The New Orleans Hornets announced today that Citadel Broadcasting will return as the team’s flagship home, with all games carried live on 106.1 FM in New Orleans and 94.1FM in Baton Rouge.

The agreement includes all pre-season, regular-season and playoff games, as well as a year-round, daily morning talk show that will launch closer to the start of the 2011-12 season.

The broadcast team is anchored by Sean Kelley, who will begin his seventh season as the team’s play-by-play voice. Veteran color analyst Gerry Vaillancourt starts his 22nd season with the Hornets. All broadcasts will include a pre-game and post-game studio show, as well. The “Hornets OT” post-game show will broadcast directly following Hornets games.

Posted: Saturday, October 23, 2010, 10:59 AM

New Orleans Hornets shooting guard Marco Belinelli talked to The Times-Picayune’s John Reid at the team’s tipoff luncheon on Friday about the season starting Tuesday.

In response to John DeShazier’s column on how the franchise tag affects the New Orleans Hornets’ ability to keep Chris Paul, nola.com reader jbnstrose wrote:

“Just read this and I didn’t go back to see if anyone had posted something similar.
Like many of you, I grew up playing sports. TEAM was stressed at all times because
you can’t never tell who might step up and help win the game for your team.
So, The Big Three !! What about the two other guys on the team that fill out the roster ???
Last I heard was that it took Five players to take the court !!
It’s gotten ridiculous….
Give me five TEAM players and they can have their ‘Big Three’ !!
Thanks.”

New Orleans Hornets assistant coach Mike Malone was not at the team’s tryout for 16 free agents Friday at the Alario Center, as he continues to mull other coaching positions.

Malone was offered the lead assistant job by new Lakers Coach Mike Brown and is negotiating terms of a contract. This week, he’s slated to meet with the Golden State Warriors about their head coaching vacancy.

Hornets Coach Williams and General Manager Dell Demps said the team is allowing Malone to take his time while he weighs his options.

“Right now, we just want to give him his space, and let him seek out the best opportunity,” Demps said. “He was great for us, so hopefully we can keep him, but we hope nothing but the best for him.”

Known as a defensive guru, Malone helped the Hornets emerge as one of the league’s top defensive teams this season, his first with the club.

Williams called the process “an exciting time” for Malone and his family and said he didn’t want team functions to distract from that.

“If he’s (at the tryout), he’s not going to be thinking about this because there’s so much going on for him,” Williams said. “As soon as his situation is clear, he’ll be with that team, one way or another.”

Malone served as an assistant coach with the Cavaliers for five years under Brown before joining the Hornets last summer, after Brown and his staff were fired in Cleveland.

The Warriors fired Keith Smart in April after one year on the job and Malone is among a list of candidates there, including Boston assistant Lawrence Frank and Lakers assistant Brian Shaw.

WEST PROGRESSING: Williams said forward David West is on schedule with his rehab from a torn left anterior cruciate ligament he suffered March 25 while landing awkwardly after dunking in the fourth quarter against the Jazz in Utah.

“I talked to David the week before last and everything is on schedule or ahead of schedule,” Williams said. “The doctors give me constant reports on his progress, but they might as well be German to me, so I go by what (West) tells me.”

Williams attributed the speedy rehabilitation process to West’s tireless work ethic.

“He’s just a diligent, stubborn guy, and he’s going to exhaust himself to get back on the floor,” Williams said.

A two-time All-Star, West can opt out of the final year of his contract, which will pay him $7.5 million next season. West was expected to opt out before the knee injury and the increasing likelihood of an NBA work stoppage next month.

Williams said he has not discussed the matter with West.

“I’m not going to call up David and ask him about that,” he said. “That’s just not how I’ll spend my time talking to him.”

DEMPS SHOOTS DOWN CP-OKC RUMOR: Demps laughed at Internet speculation there has been trade talks between the Hornets and Oklahoma City Thunder regarding point guards Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook.

“(Thunder GM) Sam Presti and I, our offices used to be right next to each other, so we still text each other all the time, and I can assure you that has not been a conversation we’ve had,” Demps said, cracking a smile as he spoke to reporters.

Presti and Demps worked together in the San Antonio Spurs’ front office for two years before Presti took the job with the Thunder in 2007.

Paul can opt out of his contract after next season.

New Orleans Hornets forward David West is continuing to rehabilitate his surgically repaired left knee at his offseason home in Raleigh, N.C., working five to six days per week, sometimes undergoing multiple sessions daily, West’s agent, Lance Young, said Wednesday.

West underwent surgery to repair the torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee April 12, 19 days after injuring the knee in a game March 24 at Utah.

“It’s going really well,” Young said. “I think it’s way ahead of schedule right now. He’s been in Raleigh full-time, and he’s on his way with good rehab and feeling really good about things.”

Young, of Washington, D.C.-based Octagon Sports, said West, who can opt out of the final year of his contract with the Hornets, will wait until nearer the June 30 deadline to inform the team of his plans.

“We’ve talked about it, and I think he’s going to wait until about a week before that to see where his knee is and how it feels and make an educated decision about where to go from there,” Young said. “We really haven’t discussed it because we have some time.”

West was unavailable for comment.

West, the senior member of the Hornets’ team who joined New Orleans as a first-round draft choice in 2003, turns 31 on Aug. 29. He’s scheduled to earn $7.5 million next season, should he decide to return to the team for the final year of his contract. If West opts out, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent.

Young said West is pleased with the progress he’s making in his recovery and rehabilitation.

