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Bobcats guard Kareem Rush will return to the court after missing the past four games with a sprained index finger on his left (shooting) hand. Earlier in the day, Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff was unsure whether Knight would take the court against the Suns. “(Knight) said if he could get through (the pain) that he would go tonight,” Bickerstaff said after today’s shootaround. “If he can go, he and Kareem (Rush) will be the starting backcourt.” Following Wednesday’s game, Bickerstaff believed Knight miss some extended time after Head Athletic Trainer Joe Sharpe performed his initial evaluation, but Knight appears to be healing quicker than expected. “It’s always pleasant when you can add bodies to your team,” Bickerstaff said. “We’ll have to see what happens tonight.”
RUSH TO KEEP FINGER WRAPPED “The finger is getting better. It’s not 100 percent, but I’ve been out for a while and realize it’s going to take a lot longer than I expected for it to get 100 percent healthy,” he said after shootaround on Friday. “I’m just going to wrap it up and deal with the pain. It might just be one of those nagging injuries, especially because it’s on my shooting hand. I got this brace on, so hopefully it won’t get banged on for a couple of weeks and will heal itself.” Rush initially injured the finger at Golden State on December 2 and missed Charlotte’s next two games, at the Los Angeles Lakers on December 4 and against New Jersey on December 7. He returned on December 9 in Philadelphia wearing the brace and played with it on for two games before removing it against Denver. Three games later, he re-aggravated the injury, sending him to the sidelines again. “The brace is definitely staying on now,” Rush said. “I’m not testing my luck anymore because it is on my shooting hand and I need to do a lot of things with this finger. I’m going to keep the brace on as long as I need to.”
BOBCATS CAN’T LET UP “I think the thing that we are concerned with is that the guys who have been carrying the burden can’t let down because they assume that there is somebody coming back,” he said. “They have to maintain. The guys who come back – they’ve got to fall right into the mold and play the same way that these young guys have been playing.” Bickerstaff also knows that these last few games with the Bobcats decimated by injuries will only strengthen this team as the season progresses. “I think there’s no doubt about it,” he said. “What the guys have done is they have built confidence in themselves and given us confidence (in them). I think we can keep guys fresh in terms of minutes. There’s nobody who needs to save themselves because I think we have adequate backups that have proved themselves.”
BOBCATS GET GOOD NEWS ON INJURY FRONT Jake Voskuhl and Sean May also participated in practice. The two big men are still out for tomorrow night, as is Emeka Okafor, who remained in the training room to receive treatment on his right ankle. Brevin Knight also stayed in the training room to receive treatment on his left ankle, and he is questionable for tomorrow night.
FOCUS ON HEALTHY 11 However, in his pregame press conference Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff did not want to focus on the Bobcats who are out tonight, but on those who will be suited up. “We’re going with the same 11 we had last night. I’m going to refuse to talk about injuries and those guys who are not with us,” he said. “I think the guys who are playing – those 11 guys deserve all the accolades. They’re in a situation where they’re outsized, and they never make any excuses. They just play. “I’m not going to spend a lot of time talking about the guys who aren’t playing. When they come back, then we’ll talk about it. All the attention should go to the 11 guys that will be suited up and playing tonight and have been playing for the last three or four games.” What the guys who have been playing the past four games have done is win three out of those four – marking the third time in franchise history that has been done. Tonight they will be attempting to win four out of five for the first time in Bobcats history. “What I like about the guys that we have is that we are able to adlib,” Bickerstaff said. “What I mean by that is that we can make adjustments – which we have to do because guys are out of position – on the fly, because they get it. That’s important when they get it like that.”
FELTON MAKING A CASE FOR HIMSELF In those three games, Felton has averaged 12.3 points and 4.7 assists. “To me, I think what Raymond has done -- he’s put enough pressure on us as a coaching staff that he deserves minutes,” Bickerstaff said. “He’s capable of playing both positions.” Although Knight is listed as the starting point guard and Felton as the starting shooting guard, at times it has seemed as if their roles on the court together are undefined, with both players taking time to run the offense. “It is defined. There’s a method to the madness,” Bickerstaff said. “It basically depends on who we want running off the baseline defensively -- who we want to go after.”
