Charlotte Bobcats fans clamoring for more of rookie Kemba Walker should get all they want the rest of this week.

Point guard D.J. Augustin is out the next two games and probably longer for treatment of an inflamed right big toe. Augustin has been in serious pain most of the past two weeks, and finally had to leave Sunday's loss to the New Jersey Nets during the first quarter. Augustin was scheduled to have an injection to relieve the pain, but there's no timetable for how long he'll be out.

That moves Walker, 6-foot-1, from an undersized shooting guard to the first option at the point. Based on coach Paul Silas' rotation once Augustin sat down for the night, Gerald Henderson will move back to shooting guard and Derrick Brown likely will start at small forward Tuesday night against the New York Knicks.

That will make the Bobcats bigger, and probably address how frequently Charlotte's backcourt has been posted up lately by opposing guards.

Nets guards Deron Williams and MarShon Brooks constantly went to the post against the Bobcats. Combined, those two shot 17-of-34 against the Bobcats for 39 of New Jersey's 97 points. Silas knew this might happen when he went to an Augustin-Walker backcourt six games ago.

"The only thing you can really do is give help" as in double-team, Silas said Sunday. "That (messes up) the rotations and the Nets are a good 3-point shooting team."

Silas said it's really up to the guards not to let a couple of inches of height defeat them.

"At first, we just let them shoot the ball" next to the rim, Silas said. "So we reminded them to get up (physically) as much as you can and contest his shot."

Walker has had uneven performances, to be expected of a rookie, even the ninth overall pick. He's averaging 11.4 points and has a knack for getting to the foul line. However, he's shooting just 38 percent from the field, and he's not yet as adept a passer as Augustin. Walker is averaging 3.2 assists, half of Augustin's 6.6 average. Walker often seems more comfortable - more able to rely upon what he does best - playing with forward Boris Diaw, a creative passer all over the court.

Desperate, dysfunctional Knicks: Tuesday night's opponent, the Knicks, are actually on a longer losing streak: New York has lost six straight (four at home), compared to four overall losses by the Bobcats.

The Knicks probably are lucky the Giants are on a Super Bowl run because it distracts a little from their dysfunction. Their two "volume shooters" - Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire - shoot a combined 41 percent from the field. With those two taking about 500 of the Knicks' 1,300 or so shots so far, is it so much of a surprise the Knicks are 6-10?

Anthony did some public soul-searching Saturday, after the Knicks lost to Anthony's former team, the Denver Nuggets. Stoudemire has been somewhat marginalized since Anthony's arrival last season.

"If I'm doing too much, I want (Stoudemire) to tell me," Anthony was quoted in the New York Daily News. "I want the guys on my team to tell me if I'm doing too much."

Anthony could get well against the Bobcats; he always has played well in Charlotte in part because it's so hard for the Bobcats' small forward to match up with his strength. If Anthony gets into the post against Brown, he could spend lots of time at the foul line.