“He’s been with the rehab people, and I think he started it the Friday after his surgery, which was on a Tuesday,” Young said. “He’s been in there going on a month and a half. He said he was doing some lunges and some other stuff already. He said, ‘I’m going to be fine.’ He’s not really stressing about it at all right now. I just talked to him (on Monday).

“The doctors said it was kind of a five- to seven-month rehab. I think with David, I’m telling him to slow down a little bit. I know he’s working so hard to get back. We’ve got some time. I don’t want him to try to get back too soon. But you know David, he’s a workhorse. He’s at it every single day. I don’t really think he’s in the gym yet, but he’s working as hard as he can to get back. He’s pretty focused on this.”

West, a two-time NBA All-Star, was the Hornets’ leading scorer this season, averaging 18.9 points and grabbing 7.6 rebounds. He was injured with 22.5 seconds remaining in regulation of the Hornets’ overtime win over the Jazz, his left knee buckling as he came down from an uncontested dunk.

The surgery to repair the injury was performed in New York by Dr. David Altchek. West actually began working to rehab his knee prior to the surgery, attempting to reduce swelling and regain some range of motion.

Former Oklahoma City Thunder assistant general manager Rich Cho, speaks after he is introduced as the Portland Trail Blazers new general manager in Portland, Ore., Monday, July 19, 2010. He and the Trail Blazers parted ways on Monday.

By
Matt Calkins

Columbian

Sports Reporter

Originally published May 23, 2011 at 1 p.m., updated May 23, 2011 at 7:51 p.m.

PORTLAND — The Rose Garden hosted a World Wrestling Entertainment event Monday, but that was hardly the building’s main source of theater.

For the second time in less than a year, the Trail Blazers fired their general manager — parting ways with Rich Cho after hiring him 10 months ago. Portland’s director of college basketball scouting Chad Buchanan will serve as acting general manager.

“We decided that there was an issue as far as the chemistry and fit were concerned,” Blazers president Larry Miller said. “We decided to move sooner than later in terms of separating with Rich.”

Miller said the primary “chemistry” issue lay between Cho and team owner Paul Allen, adding that the concern was rooted more in communication problems than it was a difference in philosophy. He also said that the Blazers were in no rush to hire a permanent general manager, and that he and Allen were still assessing what criteria they’d use to evaluate potential candidates.

But perhaps the most pressing question was this: Why, exactly, would a talented executive want to fill this position?

Cho, 45, was the fifth full-time general manager to part ways with the Blazers since 2003; Bob Whitsitt, John Nash, Steve Patterson and Kevin Pritchard preceding him. And Pritchard’s surprising ousting was announced on the day of the 2010 draft, and yet he was still charged with running the draft for the team. Additionally, there is a common perception that a Blazers general manager has little if any autonomy, often serving as a puppet for Allen’s desires.

So is there really any appeal?

“I still think this is a great situation for someone that would move into this general manager role if they’re the right fit,” said Miller, adding that basketball decisions are a collaborative effort that also involve him and Allen. “This is an organization that’s motivated to win, and we have an owner that loves basketball.”

Hired July 19, Cho helped engineer two significant moves during his tenure. The first was trading guard Jerryd Bayless to the New Orleans Hornets in October for two protected first-round draft picks. The second was acquiring Gerald Wallace from the Bobcats in February — trading Joel Przybilla, Dante Cunningham, Sean Marks and the two aforementioned picks in exchange for the former All-Star forward. The Blazers were 11-5 vs. playoff-bound teams after obtaining Wallace after going 8-19 beforehand.

Recent reports surfaced that Cho considered suspending Brandon Roy after the Blazers guard made comments critical of his lack of playing time in Game 2 of Portland’s first-round playoff series vs. Dallas last month. There was some speculation that Cho revealing this information may have led, or at least contributed, to his firing. But Miller said that there was no specific impetus for the personnel change, and that the drama surrounding the Roy situation was exaggerated.

As for Cho’s reaction to the news? Miller said he was in disbelief, but that after the shock wore off, he expressed gratitude for the opportunity.

“Obviously it’s a difficult day, but I want to truly thank Paul Allen and Larry Miller for the opportunity they gave me here in Portland,” said Cho in a statement. “I also want to thank the fans, players, coaches, business office staff and especially my basketball operations staff who have supported me along the way. I feel good about the work we’ve done here and I know the Trail Blazers are headed in the right direction.”

Allen, who is out of the country, said this in the team’s release.

“This decision, as difficult as it was to make, reflects our willingness to admit and recognize that things haven’t worked out. We’re going to be tough on ourselves in assessing what we could have done better, and then go out and find the executive who is the best fit with the needs of our franchise. That chemistry and connection is critically important.”

Buchanan takes the reigns for the second consecutive offseason, the 38-year-old leading the Blazers through last year’s free agency, in which the team signed then second-year guard Wesley Matthews to a 5-year, $34 million contract. Buchanan has been with the organization for the past seven years, serving as the director of college scouting for the past four.

Buchanan said he was in shock when he got the news Monday, thinking first of what Cho was going through as a human being but also acknowledging his talent. He wouldn’t get to any real specifics on how he plans to approach the draft and free agency, but asserted that he’s been in the loop throughout the season and doesn’t really need to play any catch-up. Is this a job he’s interested in permanently?

“I’ve always taken the belief that whatever is in front of you, you work as hard as you can,” Buchanan said. “My ultimate focus right now is trying to organize our group and improve this team. If an opportunity were to arise, then I’d have to consider it. But I want to help this team get to the point where we want to be, whatever role I have in the organization.”

