SB Nation - Boris Diaw

Bobcats Lose to Jazz 110-102

David Arnott — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 02:48:57 -0000

More photos » by Chuck Burton - AP

Raymond looks personally hurt by the tech called on him.

The Bobcats lost to the Jazz 110-102 Saturday night. Coach Larry Brown pulled the starters with more than six minutes to go in the fourth quarter, save Gerald Wallace, probably figuring the game was headed for garbage time. However, the reserves mounted a comeback, led by D.J. Augustin, getting within six. There just weren't enough possessions, though, and Utah's crunch time lineup managed to hold on for the victory.

Highlights and lowlights after the jump.

BAD

-- There has to be a certain point after which we can't just disagree with the decision to play Stephen Graham, but try to do something concrete about it. LB played him about 10 minutes before garbage time. Graham has proven this season that he's completely useless to this team, and this game was no different. If he's just going to be filler on the wing while Stephen Jackson takes a breather, why can't Gerald Henderson do it, if only to put the NBA game and its speed in front of him? I've never said Gerald Henderson would be a difference maker for the Bobcats, but we know hardly anything about what he can do because LB refuses to play him in favor of the proven mediocrity. Henderson hit a three pointer and played unembarrassing defense in garbage time, which happened to be against the Jazz starters. He should get some of Stephen Graham's minutes. Derrick Brown got a DNP-CD. He should get some of Stephen Graham's minutes. Graham played the bulk of those early 10 minutes after Boris Diaw got his fourth foul in the third quarter, and LB went with a lineup of Felton, Jackson, Graham, Wallace, Chandler. That seems like the perfect situation to play either of the rookies, but apparently Stephen Graham is the coach's son, or something.

Graham in 2009: .154 3P% (2-13). 11.1 Pts/36. 5.0 Reb/36. 1.5 Ast/36. 8.7 PER. This is insane. That I'm highlighting this and we're already a quarter of the way through the season is insane. If I took over player personnel decisions, the first thing I'd do is cut Graham and bring back Dontell Jefferson or another D-League swingman. Make it stop. I beg you, Coach Brown.

-- I was happy to see Tyson Chandler spending most of his time on Carlos Boozer or Paul Millsap instead of Mehmet Okur, but Boozer and Millsap torched the Cats, and Chandler couldn't get anything going on offense. He didn't rebound, either, ending up with 2 points, both free throws, and only 5 rebounds in 32 minutes.

-- Boris Diaw scored 8 points in the first quarter, and then not at all the rest of the game. He did get 5 assists, but he also only managed 3 rebounds. I'm leaning more and more to the point of view that Jax makes Diaw's uniqueness less an advantage than a liability. We'd probably be better off on the first unit with an more traditional power forward than we are with Boris's reverse skill set. Here's an idea: when Augustin is in, he makes an ideal front court partner because they have similar skill sets, and that redundancy from those positions might be particularly difficult to address.

GOOD

-- Gerald Wallace played 45 minutes and was a game changer the entire time. Take your pick of highlights: 30 points on 16 attempts from the field (10-13 from the line), or 13 rebounds, or his ridiculous block on Ronnie Brewer's fast break layup attempt, or the ridiculous block he made on a Deron Williams shot that was ruled a goaltend (I wasn't sure from my upper deck angle). In all respects, Wallace looked like the best player on the floor, right there with Boozer and Williams, All Stars through and through.

-- D.J. Augustin was handed the keys to the offense in a low-stakes situation, and he made the most of it. In the first three quarters, most of his minutes were against Jazz backup point guard, Eric Maynor, but in the fourth, when Augustin did most of his damage, he played against Williams, a far bigger, stronger, guard. D.J. finished with 16 points on only 6 attempts from the field, thanks to a three pointer and going 9-10 from the line. He only got 1 assist, but that's who he is. He's a good scorer in the Damon Stoudemire mold, and when he's at his best, he's also got a little of Devin Harris in him, driving the lane to create contact. When he's allowed to be himself, this is the kind of game that can happen.

