The Hornets never had much of a chance last night in San Antonio. The Spurs built up a 85-61 lead after three quarters last night and they did it because they shot 51.3% from the floor. Chris Paul led the way for the Hornets with 23 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. Jannero Pargo pitched in with 11 points and 2 rebounds off the bench. David West finished with 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 blocked shots. The Hornets and Spurs are all knotted up at 2-2 in this series.

The Hornets ran into a buzzsaw last Thursday against the Spurs in San Antonio. Chris Paul led the way for the Hornets with 35 points, 2 rebounds and 9 assists in this game. David West stuffed the stat sheet with 23 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocked shots. Tyson Chandler pitched in with 12 points and 8 rebounds. The Hornets are now up 2-1 in this series.

The Hornets dominated the Spurs 36-18 in the third quarter and then cruised to a very easy victory last night. Chris Paul was outstanding as he led the way for the Hornets with 30 points, 2 rebounds and 12 assists. Peja Stojakovic was a deadeye last night as he hit 5 of 7 three pointers to finish with 25 points and 6 rebounds. Morris Peterson hit all 5 of his field goals last night as he finished with 12 points and 3 rebounds. David West had an off night hitting only 2 of 11 shots to finish with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. The Hornets are now up 2-0 in this series.

The Hornets dominated the second half 56-33 on their way to a very easy win last night over the defending champion San Antonio Spurs. The Hornets shot 50% from the floor and they outrebounded the Spurs 50-34 which helps explain the final score. David West led the way for the Hornets with 30 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Peja Stojakovic pitched in with 22 points and 4 rebounds. Chris Paul was outstanding again running the offense as he finished with 17 points, 4 rebounds, 13 assists and 4 steals. Tyson Chandler was awesome on defense as he held Tim Duncan to 5 points and 3 rebounds on 1 of 9 shooting from the floor. He also scored 10 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and blocked 3 shots. The Hornets are now up 1-0 in this series.

This should be an excellent series with many marquee matchups including Tony Parker vs. Chris Paul and Tim Duncan vs. David West. For a closer look at the matchups in this series, read on:

POINT GUARD: Chris Paul was one of the finalists for the MVP Award in the NBA this season and he is the main reason that the team was so good this season. Paul started all 5 games in the series vs. the Mavericks and he averaged 40.4 minutes, 24.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 12.0 assists and 2 steals. He also shot 50% from the floor in that series.

Tony Parker has made a ton of big shots in his career with the Spurs but he’s playing the best basketball of his NBA career right now. Parker tormented Steve Nash in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. He started all 5 games of that series and he averaged 40.4 minutes, 29.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Parker also shot well in the first round as he hit 52.3% of his shots from the floor.

EDGE: EVEN

SHOOTING GUARD: Peja Stojakovic was in a zone against the Mavericks as he hit 17 of 28 three pointers (60.7%) in that series. He started all 5 games against the Mavericks and he averaged 36.8 minutes, 15.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. His size will likely cause matchup problems with the Mavericks.

Michael Finley started all 5 games in the first round of the playoffs but he appears to be slowing down. Finley averaged 33.0 minutes, 7.0 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Finley might also get some minutes at small forward if Bruce Bowen continues to struggle on offense.

EDGE: HORNETS

SMALL FORWARD: Morris Peterson will be starting at small forward for the Hornets in this series. He started all 5 games in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 19.0 minutes, 7.2 points, 2.0 points and 0.2 assists per game. Peterson will likely be able to focus on offense in this series as Bruce Bowen doesn’t have much of an offensive game.

Bruce Bowen is one of the best defensive players in the entire NBA but he has been awful so far this post season on offense. Bowen started all 5 games against the Suns and he averaged 22.0 minutes, 0.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. He is also only shooting 16.7% from the floor in the playoffs.

EDGE: SMALL FOR THE HORNETS

POWER FORWARD: David West is a really good basketball player but he might need help from Tyson Chandler on defense to deal with Tim Duncan. West will make Duncan work hard on the defensive end, that’s for sure. West started all 5 games against the Mavericks in the first round and he averaged 40.6 minutes, 22.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.6 blocked shots per game.

Tim Duncan is quite simply, one of the best players in the NBA. The bigger the game, the bigger he plays. Duncan dominated the Suns in the Spurs’ opening playoff series. Duncan started all 5 games against the Suns and he averaged 39.8 minutes, 24.8 points, 13.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.4 blocked shots per game. Look for Duncan to have another huge series against the Hornets.

EDGE: SPURS

CENTER: Tyson Chandler had a breakout year this season for the Hornets. Chandler will have to help keep Tim Duncan off the boards to help his team succeed. Chandler started all 5 games against the Mavericks and he averaged 35.0 minutes, 7.2 points, 11.2 rebounds, 0.2 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game. Defense and rebounding is the name of Chandler’s game and it will be on full exhibit in this series.