Miller wouldn’t offer much insight as to who might be Cho’s long-term replacement, but did not rule out Buchanan or others within the organization as potential successors. He also said that assistant general managers Bill Branch and Steve Rosenberry will remain with the team.

A Portland-based sports radio show began its broadcast Monday with circus music, insinuating that the Blazers shakeups in the front office had reached the point of absurdity. Miller was asked if he expects fallout from fans who suspect the organization may be spiraling out of control.

“I would just hope the fans would look at the results we’ve had over the last few years,” Miller said.

Matt Calkins can be contacted at 360-735-4528 or matt.calkins@columbian.com

The team announced Monday that it had fired Rich Cho, who had been general manager for 10 months.

Chad
Buchanan, the team’s director of college scouting, has been elevated to
acting general manager.

“The fit between Rich and our team simply wasn’t right,” said team
president Larry Miller, in a release. “This was a tough move because I
respect
Rich and he’s a good person with many strong skills. But it simply
wasn’t a good match.”

The move comes less than a year after owner Paul Allen fired Kevin
Pritchard as general manager on draft day, June 24. The team conducted a
search for Pritchard’s replacement and hired Cho, then assistant
manager of the Oklahoma City Thunder, on July 19.

Cho had never
been a NBA general manager, but he was hired over other candidates who
had — including Danny Ferry (Cleveland) and Randy Pfund (Miami). Cho
impressed Blazers’ staff, including owner Paul Allen, with his
analytical approach.

During Cho’s tenure, Portland made two
significant trades. On Oct. 23, the Blazers sent backup point guard
Jerryd Bayless to New Orleans for a protected first-round pick. It was a
pick that might have hurt the Blazers later in the season, when they
struggled to break down defenses and score in the lane — something
Bayless is adept at doing.

Cho, however, used the draft pick the
Blazers got from the Hornets in his signature trade as he sent it and
big men Joel Przybilla, Dante Cunningham and Sean Marks to Charlotte to obtain forward Gerald Wallace. The trade, made just before the trade deadline
on Feb. 24, was, in some minds, the key to the Blazers’ late-season push
that netted a third consecutive playoff appearance.

However, the
trade also left the Blazers short-handed, with only forward LaMarcus
Aldridge and center Marcus Camby on the roster as experienced front-line
players.

This will be the second consecutive off-season that
Buchanan, 38, assumes some of the duties left by a departed general manager.
Last year, he and Michael Born — the team’s director of NBA scouting –
were charged with handling free agency after Pritchard was fired.

It
was during that month that the Blazers signed Wesley Matthews, a
restricted free agent with Utah. Matthews, signed as a defensive stopper
off the bench, became a key player, starting 69 games and averaging
15.9 points per game to help fill the void left by Brandon Roy’s
injuries.

Buchanan is in his seventh year working for the Blazers. He spent three years as a scout before he was promoted to director of college scouting by Pritchard.

Cho, 45, was the ninth general manager in Blazers history but had one of the shortest tenures, matched only by Steve Patterson, who added the title to his role as team president for 10 months in 2006 and 2007. Allen said in the team’s release:

“This decision, as
difficult as it was to make, reflects our willingness to admit and
recognize that things haven’t worked out. We’re going to
be tough on ourselves in assessing what we could have done better, and
then go out and find the executive who is the best fit with the needs of
our franchise. That chemistry and connection is critically important.”

– Mike Tokito; follow him on Twitter

In response to Jimmy Smith’s article on New Orleans Hornets Coach Monty Williams, nola.com reader babyboi5 wrote:

“Even though my prediction of the Hornets winning the championship this season fell short, I am very proud of what they accomplished. This team battle through adversity and obstacles all season long and still made it to the playoffs. Yeah, we came up short, but that’s ok. SETBACKS are SETUPS for COMEBACKS. I believe we’ll come back stronger next season.

Looking at the roster we had this season, our coaching staff did a WONDERFUL job with our players. Now, it’s time to reload and get more firepower on offense and more size on defense. Coach Williams and GM Demps must upgrade the SG position. A lot of people might think it’s impossible to bring back Marcus Thornton, but I don’t. He’s a restricted FA-all we have to do is sign him to a nice contract and see if Sacramento will try to match it. Thornton didn’t want to leave the Hornets and I believe his heart is still w/the Hornets. Coach Williams, GM Demps, CP3, and maybe David West need to reach out to Thornton and sell him on the idea of being our starting 2 guard.

Also, need to re-sign Carl Landry (w/o Landry on this team, Hornets don’t make the playoffs or beat the Lakers in Games 1 & 4). Re-sign Willie Green as well-Willie did a nice job for us. Not a starter, but a nice role player for us. I hope in the offseason Quincy Pondexter polishes up his game in the offseason so he can be another scorer coming off the bench.

As far as free agents will need to go after, a lot of people want us to go after Tyson Chandler. I’m not too optimistic that we can outspend Mark Cuban to bring him back. Unless Chandler wants to take less money, I don’t see it as a strong possibility that we’ll see TC as a Hornet again. I think we need to focus our efforts on looking at

Greg Oden (yes, I said Greg Oden)
Samuel Dalembert
Al Thornton
Ryan Hollins (reminds me of a young Tyson Chandler)
Nazr Mohammed
Jamal Crawford
Troy Murphy
Jason Kapono
Nick Young
and don’t forget, Marcus Thornton

Those names aren’t big, but they are enough for what we need. We don’t need to break the bank this offseason, especially with the 2012 offseason list of FAs. We need a solid, legit SG (M. Thornton, Young, or Crawford), another PF (Murphy, Dalembert) & C (Oden, Hollins), and a 3pt specialist (Kapono). We get those guys and I see the Hornets going far.”