Pacers 101, Bobcats 98: Pacer Hang On For Win; Murphy, Ford Lead The Way

Tom Lewis — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 04:13:06 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

T.J. Ford rose up to help lead the Pacers to a win over Charlotte.

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The Indiana Pacers led all the way but still almost lost.

But almost wasn't good enough for the Charlotte Bobcats and since almost losing equals winning you won't hear any complaints from the Pacers as they'll gladly take the 101-98 win.

The Pacers ambushed the Bobcats in the first five minutes of the game, jumping out to a 21-7 lead. They made eight straight field goals including three from behind the arc and another couple perimeter shots and three layups. The Pacers made it look easy with nice ball movement. In fact, six of the first eight buckets were assisted. Funny how those perimeter shots start falling with good passing finding shooters in rhythm as opposed to just standing and jacking up shots.

But the action in this game was just getting started.

Despite the fast start by the Pacers, Charlotte worked their way back into the game and cut that early lead to four late in the first quarter. The Pacers maintained control of the game though and took a ten-point lead to the half.

Troy Murphy and Mike Dunleavy were wearing out the nets in the first half, combining for 27 points including five 3-balls, but T.J. Ford was running the offensive show. He finished the half with 9 assists, several on nice kick-out passes after breaking down the Charlotte defense on the dribble.

When Ford opened the third quarter with his tenth assist and Murphy knocked down another three-pointer, it appeared like the Pacers might run away and hide. They did push the lead to 18 early in the third, but from there the home team held on for dear life as the lead gradually dwindled until a corner three to tie the game left Gerald Wallace's hand with four seconds left to play.

As the final score indicates, Wallace missed, but the game was not over. No way. Couldn't be that easy could it?

With 1.8 seconds left, Dahntay Jones missed two free throws when one would've iced the game. After a timeout, the Pacers once again had to defend their three point lead for 1.4 seconds and that's exactly what they did.

With the refs taking their sweet time counting to five, the Pacers made it extremely difficult for Charlotte to inbound the ball. Finally Flip Murray found Boris Diawas he popped to the top of the arc. Diaw was in rhythm to turn around a let the 3-ball go, but T.J. Ford rotated off of D.J. Augustin to greet Diaw in mid-turn. This force Diaw to pass off-balance to Augustin, whose shot hit all net but was released well after the buzzer sounded.

More thoughts and observations on the game:

T.J. Ford had his game flowing tonight. Maybe having his Texas Longhorn understudy, D.J. Augustin on the other side brought his game into focus. I hope not, though. Rather think he just put everything together tonight and there will be more of this type of play to come. His 15 points and 13 assists made the Pacers go, but that final defensive play sealed the win. All of that good play, helps mask the 6 turnovers and a few gawd awful possessions down the stretch when the Pacers had multiple opportunities to put Charlotte away, but just couldn't.
Speaking of gawd awful, the Pacers' effort to close out the game was painful. T.J. Ford had a sweet layup and 1 with 1:32 left in the game. After making the free throw the Pacers were up 8, one stop away from securing the W. But after Augustin made a three-pointer, the Ford and Earl Watson couldn't get a shot up and Brandon Rush's 3-ball was waved off after review showed it was after the shot clock lit up. Wallace is fouled and suddenly with 40 seconds left, the lead is down to three points. The Pacers use up most of the shot clock before going into a play, but after one pass, Earl Watson launches a three-pointer that misses and gives the Bobcats the first of those two final chances to tie the game. Somehow the Pacers survived without scoring in that final 1:32.
Troy Murphy was a monster for the Pacers, shooting the ball better than he has all year and maybe even last year. Murph had 26 points and 15 rebounds. He scored on 10-13 from the floor including 5-7 from 3-land. He also had three assists and zero turnovers.
Dahntay Jones struggled off the bench making just 2 of 8 shots and missing those critical free throws that would've sealed the win. Jim O'Brien did turn to Jones to finish the game with the Pacers hanging on to the lead with a death grip. Getting the stops was more important than the offense at that point.
Tyler Hansbroughhad trouble getting his shots to fall but he played some solid minutes down the stretch in the fourth quarter. He had a nice bucket inside off a floating feed from T.J. Ford and then with two minutes left and the lead down to five, Hansbrough was clobbered underneath the hoop and sent to the line. He calmly knocked down both free throws to push the lead back to seven. The Bobcats weren't through coming at the Pacers, but those makes were huge to keep Charlotte at bay. After struggling at the free throw line through much of the young season, Hansbrough is now 19-23 from the line in the past five games which is more in line with his college free throw success.
Jim O'Brien found some time for rookie A.J. Price in the first half, allowing the rookie point guard almost ten minutes of burn. Price came out firing...and missing, but per usual, Price helped push the Pacers in the right direction leaving the lead seven points better than when he entered the game.
The Pacers have won three of their last four games and now head out for back-to-back road games at Memphis and San Antonio beginning Friday.

