Hornets play home opener against Kings

• By LES EAST
• Special to The Advocate
• Published: Oct 30, 2009 - Page: 10C

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NEW ORLEANS — The New Hornets’ season opener featured an impressive debut by the team’s most significant offseason acquisition, but a poor performance by the retooled team as a whole.

The team will look for a more balanced performance when it plays its home opener against Sacramento at 7 p.m. today in the New Orleans Arena.

Center Emeka Okafor, acquired from Charlotte for center Tyson Chandler in a major trade during the summer, had 18 points and 10 rebounds in 28-plus minutes during New Orleans’ 113-96 loss at San Antonio on Wednesday night. His numbers are more impressive when you consider he missed the entire preseason because of a sprained second toe on his right foot.

“Emeka was outstanding, especially with this being his first game with us,” said point guard Chris Paul. “I‘m happy to see the intensity he brought. As we continue to play together more and more we should get better.”

The Hornets missed 16 consecutive shots during a 23-1 Spurs run that essentially decided the outcome in the first half.

Coach Byron Scott said the team needs to do a better job of communicating and rotating on defense when Okafor ventures away from the basket to try and block a shot.

“Lack of communication really hurt us and if we really want to be a good team in this league we’re going to have to learn to talk to each other, help each other, and trust each other,” Scott said. “We’ve got to do a better job of adjusting when he does go. We’ve got to veer back and take the big guys off the glass, and we didn’t do a good job of that.”

Reserve forward Ike Diogu, who missed all of the preseason, was inactive Wednesday because of a strained left knee and is questionable for tonight.

He was joined on the inactive list by rookie guard Marcus Thornton of LSU and reserve forward/center Sean Marks.

The inactives could vary from game to game as Scott searches for the best rotation for a team featuring six new players.

“We know we still have a long way to go and we have some work to do, but we already realized this was going to be a work in progress,” Scott said. “With Emeka and a couple of the other new faces on the team, it’s going to take some time.”

The rest of the Hornets’ offseason moves — trading for Thornton, drafting guard Darren Collison in the first round, signing Diogu, and trading for forward Darius Songaila and guard Bobby Brown — were designed to improve the bench.

The reserves were outscored by the Spurs’ bench, 61-19. James Posey, the lone dependable reserve last season, didn’t attempt a shot, and forward Peja Stojakovic, who moved to the bench to make room for Julian Wright in the starting lineup, took just two shots, making one.