Sometime in late June, after New Orleans Hornets owner/NBA Commissioner David Stern has presented the Larry O’Brien Trophy to the league’s champion, Monty Williams will park himself in front of a TV screen and begin his self evaluation.

There are no summer reruns on Williams’ schedule, though.

“How many times can you watch ‘Law and Order’ or ‘House?’” Williams said. “By next week, I’ll be ready to get back at it. It’s how I learn about things. I learned a lot about this team last year before I took the job, by watching all the games. And I love basketball. Pretty soon the playoffs will be over and we won’t have anything to watch.

“I’ll just throw the games in, take my notes. It’s how I can get better for me as a coach. It’s an easy one for me. And how they do the games now, I don’t have to listen. I can turn the volume down and it just goes through play by play by play. I can just click through a game. It’s a lot easier.”

There will be 96 games for Williams to view — 82 regular-season games, six playoff games and eight exhibitions — that’s nearly 100 performances to critique.

And Williams, who is intensely critical, expects to see an awful lot on which he can improve.

That’s a message Williams shared with his players one week ago, as they convened for the last time at the New Orleans Arena, the morning after the Hornets were eliminated in six games from the first round of the Western Conference playoffs by the two-time defending champion Lakers.

“From my side,” said Williams, “we have to get better as players. No matter what the situation is, whether it’s working on your jump shot, working on understanding schemes and strategies, guys have to get better. Along those lines, I made them a promise that I was going to get better as coach. I see from watching film now, I’m seeing areas where I need to get better. We all have a ways to go.”

Williams’ coaching pedigree was created by his working relationships as a player and coach under a group of mentors who collectively have won 11 NBA championships.

His two most recent teachers, San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich and Portland’s Nate McMillan — who has yet to win a championship — were avid offseason video watchers, Williams said, traits he’s borrowing while adding his own nuances.

“Nate watches film like you wouldn’t believe,” Williams said. “And Pop used to watch these projects: have the (video) guy take the last five minutes of every playoff game, and they would watch it as a staff. He’d already watched it. He watched a ton of European games. That’s something I want to implement as well. Both of the guys I’ve worked for just watched film.

“Now whether they do it the way I’m going to do it, probably not. I’m just taking some things from them and adding it to what I want to do.”

In reality, Williams’ offseason learning experience began during the Hornets’ series against the Lakers, where he observed Lakers Coach Phil Jackson, who has won 11 NBA titles.

When the two coaches met at midcourt last Thursday night after Los Angeles’ close-out win, ordinarily caustic Jackson had some kind words for Williams’ work and his team’s, so much so that Williams walked back to share a few more thoughts with Jackson before each departed for their respective dressing rooms.

“Coach Jackson has the ability to back off and let it kind of develop and happen, and can with that kind of talent,” said Williams. “But I liked his way with the referees, with his players. Never embarrassed a guy, but he got his point across. I’ve watched, and every once in a while I’d look down there and see him kind of talking to a guy. It was interesting the way he did things.”

And just what did Jackson offer to Williams afterward?

“He said some pretty positive things about our team,” said Williams. “When he first came up to me, he said, ‘Congratulations’ and all that and was talking about how much we improved. And then I just went back over and said, ‘Coach, I appreciate the positive things you’ve said about us.’

“You know, he’s said some things about New Orleans, and I don’t get into all that. I could say some things about L.A. that you guys would print. But I’m not going to do that. I tend to look at the good things he said about our team. And those are things that we can build off. I took it as an honor to be able to coach against him in his last year. He may be the winningest coach in the history of sports. And I had a chance to coach against him.”

The Hornets improved from 39 wins a year ago and a place in the NBA lottery to 46 victories this year and a playoff spot.

Williams concedes, however, there are numerous areas in which he can improve his coaching skill-set.

“I have a number of regrets this year,” he said. “I told the guys I wasn’t going to get into the summertime and be on my RV trip and say ‘I wish I would have done XYZ.’ I don’t think I have those. The regret I have is maybe saying too much, or doing too much, or maybe overcoaching situations. I’m not afraid to admit I have the same insecurities as any other man. And when you’re a young coach, you try to prove you’re this or that as a coach.

“There were times where I probably could have just taken a deep breath, burped, and backed off of the situation and let it happen. I thought that could have hurt us a little bit this year, maybe hurt a player’s growth. So backing off is probably one of the things I wish I could have done.”

Nonetheless, Williams charted a course through his rookie season that few first-year coaches have experienced: the offseason unhappiness of the face of the franchise, an early season takeover of ownership by the league, personal tragedies suffered by members of the team, a devastating late-season injury to the leading scorer.

All ordeals, Williams noted, that have formed a foundation for the future.

“I’ve been talking to some people I confide in, older people, mentors if you will, and their interpretations was ‘Monty, you got a lesson this year that a lot of guys won’t get in 20 years of coaching in the NBA,’” Williams said.

“So I’m going to look at those situations and try to apply them as much as I can, what to do going forward. But I don’t think they’ll help me until we go through other situations. Now I have a reference point that not many rookie coaches have.”

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

EL SEGUNDO, CAL. — As stunning as the Los Angeles Lakers’ Game 1 loss to the New Orleans Hornets was, ending Lakers fans’ assumption of a first-round playoff sweep, reality has sunk in. Hornets point guard Chris Paul gave the Lakers’ backcourt a major headache in Sunday’s 109-100 victory, and the dilemma that faces the Lakers now is how to prevent Paul from creating similar havoc Wednesday in Game 2.