Bobcats Come Back to Beat Knicks 94-87

David Arnott — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 02:55:54 -0000

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The New York Knicks thought they'd managed to hold the Charlotte Bobcats at bay long enough to win at the Cable Box, but they ran out of time. Charlotte came back to win 94-87, holding New York to only 13 points in the fourth quarter. It snaps the Knicks' four game win streak and the Bobcats' two game losing slide.

The usual suspects carried Charlotte to victory without much help from the role players. Again, we see that we're going to get as far as Gerald Wallace, Stephen Jackson, and the alien inhabiting Raymond Felton's body will take us.

Highlights and lowlights after the jump.

BAD

-- Through three quarters, it appeared Boris Diaw was en route to hitting rock bottom. He had 4 fouls, 0 points, and 0 rebounds in a little more than 7 minutes... it was a horror show. (*See his entry in GOOD for the continuation.)

-- There's a scouting report circulating through the league on how to frustrate the Bobcats' offense. Play zone. Even with Stephen Jackson and Ronald Murray on the floor, the cold, hard, math says to force these guys into shooting from beyond the arc. If Gerald, Raymond, and Jax are failing to penetrate the lane, we don't have that sharpshooter who can make the defense pay. The Knicks used zone to great effect.

-- No matter the end result, it's disappointing the Cats were locked in a back and forth battle with a sub-.500 team rocked by so much turmoil in its ranks. That's not to say there weren't positives to take away from the game, but that even though my rational side understands that this kind of game will happen during the season, my emotional side can't stand the sight of the Cats struggling with a mediocre squad. I just hope that if we're taking the time to analyze and understand why they struggled, and what can be done about it, the organization's brain trust is doing the same and coming to sound conclusions.

-- If I fail to mention that Stephen Graham played 10 minutes of wholly ineffectual basketball, will that work some sort of reverse jinx on Larry Brown and get him to give Gerald Henderson more than 5 minutes?

GOOD

-- *But then Boris started scoring and rebounding and not fouling, ending the game with 6 points on 3-4 shooting and an unheard of (for Boris) 8 rebounds. That was all accumulated in one quarter, mind you.

-- Tyson Chandler didn't get embarrassed, like I feared he would by the smaller Knicks lineup. 8 points and 12 rebounds in 26 minutes is the minimum we should expect from him. (Okay, maybe 10 boards is the minimum.)

-- Gerald Wallace isn't rebounding at quite the level as he was a couple weeks ago, but when he doesn't rebound, he scores. In 38 minutes, he had 21 points and 8 rebounds, still excellent from the small forward spot. Also, Danilo Gallinari: no soup for you.

-- Let's say that Raymond Felton really is this guy who facilitates the offense without turning it over (5 TOs tonight being the aberration in recent history), plays great defense, and attacks the rim in crunch time when everyone else is shut off. IF he's that guy, and we can sign him for something like $6 mil per year, then we've got to keep him. IF he's that guy and we can sign him for that little, we don't need D.J. Augustin after this season. But, IF he's that guy and he'll cost more than that, then I don't think we can afford to keep him without moving other parts. Are we going to pay $8 million-plus for each of our five starters, only one of whom is even vaguely All Star-ish? It's a dilemma complicated by the possible lack of a first round pick in this upcoming draft.