FOUR STAY HOME ON ATLANTA TRIP Rush did participate in some light contact drills during Monday’s practice, and Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff indicated that Voskuhl might be ready for game action by the end of the week, but the team opted to have both players stay in Charlotte during the two-day road trip.
These Bobcats are looking a lot different lately. A little over a week ago, Charlotte was mired in an eight-game losing streak, but has snapped out and gone on its best run of the season to date. The Bobcats are on a two-game winning streak, have won two straight on the road for the first time in franchise history and have won three of their last four contests. Tonight, Charlotte tries for its first-ever three game losing streak against the Los Angeles Clippers, and it appears the swagger this team was lacking has returned. Still, Bobcats General Manager and Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff wants his players to try to keep their emotions in check. “It concerns me with this team because I don’t know what success does for us,” Bickerstaff said after Friday’s shootaround. “We don’t seem to handle it very well. Our swagger might be too much, so what we’re trying to do is jut be consistent in our approach with everything that we do. We have to be able to handle whatever amount of success you have the way we handle the other part of it – we always bounce back in those situations.”
SMALL BALL “We really don’t have any choice in terms of what we put out on the floor,” Bickerstaff said. “What I want is to just make sure we have effort put out on that floor. It’s a test of wills when you play in the NBA.” Ely’s will might face the toughest test, as the flu knocked him out for three games, left him bedridden and stripped him of eight pounds. “For a guy that’s been out three or four games (with the flu), it’s a tough call, so we certainly have to monitor his cardiovascular conditioning,” Bickerstaff said. “We’ll keep an eye on him in three to four minute stretches and we’ll see. When you get tired, you make a lot of mistakes, so we have to make sure to monitor that.”
CUBAN’S ENVY Apparently, when Cuban saw the state-of-the-art center-hung scoreboard at Charlotte Bobcats Arena last month, he loved it and is at work trying to upgrade the scoreboard at American Airlines Center. According to Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal, Cuban contacted Brad Mayne, American Airlines president and CEO, when the Mavericks returned from their November 11 game in Charlotte, to find out what the four-year-old Dallas building could do to match the capabilities of the scoreboard at Charlotte Bobcats Arena.
MAKING ADJUSTMENTS “These last games are indicative of the way we play basketball in terms of how we compete,” General Manager and Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff said after Thursday’s practice. “I think with the small lineup, we are asking the guys to do things that are really kind of out of character for them, but they are stepping up to the plate. I think with Brevin and Raymond (Felton) in the backcourt it creates some problems (for the other team).”
INJURIES MOUNTING “We’ll probably go into tomorrow night’s game with 11 (players),” Bickerstaff said. “Sean will be out for maybe two or three games. We want him to get healthy. He’s having some problems with the knee, so rather than putting him out on the court where he can’t play to his capacity, the best thing for him to do is to get healthy.” While May will be out, the Bobcats did get some good news on Thursday, as Melvin Ely is expected to return after missing the last two games with the flu.
WALLACE SHOWING DIVERGENT SKILLS The gauge measures four different skills – dunks, three-point shots made, blocked shots and steals. The totals from those four are added, then personal fouls are subtracted. Wallace ranks fourth with a score of 44, behind Marion (101), James (62) and Lewis (61). “He’s been terrific for us,” Bickerstaff said. “As an athlete, he’s off the charts. He’s up there with anyone in the league. He knew he had to work on his game to get better, and he has.
KNIGHT TO RETURN TONIGHT In other news on the Bobcats injury front, Emeka Okafor (right ankle sprain) is out tonight and likely longer. His MRI today was negative. Kareem Rush is out with a sprained left index finger that he re-injured against the Kings last night. He will likely be out for about a week. Melvin Ely is out with flu-like symptoms and is listed as probable for Friday night's contest against the Los Angeles Clippers. Jake Voskuhl remains sidelined with a moderate right ankle sprain and will be out fro approximately another 10 days.
