As I mentioned earlier, the Lakers face the Hornets tonight.

With a 2-0 lead in the season series, the Lakers look to win the third of four games at Staples Center. The Hornets are currently 20-10 with the 2nd best record in the conference. The bad news about having the 2nd best record is that they have 5 losses more than the 1st place team, the Lakers.

I sent over a few questions to Ryan of Hornets 247 and got some great responses. The same questions were sent over to At The Hive. You can see my Q&A with At The Hive in the previous post.

Also, after you take a look at these questions that I asked of Hornets247.com, head over there and take a look at my answers about the Lakers.

LA Ball Talk: There has been a lot of talk about the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Los Angeles Lakers. These three teams are at or above a +10 and dominating most teams. Analysts are already saying that these are the only three teams with a chance of winning the title. What do you feel the realistic chances of the Hornets winning it all are?

Hornets247: So far this season the Hornets have proven to me they are a good team, but not a great one. They could improve as the season continues, because last year they certainly did, but for right now, I think the Conference Finals is their ultimate destination in the playoffs.

Hornets247: Sure, LeBron James is running away with the award. Every MVP candidate last year had their talking points and flaws, which made the field fairly open to any of the elite players in the league. This season, LeBron is putting up the most impressive stats in the league, and is on a team with an amazing record. That pretty much opens and closes it.

Paul himself is putting up better numbers this year than last, but his team is not perceived to be struggling. It’s all about perception.

Hornets247: Most analysts tend to blame the Hornet’s offense, saying it’s stagnant and too reliant on Paul. They’d be wrong. The offense is almost the exact same as it was last year, it’s the defense that has collapsed, mostly because the Hornets are giving up 3 more free throws per game than they take, and last year it was close to the other way around. The defense also doesn’t control the defensive glass as well this year, which hurts our ability to fast break. You miss out on two Paul-led fast breaks a game, and that’s pretty much four lost points.

A lot of this can be tied to Tyson Chandler’s struggles this season. I think some of it is he’s trying too hard to be a shotblocker, which gets him in foul trouble. Chandler is also a player that can get frustrated and let it affect his game, so being in foul trouble makes him less effective overall, even when he’s on the floor. Without Chandler, The Hornet’s rebounding prowess declines, and their ability to close down the lane without fouling declines because it forces Foul Machine Hilton Armstrong to play – or James Posey to play against much bigger players.

Hornets247: I’ve always been of the opinion that blaming coaches is a fool’s game. Byron’s been to the Finals twice. The team has been built along his guidelines of the types of players he wants, and the result is an 18-win team improved to a 56-win. Blaming him because his team has collapsed three times against really good teams is kinda pointless. I prefer to look at the players, you know, the guys who actually are playing.

Hornets247: Unfortunately, any of the players I’d like to add would, of course, be financially insane for a small market team like the Hornets. However, to play along, I’d go with either a young big man with a lot of defensive potential like Andrew Bynum or Greg Oden, or a young wing player that can shoot AND drive, someone like Danny Granger or Brandon Roy. Either way, it would be a young player, because the Hornets have a young primary core in Chandler, Paul and West, and if you add one more good young player to that group, the Hornets will be good for a long time.