The Hornets had to fight tooth and nail in this game outscoring the Kings 25-17 in the 4th quarter to pull out a win. Chris Paul was outstanding as usual with 31 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists. David West filling up the stat sheet with 13 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocked shots. Julian Wright had one of his best games of his young NBA career with 11 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists. Emeka Okafor did exactly what the Hornets expected out of him when they traded for him as he finished with 11 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 blocked shots. The Hornets are now 1-1 on the season.

The Hornets ran into a buzzsaw in this game. They were losing 57-39 at the half and they were outrebounded 42-33 in this game which was to much to overcome. Chris Paul led the way for the Hornets in this game with 26 points and 9 assists. David West turned in a solid stat line for the Hornets with 18 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Emeka Okafor was solid in his debut with the Hornets as he finished up with 18 points and 10 rebounds. The Hornets didn’t play any defense in this game as the Spurs shot 52.3% from the floor. The Hornets are now 0-1 on the season.

The New Orleans Hornets look like an improved team with Emeka Okafor at center over Tyson Chandler. The Hornets will be one of the better teams in the Western Conference this season and they won 49 games last season. With those factors in mind I would make a small play on the over this season for the Hornets.

The Hornets have spent a lot of money on player payroll the last couple of years so they expect to be a lot better than they have been the lately. Byron Scott led the Hornets to a 49-33 (59.8%) regular season record last year but the Hornets were whacked 4 games to 1 in the first round of the playoffs and that just isn’t getting the job done. In five seasons with the Hornets, Scott is 200-210 (48.8%) during the regular season and he is 8-9 (47.1%) in the post season. Overall, Scott’s career record as a NBA head coach is 349-349 (50%) during the regular season and he is 33-24 (57.9%) in the post season. If the Hornets don’t get to the 2nd round of the playoffs this season they might be looking for a new head coach next summer.

Gone is Tyson Chandler who was traded for Emeka Okafor. The Hornets were probably wearing ski masks when they made that trade because they stole Okafor from the Bobcats. 27-year old Emeka Okafor played in all 82 games for the Bobcats last season and he averaged 32.8 minutes, 13.2 points, 10.1 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.7 blocked shots per game. He lives in the paint and the Hornets will have no problem with that as he is a good rebounder and defensive player. 24-year old Hilton Armstrong will back up Okafor this season. He played in 70 games for the Hornets last season and he averaged 15.6 minutes, 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. He has a very limited upside and the Hornets would be in trouble if Okafor got injured and had to miss some time. 34-year old Sean Marks is the #3 center for the Hornets. He played in 60 games for the Hornets last season and he averaged 14.0 minutes, 3.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CENTERS IN 2009-2010: B+