They've come unglued in Charlotte. Team unity is fractured. Fan loyalty has gone the way of winter. The good relationship coach Paul Silas enjoyed with his players has been tested by his own angry remarks.

	Wesley's production, like many of his teammates', has fallen off recently.

The Hornets, once contenders for the Central Division crown and No. 2 seeding in the playoffs, have lost seven of their last nine and three of four at home. They are sixth in the East, only a half-game ahead of Orlando.

Mindful that his best players wore themselves out winning 14 of 16 down the stretch last year and were bounced by Philadelphia in the first round, Silas has sought lately to apportion minutes. The bench has failed him and his starters are furious over this turn of events.

Worse, the collapse of the team comes as the campaign for a referendum on a new arena is building. The plain fact is that co-owners George Shinn and Ray Wooldridge are held in such low esteem by Charlotte voters, success at the ballot box would not be assured even if the team were winning.

But the Hornets are most assuredly losing, and to the likes of Chicago, Cleveland, Denver and now the Pistons over the last nine games.

The rip was justified and no one openly disagreed with Silas after the Hornets led Phoenix 59-39 in the early moments of the third quarter Wednesday and then blew the game at home. A few days earlier it had been a 21-point lead over Denver that got away.

"It was ridiculous," the coach said. "It was embarrassing. It's just upsetting, period, that we let this thing happen. And they win going away. We don't have the will to fight. We lost our will in the third quarter. (The Suns) picked it up and we run and hide. We don't have guys who are very tough. That's just the way it is. We're soft. As soft as tissue paper."

Over the space of five minutes Wednesday, Paul Silas used the word "ridiculous" seven times, "embarrassing" four times and "roll over and die" twice. That was before they went to Miami and lost Friday, before they came home and were beaten by the Pistons. Silas said if the Hornets don't step it up in New York Monday night "they'll kill us."

"He said a lot of things out of frustration," guard David Wesley said. "But I don't think he'll feel bad about anything he said. I agree with what he said."

	“	It was embarrassing. It's just upsetting, period, that we let this thing happen. And they win going away. We don't have the will to fight. We lost our will in the third quarter. (The Suns) picked it up and we run and hide. We don't have guys who are very tough. That's just the way it is. We're soft. As soft as tissue paper. ”
		— Coach Silas

Forward P.J. Brown knows something about toughness after playing for Pat Riley. He recognizes a lack of resolve.

"I guess he means soft in the mind," Brown said. "I agree. Soft as tissue teams go out in the first round, too. We've got to tighten up. It hurts."

Then on Saturday, Brown was benched the entire fourth quarter in favor of Derrick Coleman. Brown, as well as other starters, were vocal in their displeasure.

"We've just got to play the guys who'll win the game, and not worry about tomorrow," Brown said. "You want to try to rest guys up, but you want to have a rhythm and be on the same page."

The Hornets are not even on the same chapter. "Morale is low," Brown said. "We don't feel the enthusiasm right now."

Point guard Baron Davis echoed Brown's concern, though he wouldn't elaborate on a cause. "We know what the problem is. The question is, do we want to solve it? I know what the problem is. It's just a bunch of bull. And we have to be professional. It's not going to take one individual. It's not going to take two individuals. It's going to take everyone, top to bottom, to turn this around."

In part, the issue revolves around the participation of Coleman, who did not play Friday, then worked 23 minutes Saturday, including the last 12:44. He missed 5 of 7 shots, scoring nine points with five rebounds. One Charlotte reporter suggested Davis is upset by Silas' uneven use of Coleman, but the Hornets are 9-21 this season when he plays, 33-14 when he does not. Over his three-year career, the Hornets are 67-74 with him and 50-18 without.

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