Bobcats see second half as a fresh start

Published Feb. 22, 2011 at 5:23 a.m.
Some things have changed since the Charlotte Bobcats last played one week ago.

Paul Silas had the interim tag removed from his title and signed a contract extension that makes him coach through the 2011-12 season.

The Bobcats got a six-day break between games, time to get away and refresh in preparation for the final 26 games of the regular season, which will begin tonight at home against Toronto.

What hasn't changed is the Bobcats' roster or their position in the Eastern Conference standings.

With the trade deadline Thursday, chatter is swirling throughout the league on possible deals, and the Bobcats most often mentioned are Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson.

But Silas said he doesn't expect the team to make a trade before the deadline.

"There has been talk, of course. There's always talk," Silas said after a Monday night practice.

"But it doesn't seem as if there is anyone...if you give up something, you've got to get something. That's the major problem. People want to take what you have and give you nothing back. That's not going to happen.

"We're going to keep what we have and go with it."

Silas liked what he saw when the Bobcats returned to work Monday, running through an aggressive session. He might have been most pleased with point guard D.J. Augustin, whose play had tailed off prior to the All-Star break.

Augustin was not bothered by a sore left wrist that had troubled him before the break, Silas said, and the second-year guard spent extra time working on his jump shot after practice.

"He was an important part of us being where we are. When he did kind of slack off and wasn't able to do what he had done, we weren't nearly as good," Silas said. "He's an integral part of the team. He knows that and I've told him that. If he is what I think he is now, he'll be very good for us throughout the playoff push."

The Bobcats' 24-32 record has them in ninth place, one game behind Indiana for the final playoff spot but having lost the tiebreaker to the Pacers.

That means this is a potentially critical week because the Bobcats have home games against Toronto and Sacramento, which have a total of 28 wins between them.

With a brutal four-game road trip starting Sunday in Orlando (followed by games at Denver, the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland), the Bobcats need to take advantage of a generous bit of scheduling this week.

"We have 26 games," Jackson said. "We're going to try to get 17, 18 of them and we'll be in a good spot. Our focus is start the second half of the season on the right note."

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