A new beginning? You can call it that, if you look back on the six-season era of CP3. What you had Wednesday night was a welcome-back-home to the man that spanned both eras.

I say this remembering it was at an early stage of last season, with the New Orleans Hornets on their way to coming out of the starting bocks a surprising 8-0, that I posed the question to Chris Paul.

“What do you think about your rookie head coach?’’

There was no hesitation.

“He knows how to relate,’’ came the reply from the All-Pro point guard. “All coaches are busy sending messages. In some cases, not all messages are received. Coach (Monty) Williams makes contact, and that has plenty to do with the man and his personality. You get the message because you respect the messenger.’’

The messenger at the time was 39, the youngest head coach in the NBA, and once he started talking you realized you were dealing in mutual admiration.

“Right now,’’ said Williams, “Chris could be a head coach in this league. I’m more impressed than I was before I got to know him. He knows so much more than I did at his age. His attention to detail is amazing, and when it comes to individual defense, team defense, everyone has bought into what coach is selling.’’

Dell Demps, the General Manager who hired Williams from a list of candidates, says, “whenever Monty’s involved, it’s a soft sell. Monty has a special calmness about him. He doesn’t wear his emotions on his sleeve. But, inside, you’ll find a competitive fire and a smart man.’’

There was the Hornets coach Wednesday, preparing to bury the Boston Celtics 97-78, preparing for the first home game in an abbreviated season of 66 games, wondering how long it would take him to assess what he had. .

Only four games into his rookie season, Williams figured it was going to take at least 25 games of an 82-game season to find out “how good, how bad, we were.’’

All he knew then was he had the best point guard, the best pick-and-roll player, in the game, and he had to do his best to keep Chris Paul as fresh as possible.

Now he’s dealing with virtually a new roster, still getting acquainted with one another, in some cases still getting acquainted with the English language.

In a way, Williams has been dealing with nothing but change from Day One on the job.

“It continues to be a learning process for most of us,’’ he said, ‘’and that’s what makes it so interesting. It’s not an excuse.’’

Williams had no excuses last season when his 12-3 Hornets lost their first home game to the San Antonio Spurs, in the hands of Gregg Popovich, the man who helped shape Williams’ coaching career.

“I was outcoached by a lot,’’ said Monty who watched a 17-point halftime turn into a 14-point loss. After shooting 62 percent in the first half, the Hornets went 5-for-15 in the third quarter and turned the ball over five times to bring the Spurs back in the game.

“Coach Pop made move after move after move, and I had no answer,’’ said Williams.

The way he handled that defeat told me the Hornets had someone who could rock with the punches that would come and never look back.

On Thursday, you had Williams’ ball club, with a roster of nine new faces, without his top scorer, Eric Gordon, the hero of an opening game victory, send a serious message as to what you can accomplish with a take-it-to-you defense for a full 48 minutes.

Quite simply, the Hornets held a team known for its aggressive defense with one that not only limited the men in green to 78 points, but also limited them to 37 percent shooting, by forcing nine turnovers, by forcing seven steals, by blocking a dozen shots.

Meanwhile, Williams watched five of his players hit in double figures, led by Jarrett Jack’s 21 and Carl Landry’s 20.

He also watched 7-footer Chris Kaman come off the bench and contribute 27 minutes that included 12 points, some from the outside, nine rebounds and three blocks.

All things considered, two games into a new start, there’s more sunshine than clouds.

Welcome home, Monty Williams.

New Orleans Hornets

I don’t think any NBA team had a more tumultuous start to their season than the New Orleans Hornets. Not only did they lose Chris Paul and David West, but the delayed trade pushed everything back in the Hornets training camp. However, the Hornets acquired a superstar in Eric Gordon and New Orleans went undefeated in the preseason. The Hornets got off to a winning start with an incredible 85-84 win over the Phoenix Suns.

New Orleans Hornets vs. Phoenix Suns

I thought New Orleans had a golden opportunity to get off to a good start against the Suns. Although they still have Steve Nash and Grant Hill, the Suns are clearly an aging team in decline. However, the Suns still have a decent reputation around the NBA, so a Hornets win would give a young New Orleans team an early dose of confidence.

Of course, I was curious to see how the new Hornets looked against the Suns. I knew Eric Gordon and Chris Kaman would come out ready to play to prove they should have been shown more respect by their former team, the Los Angeles Clippers. Gordon scored 20 points and Kaman added 10 off the bench.

