monty williams

David West's announcement Monday that he would opt out of his contract and become a free agent was a tough pill for Hornet fans to swallow. In the last year, Hornet fans have swallowed many bitter pills. From ownership issues, to Chris Paul's toast at Carmelo Anthony's wedding, to barely achieving attendance benchmarks, fans of the fleur-de-bees are hoping to swallow some happy pills at some point.

Hornets head coach Monty Williams has been in consistent contact with David West as he continues to rehab his surgically repaired knee. Williams claims David's rehab is, at a minimum, on schedle, but more than likely ahead of schedule.

With the series tied 2-2, the underdog Hornets hope to steal another win in L.A. tonight against the Lakers. Tip-off for Game 5 tonight is set for 9:30.

Chris Paul proved in Game 4 that he is still the best pure point guard in the league.

It was a happy Easter for Hornet fans as New Orleans defeated the L.A. Lakers 93-88 in front of a raucous crowd at the Hive. Chris Paul's triple-double led the way as the Hornets tied the best-of-seven series 2-2.

Lack of energy in the 4th quarter. Poor 3 point shooting. Inadequate bench play. All 3 attributed the Hornets 100-86 home loss the Lakers in Game 3. However, the biggest Lakers contributor…size.

Kobe Bryant scored 30 points in Game 3, leading the Lakers to a 100-86 win over the Hornets Friday night. L.A. now leads New Orleans 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.

After spending 5 days in Los Angeles, the Hornets return home to New Orleans for Game 3 of their first round playoff series versus the Lakers. Tip-off tonight is set for 8:30 at a soldout Hive.

The Hornets will return to New Orleans tied 1-1 with the L.A. Lakers in the best-of-seven playoff series. New Orleans missed a golden opportunity to go up 2-0, but fell to the Lakers Wednesday night 87-78. Trevor Ariza led all scorers with 22 points.

Hornets big man Aaron Gray is questionable for Wednesday night's playoff matchup with the Lakers. The Hornet Center, who had a sensational game in Sunday's win, sprained his ankle with 1:07 left in regulation.

The constant whispers among NBA pundits about the health of Chris Paul never stopped during the regular season. Perhaps those whispers will reach a screaching halt this postseason. Based on Paul's play yesterday, playoff basketball appears to be the perfect elixir for CP3.

The Hornets defeated the Lakers in L.A. Sunday 109-100. With the win, New Orleans takes an early 1-0 lead in the best of seven playoff series. Chris Paul was simply incredible, scoring 33 points, dishing out 14 assists, pulling down 7 rebounds, and swiping 4 steals. Check out the rest of Scott's blog on yesterday's upset win.

The NBA playoff matchups are now set. With the Lakers overtime win over the Kings Wednesday night, they secured the 2 seed, setting up a matchup with the 7 seeded New Orleans Hornets.

In their regular season finale in Dallas, the Hornets played a solid first half, leading the Mavericks 61-58. The second half was a different story, as New Orleans rested key players and only scored 28 second half points. The result was a dominant 121-89 victory for the Mavericks.

Playing in front of a pathetic crowd of 12,558, the Hornets lost their regular season home finale on Monday night, falling to the Jazz 90-78. New Orleans shot a putrid 37.8% from the field. The Hornets (46-35) now hold the eighth seed in the Western Conference, a half game behind Memphis (46-34) and 1 1/2 games behind Portland (46-33).

If you're a Hornet fan, chances are, you think about all the uncertainty of the future. Will there be an NBA lockout? Will David West recover from his knee injury? Will he opt out, resign, or test free agency? Will Chris Paul want to stick around New Orleans after next season? You might also have questions about the past. What if Marcus Thornton wasn't traded? What if Gary Chouest purchased the team? At the moment, the Hornets are in the postseason. Enjoy the present.

For the third time in four years, the New Orleans Hornets will be part of the NBA's postseason. The Hornets punched their ticket Wednesday night with a 101-93 victory over the Houston Rockets. Chris Paul scored 28 points, dished out 10 assists, and pulled down 9 boards. Trevor Ariza scored 19, snagged 5 rebounds, and led the defense with 6 steals.

The Hornets beat up on the Indiana Pacers Sunday night at the Hive, winning 108-96. Trevor Ariza led all scorers with 19. With his steal in the 3rd quarter, Chris Paul became the fourth fastest player in NBA to history to record 1,000 steals, doing it in 420 games.

New Orleans is now 6th in the Western Conference after their hard fought 95-91 win over Portland on Wednesday night. Carl Landry had a big night, leading the Hornets in scoring with 21.

A week ago I gave you a list of reasons why David West would exercise his opt-out option in the final year of his contract, enabling him to explore free agency. Since then, West tore his ACL during a heroic performance on Thursday in Salt Lake City. Let me first say, I feel for David. But how does the injury change West's options? Let's examine.