Chris Paul: Hornets Tie Series with Lakers, Can Paul Pull Off an Upset?

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Chris Paul Helped Take Down the Lakers and Tie the Series at Two, Can New Orleans Pull the Upset?

If you didn't watch the game between New Orleans and Los Angeles last night, you missed a performance for the ages.

Chris Paul, the star and leader of the Hornets, took over the game, dropping 27 points, 13 rebounds and 15 assists as New Orleans beat the Lakers and tied the series at two games a piece. We've seen Paul take over games like this before, but the way he attacked the glass needs to be commended.

Paul had as many rebounds as Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol combined. That is a damning stat if you're the Lakers this morning. You simply have to rebound better than that, and not let the smallest guy on the court beat you for rebounds.

The truth of the matter is that this Laker team is a wounded fighter right now. Kobe Bryant is nursing an ankle injury and the sense of urgency simply isn't there for the two-time defending champions. A Game 1 loss wasn't enough to wake this group up and now, as the series shifts back to Los Angeles tied at two games a piece, someone has to step up.

Unfortunately for Los Angeles, the only one stepping up has been Paul.

He has been simply electric in this series and he always seems to make the right play at the right time to give his team the advantage.

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Paul has been torching Derek Fisher on a nightly basis and this is the biggest mismatch for this team. However, I don't see the Hornets winning this series.

The Lakers are a veteran group, and we saw them get pushed to the limit by the Oklahoma City Thunder last year and go all the way to a second straight championship. Despite the injury to Bryant and the lack of production from Gasol, who has been an utter no-show in this series, this is still Los Angeles' series to lose.

If the Lakers can go home and get Game 5, then there is no way this Hornets team can win two in a row, including a deciding Game 7 in Staples Center.

This is a scrappy team, but it's not a group tough enough to overcome that type of adversity.

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