Bobcats coach Paul Silas going with younger lineups as season winds down

Rookie Kemba Walker will replace D.J. Augustin as the starting point guard for the Charlotte Bobcats, as coach Paul Silas experiments with younger lineups with 16 games left in the team’s lost season.

This move, effective with Tuesday night’s game in Toronto, is not a “demotion” for Augustin, but rather an acknowledgment that Augustin’s sore right knee is an issue, according to the Observer. Augustin has sat out the last three practices with tendinitis.

With the Bobcats owning the NBA’s worst record—they’re currently 7-43—Silas had already begun tweaking his starting five, replacing Tyrus Thomas with Byron Mullens and the injured Corey Maggette with Reggie Williams Saturday in Detroit.

“We still want to win games,’’ Silas said, per the Observer. “But we’ve got to find out what these kids are about. If we were going for a playoff berth, then absolutely you’d want your veteran players in there. But we’re not. So we want these guys to play, and see how they react.’’