Kurt Thomas will likely start at center in this series for the Spurs. Thomas played in all 5 games (3 starts) against the Suns and he averaged 22.8 minutes, 5.0 points and 6.8 rebounds. Thomas will split time with Fabricio Oberto to try to wear out Tyson Chandler in this series.

EDGE: HORNETS

BENCH: The Hornets don’t usually go to deep into the bench. But, reserve guard Jannero Pargo was incredible off the bench against the Mavericks in round #1. Pargo played in all 5 games against the Mavericks and he averaged 26.6 minutes, 14.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Pargo shot 50.9% from the floor and 45% from three point range in the first round. Bonzi Wells will get a lot of playing time at small forward in this series. He played in all 5 games against the Mavericks last round and he averaged 16.6 minutes, 4.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. Rookie Julian Wright will also get some playing time for the Hornets at small forward. He played in all 5 games against the Mavericks last round and he averaged 11.4 minutes, 4.2 points, 1.2 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Hilton Armstrong gives Tyson Chandler and David West a breather when they need it, which isn’t often. Armstrong played in all 5 games aganst the Mavericks and he averaged 11.0 minutes, 2.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.0 blocked shot per game. Ryan Bowen is a good hustle player off the bench when he gets a chance to play, which isn’t too often. Bowen played in 3 games (0 starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 4.0 minutes, 0.7 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.

The Spurs have a very solid veteran bench and they use it often. Manu Ginobili is quite simply the best 6th man in all of the NBA. He played in all 5 games against the Suns and he averaged 31.0 minutes, 18.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Center Fabricio Oberto will likely get a lot of playing time in this series also. He played in 5 games (2 starts) against the Suns and he averaged 19.0 minutes, 5.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Oberto was also 10 of 13 shooting (76.9%) from the floor last series. Ime Udoka is a solid backup small forward. He played in all 5 games against the Suns and he averaged 12.8 minutes, 3.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Brent Barry is the long range gunner off the bench for the Spurs. He hit 4 of 7 three pointers in the first round against the Suns. He averaged 14.2 minutes, 3.4 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. Robert Horry also seems to raise his level of play in the post season but he looked his age against the Suns in the first round. Horry played in 4 games against the Suns and he averaged 8.3 minutes, 2.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. Jacque Vaughn is the backup point guard but he could lose playing time to Damon Stoudamire if he doesn’t pick up his play soon. Vaughn played in all 5 games against the Suns and he averaged 5.8 minutes, 0.8 points, 0.2 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Damon Stoudamire played in only 2 games (0 starts) against the Suns and he averaged 7.0 minutes, 5.5 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.

EDGE: SPURS

PREDICTION: I HAVE TO SIDE WITH THE SPURS IN 7 GAMES BECAUSE OF THE DEPTH AND EXPERIENCE THAT THEY HAVE.

The Hornets ended the Mavericks season on Tuesday Night. David West led the way for the Hornets with 25 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocked shots. Chris Paul turned in another triple double as he finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds, 15 assists and 2 steals. Jannero Pargo was solid off the bench with 17 points and 3 rebounds in 28 minutes. The Hornets won this series 4-1 and they play the Spurs next.

The Hornets stung the Mavericks in Dallas on Sunday Night. They did it by shooting 50% from the floor while holding the Mavericks to 39% shooting. David West led the way for the Hornets in this game with 24 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists. Peja Stojakovic also had a good game with 19 points and 5 rebounds. Chris Paul did a good job of running the offense finishing with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists. The Hornets are now up 3-1 in this series.

The Hornets only shot 37.9% from the floor last night and they Mavericks outrebounded them 52-43 which explains the loss in Dallas. Jannero Pargo led the way for the Hornets with 30 points and 2 assists in 32 minutes off the bench. Chris Paul only shot 4 of 18 from the floor as he finished with 16 points, 2 rebounds and 10 assists. David West also had a rough shooting night (6 of 20) but he finished with 14 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists. Peja Stojakovic pitched in wtih 13 points and 10 rebounds on 4 of 12 shooting from the floor. The Hornets still lead this series 2-1.

The Hornets kicked the Mavericks butt again last night as they shot an amazing 60.8% from the floor as a team. Chris Paul was outstanding again as he led the way for the Hornets with 32 points, 5 rebounds, 17 assists and 3 steals. David West also had an outstanding game with 27 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists. Peja Stojakovic pitched in with 22 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. The Hornets are now up 2-0 in this series.

The Hornets outscored the Mavericks 64-40 in the 2nd half of the game Saturday and they held the Mavericks to 33.3% shooting from the floor which explains the victory. Chris Paul led the way for the Hornets with 35 points, 3 rebounds, 10 assists and 4 steals. Paul also shot an amazing 15 of 23 from the floor. David West also had a solid game with 23 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 blocked shots. Peja Stojakovic pitched in with 14 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Tyson Chandler was tough around the basket with 10 points and 15 rebounds. The Hornets are now up 1-0 in this series.