Posted on Mon, Mar. 18, 2002    

Wesley finds recovery slow
MILWAUKEE (36-28) AT CHARLOTTE (32-33) 7 p.m., Charlotte Coliseum; TV: Fox Sports South; Radio: WBT-AM (1110)
LEONARD LAYE
Staff Writer

David Wesley has not had much experience at playing his way back from an injury. As good as that may be for his career, it doesn't help him right now.

After playing in 294 consecutive games for the Hornets, Wesley sat out two in a row early this season with a strained right arch. Last month he missed 13 with a cracked bone in his left foot.

He returned March 1, and he's having to learn patience as he brings his game around.

Wesley has played in seven games since coming back and will start an eighth today at 7 p.m. as the Hornets host the Milwaukee Bucks at the Charlotte Coliseum. Neither his shooting form, shooting percentages nor scoring averages are back the level he's accustomed to.

In the seven games back he is averaging 9.9 points and shooting 33.0 percent from the floor (including 26.7 percent on three-pointers) and 58.8 percent from the free throw line.

His pre-injury numbers: 15.9 points per game and 40.7 percent shooting from the floor (35.4 on three-pointers) and 76.8 percent at the line.

The Hornets rely heavily on his offensive punch to create a three-dimensional attack with Baron Davis and Jamal Mashburn. They count on his aggressiveness and steals as a key part of the team's mainstay strength, defense.

Wesley sees progress toward his goal of having his game back by the end of the season (17 games remain) and the mid-April start of the playoffs, assuming the Hornets qualify for the postseason. They are eighth in the East, in the last spot that would put them into the playoffs.

"David is getting his legs back and getting his game together again," coach Paul Silas said Saturday night.

Wesley hit four of 10 shots and scored 13 points, with four rebounds, one assist and one steal in an 87-76 victory against Phoenix on Saturday.

"He hasn't shot the ball yet as well as he can," Silas said.

Silas said that when Wesley was injured and wearing a corrective boot he wasn't able to practice shooting.

Silas was one of several people who noticed something amiss in Wesley's shooting mechanics during last Thursday's win against Utah.

"A lot of guys (watching from) the bench told me I really wasn't jumping on my shots," Wesley said. "Four or five people said it looked like I was shooting flat-footed. ...

"I was more conscious of it (Saturday) when I was warming up."

The result Saturday, he said, was his most efficient game since his return.

"I feel my legs have a little more spring now than they did have," he said.

Starting lineups

Hornets Pos. Bucks
Baron Davis PG Sam Cassell
David Wesley SG Ray Allen
Elden Campbell C Joel Przybilla
P.J. Brown PF Anthony Mason
Jamal Mashburn SF Glenn Robinson

Scouting report

? The Bucks' big three -- Allen, Cassell and Robinson -- are playing. But key support players are injured, and the team has lost four of its past six games. Saturday's loss at Detroit cost the Bucks the Central Division lead. The injured: Tim Thomas (right knee), Jason Caffey (right ankle), Mark Pope (back), Rafer Alston (Achilles tendon).

? Jamal Mashburn bobble-head dolls will be given to the first 1,000 fans attending the game.

? The Hornets have split two with Milwaukee this season, losing in Charlotte and winning on the road.