L.A. Lakers and New Orleans Hornets: A Tale of the NBA's 2 Unbeaten Kings

The NBA’s 2010-11 season is fulfilling its promises exactly as advertised…and it’s been full of thrills and spills.  It has been by far the most interesting and awe-inspiring season since Michael Jordan dressed for the Chicago Bulls, possibly more so if only because of the off-court antics. 

From the moment LeBron James made his infamous decision in July, we have been kept on our toes and the excitement shows no signs of dissipating.  This is particularly true for the fans of the only two remaining unbeaten teams in the league: the L.A. Lakers and the New Orleans Hornets.

At first, the expectations of each of these two teams were completely opposite and without parallel.  The Hornets were supposed to be in a rebuilding year, where the pain and the misery of a losing season appeared unavoidable.  The Lakers on the other hand were supposed to have a dominating year, where the power and the glory of a winning season appeared equally unavoidable.

These two different teams followed two dissimilar paths but continue to share two similar unbeaten records.  It’s the Lakers’ Goliath compared with the Hornets’ David.

The Hornets faced the uncertainty of Chris Paul and the seriousness of his trade demand last summer.  It may not be far reaching to claim that if the face of the Hornets franchise walked, the franchise itself would have tanked.  But that did not happen, and Paul is playing with an astonishingly tenacious commitment that has been a relief to many fans in the Big Easy.

CP3, as unbelievably talented as he is, could not have pulled this rabbit out of the hat all by himself.  He had some ingenious help from two rookies, of all people. 

Rookie GM Dell Demps has done a phenomenal job in rebuilding a team that resembled a rusted and gutted Ford Model-T.  He had brought so many spare parts to New Orleans to perform nothing less than a complete overhaul.  These are parts that could presumably work together on paper, but getting them to work together on the court was a whole different animal.

Dell Demps brought in a miracle-working professional mechanic in rookie head coach Monty Williams, someone he was convinced could take these spare parts and get them working into one smooth functioning machine. 

And Coach Williams has done as masterful a job as his boss Dr. Demps, who has a PhD in Mystification.

The team has two superstars in CP3 and David West to go along with fellow starters Trevor Ariza, Marco Belinelli and Emeka Okafor.  Including their bench, this team is running deep at almost every position.

Demps and Williams' unwavering conviction that this team was capable of competing was obviously the start of something wonderful.  Their ability to spread this good news to the team so quickly is nothing short of extraordinary.

The Hornets have played some excellent teams.  They’ve beaten the Denver Nuggets and the Miami Heat while facing a very tough schedule to say the least and today they are seven wins with zero losses. 

Who would have thought?  What were the odds?

In contrast, the L.A. Lakers were already built from the bottom up.  If they had an Achilles heel, the finger might have been pointed at their bench.  That does not seem to be the case anymore as the Lakers' summer escapades have ensured, by signing the likes of Matt Barnes and Theo Ratliff.

These Lakers are so deep that they might be considered the deepest team in the history of the NBA.  A glance at the roster will tell you that this team contains a BIG FIVE: superstars that include Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Ron Artest and bench supporter as well as the severely underrated Lamar Odom. 

What’s so impressive (or unfair) depending on your perspective is that this team could be split up to into two top 10 NBA teams, one that could be a top five.

This makes the Lakers twice as nice as the Miami Thrice…and that’s without including the unmatched acumen of Zen Master, Phil Jackson.

The starters are explosive.  They can offend and defend with finesse and precision, both in the paint and out…and exceptionally well.  They’ve started the season with an unbeaten streak and show little signs of slowing down.

While the New Orleans Hornets are busy confounding expectations, the Lakers are busy living up to their expectations.  The commonality between these two teams is their chemistry that runs right through to their benches.  

The Lakers are on their maiden voyage with a mission to complete their second three-peat series of championships.  And what’s to stop them?

It just might be the New Orleans Hornets.  Why?

You could say the Lakers have been engineered like the Titanic…a superior ship that is truly and utterly unsinkable.