kobe and their frontcourt won’t  be able to keep up with the Hollywood Hills (Gasol and Bynum). Too bad Roy is a shell of himself these days because the Blazers really need the old Brandon Roy to knock off the champs. Prediction: Lakers in 7.

CONFERENCE FINALS

(2) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (4) Oklahoma City Thunder
This series features two teams from polar opposites of the basketball spectrum. In one corner you have the two-time defending NBA champs with a history full of superlatives. The Lakers are led by one of the all-time greats in Kobe Bryant and L.A.’s three-headed frontcourt of Gasol, Bynum and Lamar Odom is unrivaled in the league. In the other corner you have a franchise that originated in Seattle, but is still very much in its infancy stages. OKC is led by a couple of 22-year-olds: Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. It’s Youth vs. Experience. Power vs. Speed. The Rebel Alliance vs. the Evil Empire. Durant, the young Jedi knight, vs. Kobe, the Jedi master. If the Lakers-Thunder sequel is anything like last year’s epic struggle, basketball fans are in for a treat. Despite getting significantly bigger with the acquisition of Perkins, the “Fast & Furious” Thunder still can’t measure up to “The Big Lake Show.” Prediction: Lakers in 7.

Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter at: twitter.com/onemanfastbreak.

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The 2010-11 NBA season is under way and the league’s elite players and powerhouse teams are monopolizing the headlines. Also, point guards are off to fast starts: Rajon Rondo established a new mark in most assists through the first five games, and Derrick Rose at one point was leading the league in scoring, Chris Paul has put the New Orleans Hornets back in contention (for now) and rookie John Wall is the real deal.

Some observations through the first two weeks of the season:

– Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo has 82 assists through five games and leads the league with a mind-boggling 16.4 average. He also recorded a triple-double on Oct. 29 against the Knicks: 10 points, 10 rebounds and 24 assists. He followed that up with 17 assists against the Pistons and 15 against the Bucks.

– Chris Paul reminded basketball fans that he is healthy and ready to reclaim his crown as the best PG in the Association. The Hornets All-Star guard led his team to a perfect 5-0 mark and averaged 21.2 points and nine assists. If this is going to be his final year in New Orleans, CP3 is certainly going out in style.

– The league appears to be armed with outstanding point guards and should be for years to come. Just check out these young studs: CP3, Deron Williams, Rondo, D-Rose, Russell Westbrook, Brandon Jennings, Steph Curry and John Wall.

– Speaking of John Wall, the rookie race will come down to the Wizards’ guard and the Clippers’ Blake Griffin. The lightning-quick Wall has taken a slight edge over the power forward Griffin with outstanding performances against the Hawks (28 points and nine assists) and the Sixers (29 points, 13 assists and nine steals).

– What knee injury? Kobe Bryant posted a triple-double, including 12 assists, against the Sacramento Kings on the tail end of a back-to-back set for the defending world champs. The Lakers are already in midseason form, sitting at 5-0 and leading the Western Conference. Pau Gasol was named Western Conference Player of the Week and Lamar Odom has picked up where he left off since the FIBA World Championships in August.

– After an embarrassing loss to the Celtics on opening night, the Three Kings of Miami seem to have found their form and have rattled off four impressive victories. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade have taken turns in leading the new-look Heat in scoring, and the defense has been stifling. Once Chris Bosh figures out where he can pick up his points, the Heat will be scary good.

– As good as the Heat has been, the top spot in the Eastern Conference belongs to the Atlanta Hawks. First-year head coach Larry Drew has tweaked the offense to highlight the team’s speed and quickness rather than run those low-percentage isolation plays during the Mike Woodson era. Josh Smith has 20 blocks in five games.

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All-Star point guard Chris Paul should reconsider his trade demands and try to bring a championship to New Orleans. (GETTY IMAGES)

There are now several published reports that point guard Chris Paul wants out of New Orleans and lists the Orlando Magic as his No. destination.

This has LeBron James’ fingerprints all over this sudden trade demand from the NBA’s best point guard. James and Paul are very good friends. In fact, the week of LeBron’s “Decision” Paul was at his basketball camp in Akron, Ohio. James probably told Paul what his intentions were and planted the seed on this whole “super team” idea.

Paul dropped hints last month during Carmelo Anthony’s wedding that he would love to play with other superstars. He mentioned playing in New York with Amare Stoudemire and possibly Anthony (if he decides to leave Denver), and he also mentioned Dallas, Portland and Orlando. 

Forming super teams are becoming the latest trend in the NBA, much like the headbands and arm sleeves. What every happened to being an original instead of a copycat? Michael Jordan certainly disagreed with LeBron’s decision to leave Cleveland to be with two other All-Stars in South Beach. Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley couldn’t understand why a reigning MVP would smudge his star like that and hop on someone else’s bandwagon. That was complete foreign to super studs in the 1980s.

With James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh joining forces in Miami, Paul looked at his own situation in New Orleans and got star envy. I guess David West and Emeka Okafor won’t suffice at this point.

