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The more coach Larry Brown trusts his bench, the more the Charlotte Bobcats win.
That's what the data show 14 games into the season: Three of the four games in which non-starters played the most minutes coincides with three of the Bobcats' four victories.
You could write off some of that to the NBA concept of "garbage time:" That once a team has effectively secured a victory, a coach will empty his bench to rest starters.
Except in this case, there hasn't been much garbage time. The Bobcats easily controlled a game against the Atlanta Hawks, who were coming off a West Coast trip. But that victory over the New York Knicks went to double-overtime and Sunday's win against the Indiana Pacers wasn't settled until less than seven minutes remained.
So it comes back to this: Doesn't Brown have to trust and develop his bench to get the most out of this team? And generally, he'd say yes.
"I've got to find a rotation, a way to not play (the starters) quite so much,'' Brown said at practice Monday. "Especially with Tyson (Chandler) out. The way Nazr (Mohammed) played and the way Derrick (Brown) played really helped.''
The starters Brown referred to were Gerald Wallace, Boris Diaw and Stephen Jackson. Entering Sunday's game, each of those three was among the top 30 in the NBA in average minutes played. In fact, Wallace topped the league, averaging 42.5 minutes.
Mohammed has been starting at center, with Chandler missing games with back spasms. Chandler hopes to play Wednesday versus the Toronto Raptors, so Mohammed could soon be back among the reserves. Rookie Derrick Brown had by far his best game versus the Pacers.
It wasn't just how much Brown played (nearly 24 minutes) or what he did (13 points, four rebounds and two steals). It was his impact in the first three quarters when the result was still in doubt - all 13 points, three rebounds and one assist.
"He gets better every day,'' Larry Brown said. "He has a phenomenal feel for what you're trying to do. My dilemma is that ultimately he has to be a '3' man" i.e., a small forward, to maximize his potential.
Ideally, the coach would limit the rookie to small forward to focus his development. But the springy, 6-7 Brown is by default one of the Bobcats' better options at power forward, particularly following the trade that sent Vlade Radmanovic to Golden State.
"I understand what he means,'' Derrick Brown said. "But I'd rather be playing at 4 than developing potential at 3.''
School in session
Bobcats assistant Jeff Capel has long run what he calls "free-throw school'' - a post-practice session to correct bad foul-shooting, with military-style exercises serving as the stakes for missing.
With the Bobcats last in the NBA in foul-shooting (about 69 percent), Capel's class has grown to five pupils: Chandler, Wallace, Jackson, DeSagana Diop and Flip Murray.
Even when the Bobcats get to choose who takes free throws this season, the results are shaky: They have missed at least six free throws resulting from technical fouls, where any of the five players on court can take the shot.
Notes
Chandler, who has missed the past 2 1/2 games, did some light shooting in practice Monday. He said his back is feeling better and he plans to test it with a more intense practice Tuesday.
Point guard Raymond Felton was limping at practice, a result of his right foot being stepped on by Pacers forward Danny Granger on Sunday.
