LOS ANGELES Based on how he's used them of late, Charlotte Bobcats coach Larry Brown has reservations about his reserves.
Between injuries (D.J. Augustin's abdominal strain) and trade departures (Jared Dudley to Phoenix and Matt Carroll to Dallas), Brown doesn't have as many reliable options right now. It was worth those compromises to acquire starters Boris Diaw and Raja Bell from the Suns, but it's obvious of late the Bobcats are more starter-dependent.
Sunday's loss to the Indiana Pacers serves as a prime example: During the second half, the four reserves who played (Gana Diop, Juwan Howard, Sean Singletary and Shannon Brown) totaled seven points, five rebounds, no assists and about 21 minutes. Adam Morrison played during the first half but not the second.
Compare that to the Pacers' bench: 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists over about 38 minutes of the second half.
Brown suggested after the game that some of his reserves appeared to lack confidence: A couple of guys came off the bench looking like they were afraid to make mistakes. I never want that.
Brown didn't specify who he meant, but it was telling that Morrison didn't play during the second half after struggling the first. Morrison was 1-of-3 (a 3-pointer) and seemed to have great difficulty guarding forward Danny Granger.
Carroll's departure seemed an opportunity for Morrison since their skill sets were similar; however, in five games since the trade, Morrison has seven points and 2-of-12 shooting.
With Augustin out the past six games (the earliest he'd return is Friday in Denver), the Bobcats' reserve of greatest impact has been forward Juwan Howard.
A 15-year veteran, he has filled in at least occasionally at all three front-court positions.
But even with Howard's experience, the bench has been a shaky proposition of late. Larry Brown says he has to leave at least one starter in at all times. Even with Diaw in the game early in the fourth quarter, things deteriorated quickly.
Two Shannon Brown turnovers, sandwiched around a 4-foot miss by Diop, spread a five-point Pacers lead to 11, the Bobcats' largest deficit of the final quarter.
Okafor's All-Star chances
Emeka Okafor has a chance of being named an All-Star reserve, between his productivity and the relative lack of quality centers in the Eastern Conference. He would be the Bobcats' first All-Star.
Through Sunday, Okafor was third in the league in field-goal percentage (58.3percent), sixth in rebounding (10.9 per game) and ninth in shots blocked (1.77).
Head coaches in each conference vote in seven reserves. Coaches have to specifically vote for a reserve center (behind starter Dwight Howard from Orlando), but here's the catch: Brown confirms the league's instructions to the coaches give them latitude beyond the position designations that defined the starters.
For instance, though Toronto big man Chris Bosh was listed as a forward on the fan ballot, the East coaches could designate Bosh the backup center. That might hurt Okafor's chances, but he's not giving this a lot of thought.
It would be nice,
Okafor said of the All-Star Game next month in Phoenix, but if you get preoccupied with that, maybe it hurts your focus on winning.