KNIGHT AND ELY SIDELINED With Knight out, Raymond Felton will move into the starting role at the point, while Sean May can expect to see his minutes increase with Ely sidelined. Injuries have shaken up the Bobcats starting lineup in the past seven games, forcing Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff to start four different sets of players. Keith Bogans, Ely and Bernard Robinson have all had their chance to start, while the lineup of Knight, Kareem Rush, Gerald Wallace, Emeka Okafor and Primoz Brezec that Bickerstaff would like to run out consistently has started in just two of the last seven games. “There’s nothing new -- we’ve learned to compensate this season,” Bickerstaff said after today’s shootaround. “We haven’t had the full core (of players all season), and obviously there’s no cavalry coming over the mountain tonight. Raymond will get his chance to play, and Sean will get his chance to play.”
ELY OUT, WALLACE EXPECTED TO PLAY “Yup, that’s the news we got this morning when we got here,” Bobcats General Manager and Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff said in his pregame press conference. “I thought he was over it, but he had a setback, so we move on.” While Ely is out, the Bobcats expect forward Gerald Wallace to return to the starting lineup tonight after missing the past two games with a sprained index finger on his right hand. “Yeah, right now he seems to be one of the guys that’s active,” Bickerstaff said, “but with this team, you never know.”
OKAFOR BACK ON TRACK Still, Bickerstaff said he is not an impressed with the latest results as he is with how hard Okafor has worked to get back into form. “He’s making progress,” he said. “I’ve never been one of those jump-up-and-down guys about one or two games. The true test in everything is the longevity. He’s really working at it, too -- staying around late and doing those things because he wants it. I’m more pleased about his approach to it than the two or three games that he’s played well.” One thing he would like to see Okafor do is keep his blocks in bounds. “The one thing that Emeka has started to do is that on the blocked shots, we don’t get to take advantage of them because he’s not keeping them in play,” Bickerstaff said. “That’s another factor -- he’s getting them, now we just have to keep them in play.”
WALLACE SHOULD BE BACK “Yes… well, you always have to worry about tomorrow with us, but he was full bore today,” Bobcats General Manager and Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff said after practice.
TRYING TO GET EVERYBODY MINUTES “It’s tough, especially in situations like last night where Brevin (Knight) just had it going,” Bickerstaff said. “Those kids are pulling for each other in that situation. But it is important that (May and Felton) get minutes in those situations, too.” Still, Bickerstaff’s biggest concern doesn’t seem to be at finding minutes at the point or at power forward as much as it seems to be at finding minutes at the swing positions. “I think where we have more of a problem is at the 2-3, in terms of the minutes with the guys there,” he said. What’s happening there is that Bernard (Robinson) is just stepping up and playing well. It’s always been our philosophy that we have to reward the guys that are playing (well). Everybody’s really had an opportunity to perform, and he’s seized the moment.”
OKAFOR BOUNCING BACK “I think the last three games he’s played like Emeka played last year,” Bickerstaff said. “The guy has tremendous pride, and you go through those stages where you don’t play well. The guys who have pride and the ability to look in the mirror and accept responsibility are going to be fine. I’d toss my hat into the ring with Emeka any day.”
BOBCATS LIKELY WITHOUT WALLACE TONIGHT The high-flyer injured the fingers in Saturday's game against Toronto. He wore two small knuckle braces on the index and middle fingers of his right hand during the morning shootaround prior to yesterday's game. After going through pregame warm-ups, he said the injury was affecting his jump shot . Wallace ranks second on the Bobcats in scoring (14.6), rebounds (6.2), steals (2.13), blocked shots (1.33) and field goal percentage (.520).
