Dirk Nowitzki has been running his mouth a little bit about rather playing the Hornets than the Lakers. Before he starts talking trash he better look in the mirror after his performance last season in the playoffs. Here is a look at the matchups:

POINT GUARD: Jason Kidd didn’t play up to expectations with the Mavericks after he was acquired in a trade with the Nets. Kidd played in 29 games (all starts) with the Mavericks this season and he averaged 9.9 points, 6.5 rebounds, 9.5 assists and 2.1 steals per game. It will be interesting to see if Kidd can step in up against Chris Paul.

Chris Paul is an outstanding player and he will be a finalist for the MVP Award this season. He played in 80 games (all starts) for the Hornets this year and he averaged 21.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, 11.6 assists and 2.7 steals per game. Paul will probably school the older Kidd in this matchup.

EDGE: HORNETS

SHOOTING GUARD: The Mavericks will likely start Jerry Stackhouse in this series with Jason Terry coming off the bench. Stackhouse played in 58 games (13 starts) for the Mavericks this season and he averaged 10.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. The Mavericks need Stackhouse to make Peja Stojakovic work hard on defense.

Peja Stojakovic is the Hornets’ main shooting threat from the perimeter. He played in 77 games (all starts) and he averaged 16.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. Stojakovic will likely hit a lot of big shots in this series for the Hornets.

EDGE: HORNETS

SMALL FORWARD: Josh Howard is an emerging talent for the Mavericks. He’s the #2 option on the offense behind Dirk Nowitzki. Howard played in 76 games (all starts) for the Mavericks this season and he averaged 19.9 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. Howard will likely dominate in this series due to the fact that Morris Peterson can’t guard him.

Morris Peterson is a good shooter from the perimeter and that’s his only real skill. Peterson played in 76 games (all starts) this season for the Hornets and he averaged 8.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.

EDGE: HUGE FOR THE MAVERICKS

POWER FORWARD: Dirk Nowitzki was the NBA’s MVP last season but he didn’t show up in the playoffs. He better make sure he’s focused because the Mavericks can’t win this series if he doesn’t perform up to his normal level. Nowitzki played in 77 games (all starts) this season for the Mavericks and he averaged 23.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.

David West is a very underrated player and he will make Nowitzki work hard on both ends of the basketball court. West played in 76 games (all starts) for the Hornets this year and he averaged 20.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 blocks per game.

EDGE: VERY SLIGHT FOR THE MAVERICKS

CENTER: Erick Dampier should be much better than he is. If he doesn’t come to play in this series, Tyson Chandler will posterize him early and often. Dampier played in 72 games (64 starts) for the Mavericks this year and he averaged 6.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game.

Tyson Chandler had his best season of his NBA career this year. He played in 79 games (all starts) for the Hornets this season and he averaged 11.8 points, 11.7 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.1 blocked shots per game. Look out for Chandler in this series.

EDGE: HORNETS

BENCH: Neither of these teams have a great bench. Jason Terry will be the main man off the bench for the Mavericks. He played in 82 games (34 starts) this season and he averaged 15.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Reserve power forward Brandon Bass had a good season and he would like nothing more than make his old team pay for never giving him a legit chance to play. Bass played in 79 games (1 start) for the Hornets this season and he averaged 8.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. Tyronn Lue was brought in late in the season to backup Jason Kidd. Lue played in 17 games (0 starts) for the Mavericks this season and he averaged 3.8 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. Devean George is still around. He played in 53 games (4 starts) for the Mavericks this season and he averaged 3.7 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. Malik Allen was brought in during the season and he played in 25 games (4 starts) for the Mavericks and he averaged 3.1 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Antoine Wright also came over in the Jason Kidd trade with New Jersey. He played in 15 games (0 starts) for the Mavericks this season and he averaged 3.5 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. Jose Juan Barea won’t likely get to play too much in this series. He played in 44 games (9 starts) for the Mavericks this season and he averaged 4.3 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Eddie Jones is also still around. He played in 47 games (33 starts) for the Mavericks this season and he averaged 3.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.

