Brown won't rush Chandler back into Bobcats mix

Published Feb. 9, 2010 at 5:04 a.m.
This much is certain; the Charlotte Bobcats' top two centers have each other's back.

Nazr Mohammed endorses giving up his starting spot to Tyson Chandler, saying he'd expect the same if he'd lost his spot to injury. Chandler replies that, as well as the Bobcats have played in his absence, he wants no part of disrupting the mix.

The coach is in-between those two positions.

"Under normal circumstances, you'd always start'' the guy who lost his spot to injury, coach Larry Brown said Monday. "But these aren't normal circumstances - he hasn't had a lot of time on the floor.''

Chandler has missed 22 games since being diagnosed in late December with a stress reaction in his left foot. The Bobcats are 13-9 in the games he missed, including a 9-1 run and a 3-3 West Coast trip. Considering the quality of competition, that's the best sustained period in Bobcats history.

Mohammed played well of late, particularly on offense - he scored 15 or more points in three of the last four games, including a 23-point, 17-rebound performance against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Chandler practiced Friday and Monday, but Monday was the first full-court workout, due to a leak on the practice court resulting from heavy rain Friday.

Brown said he'll wait until shootaround Tuesday morning before deciding whether to activate Chandler against the Washington Wizards. Brown said if Chandler does play, he might not start and wouldn't play heavy minutes.

That's fine with Chandler.

"Right now we're playing so well, I don't want to disrupt anything,'' Chandler said. "If I did start, I'm sure I wouldn't be out there very long.''

Chandler spent most of the six weeks he was injured in a protective boot, so he's not in game shape. The last two weeks he could exercise on a treadmill, but has just two days of running, cutting and jumping.

Mohammed went out of his way to empathize with Chandler's situation.

"If I got hurt,'' Mohammed said, "I wouldn't expect to lose my starting spot'' when he came back.

Mohammed said he and Chandler should complement each other, with Mohammed being more of a scorer and Chandler the superior defender.

Brown still thinks there are situations against big front lines when he can play Mohammed and Chandler together. Other times neither would be on the floor, since Brown likes his small lineup (Boris Diaw at center, Gerald Wallace at power forward and Stephen Jackson at small forward) when matchups allow it.

Whatever happens, Mohammed is proud he's shown fans he's still capable after sitting most of last season.

"It's amazing,'' Mohammed said, "that when you don't play, people assume you quit or can't play anymore.''

Back | Read more at Charlotte Observer local