BOBCATS GETTING HEALTHY AGAIN So are the Bobcats interested? Not according to General Manager and Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff. “I’ve seen those things, but our concern is to try and get our guys healthy to see what we have,” Bickerstaff said when asked about the Artest situation after today’s shootaround. “I don’t think we’re in a panic situation. We like our pieces, but we’d like to get them on the court so we can make an intelligent assessment of what we have.” What the Bobcats will have against the Nuggets tonight is their healthiest lineup since December 2 in Golden State. Jake Voskuhl was the only Charlotte player listed on the injury report that night after suffering a moderate right ankle sprain at Seattle on November 30, and is the only Bobcats player listed on the injury report for tonight’s game. “Emeka (Okafor) worked out today, so we had 14 bodies – everybody but Jake,” Bickerstaff said. “Mel(vin Ely) might be a little winded because of the flu, but he’s out here working and out here trying. I’m pleased with that.”
Veteran point guard Brevin Knight was the Bobcats leading scorer last week, averaging 17.0 points in four games, including a season-high 23 points against the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday. Despite taking on the role of one of the Bobcats top scorers, his assists numbers haven’t suffered – something that is important to Bickerstaff. “He’s kind of taken that responsibility (as a scorer) on because we have not been making perimeter shots,” Bickerstaff said. “This is what we talk about when we talk about other guys not getting certain things done, then other people have to do certain things. Brevin has really been one of our perimeter scorers, especially in the last game. He’s had to step up and take shots because what he does, he recognizes what the team needs. Also what’s happening is he’s still getting his assists, and that’s important.” After ranking second in the league with an average of 9.0 assists last season, some teams defensive strategy might be to step back and let Knight take the shot. Those are shots that he has been making as of late while continuing to find the open man. Last week, Knight averaged 8.5 assists – up from the 8.3 assists he averaged in his first 16 games this season. “I would think it is a concern of teams to try to take his assists away. But what’s happening is he’s still getting both – making shots and getting the assists,” Bickerstaff said. “If you’ve got a point guard that knows when and what’s available, then that’s a problem for the defense.”
JONES IMPRESSES OFF BENCH Jones stepped in against the Raptors and had his best game as a member of the Bobcats, scoring a season-high 16 points on 7-11 shooting and hauling down seven rebounds in nearly 25 minutes of play. If Jones continues to play at this level, Bickerstaff expects that he’ll see more time off the bench for Charlotte. “This was the vision that we had. This was the contrast that we thought we had, where a guy comes off the bench and makes open shots,” Bickerstaff said. “This team needed that, and that was the reason for the acquisition (of Jones in the offseason). It’s a tough call for us for the simple reason that Bernard (Robinson) is playing well. You’re in a situation there with the minutes. We just have to go by feel.”
OKAFOR BACK IN ACTION “Emeka went through the whole practice,” Bobcats General Manager and Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff said. “He was okay today, but with our history and the way things are going right now, I’ll wait until tipoff (on Wednesday).” Okafor doesn’t sound concerned and insists he’ll be back in the starting lineup. "I'm all right,” he said. “It's a little sore, a little tender… Oh yeah, definitely (I’ll play)."
ELY RETURNS, KNIGHT EXCUSED The return of Okafor and Ely left Jake Voskuhl (moderate right ankle sprain) as the only player to miss practice due to an injury on Monday. Bickerstaff said there is still no set timetable for Voskuhl’s return. ‘What we’re trying to do right now is get healthy – get our basketball team together so we can start to make some progress,” Bickerstaff said. “The progress that we’ve made has been hindered right now.” Veteran guard Brevin Knight also missed practice on Monday. “Brevin had personal leave. He had some business he had to take care of, so he had permission not to be here,” Knight said. “He would have been here if practice was at 3:00 p.m., but they called us late last night about this (U2) concert and let us know that we had to be out of the building.”
RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME “I guess he got the fever,” he said of Riley. “He’s got a pretty damn good team to come back to. That shows me some wisdom there.”