Two days of practice and perhaps a tweaking of the defensive game plan will reveal whether the Lakers have a solution. Because anything similar to Paul’s Game 1 line of 33 points, 14 assists and only two turnovers will cause serious jeopardy for the Lakers, who hope to gain a split of the two games here, before the playoff series shifts to New Orleans for Game 3 on Friday and Game 4 on Sunday.

The problem the Lakers face is how to defend the Hornets’ pick-and-roll game, and keep Paul out of the lane. Because once the Hornets’ floor general penetrates the lane, he has a bevy of options — dropping a pass to an open teammate when the Lakers slide a help-side defender over, pulling up and taking the shot if the help comes over late or not at all, or driving to the basket.

Lakers guard Kobe Bryant described the defensive assignment his team faces as a huge challenge.

“(Paul’s) tough,’’ Bryant said. “He’s a great player. We’ll have to do a much better job on him than we did in Game 1.’’

One of the prime recipients of Paul’s forays into the lane was backup center Aaron Gray, who made all of his five shots in scoring 12 points. But Gray’s availability likely will be a game-time decision after he sprained an ankle in Sunday’s victory.

In regard to snaring Paul, Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said, “We have to be more attentive.’’

That’s easier said than done, because the Lakers do not have anyone on their playoff roster who can match up with Paul one-on-one. Quick point guards have given the Lakers problems over recent years, most notably Boston’s Rajon Rondo, who was a menace when the Celtics beat the Lakers in the 2008 NBA Finals, and last year, when the Lakers outlasted the Celtics in a lively, seven-game Finals.

Paul is similar to Rondo in a number of ways and has one asset the Celtics’ guard does not possess: Paul can make a jump shot on a consistent basis. So what are the Lakers going to do?

“There are a lot of things that we can do, but we have to do them,’’ said guard Derek Fisher, who had problems trying to contain Paul in Game 1. “There aren’t any new things or any secrets. We just have to do what we’ve practiced and do the job that we’ve done on other quick guards throughout the season. We’ve played some great defense in a lot of stretches this season. But it’s a five-man job. We were poor in that area last Sunday. We have to be a lot better.’’

Plenty of kudos: Jackson and Lakers players were enthusiastic in their response to forward Lamar Odom winning the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award. Odom, who appeared in all 82 regular-season games — 47 off the bench — averaged 14.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and three assists.

Odom got 96 of the 117 first-place votes from the media that regularly cover the league, outdistancing Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Terry, who was the runner-up for the second consecutive year.

“(Odom) deserves it,’’ Jackson said. “It is good recognition for a player who has really filled a role for us the last couple of years.’’

Bryant also said the award was deserved, pointing out that Odom played a vital role this season in the Lakers’ success.

Bryant’s backcourt mate, Fisher, talked about the intangibles Odom brings that only Lakers insiders could appreciate.

“His personality … his energy that he brings to our team and just his presence, he’s a fun guy,’’ Fisher said. “He enjoys laughing, having a good time and really enjoying the day-to-day grind that comes with this job. There are a lot of days that without him, most guys would feel like they’re going to work, as opposed to playing a game. That’s how important he is to our team, regardless of what his stats are.’’

Rotation switch: Although late-season signee Trey Johnson played well in a limited role in Game 1, Jackson is expected to go back to guard Steve Blake when the Lakers’ second unit gets the call. Blake missed Game 1 and the last two regular-season games because of the chickenpox but has been cleared to play.

No, it won’t be a sweep.

I mean the New Orleans Hornets won’t sweep the Los Angeles Lakers.

Stop laughing.

I know it was only one game, but I came away with the feeling the Hornets might not have won their last game of the season Sunday in Los Angeles.

It wasn’t that they whipped a heavily favored defending champion 109-100 on their home court.

Upsets happen.

Ask the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs, who lost to the visiting Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday in the Western Conference playoffs.

It was more how the Hornets did it.

They not only won by overcoming a strong performance by the best clutch player in the game, the kind you’d expect from Kobe Bryant, who finished with 34 points.

They won by eating away at the Lakers’ defense with the kind of up-tempo, non-stop aggressiveness that left Coach Phil Jackson’s basketball team in a state of bewilderment.

New Orleans Coach Monty Williams, you might say, won by handing the keys of a finely tuned sports car to Chris Paul, allowing him to drive it, not with reckless abandon, but with a kind of controlled speed that sucked the wind out of the Lakers’ sails.

Considering the absence of David West, what his scoring and inside presence meant to the team, I don’t know if Williams ever came up with a more remarkable coaching job, and if Paul has ever been more remarkable in directing a controlled, fast-paced, aggressive attack from the first quarter to the finish.

When a Hornet came to the bench early in the game, apologizing for a “mistake,’’ Williams’ response spoke for his game plan: “Don’t worry about a mistake. The last thing we want to worry about is a mistake.’’

That was the winning mindset. It was a winner because, despite the take-it-to-’em fire the Hornets displayed, they made only three mistakes — three turnovers in 48 minutes, tying for the lowest total ever in a playoff game.

As for Paul’s brilliance, it was all there in the numbers: 33 points on 11-for-18 shooting, 14 assists, seven rebounds, four steals, two turnovers in 41 minutes.

And, significantly, 17 of the 33 points came in the fourth quarter when the Lakers tied it but could never take the lead.

“I picked my spots in the fourth quarter,’’ Paul said. “I’m usually a pass-first point guard, but they kept looking for me to pass — and that left me open for some shots.’’

For the most part, the Hornets were getting their openings many times by taking advantage of the daylight created by a Lakers’ transition defense that was not exactly moving at warp speed.