I was also impressed with the play of Greivis Vasquez. The former guard of the Memphis Grizzlies showed good ball-handling skills and a nice outside shot. Overall, the guard play of the Hornets was outstanding, considering they were without Jarrett Jack. New Orleans made up for poor 3-point shooting by holding the Suns to 39.5% shooting.

Many of the Hornets fans are what I’d call casual NBA fans. If they are not already familiar with Eric Gordon, they are in for a pleasant surprise. Trailing by one point late in the game, Gordon hit an outside jumper to give the Hornets an 85-84 win over the Suns. I think the Hornets are out to prove they will be playoff contenders in 2012.

Looking ahead

After a day off on Tuesday, New Orleans will begin their home schedule on Wednesday against the Boston Celtics. If the Hornets can outrun and outgun another aging NBA team, the rest of the league may start to take notice. Monty Williams has already proven he’s capable of getting the Hornets off to a fast start in the NBA.

Patrick Michael was born in New Orleans and currently resides in the Big Easy. A loyal New Orleans NBA fan, Patrick was a diehard New Orleans Jazz fan and now cheers for the Hornets. Patrick was in the New Orleans Arena the night the Hornets were one win away from the Western Conference Finals.

Sources

CST broadcast of the New Orleans Hornets vs. Phoenix Suns

“New Orleans at Phoenix,” yahoo.com

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PHOENIX — A glimpse into the New Orleans Hornets’ future Monday night at US Airways Center indicates the fortunes might not be as blurry as many have predicted. Newly acquired shooting guard Eric Gordon calmly made a 20-foot jump shot with 4.2 seconds remaining over the outstretched arms of Jared Dudley as New Orleans stunned the Phoenix Suns 85-84 in the regular-season opener for both teams.

Gordon, who led all scorers with 20 points, took the inbounds pass from forward Trevor Ariza, who had rebounded a Dudley miss on the other end with 15.3 seconds to go. Gordon dribbled the ball to the top of the key with seven seconds to go before launching the winner.

“That was a shot that we needed,” Gordon said. “We were battling back and forth the whole game. All the stuff we’ve been through, the changes in the offseason, I just wanted this game really bad. The play was set up to where I got the ball on the top of the key and then just go one-on-one. I just wanted to finish the play, and I did. Good thing is we won the game, and move on.”

Ariza could have put the Hornets ahead with two free throws with 35.4 seconds to go, trailing 84-83. But he missed both.

After a pair of timeouts, Dudley’s 10-footer with just more than 16 seconds to go rimmed out and Ariza cleared the glass.

“It would have been easier just to make the free throws,” Ariza said, smiling. “But I didn’t. The game works like that some times. You can’t worry about the last play, just move on to the next.”

The Hornets played well defensively all night, limiting Phoenix to 39.5 percent shooting and forcing 15 turnovers, which New Orleans converted into 15 points.

New Orleans managed to come away with the victory despite hitting 13 of 21 free throws and going 2-of-16 from beyond the 3-point line.

Thanks, that is, to Gordon’s stroke.

“He’s going to average 20 on any team you put him on in the NBA,” Suns Coach Alvin Gentry said. “I just think he’s that kind of player. Adding that to the mix, it makes them pretty doggone good.”

Gentry foretold the pace of Monday night’s game before it even started.

“They’re going to play at a slower tempo,” Gentry said. “They played that way even when they had Chris (Paul) last year. They’re a team that wants to drag the possessions out. They utilize the possessions. I think they led the league last year in fewest offensive rebounds given up, fewest total rebounds.

“They’re a team that goes to the board and gets it. They allow one shot, so you’ve got to make sure it’s a good shot. It’s one of those deals where you’ve got to make sure that you’re grinding it out with them. You’ve got to find a way to get easy baskets, which is not easy because their transition is good. They don’t give up very many easy baskets.”

Since Monty Williams arrived as head coach last season, the Hornets have emphasized defense. And never was that more evident than Monday night, especially in the first half.

The Suns committed nine first-half turnovers and the Hornets converted them to 12 points.

New Orleans was using a nice backcourt rotation that featured Gordon and Marco Belinelli swapping out at the two-guard spot, and Belinelli, newly acquired Greivis Vasquez and New Orleans native Carldell “Squeaky” Johnson on the point, all due to the one-game suspension being served by starter Jarrett Jack.

The ball movement was nice offensively, but the quartet was even better defensively.

