Here’s what ESPN’s John Hollinger wrote in the hours after the Lakers acquired Pau Gasol from the Grizzlies: “Can the Lakers win the title with this team? Absolutely. That doesn’t mean they will, mind you, but L.A. has the best team on paper once Bynum comes back … Given how even things have been in the West so far, you’d have to look at L.A. as the favorite.” Really, John?

We do not know John Hollinger, and we wouldn’t recognize him if he delivered a pizza to our apartment. He seems to be trying to carve out a niche at the four-letter as the Tom Verducci of the NBA - a numbers guy. Will someone tell the man that a pitcher vs. a batter is largely 1 on 1 and the NBA is a team sport? We decided to “analyze” three Hollinger claims - that Laker buffoonery above, Peja-to-the-Hornets and Tj Ford for Charlie V. What we found may surprise you!

Two years ago, Hollinger whiffed badly when analyzing two moves: the Hornets signing Peja, and the Raptors trading Charlie Villanueva to Milwaukee for TJ Ford. At the time, we questioned his logic, and based on what has transpired this season, you could call his first two predictions a hopeless 0-for-2. And that’s the way we feel about his bold, ‘best on paper/favorites’ statements about the Lakers.

Hollinger on the acquisitions of Chandler and Peja: “Rather than targeting Stojakovic, Jackson and Chandler, they should be focused on adding less expensive players with greater upside — Jackie Butler instead of Chandler, Eddie House instead of Jackson. And, if they were really that desperate for a shooter, Vladimir Radmanovic instead of Stojakovic. Instead, because they weren’t honest with themselves, the Hornets may have inadvertently made themselves the new 76ers — a capped-out 38-win team that has itself painted into a corner with untradable contracts.” No, we did not put Jackie Butler’s name in there. Hollinger did. Is the criminally lazy Butler even in the NBA? What about the NBDL?

Last year, the Hornets were decimated by injuries (Peja played just 13 games) and still only narrowly missed the playoffs, a sign that the team was on the cusp of something. With the team healthy this season, Byron Scott has New Orleans jockeying a for the top seed in the West. Peja is 7th in the NBA in three-point shooting, and he’s shooting 92 percent from the foul line. Obviously Peja is not the only reason the Hornets are one of the best teams in the league - David West has continued to surprise, Chris Paul is an MVP candidate, and seven years after being the No. 2 pick in the draft, Tyson Chandler is emerging as a stud inside. Perhaps the Hornets will tank in the second half and rethink their future this summer. We kind of doubt it.

Hollinger’s take on a Toronto-Milwaukee deal was equally befuddling: “But trading Villanueva for Ford? Sorry folks, I have to call ‘em like I see ‘em, and I see this one as being just astoundingly stupid. Even if they’d decided to get rid of Villanueva — a defensible position, considering the Raptors’ surplus of big forwards — they had to be able to get much more than this in return. And if this was really all the market would bear, they should have waited ’til the trade deadline. But most of all, they shouldn’t have done this deal. Villanueva is a rising star. Ford is a backup-quality point guard who will cost more and has much greater odds of getting hurt.”

We have always been high on Villanueva. Liked him at Connecticut, and liked him in Toronto. Here’s what he’s done in Milwaukee - injured last year, and career lows in points, rebounding, and shooting this season. Hardly a “rising star.” To be fair, he has been displaced by Yi Jianlian, whose “people” refused to have him sign with the Bucks unless he was going to be a starter. At any rate, no playoffs for the Bucks last year or this season. The Raptors were the fourth seed in the 2007 NBA playoffs and seem to be on track (currently fifth) for another spot this season. When healthy last year, Ford posted career highs in points, assists and field goal percentage; this season, before a gruesome injury, his scoring and shooting (48 percent!) were up, and his turnovers were down. Certainly better than “backup quality.”

Something Hollinger didn’t take into account - in getting rid of Ford, the Bucks had to give big bucks to Mo Williams, a scoring point guard. He is now making more money than Ford, and 10 times out of 10, we’d rather have Ford running our team than Williams.

Lastly, the hyperbole regarding the Lakers is downright absurd. Best team on paper? Subjective as hell, but we still lean toward Phoenix (experience), San Antonio (big three and best role players in the NBA) and Denver (talent). Favorites? A team that has not won a playoff series since 2004 suddenly are the favorites? Of the last five NBA titles, four of winners finished in the top five in scoring defense (Miami was 13th). Currently, the Lakers are 23rd. Pau Gasol will not make this a significantly better defensive team. (We have no problem pointing out that the Suns, a terrible defensive team, were our NBA champs pick, with part of the reason being that this is an even-numbered year, and San Antonio only wins it all in odd years.) We’d like to point out that right now, San Antonio is 3rd in scoring defense, and New Orleans is 4th.