N.O. Classic

There’s something in the water in New Orleans and whatever it is, the New Orleans Hornets have found it. Maybe it’s the same magic the Saints had last year, but one thing’s for sure, the Hornets are one of the many surprises of this young, NBA season and all of it can be contributed to the play of Chris Paul. I’m a little late on this guy seeing that I don’t pay much attention to college basketball but after seeing what he’s been able to do in just two short years, I must admit that he’s the real deal. His play of late has propelled the Hornets to the top tier of the NBA and now teams are taking notice of a franchise that has been looked over for years. Whether or not the Hornets can hang with that of a San Antonio, Dallas, or Phoenix remains to be seen but hats off to Byron Scott for a great coaching job and management, as well, for bringing in pieces to make this thing work. What they had with Baron Davis running things was not working out anymore so to pull the trigger on a deal to send him to Golden State was smart and, in hindsight, paid dividends to not only the team but the community as well.

Being in the western conference, the Hornets have a tough road ahead to be taken seriously. Most would give them a slim chance to make it to the finals, let alone appear in the conference finals, but anything is possible. Basketball is the ultimate team sport and the Hornets just have this chemistry about them that wouldn’t surprise me if they did pull an upset and made it to an NBA finals. Like I said, all that remains to be seen but one thing is clear, this team goes as Chris Paul goes and the upside is tremendous. This burgeoning star is playing at an all-star level and proof of that can be the reason why he was chosen as the cover athlete for this year's NBA 2k8. Certainly worthy of the honor, Paul continues to cement his legacy right before our eyes. The only scary part is that he’s not even in his prime yet so, if he keeps playing at such a high level then his name would be plastered among the greats. All he needs is a little validation and with the motivation and drive that this kid has, an NBA championship is not far from his grasp.