I’m sitting on press row at Madison Square Garden, a few minutes before the Knicks and Hornets tip off. Earlier tonight in the New Orleans locker room I spoke with All-Star forward David West (19.7 ppg, 9.1 rpg) about where his team is, where they hope to go and the role he plays in all of it.

Dime: You guys had the West’s best record going into the All-Star break. Were you worried about losing that momentum after having to take almost a week off? Since the break you’ve lost twice to Washington, a team that everyone thinks you should beat.
David West: Not really. For the most part we just have to make sure we play with a certain amount of focus every night. It’s easy to get up for the Utahs and Houstons … the most difficult games to play are the other ones. But a true professional team will maintain a certain level of play against everybody.

Dime: Was last night’s loss to the Wizards one of those “trap” games?
DW: Washington, man, I don’t know … They just lull us into their style of play; the halfcourt-oriented style. That’s not where we thrive. We’ve gotta get up and down the floor, take good shots, get good looks. Washington can lull you into their style where they’re coming down and being very deliberate.

Dime: For the playoffs you’ve got to be able to play halfcourt and up-and-down, right?
DW: Yeah, but you know, it’s all based upon whether or not you can guard people. We gotta be able to guard people. It don’t matter if it’s halfcourt or not, if you stop people you can win.

Dime: Was it a goal of yours to be an All-Star this year or to hit a certain statistical level?
DW: Nah man, my whole thing is just trying to play as well as possible. Whatever it takes for the betterment of the team.

Dime: As a power forward in the West you might have Carlos Boozer one night, Dirk the next, Duncan the night after that and Al Harrington the next. Not only are they all good, they all play totally different styles. How hard does that make your job?
DW: It’s more of less just trying to be who I am and trying to be consistent. Tim Duncan doesn’t change who he is just because he’s playing against this guy or that guy. You have to understand that it’s all about what you do, being who you are and sticking to that as close as possible.

Dime: With some teams in the West making big changes recently, did you feel like the Hornets needed to make a big move to compete?
DW: Nah, I don’t think so. We’re comfortable doing what we’ve been doing. I think the fact that we were at the top of the standings going into All-Star had a lot to do with teams feeling like they had to make changes. But we’re comfortable with who we have and the style we play.

Dime: Being that the West is so close, do you find yourself watching the standings?
DW: Yeah. We dropped from like first to fifth, then back up to third just after a few games. You just gotta maintain some consistency and don’t worry about the other teams.

Dime: Everyone got to see New Orleans and talk about the impact it had on them following All-Star Weekend, but you’ve been down there the entire time since Hurricane Katrina. What is it like from that perspective?
DW: It brings everything back down to earth. A lot of times when you’re in this position of a professional athlete, you lose sight of your surroundings. Living down there, it keeps all of us (the Hornets) close to what kind of real-life situations people are dealing with. We see it on a daily basis.