After some tumultuous weeks on and off the court, things finally started to look a little better for the struggling Hornets last week. Hoping to steal a win at Staples Center, New Orleans will travel to Los Angeles Lakers where they will face Kobe Bryant and the Lakers on Wednesday at 3:30 a.m. GMT.

While the Hornets experienced their fair share of disappointments in the opening month of play, the Lakers got off to a great start and are still everyone’s favorites to finish the season at the top of the Western Conference. Even though L.A. had to play the first three weeks without Spanish All-Star forward Pau Gasol, they still managed to post an impressive 11-3 record and played well at both ends of the floor. Thus, with Gasol back in uniform, fans around the league can expect the Lakers to become even more dominant as the season goes on. Obviously, Kobe Bryant once again led Phil Jackson squad as he put up 30.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.1 steals in 38 minutes per contest. Likewise, center Andrew Bynum could be overdue for his first All-Star appearance since he managed to put up career numbers at 19.7 points and 10.9 boards.

The New Orleans Hornets on the other hand just fired former Coach of the Year award winner Byron Scott and are facing the tough mission of making a run without franchise cornerstone Chris Paul. However, despite Paul being sidelined by an ankle sprain, the Hornets managed to bounce back from their poor season start and won three out of their last four. Most importantly, they did not only win said games but did so against two of the best teams in the league, the Phoenix Suns and Atlanta Hawks. In Paul’s absence, rookie point guard Darren Collison stepped up and successfully ran New Orleans’ offense, including a 22-point and 11-assist performance versus the Hawks. Thus, the Hornets might not be such an easy opponent for the Lakers as it might seem at first glance. Nonetheless, Kobe Bryant and company undoubtedly have the better team and should be able to come away with a win at Staples Center, provided they play up to their potential.

You can watch all games of the New Orleans Hornets and Los Angeles Lakers right here on www.watchlivenba.com, the home of NBA live streaming.