Playoff Pressure Getting to the Bobcats

Were you expecting anything different?: “For the first time collectively, the Charlotte Bobcats are playing for actual stakes – the last spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Half of the eight-man rotation hasn’t done this before. They’re not managing it well, as losses to Minnesota, Indiana and Washington demonstrate. And time is running out with 11 games left in the season. ‘There’s definitely something to that,’ shooting guard Raja Bell said at practice Thursday. ‘A playoff race is a different animal. Basically we’re in playoffs right now (as far as the importance of each game) and that’s a different level of pressure. I’ve been pressing, not playing as well as I normally do, and I’m sure that’s in part’ about the stakes.”