28-year old center Emeka Okafor has really played well so far this year but he really has been solid in January.  Okafor has played in 15 games in January in which he has averaged 35.6 minutes, 12.2 points, 11.3 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 1.7 blocked shots so far this month and he’s shooting an amazing 64.7% from the floor!  He has now played in 48 games (all starts) for the Hornets this year and he is averaging 32.7 minutes, 11.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 1.8 blocked shots per game so far this year.  Okafor has been a force at both ends of the court as he has been one of the Hornets’ most valuable players this year.

24-year old shooting guard Marco Belinelli’s shooting is red hot so far in January.  Belinelli is hitting 50% from the floor, 56.3% from three point range and 90% from the free throw line in his first five games in January.  Belinelli is averaging 27.2 minutes, 12.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steal in January so far.  He has now played in 37 games (all starts) for the Hornets and he is averaging 11.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.  I know that head coach Monty Williams like Belinelli, but I think the Hornets would be much better if Marcus Thornton were starting at shooting guard.

25-year old point guard Chris Paul has been really solid so far in December.  Paul has played in six games so far this month and he is averaging 33.2 minutes, 15.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, 9.3 assists and 3.7 steals per game.  Paul is shooting 51.7% from the floor, 53.3% from three point range and 95.8% from the free throw line so far this month.  Paul has now played in 25 games (all starts) so far this year and he is averaging 34.1 minutes, 16.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 10.0 assists and 3.2 steals per game.  Paul appears to be almost all of the way back for the Hornets after a injury plagued year in 2009-10.  The Hornets would probably be better off if he decided to shoot a couple of more times per game but that’s nitpicking.

24-year old shooting guard Marco Belinelli is off to a good start for the New Orleans Hornets.  Belinelli has played in 16 games (all starts) for the Hornets so far this year and he is averaging 29.1 minutes, 12.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.  His main skill is his three point shooting.  He is 33 of 75 (44%) from three point range so far this year which is outstanding.  As long as Belinelli keeps shooting well he’ll be in the starting lineup because he doesn’t bring much else to the court on a nightly basis.

28-year old starting center Emeka Okafor is off to a good start for the Hornets this year. He has played in 10 games (all starts) so far this year and he is averaging 30.6 minutes, 11.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, 0.3 assists and 2.3 blocked shots per game. Okafor is shooting 60% from the floor (most of his shots are dunks and put backs) but only 66.7% from the free throw line. The Hornets don’t run many plays for Okafor as he gets his points by hustle and off rebounds. He is the only really big guy that the Hornets play so they need him to stay healthy.

25-year old point guard Chris Paul appears healthy & happy so far this year. He has started the first three games for the Hornets this year and he is averaging 35.0 minutes, 20.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 9.3 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Paul is also shooting well from everywhere on the court as he is hitting 50% of his shots from the floor, 42.9% from three point range and 89.5% from the free throw line. As long as Chris Paul is healthy & happy the Hornets are going to be a good basketball team.

29-year old power forward David West just keeps putting up big numbers for the Hornets. He played in 81 games (all starts) for the Hornets last season and he averaged 36.4 minutes, 19.0 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. West has now played in 460 games (368 starts) in his 7 years with the Hornets and he is averaging 32.0 minutes, 16.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. West is moving up in the record books for the Hornets as he is #5 in games played with 460. He is also #3 in rebounds (3,324), #10 in assists (878), #8 in steals (329), #5 in blocked shots (373) and he is #4 in points scored (7,368) in Hornets’ history. West is already one of the very best players in New Orleans Hornets history.

Reserve center Aaron Gray is doing a solid job of backing up Emeka Okafor. He has played in 15 games (0 starts) for the Hornets this season and he is averaging 10.9 minutes, 3.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Gray is also shooting an amazing 65.6% from the floor with the Hornets so far. Gray is looking like a solid addition to the Hornets since coming over in a trade with the Bulls earlier this year.

Chris Paul is back from injury to reclaim his starting point guard spot. Paul has played in 39 games (all starts) for the Hornets this season and he is averaging 38.3 minutes, 20.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 10.9 assists and 2.2 steals per game. Paul is shooting 50.3% from the floor, 42.7% from three point range and 86.2% from three point range so far this season. The one bright spot while Chris Paul was out was the play of Darren Collison who really did a great job of running the team. It will be interesting to see if the Hornets start Paul & Collison together despite them both being smaller guys.

Starting power forward David West has been the most dependable member of the Hornets this season. He has played in 64 games (all starts) for the Hornets this season and he is averaging 36.5 minutes, 18.7 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. The Hornets will need West to keep healthy and playing well if they are going to have any chance of making the playoffs this season.