NBA Playoffs 2011: Can Chris Paul Beat Kobe Bryant and the LA Lakers by Himself?

It's obviously clear what the Los Angeles Lakers need to do in order to prevail in their first round playoff series with the New Orleans Hornets, but apparently containing point guard Chris Paul is much more difficult than it seems.

Notice I said contain, because under no circumstances did I think the Lakers could stop Paul, but it's still possible to allow him to accumulate decent numbers and  beat the Hornets.

In Lakers wins in Games 2 and 3, Paul scored 20 and 22 points respectively and totaled 17 assists, eight rebounds and shot above 50 percent from the floor in each game.

But in the two games the Hornets have won Paul has 60 points, 29 assists and 20 rebounds while shooting more than 60 percent from the floor.

Those are PlayStation numbers and they illustrate the biggest dilemma facing the Lakers, because the only way that the Hornets can defeat them in this series is if Paul controls the entire rhythm of a game as he did in Games 1 and 4.

Paul will produce regardless of whom the Lakers decide to defend him with, but if you allow him to impact multiple areas of the game then the battle is lost.

New Orleans has no other players who can beat the Lakers and even Paul has to perform at the highest level just in order for his team to have a chance.

The question is does Paul have at least two more of those types of performances left in him?

The law of averages would say no since Paul's big games have occurred at a 50 percent rate with only three games left in the series. But if the Hornets can force the Lakers to a Game 7 then that type of thinking loses any resonance.

Anything can happen in a series deciding Game 7, and besides allowing the Hornets to grasp important momentum as the games shift back to Los Angeles tonight, there are a few other things the Lakers must consider.

Guard Kobe Bryant's sprained ankle was bad enough for him to be seen walking on crutches several times since the Lakers arrived back in Hollywood, and even though Bryant vows to play on Tuesday, his mobility and range of motion may be limited.

And that could be an issue for the Lakers because so far Bryant has been the most effective defender when it comes to Paul.

Coach Phil Jackson recently said that he would prefer for Bryant's focus to be on the offensive side of the floor, but the Lakers have no other players who cause Paul any trouble defensively.

Derek Fisher, Steve Blake and Shannon Brown have been mostly ineffective while defending Paul, and in most cases Blake has proved to be a liability.

Jackson may not like the idea of Bryant exerting extra energy defending Paul, but the truth of the matter is the Lakers may have no other choice because the series could depend on it.

At any rate Brown, Blake, and Fisher must step their defensive games up because its not known how well Bryant's ankle will hold up, and defending Paul will take more of a total team effort.

It's also unclear which version of Lakers forward Pau Gasol will show up for the final games of the series, because if Gasol had performed up to the levels of his potential, the series would likely be much less suspenseful.

Gasol showed glimpses of the player he was for the majority of the regular season in the Lakers Game 3 win, but in the crucial closing minutes of Game 4 Gasol was back to the familiar timid player he has been so far in the postseason.

Gasol missed several close shots at the rim where he clearly should have attacked with more aggressiveness, and he even managed to let the smaller Paul rip a critical rebound from his hands late in the fourth quarter.

Gasol could take a great deal of pressure off Bryant and his team if he could play with any consistency, but the refrain has become so familiar that it's hard to place any faith in him for this series.

Maybe Gasol will find inspiration from Bryant's injury and be newly motivated, or more likely the Lakers will have to trudge on and hope for the best as far as Gasol is concerned.

But one thing is sure.

The Lakers have no chance at all of winning this series against the Hornets if they can not prevent Paul from dominating the remaining contests, and the challenge is intensified with a hobbled Bryant.

This is a moment where the Lakers can prove why they are the two-time defending NBA champions, but will an injured Bryant find the help he needs from his teammates?