FLU GOING AROUND BOBCATS LOCKER ROOM “We are trying to (keep guys away from each other),” Bobcats General Manager and Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff said in his pre-game press conference. “(Head Athletic Trainer) Joe (Sharpe) kept Melvin and wouldn’t let him come in the locker room. Raymond (Felton) had a touch of it last night, but he seems to be okay today, so it’s going around.” Ely stepped into the starting lineup for Brezec in the 119-115 loss to the Sixers and scored 13 points with seven rebounds in his first start of the season. Jake Voskuhl (left ankle sprain) and Alan Anderson will join Ely on the inactive list against Toronto.
BREZEC BACK IN LINEUP “Primoz is back,” Bickerstaff said. “This is one of the national games that they show over in his home country (Slovenia). I guess that was the healing effect – his game was tonight, so it proved medicinal.” Brezec is one of four Slovenians playing in the NBA, along with Bostjan Nachbar (New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets), Rasho Nesterovic (San Antonio Spurs) and Beno Udrih (Spurs). All four players will be showcased in one live telecast in Slovenia this season, with tonight marking Brezec’s game.
After missing the Bobcats last two games with a sprained index finger on his left hand, Kareem Rush is expected to return to the starting lineup tonight in Philadelphia. Rush went through shootaround this morning and practiced with the starting group. Rush is the second-leading scorer (15.0 points) behind Gerald Wallace (15.2) and is the team’s best three-point shooter, connecting on 41.3 percent (26-63) of his shots from behind the arc.
BREZEC BACK HOME IN CHARLOTTE Brezec did not make the trip to the City of Brotherly Love. He is still in Charlotte suffering from flu-like symptoms that began late in Wednesday's game. He should, however, be back tomorrow night against Toronto. Brezec is averaging 9.8 points and 5.3 rebounds and has been playing his best basketball of the season over the last five contests, recording his first two double-doubles of the year in Sacramento on November 29 and at Golden State on December 2. Melvin Ely will make his first start of the season as he moves into the starting lineup in place of Brezec. Ely has averaged 9.4 points, 5.1 rebound and 1.1 assist as the top-scoring reserve for Charlotte, including a 20-point performance in Los Angeles on Sunday. In his 17 starts with the Bobcats last season, Ely averaged 13.0 points and 8.0 rebounds, scoring 10-plus points in 13 of those 17 games. Jake Voskuhl also remained in Charlotte with his right ankle injury and will be inactive tonight.
FELTON GOOD TO GO “We want to give Kareem some rest on it because it keeps getting hit,” Bobcats General Manager and Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff said today at shootaround. “(Head Athletic Trainer) Joe (Sharpe) wants to try to give him as much rest as he can to try and let it heal. I would think this weekend, there might be an outside chance he could play.” After suffering a mild ankle sprain in Tuesday’s practice, Raymond Felton is active and ready to play against the Nets. “Raymond seemed okay today,” Bickerstaff said. “He’s the type of guy who is only going to divulge so much, so we’ll see how he feels. He’s not going to tell you too much. That’s why Joe (Sharpe) has to keep an eye on him. “It was the same way with Sean (May) last time when he went out. He’d been hurting prior to that. What you don’t understand (by not saying anything) is that it impacts your performance.”
STOPPING THE BIG GUY “The guy that really hurts us a lot is the big kid, (Nenad) Krstic,” Bickerstaff said in his pregame press conference. “He just kind of feels real good about playing against us.” Krstic averaged 14.3 points and 8.8 rebounds against the Bobcats last year, and the seven-footer from Yugoslavia and member of the Serbia/Montenegro National Team proved to be dangerous both inside and out against Charlotte. “The problem that we have against the European players is that those guys have learned the game one way, and that was the right way,” Bickerstaff said. “Fundamentally they’re very strong. They put a lot of time in working on things that are relative to basketball. They compete and they shoot the basketball and they space the defense because they shoot the basketball.”