During halftime, when Magic Johnson said he was “amazed’’ at the Hornets shooting 58 percent, I could have asked Magic: “Did you see how many times the Lakers were beaten downcourt, for layups, for 5-footers?’’

While some suggested the Hornets’ up-tempo tactics might wear them down, it went the other way. By the final quarter, the Hornets had the look of a much fresher team and a lot of this had to do with a bench that produced a stunning 39 points, highlighted by the work of Jarrett Jack, Willie Green and Aaron Gray, who left late with a sprained right ankle.

“We could not have done it without those guys,’’ Paul said. “Aaron was tremendous. I hope that ankle isn’t as bad as it looked.’’

So, you ask, can the Hornets do it again?

Win another game?

You can ask: Can you expect Pau Gasol — a 7-footer who averaged 19 points during the regular season, who averaged more than 20 in four games against the Hornets — to have another eight-point game?

Of course, as bad-shooting games go, you could also say the same for the Hornets’ Trevor Ariza, and for Marco Bellinelli.

As for the Big Two, nothing Bryant does will surprise you.

And Paul?

He was the best player on the court Sunday. Can he be any better?

In his days with the Hornets, history tells us he has had more than one remarkable performance.

So we wait.

All we know right now is the score: Hornets 1, Lakers 0.

Remarkable.

•••••••

Peter Finney can be reached at pfinney@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3802.

Los Angeles — If there was any critical component to the Hornets’ hopes of establishing a competitive presence in a first-round Western Conference playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers, it was New Orleans’ bench play.

“For sure,” Hornets Coach Monty Williams warned before the game, “our bench is going to have to be ready. Not just ready but willing to go out there and play like they play in practice.”

Consider these numbers: 16 of 22 from the field, seven of 12 from the free-throw line, 15 points from Jarrett Jack in his postseason debut, 12 from Aaron Gray on five of five shooting from the field, and a total of 39 bench points to the Lakers’ 21.

As much as anything, those numbers contributed to the Hornets’ stunning 109-100 upset of the two-time defending champions Sunday afternoon at Staples Center, but perhaps not without a price.

Gray badly turned his right ankle with 1:07 remaining. And the walking boot Gray was wearing, and the crutches that carried him from the dressing room onto the back of a flat-bed cart for the short ride across the street to the team hotel, indicated Gray will need every bit of the time between now and Wednesday night’s Game 2 tip off to rehabilitate.

“We just really had the mindset that we were playing against some big boys: Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol, obviously a versatile big in Lamar Odom coming off the bench,” Gray said. “Especially me in my situation, it’s just kind of anticipating when Coach Williams is going to using me. I just wanted to make sure I was as ready as possible.

“My teammates did a great job putting me in good positions. … (The bench) has been locking in all season. Coach has put a lot of pressure on us but given us the opportunity to go out and play freely. We were talking the whole first six, seven minuets how good the first team was doing. It got us an (eight)-point lead. We didn’t want to be the reason they came back or we let the team down.”

And the ankle?

“I’ve got a soft ball on the ankle right now,” Gray said. “We’ll do everything we can to get it ready to go on Wednesday.”

Jack admitted he had difficulty sleeping Saturday night, with the anticipation of his first postseason game the reason for his insomnia.

But his first attempt in the second quarter, from 19 feet, found the bottom of the net that gave the Hornets’ a 28-24 lead 20 seconds in and provided a sedative for his jumpy nerves.

“This was huge,” Jack said. “Coach preaches that we need everybody in this locker room to come in and play a pivotal part. That’s all we try to come in and do. We don’t try to come in and do anything spectacular or magical. We just try to stick to our game plan, play hard and keep sustaining the energy and effort that the starters put up.”

At the outset of the fourth quarter, the Lakers cut the lead to one, 75-74, after Bynum’s jumper. But Jack answered with a nine-foot floater, followed by a tear drop from Willie Green that bumped the lead to five — and Los Angeles never got closer than three points — twice — thereafter.

“I thought they were really effective, Jarrett and Willie, when they cut it to one,” Williams said. “We went on a (9-2) run, and everything was at the basket,” Williams said. “We’ve had Boston down, Chicago down at the half — and they’d come back on us because we just kept casting up jump shots. We talked about attacking and going to the basket. If we could go to the free-throw line, we could set our defense — and our bench was a big part of that.”

MORE GRAY: Williams said afterward the initial diagnosis was a mild sprain, with further evaluation being done later Sunday night and today.

The Hornets are scheduled to practice this afternoon at Southern California’s gym.

NO-KAFOR: The playoff debut of New Orleans’ Emeka Okafor was something to forget: 22 minutes, two rebounds, four points — and he fouled out.

“The win (eliminates) all that,” Okafor said, smiling.

EXPERIENCE DISPARITY: The Hornets came into Sunday’s game the least experienced team in the NBA postseason, with a collective total of 144 playoff games played to the Lakers’ 959, the most of any of the 16 teams.

The Lakers’ Derek Fisher (199) and Kobe Bryant (198) each had played more postseason games than the entire Hornets’ roster, but you couldn’t tell that by the way New Orleans played.

“I’m not shocked, but I am pleasantly surprised,” Williams said. “I’m not going to disrespect our team and say I’m shocked.”

SURPRISE, SURPRISE: The Hornets out-scored the taller Lakers by an eye-popping margin of 52-34.

“They’re staying in the lane,” Los Angeles Coach Phil Jackson said. “They’re crowding the lane, staying back. They had Gray outplaying our big guys today.”

