2011 NBA Playoffs: Los Angeles Lakers vs. New Orleans Hornets, Western Conference First Round, Series Preview

Series Preview of the L.A. Lakers vs. New Orleans Hornets series in the 2011 NBA Playoffs, with score, recap, pictures, stats, highlights, quotes and Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol performance.

2011 NBA Playoffs Western Conference First Round
Los Angeles Lakers vs. New Orleans Hornets

Series Index:

G.1: Hornets 109, Lakers 100 - at Los Angeles G.2: Lakers 87, Hornets 78 - at Los Angeles G.3: Lakers 100, Hornets 86 - at New Orleans G.4: Hornets 93, Lakers 88 - at New Orleans G.5: Lakers 106, Hornets 90 - at Los Angeles G.6: Lakers 98, Hornets 80 - at New Orleans		Game recap & pictures Game recap & pictures Game recap & pictures Game recap & pictures Game recap & pictures Game recap & pictures

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NBA Playoffs 2011 - Western Conference First Round - Series Preview

Los Angeles Lakers vs. New Orleans Hornets

Series Preview

Apr 14: In the final game of the regular season the Lakers secured the number 2 seed in the Western Conference and will face the New Orleans Hornets.

The big doubt is which version of the Lakers will show up for the playoffs, the dominating one that won 17 of 18 games after the All-Star Break or the one that lost 5 in a row after that. Most likely the Lakers will get rid of the classic boredom in which Phil Jackson's post-championship teams fall and be ready and focused on giving their coach its fourth and final three-peat.

In their season series the Lakers swept the Hornets 4-0 and despite New Orleans being seventh in the league defensively, in those 4 games L.A. averaged 116.2 points per game with Pau Gasol (31-for-44) and Andrew Bynum (25-for-39) combining to shoot 67 percent.