Vasquez checked into the game for the first time with just less than seven minutes to go in the first quarter, having endured a crash course in the Hornets’ offensive and defensive systems at one practice Sunday night and a shootaround Monday morning.

Williams said he didn’t want to immediately toss Vasquez in as a starter opposite two-time league MVP Steve Nash.

“We don’t mind throwing guys into the fire,” Williams said, smiling. “We just don’t want to do it with gasoline on them. Obviously we want to score points, but we want to get stops. And that was my big deal with Greivis. He has got to understand what we’re doing on defense.

“So we spent a ton of time talking to him about our philosophies and concepts. When you’re playing against a Hall of Famer like Nash, you don’t want to set a guy up for failure. You want him thinking about Nash. I don’t want him thinking about principles, and what he should do in a situation. I think it’s important he’s well prepared. I didn’t want to throw him out there and have him fail.”

The Suns were limited to 33 percent shooting in the first half, hitting 14 of 42 from the field, a figure attributable as much to New Orleans’ defensive intensity as the 149-day lockout that shortened training camp to three weeks.

But Williams managed to get his point across to this new group rather quickly.

“I thought we just stuck with our stuff as far as defending,” Williams said. “Holding a team like that in the 80s, for us, is huge. Different guys stepped up. Eric hit some big shots down the stretch. You just put the ball in his hands and you tell him to go to work.”

Jimmy Smith can be reached at jsmith@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3814.

Hornets (0-0) at Suns (0-0)

C: Emeka Okafor … Marcin Gortat

PF: Carl Landry … Channing Frye

SF: Trevor Ariza … Grant Hill

PG: Greveis Vasquez … Steve Nash

SG: Eric Gordon … Jared Dudley

Key Hornets subs: Chris Kaman, Jason Smith, Al-Faouq Aminu, Carldell Johnson, Greivis Vasquez.

* New Orleans starting point guard Jarrett Jack is suspended for tonight’s game due to a February DUI arrest that was later prosecuted for a count of reckless driving. The Hornets are considering sliding Eric Gordon to point guard or starting newly acquired point guard Greivis Vasquez. The team is listing Vasquez as the probable starter. Jack had played in 371 consecutive games, an active streak that was second only to Derek Fisher (492).

* Alvin Gentry on Gordon, who he has always touted as underrated: “He reminds me so much of what Joe Dumars was when Joe Dumars came into the league. Just a real, strong powerful guy that can shoot the ball. He gets to the foul line. He creates a lot of tough situations defensively for you.”

* The Suns are 14-5 in home season openers but only 3-2 since moving to US Airways Center.

* The Suns were not permitted to practice Sunday because it was Christmas but New Orleans was allowed to do so on Sunday afternoon at US Airways Center because it traveled.

* Grant Hill’s sore right knee still is not 100 percent. Gentry said he is going to limit Hill, 39, to playing stretches of six to seven minutes this season. He still is a key defensively, as a communicator, help defender and lockdown defender for top scorers.

“I think he’s still got some ways to go,” Gentry said. “But you know him. I can put him in the game and he’s going to compete like crazy and we’ll see where it is. I just have to be careful to monitor what he does.”

* Rookie power forward Markieff Morris was one of the few highlights of the preseason despite fouling out in both games. Morris’ all-around game and acumen was so strong that Gentry considered starting him.

The Suns have not had a rookie debut with a double-figure scoring game since Amar’e Stoudemire in 2002 but Morris is capable. The franchise rookie debut record is 20 points by Walter Davis in 1977.

“He’s not afraid,” Gentry said of Morris. “That’s a major part of the battle right there.”

* New Orleans coach Monty Williams’ style will be to have a defensive, physical team. With Okafor and Kaman, the Hornets will likely be post-up heavy and that will test where Marcin Gortat is most vulnerable because of the broken right thumb. His ability to battle for position and hold off someone backing him down has proven more difficult than shooting.

* Phoenix Phactoid Pharaoh Vince Kozar is back to phinding phun phacts. He researched that this is the first time in 21 years that the Suns will open a season with the same starting lineup that closed the prior one. That lineup was Kevin Johnson, Jeff Hornacek, Kurt Rambis, Tom Chambers and Mark West.

* New Orleans went 2-0 in the preseason against Memphis but Jack was the team’s standout.

* The Suns are not expecting to sell out their home opener tonight for the first time since 2005, which was against Dallas after a conference finals season.