Gameday Preview Charlotte Bobcats at San Antonio Spurs

David Arnott — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:06:23 -0000

Pump Up Music: Sponge -- "Plowed"

The Big Picture: What happened to the San Antonio Spurs? If the season ended today, they'd be a half game out of the playoffs. Part of it is probably injury. Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker have both missed time already, and Manu, especially, just hasn't been himself, his field goal percentage falling through the floor. But even that doesn't explain the Spurs' shakiness, seeing as Tim Duncan is as steady as ever.

It's probably the defense. They don't have a perimeter stopper, and that has a cascade effect on everyone else. Sure, Richard Jefferson is far from embarrassing on D. Same goes for Roger Mason, Jr. and Keith Bogans. But the formula kind of breaks down without that perimeter defender. Yes, Duncan is still an anchor in the paint, but when the opponent's go-to guy -- usually a wing player that Duncan can't guard one on one -- doesn't have to deal with Bruce Bowen harassing him all night (in ways both legal and gray area), it magnifies the others' defensive weaknesses, and suddenly Matt Bonner's ability to stretch the D on the offensive end of the floor doesn't seem like such a great advantage when he has to help more on slashers. It's not too late to correct this. Someone like Rasual Butler might be a great acquisition for them down the line.

Key to Victory: Tyson Chandler has to stay in the game. If he can avoid foul trouble and make life difficult for Timmy, the Spurs will have a really difficult time scoring on the Bobcats' defense. Secondarily, here's hoping Boris Diaw can punish San Antonio for playing either Matt Bonner or DeJuan Blair (a.k.a. Thabeet Killer) with his inside-outside game.

Detail That May Interest .08% of You: Larry Brown lasted 3 1/2 years as Spurs coach in the late 80s and early 90s. He was replaced by Bob Bass, apparently on an interim basis, for the rest of the 1991-92 season. But then, to start the 1992-93 season, somehow Jerry Tarkanian(!) lasted only twenty games before getting canned.

Bobcats Stuff Nuggets 107-95; Gerald Wallace Continues His Rampage Through the NBA

David Arnott — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 02:52:58 -0000

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The Bobcats and Nuggets fought back and forth, with neither team proving superiority until late in the fourth quarter, when Charlotte went on a mini-run, jumped ahead, and didn't look back until the horn sounded on a 107-95 win.

It's encouraging in the big picture that the Cats dropped a Western Conference power like the Nuggets, even considering that Denver was on the second half of a back to back, and even considering that one of their key cogs, Kenyon Martin, was held out with an injury. On occasion, Charlotte has shown the ability to play like this (see the Cleveland game), and it's incredibly satisfying when they put it all together for a full game. It's fantastic to win those games, but even if they lose, we don't come away feeling like we put ourselves through the ringer.

Highlights and lowlights after the jump.

BAD

-- Can Boris Diaw be disappointing if he's not really doing anything negative? It's just that he's not doing anything positive, either. I'm sure we can do better than an upper middle class man's Luke Walton for our starting power forward.

-- 10 minutes for Stephen Graham? Really? 4 minutes for Gerald Henderson is atrocious. At least Derrick Brown got 8 and a half minutes.

-- Tyson Chandler. Dude. Please. Get it together. Or admit you've got an injury and rest until you're at full health.

GOOD

-- I don't think I can sing Gerald Wallace's praises any louder. The man deserves an All Star campaign if ever any player deserved one. Anyone want to make an advocacy video? 25 points and 16 rebounds tonight. We've gotta be careful not to grow complacent and take Crash for granted. He. Is. A. Beast.

-- I think when Good Raymond Felton shows up, it leads to a success cycle. He'll never be a great offensive player, and he's Bad Felton when he acts like he is. What I mean by that is that if he's Good Felton through the first three quarters, distributing, only taking shots when it'd be crazy for him not to, then when Must Take Crunch Time Shots Felton shows up, he's already established his willingness to facilitate, which the opponent must respect. Thus, it's easier for Must Take Crunch Time Shots Felton to score, even if, optimally, he shouldn't be taking those shots. 14 points on 6-7 shooting. Only 3 assists, but 6 steals! I love the idea that he might tailor his game in the Kirk Hinrich model, only taking way fewer three point attempts. Spend energy playing tough defense, facilitate on offense, and be fearless in a scoring role when every other option is cut off. (I know hope is a dangerous thing...)

