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Kwame Brown’s season could begin tonight

Nov 15, 2010, 1:38 PM EDT

Kwame Brown

You know times are tough when Kwame Brown’s return from injury qualifies as some kind of great hope.

The Bobcats have started the season 3-7. Their defense, which was tops in the league last season, has fallen to 14th, while their offense remains as miserable as ever. The season is young, but it’s hard to imagine this Charlotte team reverse course and suddenly become the defensive juggernaut they were last year. Offensive success is beyond this collection of players and can hardly be expected, but their poor defensive execution has been maddening. Raymond Felton and Tyson Chandler are Bobcats no more, but if Charlotte wants to be close to the playoff bubble (much less their 44-38 record from last year), their defense will have to save them.

Sad as it is, that’s where adding Kwame, a guy who had arguably his worst season as a pro last year, back into the mix could potentially help, and it’s possible he could return tonight in Charlotte’s game against Minnesota.

There’s no question that Nazr Mohammed should be the Bobcats’ starting center, but Larry Brown has been forced to use a combination of DeSagana Diop and Boris Diaw to backup Mohammed. The results have been fairly miserable. Diaw has regressed to the point where his offensive skills no longer counterbalance his defensive inadequacies, which makes you wonder why Larry Brown starts him over Tyrus Thomas at all. Diop isn’t a bad defender, but his impact on that end is too slim to make him a useful rotation player. The Bobcats are badly in need of someone — anyone — who can put a few things together at the 5, and though Kwame is still Kwame, at least he’s not Diaw or Diop at this point.

That said, no one should hold out too much hope. The best thing that Kwame has going for him right now is that he’s a new option, a different option. He hasn’t had a chance to disappoint like Diaw or Diop like Diop. He’ll have his chance soon enough.

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