Said Williams: “Maybe they (Lakers) had an off night; maybe those guys didn’t have the same whatever it is they have, but I thought we were quick and kept attacking the basket. We talked about not being afraid to go in there and not worry about your mistakes.”

All week long, Lakers Coach Phil Jackson weighed concerns on whether his team felt truly ready for the playoffs.

He never wavered from his belief that the Lakers have a great shot at three-peating, but Jackson had seen too many inconsistent patterns in play to form a definitive assessment. The Lakers’ 17-1 mark after the All-Star break, their five-game losing streak and then two unimpressive victories against an undermanned San Antonio Spurs and a woefully overmatched Sacramento Kings gave Jackson plenty of reason to pause. Unfortunately for Jackson, what he saw in Saturday’s practice didn’t alleviate many of his concerns, lamenting what he called the team’s “lack of focus.”

An NBA 2K11 simulation revealed those fears to be unfounded as the Lakers entered their first-round matchup with the New Orleans Hornets woefully unprepared in losing the first game of the series. The Lakers woke up from the letdown and then pulled out all the stops the remaining four games to advance to the Western Conference semifinals. So should the Lakers fall when they host the Hornets today at Staples Center in real life, feel comforted that it’s simply mimicking the video game simulation.

Below are the details on how each game turned out after the jump.

Game 1: Laker’s 109-100 loss

Lakers top performer: Kobe Bryant (42 points on 16-of-26 shooting, two assists)

Hornets top performer: Chris Paul (25 points on eight-of-20 shooting, four assists)

How the game was lost: Plenty of signs suggested this would happen. The Lakers ended the season with far from perfect basketball. The Lakers have gone 4-4 in Sunday afternoon games this season. And there were a few uncertainties regarding the team’s health.

Lakers center Andrew Bynum appeared in his first game after missing the season finale after hyperextending his knee Tuesday against San Antonio. Though an MRI revealed he just had a bone bruise, Bynum appeared behind on conditioning and lacked the aggressiveness that epitomized his defensive prowess and work on the boards. The result: Bynum scored only six points on three-of-10 shooting. Lakers forward Matt Barnes struggled in similar fashion in his first game after experiencing soreness in his surgically repaired right knee that sidelined him for the last two games. Despite getting his knee drained Thursday, a procedure that enabled him to bend his knee completely since having surgery three months ago, Barnes still appeared tentative, finishing with only three points on one of two shooting and three rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench.

But the Lakers can’t chalk up this loss to players coming off the injured list. They simply played poorly. Bryant deservedly shot a high volume of shots considering most of them had gone in, but poor ball movement prevented the Lakers from taking advantage of their inside presence. Frustrated with the team’s lack of ball movement and Bynum’s poor conditioning, Gasol contributed with 13 offensive rebounds and 15 points on six of eight shooting, with all of his field goal attempts coming on offensive putbacks. Meanwhile, Bynum’s adjustment into the lineup featured the Lakers lacking a defensive identity. In addition to Paul’s ability to drive to the lane with ease, the Hornets ran pick-and-roll on the majority of their possessions and converted on 60% of their shots, many of them coming off pull up jumpers. because of a bone bruise in his surgically Gasol 6 of 8 shooting, 15 points, 13 rebounds

Game 2: Lakers’ 109-100 victory

Lakers top performer: Bryant (25 points on 10 of 18 shooting, 7 assists)

Hornets top performer: Paul (20 points on eight-of-16 shooting, seven assists)

How the game was won: Many presumed the Hornets woke up the defending champions by stealing Game 1, but the Lakers appeared just as uninterested in Game 2. At least, the Lakers tied the series up at 1-1 and solved a few of their problems, including Bynum showing more effectiveness (15 points on seven-of-10 shooting and 15 rebounds) and Gasol getting more touches from Bryant (20 points on 9 of 15 shooting). But the Lakers simply lacked the hustle to put the game away early.

It appeared they would do so after a 30-10 first-quarter lead. But the Hornets met every double digit deficit with a comeback by forcing the Lakers into committing 18 turnovers, converting on 24 points in transition and scoring at a 55% rate. Part of the reason pointed to the bench, with Steve Blake just returning after missing the past three games because of chicken pox, Brown still having knee issues and Shannon Brown shooting three-of-11 from the field. That prompted Jackson to immediately put the starters back into the game. The inconsistent proved so looming that the Lakers didn’t secure the victory until going on a 10-1 run in the final two minutes, led by Bryant (six points) and Gasol (four points).

Game 3: Lakers’ 109-87 victory

Lakers top performer: Bryant (24 points on 10 of 21 shooting)

Hornets top performer: Paul (24 points on eight-of-19 shooting)

How the game was won: Usually, Jackson distributes heavy minutes to starters during the playoffs, knowing that the results matter more than the development at that point. But with how well the Lakers’ played in Game, he didn’t need to do that. The Lakers retook their homecourt by storming out to a 35-15 first-quarter lead and then widened the gap to 60-33 at halftime. The strong inside presence with 44 points in the paint and 54 rebounds and defense in holding New Orleans to 39% allowed Bryant to play under 30 minutes, which actually marked a three-minute decrease from his season average.

The increased playing time for the reserves helped out Brown, who appeared in rare shooting form, scoring 20 points on seven-of-10 shooting. Credit the bench for honoring Jackson’s trust. He gave the reserves time because of the large lead, but they managed to hold onto the lead by combining for 38 points. Lakers forward Lamar Odom posted a dependable 11 points and eight rebonds. Blake seemed more in rhythm and comfortable running the offense. Barnes turned up the aggressiveness, finishing with eight rebonds and four steals. And Brown took better shots within the context of the offense. 