-- I like when Stephen Jackson plays a bigger role facilitating, too. It actually plays more to Augustin's and Murray's strengths when Jax and Diaw take on point forward responsibilities, so when those guys are at the nominal PG position, maybe that should be the strategy. In any event, Jackson's 6 assists were a welcome sight, and I think it would open up the offense a bit, and perhaps jump start Diaw's game again, by giving those forwards more creative responsibilities, especially when Good Felton isn't in the game.

-- Team defense was excellent, as usual. I feared they wouldn't have an answer for Ty Lawson, but they held him in check. They kept Chauncey in check. 'Melo scored 34, but turned it over 6 times. J.R. Smith needed 16 shots to get his 16 points. Only Nene rebounded in double figures.

Bobcats Slip By 76ers 106-105

David Arnott — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 05:36:12 -0000

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(Note: The Official Girlfriend of Rufus on Fire happened to have an important function for me to attend tonight, so I haven't watched the game yet. I'm going off the box score, just like most of you, since there was no local broadcast. If you watched the game, fill in with your thoughts in the comments.)

The Charlotte Bobcats pulled off a fourth quarter comeback in Philadelphia to beat the 76ers 106-105. After Andre Iguodala sank two free throws to put the Sixers up in the final minute, Raymond Felton's layup with 4 seconds remaining put the Cats ahead for good.

A few weeks ago, I named a few developing stories to follow with this team. Free throw shooting is still a problem, and three point shooting hasn't been as much of one, though it's still lurking just under the surface. However, the third issue, playing time for young players and roster management in general, has become a glaring problem since the Stephen Jackson trade. In this game, we can see Larry Brown still has yet to realize that even the teams that rely on a veteran core give their rookies and other young players significant playing time while attempting to win now. Of course, it's easy to argue the Bobcats aren't a title contender and are barely a playoff contender, so it's probably in our best interests to play rookies and young guys as much as political concerns will allow, so we can find out how good they really are.

In that respect, the game's a mixed bag. The winning result is good, but LB's process leaves a lot to be desired. Highlights and lowlights after the jump.

BAD

-- Are we sure Ronald Murray isn't still recovering from his shin's stress reaction? His important rate stats are down across the board and he put up another 0-6 tonight. I mean, he's able to play a bit of point, but only when the matchup is absolutely right should he play more than a few minutes there.

-- Maybe D.J. Augustin's been struggling because that's what happens to young players who don't get consistent playing time and don't have the full confidence of their coaches. This is the second straight game he's been held out with a DNP-CD. What the hell? I mean, Flip is going to be streaky and is, at times, probably well worth the risk at PG if we're looking for scoring from that position because everyone else is getting shut down. However, D.J. is the guy we want out there for at least twenty minutes per game, sharing time with Raymond and easing into next year's starting role. Or maybe LB is giving up on him.

-- Seriously, LB, you can't keep giving Crash and Jax 45 minutes per game. If you're playing Game 7 of the Finals, that makes sense. If you're playing Game 19 of the Regular Season, then you're just wearing down your best players early on and hoping they don't succumb to general fatigue before clinching a playoff spot. Or, from a more cynical point of view, you're wearing down your best players early on so that when the playoffs slip out of your grasp, you can blame them for not giving good enough effort down the stretch, deflecting some attention away from your coaching and front office shortcomings.

GOOD

-- I'll keep writing it because he deserves the praise: Gerald Wallace is a stone cold beast. 24 points on 9-18 shooting, and 14 rebounds. The more I think about it, I like the "Rodman with Drexler's finishing" comparison more and more.

-- Boris Diaw finally snapped out of his funk. He had a game high 28 points on 10-12 shooting, including 5-6 from three. This kind of scoring outburst is absolutely welcome, but, if I may tamp down some premature celebration, it looks a lot like a lucky night where the shots were falling. It's a good sign that, perhaps, he's turned a corner, but the most we should hope for is that he's his old self again and not this bumbling new self who doesn't score much, doesn't pass all that well, and still turns it over too much.

