Morrison to start against Jazz

Updates off Monday's shoot-around in Salt Lake City:

- Bobcats coach Larry Brown says he’ll start Adam Morrison tonight against the Utah Jazz, but it’s obvious from how much Juwan Howard is practicing with the starters that Morrison is on a short leash.

Morrison’s confidence appears shaky after he struggled the past two games as a fill-in starter for the injured Gerald Wallace. Brown thinks Morrison has a better chance of guarding Jazz small forward C.J. Miles – primarily a jump-shooter – than he would against more of a slasher-style small forward.

Bottom line: You’re going to see a lot of Howard at power forward, with Boris Diaw sliding over to small forward, while Wallace is out. A team that now has a thin bench needs to lean on Howard’s experience and Diaw’s versatility to get by.

- Brown loves Diaw’s creative passing, but he’s coaxing Diaw to shoot more.

"He changed the culture of our team because he’s so unusual,’’ Brown said. "But he passes up good shots. There’s a fine line with him (in terms of passing too much). He’ll take 19-20 shots one game and the next game six or seven.’’

A 49 percent from the field, Diaw has the second-best field-goal percentage among active Bobcats, behind Emeka Okafor’s 58 percent.

- What’s become of Okafor’s rebounding? He had five boards each against the Blazers and Nuggets, which is half of his typical productivity. He’s also taken nine or fewer shots in five of the last seven games.

Particularly with Wallace out, Okafor has to be a big factor as a rebounder and low-post scorer.

- Rookie point guard D.J. Augustin (abdominal strain) is no longer feeling the pain that delayed his return to the active roster. The target date for his return is now Friday at home versus the Atlanta Hawks or Sunday in Miami against the Heat.

Sean Singletary hasn’t played well of late (three points and no assists in his last two games), so the Bobcats need help backing up Raymond Felton. Diaw could play some spot minutes at the point.