* When you look at the Suns bench tonight, you will seven coaches. Elston Turner is the new lead assistant, forcing one of the usual front-row assistants from last season (Dan Majerle, Bill Cartwright and Igor Kokoskov) to take turns sitting in the back row. Only four coaches are permitted to sit on the bench’s front row.

* Nash starts the season as the NBA all-time free throw percentage leader at 90.3933 but still could lose the record with Mark Price at 90.3895. You can monitor the record at www.nashwatch.com.

* New Orleans power forward Gustavo Ayon signed Thursday, becoming the NBA’s third Mexican-born player but he might not be cleared for action yet. The Suns signed the first NBA Mexican-born player, Horacio Llamas, in 1996 and Eduardo Najera remains in the league for a 12th year with Charlotte.

* Charlotte cut former Suns forward Taylor Griffin on Friday.

* Former Suns guard Vince Carter started in his Dallas debut Sunday and scored five points on two-for-six shooting in 21 minutes.

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The descriptions regarding expectations for the New Orleans Hornets this season have run the gamut, all in the negative. Last in the West. Third-worst in the NBA. Train-wreck. Headed for the bottom.

Ghastly.

“That’s just fuel for the fire,” said power forward Carl Landry, ready to embark on his first full season in New Orleans — and first as the starter at that position — tonight when the team opens the season at Phoenix. “That makes us want to go out there and work that much harder to win ball games and prove everybody wrong.

“Most of the guys on this team have been the underdog most of their lives. It’s nothing new to any of us. All (Coach) Monty Williams and the front office expect of us is to go out and play hard, and that’s what we did in the first two preseason games (both against the Memphis Grizzlies) and what we’re going to continue to do for the rest of the season.”

A year ago, even with two veteran All-Stars (Chris Paul and David West) providing 40 percent of the team’s starting lineup, no one expected the Hornets to run off eight consecutive wins to open the season with a rookie head coach calling the shots, extending that to an 11-1 mark that helped create an excitement that carried through to a first-round playoff appearance against the Los Angeles Lakers.

But this edition of the Hornets’ roster is void of superstar faces with the exit of Paul.

And when Paul went to the Los Angeles Clippers, any positive vibes regarding a possible postseason return for the Hornets went with him.

At least by way of the national media’s way of thinking.

Williams has seen the dismal assessments. He said he really can’t disagree with the projections.

“To be honest with you I think they’re right on point,” Williams said. “They’re right to not expect anything from us. We’re inexperienced. We don’t have a group that’s been together for a while. We have a relatively young team.

“What people expect out of us, I try not to get caught up with that. Maybe you can use it as motivation, but I know that everybody is thinking this is going to be a down year for us. It never crossed our minds. We don’t talk about it, and we certainly won’t give in to it.”

The Hornets will be short-handed in the backcourt tonight against the Suns because starter Jarrett Jack will be serving a one-game, league-imposed suspension for a driving under the influence incident during last year’s All-Star break.

Who starts at point guard against Phoenix has yet to be determined.

Landry will be taking over the power forward spot occupied by the departed West — he signed as a free-agent with the Indiana Pacers — since 2003.

It’s possible that newly acquired Eric Gordon could man the point, and Marco Belinelli — last season’s starter at the two-guard spot — will be back in that role for the one game before returning to the bench for Wednesday night’s home opener against the Boston Celtics when Jack returns and Gordon assumes the off-guard starting spot. Or the Hornets could go with newly acquired Greivis Vasquez at point guard.

The trade of Paul also bolstered New Orleans’ bench, bringing former All-Star center Chris Kaman and promising small forward Al-Farouq Aminu.

Additionally, Hornets reserve forward/center Jason Smith has another season of experience, which, Williams said, greatly improves his team’s depth. Gordon’s foot speed, and Landry’s quickness also provide upgrades.

After a lockout-truncated training camp and just two preseason games, tonight’s regular-season opener should provide a better understanding of whether the Hornets will live down to the grim prognostications.

“We have so many guys who are in a different role,” Williams said. “Jarrett is the starting point guard. Marco was a starter last year. Now he’s coming off the bench. We have a new starting power forward. Jason wants a bigger role this year. Kaman, he wants to play.

“We’re a bit faster than we were last year. Eric is explosive, probably more explosive than anybody we’ve had since I’ve been here. Trevor (Ariza) is explosive. Jack pushes the ball. Carl is a bit more athletic than David was, but David is so skilled, so it’s hard to say. I do know our backup five is a ton better than most people in the league’s backup five. Chris Kaman could start on a number of teams and may end up starting this year. You just never know.”