Game 4: Lakers’ 105-78 victory

Lakers top performer: Bryant (45 points on 14 of 28 shooting)

Hornets top performer: Trevor Ariza (18 points on seven of 14 shooting)

How the game was won: Two words. Kobe Bryant. OK, so the Lakers also held the Hornets to a shooting mark at 34%. They also committed only two turnovers. But this was one of those nights where Bryant simply couldn’t be stopped, scoring nearly half of the Lakers’ points. This wasn’t a game, however, where Bryant simply went in isolation and played one-on-five. The Lakers displayed tremendous ball movement and set up Bryant to score in both the post and off pick-and-rolls. With al the rest Bryant had in Game 3 he increased his intensity and earned 20 free throw attempts and knocked down 17 of them. This was one of those games where everyone felt fine with Bryant going on a tear because he kept making them.

Game 5: Lakers’ 99-83 victory

Lakers top performer: Bryant (38 points on 16 of 27 shooting) Bynum 19 points on 8 of 12 shooting

Hornets top performer: Paul (25 points on eight-of-18 shooting)

How the game was won: The Lakers usually perform well in closeout games, but it sure didn’t look lke it at first. Perhaps because the Lakers enjoyed a 3-1 advantage, they entered the game acting like they could afford to lose the game. An angry sellout crowd at Staples Center booed the Lakers after behind 28-13 at the end of the first quarter. It apparently woke them up. The Lakers opened the second period with a 9-2 run and outscored them 25-14 the entire quarter.

But Lakers guard Derek Fisher was far from satisfied. He gave a compelling halftime speech, explaining how they would be wasting an opportunity in closing out the series after fighting so hard to regain homecourt advantage in Game 3. He also spoke up on behalf of the fans, saying the Lakers had only saved their sharp performances on the road and that Los Angeles deserved to see in person the Lakers playing solid basketball and then resting early before the West semifinals. The Lakers responded with a 31-15 third quarter, led by none other than Fisher himself, scoring 12 of his 20 points in that time frame.

–Mark Medina

E-mail the Lakers blog at mgmedin@gmail.com

Photo: The Lakers’ Kobe Bryant (24), Pau Gasol (16), Lamar Odom (7) and Shannon Brown (12) will begin defense of their NBA championship on Sunday afternoon at Staples Center against the New Orleans Hornets. Credit: Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times / April 12, 2011

Photo: Lakers forward Pau Gasol should benefit from the Lakers’ size advantage against the Hornets. Credit: Chuck Cook / Associated Press / February 5, 2011

Photo: An NBA2K11 simulation predicts Bryant will have a big series against New Orleans. Credit: Misty McElroy / Reuters / February 6, 2011

Photo: Lakers guard Kobe Bryant passes to a teammate after drawing the Hornets defense to him in a regular season game in January. Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times

WESTWEGO — The New Orleans Hornets are perhaps the biggest underdogs in the NBA playoffs, but the underdog role is one they’ve grown accustomed to.

Considered a playoff long shot at the start of the season, the Hornets were the biggest surprise of the early part of the season. They were the last team to lose a game, winning their first eight; started 11-1; and a rode a roller-coaster that came to a stop with them in seventh place in the Western Conference.

That brought them a best-of-seven, first-round matchup with the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers, who have won the last two NBA titles. The second-seeded Lakers, 57-25. won 11 more games than the Hornets and swept the four regular-season game against New Orleans, prevailing by an average of 10.8 points.

So virtually no one outside of the Hornets’ inner circle expects anything except more of the same when the series begins Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles. Coach Monty Williams conceded that New Orleans might be the most overmatched team in the first round.

“It’s tough enough to win one NBA game,” Williams said after practice Friday. “Now we’re playing against the defending champions and everybody has put us under the guillotine already before we’ve even played a game.

“It’s been like that all season. Nobody has expected anything from this team. That’s why when we win two or three games in a row everybody is surprised. We’re used to it. Nobody expected us to be here.”

The expectations for the Hornets are further diluted by the way they finished the regular season, losing their last three games by an average of 22 points.

“None of that means anything,” guard Chris Paul said. “That’s the thing that I’ve learned in the playoffs. It’s one thing to hear people speculate about what they think this team is going to do, but this league is all about match-ups.”

Match-up-wise, things don’t look too good for New Orleans either. Aside from having to deal with future Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant, the Hornets have to contend with Los Angeles’ size, a major factor in its back-to-back titles. The Lakers start a pair of 7-footers in Andrew Bynum, who’s expected to play despite a bone bruise in his right knee that he suffered Tuesday, and All-Star Pau Gasol.

New Orleans will counter with 6-10 Emeka Okafor and 6-9 Carl Landry, who was acquired in a trade in February and started the last 10 games after David West, the Hornets’ leading scorer, was lost to a season-ending knee injury.

“You’ve got to use your basketball IQ and never take a possession off,” Landry said. “When the big guys are running down the court trying to get position on the block, you’ve got to make sure you bump them and meet them by the 3-point line and not make the catch on the block as easy. And if they do get it, take some of that 24-second clock down and when they have to take a shot, it’s going to be a rushed shot and a contested shot. Just make it harder on those big guys.”

The Hornets have relied on their clock management and team defense to mask their offensive deficiencies, even before West was hurt. They allowed an average of 94.0 points for the season, but L.A. scored 103, 101, 101, and 102 against them. The Hornets allowed an average of 110 in the last 11 games.

“Obviously we’ve got to turn our defense up,” Paul said. “We’re not all going to grow overnight. We’re not going to get taller. So we’ve got to figure out ways to manage.”