Emeka Okafor is hopeful for first play-off berth of his career
Emeka Okafor was the second overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Bobcats and promptly won Rookie of the Year. But despite putting in the hard work and averaging a double-double
over his career (13.3 points, 10.3 rebounds), Okafor has yet to make the play-offs.
But this trend is bound to change if the New Orleans Hornets, Okafor's new club, keep up their current pace. They have won their first seven games of the season, the only unbeaten team
in the league.
After a tumultuous first year with the Hornets last season, Okafor is leading his team in rebounds and blocks this year. And he is hoping for the first play-off berth of his young NBA
career.
“With the start that we’re having, the way that we’re feeling, play-offs are definitely a possibility,” he recently told reporters. “But yet, it’s still a long season and we just have
to stay hungry.”
Okafor is averaging 12.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks on the season. What is more amazing is that he is shooting 72.7 per cent from the field, leading the NBA in this category.
After he notched 26 points and 13 rebounds in a recent win over the Miami Heat, Okafor was presented with the game ball.
“He’s a little bit more comfortable with us and what he’s trying to do,” said New Orleans’ forward David West of Okafor. “He’s a little bit more integrated into the system, so to speak,
than he was last year. He can be dominant, especially in and around that basket if we keep him involved by keeping him within the flow of the game.”
When he arrived in New Orleans in a trade sending Tyson Chandler to the Bobcats, Okafor was hopeful his first play-off berth was not far off. But amid coaching changes and injuries to
key players, including All-Star point guard Chris Paul, the Hornets finished out of the play-offs with a 37-45 record. But a new season brings new possibilities and Okafor has already put last year behind him.
“Last year was just weird, so I almost kind of discount that,” he said. “A lot of things happened and it was just a bizarro season. Given that it was just an awkward year, awkward things
will happen.”
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