Bobcats' Derrick Brown grateful to be back

Derrick Brown's upswing with the Charlotte Bobcats started with a thank-you and a promise.

It was Jan. 12, and the Bobcats were preparing for a road game against the Atlanta Hawks. Brown, who re-signed with the Bobcats after half a season with the New York Knicks, wasn't playing much, but he felt he was learning.

So he took aside coach Paul Silas for a quick heart-to-heart.

"He came up to me and said, 'I'd really like to thank you guys for sticking with me and teaching me what I'm supposed to be doing. I'm learning and I'm going to get there,' " Silas recalled.

"That did my heart all the good in the world."

Brown hasn't yet "gotten there," but during a span when the Bobcats have lost 14 straight, he's one of the few optimistic signs. Playing backup small forward, he has scored in double figures in nine of the past 11 games.

His productivity during that span is striking, considering the Bobcats' offensive struggles: 11.3 points per game with 54 percent shooting.

Scoring has never been much of a problem for Brown (though he needed to improve his jump shot). The thing that limited him, both in his first stint here with coach Larry Brown and initially with Silas, was his defense.

"When he was on the weak side (of the defense) he would not see both his man and the ball," Silas described. "He sees man and ball every time now. Every aspect of his game is better."

It's better because Brown took to heart what Silas keeps preaching through all these injuries: There's an opportunity for the inexperienced, the under-exposed, to prove themselves. Brown has, and he's being rewarded. He's averaged 25 minutes in those past 11 games, after averaging 16 during the first 16 games.

So why did Brown reach out to Silas that day in Atlanta?

"I was just being honest," Brown said. "It's his profession, too; the way we play impacts his life as well.

"I know my talent, but I also knew it might take a little while to get around the curve. I just wanted him to know I appreciate the opportunity."

The Bobcats used a 2009 second-round pick to draft Brown out of Xavier. He played mostly power forward in college and has been adapting to the difference between the two positions (mostly extending his shooting range and learning to guard all over the court).

When Brown used the word "opportunity," he specifically meant minutes: He says it's hard to apply what you're learning without playing regularly, and these are the most consistent minutes he's received during a 2 1/2-season NBA career.

Now there's something else he craves.

Improving "would mean so much more if we were getting Ws on top of that - this is a team sport," Brown said. "But I'll be a better player a month from now and a year from now."

Silas agrees.

"It's happening for him," Silas concluded. "He's going to be around here a long time, I hope."

BOBCATS' SIX-PACK OF GRIEF

The Bobcats have lost 14 straight, but their past six have been particularly gruesome, with an average margin of nearly 25 points per game. Some averages per game from the past six: