New Orleans Hornets forward Trevor Ariza draws tough assignment in the NBA playoffs

New Orleans Hornets forward Trevor Ariza has seen Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant at his best, when he stays on the attack and nothing appears to hinder him from scoring.

Ariza played alongside Bryant in 2009, when they won the NBA championship together as the Lakers beat the Orlando Magic in five games in the finals.

Ariza knows where Bryant likes to get the ball on the perimeter and has seen him make shots when guarded closely and when double-teamed.

Because of Bryant’s ability to attack from any spot on the floor, no Hornets’ starter faces a more daunting challenge than Ariza on Sunday when the seventh-seeded Hornets open their best-of-seven first-round series on the road against the second-seeded Lakers, who are trying to earn a third consecutive title.

“Pretty much all you can do is to make him take tough shots and try to match his aggression and intensity,’’ Ariza said.

Ariza is the Hornets’ designated defensive stopper, assigned to guard the opponents’ top scorer in most games this season. However, few if any compare to Bryant, who has led the Lakers’ to back-to-back championships and five overall since 2000.

In the Lakers’ four-game sweep of the Hornets in the regular season, Bryant averaged a team-high 26.8 points.

“One game we may do something, the second game it may be totally different,’’ point guard Chris Paul said of the Hornets’ approach to stopping Bryant.

“To say any one guy is going to stop Kobe is wrong,’’ Hornets Coach Monty Williams said. “Trev knows how to pick his spots, and he knows their offense. I’m going have to give him more freedom to gamble more. If you give that team the same look every time down the floor, they are going to pick you apart.’’

Ariza was traded by Orlando to the Lakers, and he played for Los Angeles for two seasons. He knows Coach Phil Jackson’s triangle offense, and he knows where Bryant prefers getting the ball and when to contest to force him to put up a difficult shot.

“I always have a chip on my shoulder,’’ Ariza said. "Do I want to win? Of course. We’re going into this series thinking we have nothing to lose.’’

Ariza has been studying video of Bryant, trying to find ways to make him force up a number of tough shots.

Even with Bryant at his best, the Lakers have struggled to be consistent. They went 17-1 after the All-Star break, only to go on a five-game losing streak before closing out the regular season on a two-game winning streak.

“It’s always a tough challenge for us because of the way we’ve been playing,’’ Bryant said. “We have to shore up a lot of things defensively, offensively. We have to handle Chris Paul. (Carl) Landry has always been a problem for us. Emeka Okafor — and Trevor is coming back home, so it’s going to be tough.’’