NBA's Hottest Team

The NBA's hottest team right now is the New Orleans Hornets. Yes, you read that correctly. The winners of nine straight (seven by at least 14 points), including a 24-point victory at the defending champion San Antonio Spurs, have been red hot the past few weeks.

Finally, the national media are catching on and are realizing that the Hornets are legit. Many national sports Web sites like ESPN.com and SI.com have moved the Hornets to the #1 spot on their Power Rankings this week. All I can say is WOW. Who would have thought that a team that just missed the playoffs last year and had been playing home games in Oklahoma City would be the hottest team at the mid-season mark.

I thought this team would be good. I figured they'd make the playoffs as the fifth or sixth seed. But when playing in a division with the likes of San Antonio, Houston and Dallas, I didn't think that they'd have a shot at a division title. Chris Paul and the boys have been outstanding and are making a push for that division crown and much more.

All Star reserves will be announced tomorrow and the Hornets should be well represented. Paul is a lock and David West and Tyson Chandler have good shots to make the team as well.

New Orleans and the surrounding areas need to get behind this team. They have a young nucleus of talent who will be together for a while. With their success, we'll be seeing playoff games and national TV games at the Hive on a regular basis. But if fans don't start turning out, they could be moving to St. Louis, Louisville, Las Vegas or some other market starved for a franchise.

The playoff run continues tonight as the Hornets take on another western conference playoff team in Golden State at the New Orleans Arena.