The Hornets will open practice to the public today at the Sawyer Center on the campus of Southern Nazarene. The event is free to the public and will feature giveaways, player introductions and a question-and-answer session with Hornets owner George Shinn and other team personnel.
Advertisement
Doors will open at 2:30 p.m., and complimentary parking is available at the Sawyer Center.
• Getting ready for Boston: With the regular season opener on Wednesday at Boston, the Hornets spent a portion of Saturday's practice preparing for the Celtics. Hornets coach Byron Scott said he put the team through another light day of practice partly because of the team's nagging injuries and partly because he wanted to get ready for Boston.
"We got three days before we go to Boston and get ready for the season opener, and I just want to make sure we're prepared," Scott said. "And one of the ways to do that was (use) Friday and Saturday to just go over some of the things that we're going to have to face on Wednesday."
Scott said today's and Monday's practice will be more high-intense sessions.
"The next three days, to me, are critical with what we have to do against them," Scott said. "(They have) a great player in Paul Pierce. Wally (Szczerbiak) is a guy that can get it going. They have some very good players, and we haven't beaten them in a while. So I'm looking forward to the season opener, but I want us to be totally prepared on both ends of the court."
• Simmons battling tweaked ankle: Forward Cedric Simmons missed Saturday's practice with a mild ankle sprain and is not expected to practice today. Simmons originally hurt his ankle in Sacramento but rolled it again in Friday's practice when he stepped on a teammate's foot.
"It's a little nagging injury," said Simmons, who said he doesn't expect to miss any time. "I've rolled it so many times that there's really no swelling anymore, but there's still some pain on the inside. But it's fine."
With reserve center Marc Jackson (hamstring) expected to miss the start of the regular season, coach Scott said Saturday that Simmons is still the favorite over fellow rookie Hilton Armstrong to play backup minutes behind starter Tyson Chandler.
‘It's still between those two," Scott said. "Cedric has the edge because he knows the offense and he's just played better in the preseason. I'm just hoping Monday, when he does get back in (practice) he hasn't lost a lot of what he's gained on both ends of the court."
• Jackson not likely to travel: Jackson said Saturday that he is not likely to travel with the team to its first two games in Boston and Indiana, instead staying in Oklahoma City to continue rehabbing and recovering from his partially torn left hamstring.
Because the team is scheduled to make appearances in New Orleans during their visit on Nov. 5, Jackson said he most likely would join the team in Louisiana.
By Darnell Mayberry
Prev
