Lakers Vs. Hornets, Game 2: L.A. Looks To Cast Chris Paul Aside

Chris Paul so thoroughly dominated the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday that genuine concern for the two-time reigning champs' first-round well-being was actually considered, and maybe taken by some. It's just one game, right? But what a game it was, with CP3 running any Laker in his path ragged, and getting New Orleans Hornets teammate like Aaron Gray, Carl Landry and Willie Green involved. If today's NBA point guards are Renaissance artists, Paul is Michelangelo, a virtuoso even in the most hostile conditions.

The Lakers' defense will, or at least ought to be, hostile to Paul in Game 2 on Wednesday (10:30 p.m. ET, TNT). The Hornets simply don't have the horses to compete unless CP3 is out-of-this-world and at least one Laker star is off; Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom obliged on Sunday. Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson were each mildly critical of Pau's lack of offensive aggression after the game, and with the smaller Landry opposite him the Spaniard should be able to establish good position and shoot at a good clip. But the Hornets go hard and ruffled Pau early -- nobody makes Gasol bleed his own blood -- to set the tone. Will Gasol reciprocate?

The Lakers' bench in total had a bad Game 1; no one considers it reasonable to expect the Hornets' reserves to play as well as they did. But keep in mind that Trevor Ariza was simply awful on offense, and Emeka Okafor -- maybe New Orleans' second-best player -- was limited to 22 minutes due to foul trouble. If those reverse, fate could be intercepted at the pass and we could be due a very, very interesting return to New Orleans.