Okafor says he'll play in opener

Buoyed by a relatively pain-free three days of practice, Hornets center Emeka Okafor left the Alario Center practice floor Tuesday fully expecting to play in tonight's opener against Southwest Division-rival San Antonio.

Okafor, who missed all eight preseason games and a month of practice with a sprained right second toe, has worked without incident since Sunday, and said he'll be in the lineup for the nationally televised game against the Spurs at the AT&T Center.

"I plan on playing," Okafor said. "It's cool. I wanted to get it manageable, and that's what it is right now. It's manageable. So I'll go out there and do what I have to do."

Hornets Coach Byron Scott said Okafor's on-court time has increased dramatically each day since he returned Sunday, peaking during Tuesday's workout. Scott was encouraged by what he witnessed.

"I thought he looked good," Scott said. "I put him with the starters, and he fit in pretty well with them. He still has a real good grasp of what we're doing. And the guys took him to the side and tried to show him some other things. So that was a good sign. You could tell during the scrimmage, he really pushes himself.

"I've got to give him a lot of credit for that. He got a little winded there because he went the whole day today. He really didn't take any time off. I've got to believe he feels pretty good about the way practice has gone for him the last three days. Hopefully, there'll be no setbacks, and we'll see how he feels."

Told Okafor, obtained this summer in a swap with Charlotte for Tyson Chandler, had pronounced himself fit, Scott indicated it's likely Okafor would start tonight.

"I'm ready for him to play," Scott said. "As of right now, yes. If he wakes up (this morning) and we go through walkthrough and he feels good, then he'll be the starter."

Okafor's presence against the Spurs creates a defensive dilemma for San Antonio, potentially forcing the Spurs to use power forward Tim Duncan to defend Okafor instead of Matt Bonner, their center.

That could bring Duncan away from the basket, opening the lane for penetrations or freeing the baseline for backdoor cuts.

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