It was just more than three years ago that the Nets forced out head coach Byron Scott, and I doubt they regret it. Certainly the players have responded to the intensity and preparation that Lawrence Frank brings to the table every night. In fact, Nets team president Rod Thorn’s recent vote of confidence for Frank was Captain Obvious material to anyone who follows the team closely. The Nets are disappointing because of injuries and a poor 2006 off-season, not coaching — that’s one of their last remaining strengths.

That said, one can’t help but notice the job Lord Byron is doing with the Hornets this season. Left for dead after injuries took four of his five best players out of the lineup at the same time (and Nets fans thought they had it tough), New Orleans/Oklahoma City has rebounded in impressive fashion of late. Wednesday’s overtime win in Denver pulled them within two games of the Nuggets for the final playoff spot in the West, and a playoff berth would be an amazing accomplishment considering all the Hornets have endured.

It’s long forgotten now, but the Hornets ripped off a 8–3 start to the season before their players started dropping like flies. Sharpshooting forward Peja Stojakovic, fresh off signing a five-year, $64 million free-agent deal, succumbed to a back injury after 13 games and won’t return for at least another month. Forward David West, who nearly won the league’s Most Improved Player award a year ago, had an arm injury that shelved him for two months. Guard Chris Paul, the Olympian and reigning Rookie of the Year, turned an ankle and sat out 17 games. His backup, sixth man supreme Bobby Jackson, missed some time with a broken rib — and then missed more when he found out that four other ribs were broken too.

Understandably, the Hornets had trouble keeping up their level of play. Playing with what was essentially an expansion roster, they lost 19 times in a span of 23 games to fall to 12–22 on the season. By this point, everyone presumed the Hornets would be a bigger factor in the Greg Oden sweepstakes than in the playoff hunt — none of Scott’s key players were due back for at least a week, and the schedule didn’t seem to be getting any easier.

Despite the lack of talent on the court, defensive effort of Scott’s troops didn’t waver even as the losses had piled up. It was simply an ineffective offensive attack that was keeping them from winning.

That can easily be shown looking at my Defensive Efficiency rating, which measures a team’s points allowed per 100 possessions. Despite all the injuries, the Hornets ranked seventh in the league entering Thursday’s games. The offense, on the other hand, rates dead last — no surprise considering how many games they went with players like Rasual Butler and Desmond Mason as their primary offensive weapons. New Orleans/Oklahoma City scored 80 points or fewer 10 times in a 20-game span, making it pretty much impossible to win, regardless of how well they defended.

But all it took was a bit of an offensive boost for the Hornets’ fortunes to turn, and a funny thing happened in mid-January — Byron’s band of backups started making shots. A lineup tweak by Scott was the key. Journeyman guard Devin Brown, picked up as a roster filler after the Warriors had waived him, became the team’s makeshift point guard when the injuries hit and proved surprisingly effective — in fact, he’s hit double figures 17 times in 18 games since being promoted. Brown’s insertion allowed shot-hungry guard Jannero Pargo to play off the ball, and he immediately heated up, helping the shorthanded Hornets win four games out of five in mid-January.

And having done that, things became progressively easier, because three of the Hornets’ wounded returned to health. With West, Jackson, and Paul back in the fray, suddenly these Hornets look much more like the dangerous playoff contender they seemed to be back in early November.

Remember, the Hornets were 8–4 when Stojakovic checked out (West was already hurt by that point) and were without at least two of their top four players until Paul came back on January 31. They were just 11–21 in that stretch, but when at least three of the gang has been fit, the Hornets are an impressive 11–6. That record looks even better when you consider 11 of the games were on the road and all but four came against foes from the tougher Western Conference.

Overall, the Hornets are 10–5 in their past 15 games, helping propel them to a 22–27 overall mark entering Thursday night’s contest in Milwaukee. Out of nowhere, they’re breathing down the necks of Denver and Minnesota for the West’s final playoff berth.

That breath should only get hotter in the next couple of weeks, because the Hornets’ next six opponents all have losing records. Better yet, the Hornets still have two games left against Denver and one against the T’wolves, allowing them to make up ground quickly if they can win the head-to-head battles.

Finally, the Hornets have a major schedule advantage compared with the Nuggets — the team most observers see as the greater threat. Denver has played 27 home games compared with just 20 on the road, and nearly half their games (21 of 47) have come against the patsies of the East. They have a slew of tough road games coming up to make up for it and may have to play several of them without Allen Iverson — who is nursing an injured ankle.

So while Nets fans won’t rue the day the team gave Scott his walking papers that doesn’t mean we can’t appreciate his accomplishments from afar. Nobody imagined the Hornets would be back in the playoff race this year, much less be there before the All-Star break. But Scott did what good coaches do in times of duress — he cobbled together a rotation from some spare parts, kept the locker room under control, and eked out a few wins until the troops became healthy again. If he’d only done that in 2003–04, maybe he’d still be here.

jhollinger@nysun.com