Game One After Byron. The Hornets will take on the Portland Trail Blazers at New Orleans Arena tonight, game tipping just after 7 p.m. Central.

New Hornets head coach Jeff Bower will roll with the same starting lineup we saw Wednesday in Phoenix, and has said that the emphasis going forward will be on pushing and moving the ball on offense, while playing stronger defense (source). I’m interested to see how much energy and effort the players deliver, as those two things had been severely lacking this season with Byron Scott at the helm.

The Blazers are 6-3 on the season and come in riding a 4-game win streak, which sounds impressive until you see their last three opponents were Minnesota, Memphis and Minnesota again. Still, Portland is a dangerous, well-coached team with a lot of weapons and no major injuries to report.

This one isn’t on local or national TV, so League Pass or in-person is the only way to watch it. Next best thing is tuning into Gerry V and Sean Kelley calling it on 106.7 FM.

I’ll be chatting it up and answering questions at ESPN’s Daily Dime Live chat. Join me there if you can.

Linkage:

• Ryan’s thoughts on the coaching change
• Lagniappe: Lots of video interviews and other bits and pieces regarding the coaching change
  
• Rival bloggers: Blaze of Love | Blazer’s Edge | Bust a Bucket

(Many thanks to Dariusz for the banner.)