The Hornets have a veteran look to their bench. Bonzi Wells will get a lot of time at small forward in this series. He played in 22 games (0 starts) for the Hornets this season and he averaged 8.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Backup guard Jannero Pargo could also get a lot of P.T. this season. Pargo played in 80 games (5 starts) for the Hornets this season and he averaged 8.1 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. Rasual Butler is a pretty decent shooter off the bench. He played in 51 games (8 starts) for the Hornets and he averaged 4.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. Mike James will be the backup point guard for the Hornets. He played in 21 games (0 starts) for the Hornets last season and he averaged 2.7 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Rookie small forward Julian Wright didn’t get much of a chance to show what he could do this season. He played in 57 games (1 start) for the Hornets this season and he averaged 3.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. Melvin Ely might also get to pitch in off the bench for the Hornets. Ely played in 52 games (1 start) last season for the Hornets and he averaged 3.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. Center Hilton Armstrong won’t likely get much playing time in this series. Armstrong played in 65 games (3 starts) this season for the Hornets and he averaged 2.7 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.

EDGE: EVEN

PREDICTION: THE HORNETS IN SIX GAMES.

Chris “The Bird Man” Andersen has been re-instated by the NBA after a 2-year suspension for substance abuse. He will help them off the bench with his defense and energy. He has played in 253 games (8 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 16.6 minutes, 5.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game. Andersen has shot 46.8% from the floor but only 60.2% from the free throw line.

The Hornets have acquired Bonzi Wells and Mike James from the Rockets in a 3-team, 7 player deal. The Hornets traded Bobby Jackson, Adam Haluska and a 2nd round pick to the Rockets and Marcus Vinicius to the Grizzlies. Bonzi Wells played in 51 games (7 starts) for the Rockets this season and he averaged 22.0 minutes, 9.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Wells has now played in 569 games (275 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 25.8 minutes, 12.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He could wind up pushing Morris Peterson to the bench in New Orleans. Mike James played in 33 games (1 start) this season for the Rockets and he averaged 16.3 minutes, 6.5 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. He was having a poor shooting year for the Rockets as he only was hitting 35% from the floor and 78.6% from the free throw line. James has now played in 442 games (213 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 25.9 minutes, 11.1 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. James has hit 42.6% of his shots from the floor, 37.9% from three point range and 80.2% from the free throw line in his career. James was a good addition to the Hornets as he can give Chris Paul a breather every night.

Bobby Jackson played in 46 games (0 starts) this season for the Hornets and he averaged 19.4 minutes, 7.1 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. Jackson has only shot 39.2% from the floor and 81.6% from the free throw line. Marcus Vinicius played in 13 games (0 starts) for the Hornets this season and he averaged 5.3 minutes, 2.2 points, 0.6 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. Adam Haluska has been injured all season and has yet to make his NBA debut.

The Hornets are a better team now than when the day started and that’s a good thing.

Rookie guard Adam Haluska will miss up to the next two months for the Hornets with a severely sprained ankle. Haluska hurt his ankle in practice which has been his only action this season as he has yet to play in a game. The veteran Hornets won’t miss Haluska much while he’s out.

A lot of players on the Hornets bench were forced into starting duties last season because of injuries and they held their own. Backup small forward Rasual Butler played the best of his NBA career last year and the Hornets hope he can keep up the good work. Butler played in 81 games (38 starts) last season for the Hornets and he averaged 27.5 minutes, 10.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Bobby Jackson will be the backup point guard for the Hornets this season and he is still a good player. Jackson played in 56 games (2 starts) and he averaged 23.7 minutes, 10.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Jannero Pargo can handle either the point or shooting guard positions and he’s a valuable reserve for the Hornets. Pargo played in 82 games (7 starts) last season for the Hornets and he averaged 20.8 minutes, 9.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Hilton Armstrong will be the backup at both power forward and center this season. He played in 56 games (5 starts) for the Hornets last year and he averaged 11.4 minutes, 3.1 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. Rookie forward Julian Wright out of Kansas will also figure in as a backup in the frontcourt and he will inject athletic ability into the reserve unit. Reserve power forward Melvin Ely was signed as a free agent in the off season and the Hornets hope he can provide some muscle and defense. Ely played in 30 games (0 starts) last season for the Clippers and Spurs and he averaged 10.3 minutes, 3.0 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Bernard Robinson was acquired in a trade with the Nets and he will be a back up swing man for the Hornets. He played in 31 games (0 starts) for the Nets and Hornets last season and he averaged 9.0 minutes, 2.0 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.