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Bucks hope to snap out of funk against Bobcats

Dec 22, 2007 - 3:48 PM Charlotte (10-14) at Milwaukee (10-15), 8:30 pm EST

MILWAUKEE (Ticker) - The Milwaukee Bucks have been reeling of late, and now they have to face the next two months without Desmond Mason.

The Bucks will play their first game without the veteran swingman when they host the Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday.

Mason will miss up to two months with a torn ligament in his left thumb, the team announced Friday. The 30-year-old suffered the injury late in the first half of Wednesday's 102-89 loss to the Sacramento Kings.

The athletic swingman will undergo surgery Saturday and will be sidelined between six and eight weeks. Mason has appeared in 25 games - all starts - for the Bucks this season, averaging 8.0 points and 3.9 rebounds.

With Mason on the shelf, Charlie Bell will likely see increased playing time as the Bucks try to break out of a two-game slide.

The Bobcats should enter Saturday's contest with some confidence after taking home contests from the Utah Jazz and New York Knicks.

New center Nazr Mohammed is fitting in nicely and chipped in 20 points and 14 rebounds during Friday's 105-95 triumph over New York.

Charlotte earned a 102-99 victory over the Bucks in their season opener behind 26 points and 12 assists from Raymond Felton.