PLENTY OF FREEBIES Charlotte commits 25.7 fouls, fourth-most in the NBA, and New Jersey is just behind with 25.0 fouls. The Nets also average 30.9 free throw attempts, while the Bobcats visit the charity stripe 30.2 times, second and third in the league, respectively. Charlotte is 11th in the NBA with a .753 success rate, compared to New Jersey in 18th at .731.
Kareem Rush did not practice on Tuesday and is out for Tuesday night with a sprained index finger on his left (shooting) hand. Rush may be available on Friday in Philadelphia, but will continue to be evaluated to see how his finger improves between now and then. The Bobcats will miss Rush's shooting touch from the outside. He ranks second on the team in scoring (15.0 points) and first on the squad in three-point shooting percentage (.413), having connected on a team-high 26 treys this season. "Kareem was playing extremely well," Bickerstaff said. "With his outside shooting, he takes a lot of pressure off of our bigs down in the post area." The Bobcats will also be without center/forward Jake Voskuhl, who will miss his third-straight game with a moderate right ankle sprain. Raymond Felton suffered a mild left ankle sprain near the end of Tuesday's practice, but he is expected to play Wednesday night.
ROAD TRIP SHOWED FIGHT IN BOBCATS "I told the guys today that we didn't get the results that we wanted, but three out of four games we had a chance to win the basketball game," Bickerstaff said. "I'm proud of this basketball team. I've been a lot of basketball teams - good and great teams - and on that last game, they would have punted and jumped on the plane. In that last game, our guys hung in there, fought and put themselves in a position to win the basketball game, so I'm really proud of them." A team can often learn much about itself on a long road trip, and the Bobcats remained focused on their goals while trying to grow as a second-year squad. "The expectations are to try and win basketball games, but I think we're making progress," Bickerstaff said. "I thought early in the season we had some injuries that hurt the development of the basketball team. We're making steady progress with this basketball team, and I'm certainly pleased with the team."
ROBINSON SHOULD CONTINUE TO GET MINUTES "I have to take all the responsibility for (not playing Bernard earlier this season)," Bickerstaff said. "He was working, coming to practice and was very professional in his approach. "He defends. He doesn't hurt you at all. He's athletic and he really understands the game. He has been playing awfully well and will benefit from it. He's playing the best of the guys coming off the bench at that position at this time, so we've got to reward him for that."
RUSH SUFFERS FINGER INJURY Charlotte's second leading scorer at 15.0 points, Rush had scored in double figures in eight consecutive games before suffering the injury. He averaged 20.3 points on .472 (59-125) shooting during the stretch. Rush had an MRI today, and it didn't reveal anything except the left index finger sprain that was diagnosed last night. He is questionable for Sunday night's game against the Lakers in Los Angeles.
BREZEC DOUBLING UP Brezec scored a season-high 21 points at Seattle on Wednesday just one day after grabbing a season-high 12 rebounds at Sacramento. He is averaging 16.0 points and 10.3 rebounds, while shooting .576 (19-33) from the field on the road trip. Brezec ranks 13th in the NBA with a .534 field goal percentage.
WARRIORS IMPRESSED BY YOUNG BOBCATS SQUAD "Charlotte's a team to be reckoned with," said Golden State Head Coach Mike Montgomery. "They're playing hard every night for Bernie. Their big guys gave us all kinds of problems inside. (Emeka) Okafor was a beast. He changed our minds about guys wanting to go inside." Golden State forward Troy Murphy was also impressed by the Bobcats' depth in the frontcourt. "Charlotte plays a physical game," said Murphy. "They have big guys in (Emeka) Okafor and (Primoz) Brezec and then they come with (Melvin) Ely and (Sean) May. They're tough. They play really hard in there -- they bang. We're lucky to come away with a win."
VOSKUHL OUT 10 DAYS Voskuhl is averaging 4.7 points and 2.3 rebounds in 12.7 minutes off the bench for Charlotte this season, having played in nine games. He missed the first five games of the season with a left knee sprain and missed back-to-back contests at Boston on November 25 and against Washington on November 26 with right knee swelling.
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