The New Orleans Hornets were the biggest surprise of the league two years ago when they battled with the Lakers for the best record in the Western Conference and with their postseason ending with a dramatic elimination in 7 games against the Spurs. They had legit expectations for last season and despite winning 49 games, their season was a disappointment. We simply can't forget the way the Hornets were completely overpowered by the Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs and their 63-121 loss at home during that series is unforgivable.

Injuries and depth (lack of) were the biggest problems for the Hornets. There wasn't a single player of their starting lineup that played the full 82 games in the regular season. To make things even worse for the Hornets, they didn't have the proper depth for a long season with all the injuries especially in the frontcourt. They were dead last in the league in bench scoring with just 22.9 points per game and they were constantly overpowered and outmuscled down the paint against more physical teams.

The good news is that they still have Chris Paul and when one team has hands down the best Point Guard in the league, then good things can happen happen for them. Chris Paul belongs to the elite and last season's performance was worth for the MVP discussion: 22.8 points per game, 11.0 assists per game - league leader, 5.6 rebounds per game and 2.8 steals per game - league leader, while shooting above the 50% mark, unquestionably a great season for him. He has the ability to make his team mates better players and his leadership is unquestionable, however last season proved that he can't carry alone his team in a competitive Western conference and that's why they finished 7th on a tough and wild conference.

The biggest off season move made by GM Jeff Bower was the trade involving Tyson Chandler for Emeka Okafor. Tyson Chandler was a solid piece for the Hornets in the last 3 seasons, however being healthy was a problem for him and for a team that lacked solutions in the frontcourt, that was dramatic. Although many could argue that Chandler is a better player than Okafor, we should not forget that Chandler benefited from the fact of playing along with the best PG in the league. In fact, he was near of being called a "bust" in this league until he became a serviceable center, when he came into the presence of Chris Paul. Meanwhile, Okafor has through his career averaged always at least 13 points and 10 rebounds per game. He battled through injuries earlier on his career, but he missed just one game over the last two seasons and yes, he didn't play along with Chris Paul nor he did have an All star PG that could feed him in the post, so I wouldn't be surprised if Okafor's offensive numbers "suffer" a boost in this season because CP3 will create so many easy points for him and he will take advantage from that.

After being elected two seasons ago for the All Star game, David West enjoyed a solid season last year. He averaged a career-best of 21.0 points per game to go with 8.5 rebounds, while averaging 5.5 trips per game to the charity stripe and shooting a whopping 88.4% from there - I remember that he is a power forward. However, he was the only reliable offensive threat of the Hornets' frontcourt and he couldn't make the difference alone. It's curious to observe that during his 6-year career in the NBA, he has always improved his points per game year after year and with the record of 21.0 ppg from last season, if he can raise these numbers this season, then he will be in the all star game.

Peja Stojakovic was meant to be the X factor for the Hornets that could guide them to the Championship, however his $13M dollar contract is now the reason of why they can't reach the next level. Unfortunately injuries have being Peja's worst enemy on his career and for the Hornets, he has already missed 95 games in three seasons. Stojakovic has only one ability: to knock down the 3 pointers, which isn't enough for such paycheck. He has also averaged almost 90 % from the charity strip and he only averaged 1.7 trips to the charity line per game, in a clear sign that he doesn't want to draw any kind of contact. At this stage of his career, the Hornets only wish that he stays health, because with Chris Paul running the show, Peja will always get his free chances down the perimeter.

Besides these four players, the Hornets have a mix of veteran and young players that need to step it up if they want to make a serious run this season. James Posey will lead the bench with his hustle and competitiveness, but it is his leadership (he helped the Heat and the Celtics to win championships) that is the key piece to guide the young players during the season. Veteran Morris Peterson saw his numbers decreased last season and the tendency is the same going for this season. The Hornets have high expectations on rookies Marcus Thornton and Darren Collison and the franchise hopes that both can develop by playing along with Chris Paul, giving the franchise some depth and quality minutes to the Hornets' backcourt. Both players looked good in this summer league and Collison even averaged more than 18 points per game.

GM Jeff Bower tried to add some pieces to the Hornets' weak frontcourt by signing Darius Songaila and Ike Diogu. These two players will compete with Hilton Armstrong and Sean Marks, but this unit doesn't look a strong unit, nevertheless head coach Byron Scott will at least have more bodies to throw to the frontcourt, something that the Hornets' didn't have last season.

The Hornets have the tools to be a better team than they were last season, when they regressed 7 games in the regular season and were later literally spanked by the Nuggets in the first round of the postseason. Bench and frontcourt were the focus of GM Jeff Bower during this off-season and so, he added some key pieces to the team. With the best Point Guard of the league running the show, the Hornets will have their chances to shine, but health has being a tough opponent for them. The Western conference looks stronger than ever in the elite and the Hornets can make part of that elite this season.