That’s where the Orlando Magic comes in. Paul sees Dwight Howard and his mouth begins to salivate just thinking about all those alley-oop passes he can serve up to Blankman. But Orlando already has a point guard, Jameer Nelson, and he just happens to be Blankman’s best friend. Would Blankman toss his good friend under the bus so he could team up with a better PG? Not likely to happen.

The second team on Paul’s wish list is the New York Knicks. Again, Paul would love to run pick-and-rolls all day with Stoudemire, but at some point you have to play defense which is something head coach Mike D’Antoni doesn’t have in his playbook. If D’Antoni, hypothetically, had 100 pages on his playbook, 99 of them would be devoted to offense.

Even if the Knicks somehow convince Paul and Anthony to come to the Big Apple it still wouldn’t guarantee the Knicks a spot in the NBA Finals. Championships are not built overnight (unless you’re the Boston Celtics in 2008, which is somewhat of an anomaly).

Which leads us back to New Orleans.

Paul, who has two years left on his Hornets deal, has been the face of the New Orleans Hornets the day he was drafted into the league. He’s more than just a starting point guard to the people of New Orleans. He’s the ray of hope that lifts spirits of a ravaged community that is still recovering from a devastating hurricane. Losing CP3 would be like losing the Superdome or the French Quarters on Bourbon Street. It would pretty much signal the end of basketball in New Orleans.

The Hornets brass, which includes GM Dell Demps and head head coach Monty Williams, are scheduled to meet with Paul and convince their superstar that the team is doing everything they can to piece together a contender. If the talk goes well, Paul will likely stay in New Orleans. If not, the Hornets better have a Plan B.

I’m hoping CP3 would come to his senses and think better of leaving the franchise that worships him. Bringing a championship to New Orleans would easily trump three or four titles with the Magic.

Paul should call Drew Brees and ask him how great it feels to lift a downtrodden football team all the way to the Super Bowl. Brees won’t have to win another championship in his lifetime. Bringing ONE championship to New Orleans is worth a thousand mardi gras.

Memo to CP3: Stop listening to LBJ.

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Kobe Bryant should have no problem leading the Los Angeles Lakers back to the NBA Finals.

Last June, the Los Angeles Lakers were humiliated by the Boston Celtics by 39 points in Game 6 of the NBA Finals at the new Boston Garden. That drubbing is still fresh in the minds of Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson. Both future Hall of Famers are chomping at the bit to get back to the Finals and redeem their legacy.

No team in the Western Conference has the size nor the strength to push the Lakers. The Lakers run the most explosive and efficient offense in the NBA, and Kobe and Co. play enough defense to get stops late in games. Bryant is determined to win a championship without Shaquille O’Neal and Jackson is determined to move ahead of Red Auerbach in number of championships won by a coach.

Portland is the only team that can match up with the long and lengthy Lakers, but the Trail Blazers are probably a year away from seriously contending for a title.

Manu Ginobili is out with an injured ankle and the wear and tear of all those playoff games are finally getting to Tim Duncan. Despite the fact that Coach Gregg Popovich limited his minutes all season, Duncan’s knees were flaring up so bad that Popovich had to shut him down the last three weeks of the season. The Spurs are old and beaten up. Tony Parker is the only real starter under the age of 30. We could be watching the final stand of a great champion.

Denver, the No. 2 seeded team in the West, is a far better team with Chauncey Billups at the point than with Allen Iverson. But can Coach George Karl count on Carmelo Anthony in a big game? We shall see. Denver faces a formidable foe in New Orleans in the first round, and even though the Hornets have not been playing their best ball lately they still have the best point guard in the league in Chris Paul.

OneManFastbreak.net analyzes and predicts the winners of the Western Conference playoffs:

FIRST ROUND

(1) L.A. Lakers vs. (8) Utah Jazz – This was the easiest series to predict. Jazz are not athletic enough to stay with Kobe and are not tall enough to deal with 7-footers Paul Gasol and Andrew Bynum. LAKERS IN 5.

(2) Denver Nuggets vs. (7) New Orleans Hornets – Before Billups arrived, the Nuggets were a borderline playoff team. With Mr. Big Shot, the Nuggets have a shot at the conference semifinals. NUGGETS IN 7.

(3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (6) Dallas Mavericks – If Devin Harris was still in Dallas, Mavs would be a cinch. But Harris is in New Jersey and Dallas is stuck with Jason Kidd. SPURS IN 6.

(4) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (5) Houston Rockets – In three head-to-head matchups, the home team won each time. It will be no different in the postseason. BLAZERS IN 7.

CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

(1) L.A. Lakers vs. (4) Portland Trail Blazers – Good news is, the Blazers are good enough to beat L.A. in Portland. Bad news is, the Blazers are not good enough to win in L.A. LAKERS IN 7.

(2) Denver Nuggets vs. (3) San Antonio Spurs – Denver has never advanced past San Antonio in the Duncan era. Billups is poised to show the Nuggets how it’s done. NUGGETS IN 6.

CONFERENCE FINALS

(1) L.A. Lakers vs. (2) Denver Nuggets – After going through a tough series with Portland in the semifinals, the Lakers catch a break and are rewarded with a cakewalk in the conference finals against overmatched Denver. Too much Kobe, Gasol and Bynum. LAKERS IN 5.

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