Southwest Surprises
NBA Obsessed takes you into the hit and run game of NBA Basketball.
With San Antonio, Dallas and Houston in the Southwest Division, everyone expected the division race would be a dogfight this season.
With the reigning champs and the Mavericks back with virtually the same rosters as last season, and Houston making some nice offseason additions in Luis Scola and Mike James, it’s hard to predict who will be on top at the end of the season.
But one other team has jumped into the fray in somewhat of a surprise. After being riddled with injuries last season, the New Orleans Hornets currently sit at 8-2, tied with San Antonio for the best record in the division and second best record in the league.
Who Have They Beat?
This season, the Hornets have defeated the Trail Blazers, Nuggets, Lakers, Nets, Grizzlies and Sixers twice by an average margin of more than 12 points.
Their two losses came at Portland, a 93-90 defeat on November 7th, and a 97-85 loss to the Spurs two nights later.
Who’s Hot?
David West and Chris Paul are leading the way for the Hornets. West is averaging over 20 points and nearly eight rebounds a game. Paul has been extremely impressive, tallying 19.5 points and 10.8 assists on nearly 51% shooting.
But it’s not a two-man show in New Orleans. Stojakovic is healthy and averaging over 13 points a night, despite struggling with his shot inside the arc. And Tyson Chandler is doing big things for the Hornets. The 25-year-old is averaging 11.3 points, 12.0 rebounds and 1.5 shots a night.
As a team New Orleans is averaging nearly 100 points a game. If they can remain healthy and tighten up even more defensively, they could be right in the mix at season’s end.
Some Chris Paul love …
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POSTED IN: Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, NBA Basketball, New Orleans Hornets, San Antonio Spurs
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