-- Gerald Henderson: 20 minutes! I'm agog. Those 20 minutes are good in and of themselves. More! More! Free Gerald Henderson!

-- Derrick Brown: 10 minutes! Keep doing this. 3 points and 3 rebounds is just fine for a role player. Free Derrick Brown!

Gameday Preview Charlotte Bobcats vs Philadelphia 76ers

David Arnott — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 14:50:55 -0000

Pump Up Music: Wilson Phillips -- "Hold On"

(Via my friend Anya)

The Big Picture: At least the Bobcats aren't the 76ers right now. They've lost eight in a row and are so desperate for guard help they've brought back the corpse of Allen Iverson. What's worse, they have two legitimate All Stars on the roster, but one, Elton Brand, has lost all semblance of that All Star-dom and is coming off the bench now. They're trying to trade him, but he's got so many years left, I'm not sure there are going to be any takers unless the Sixers get back totally useless players.

The good news for Philly fans, though, is that they do have Andre Iguodala, and when Louis Williams gets back, they'll have their pilot for a group of young run 'n gunners. Right now, though, they're casting around for something that works.

Key to Victory: The last time they played, Iguodala got his, and Brand stepped up to bully around the smaller Boris Diaw. This time around, without Williams running the point for the Sixers, the Cats can try to short circuit the Sixers' offense at the source. Iverson won't play tonight, and even if he did he's not a real point guard. Willie Green and Royal Ivey aren't exactly floor captains. They would like to use rookie Jrue Holiday in that role, but he's still learning the position, since he didn't carry much point guard duty at UCLA.

I like when the Bobcats pick spots to apply full court pressure, and they should kick it up a notch tonight. Maybe that plays into the Sixers' hands and allows them a more open floor, but if it does, that's what in-game adjustments are for. I'd like to see our guys take a chance early and make Philly prove they have the ballhandlers to bring the ball up the floor against some pressure and then run the offense in a compressed time frame.

Detail That May Interest .08% of You: Sixers coach Eddie Jordan led the NBA in steals while playing for the New Jersey Nets in the 1978-79 season.

Gameday Preview at New Jersey Nets

David Arnott — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:55:12 -0000

Pump Up Music: Straightener -- "Killer Tune"

The Big Picture: 0-18. It's staggering. Granted, the New Jersey Nets have missed Devin Harris for much of the season, and Yi Jianlian went out with a knee injury when they played in Charlotte, but even with bad luck, it's incredible that they haven't pulled out a single win, yet. They've had a couple close calls, losing by one to Miami, by two to Minnesota, and in the Bobcats game they hung around and the Cats needed a third quarter run that was something like 63-0 to put them away. All that's to say that with Devin Harris and Brook Lopez, they're probably not the worst team in the league right now. (Hello, Timberwolves!)

Key to Victory: Yi Jianlian causes so many problems for a smaller roster like the Cats have. Without him, there's a certain missing dynamic in the Nets' lineup. Since Sean Williams has so little court sense, he can't play starter's minutes, so they're pretty much obligated to start Josh Boone, an offensive black hole if ever there was one. However, Boone has streaks where he's great on the glass and putting the ball back. He'll certainly have a rebounding edge on Boris Diaw, and if he musters up the energy to stick with Boris on the perimeter (which he's capable of doing), that'll take away a prime offensive weapon.

Secondarily, the Nets don't really have an answer for Gerald Wallace, especially since Jarvis Hayes is out. If they put Courtney Lee, Terrence Williams, or Chris Douglas-Roberts on him, really any of their smallish forwards, Crash can back him down in the post. Trenton Hassell doesn't have the height, but he's a little more substantial in the frame and might be able to stand up to him better. We can only hope Kiki Vandeweghe sees fit to play Bobby Simmons big minutes in order to try to contain Wallace.

Detail That Might Interest .08% of You: Vandeweghe, all 6-8 of him, shot 48% from three in the 1986-87 season, leading all qualified shooters.

Licking Wounds After A Galling Defeat

David Arnott — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:47:40 -0000

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One of the basic tenets here at Rufus on Fire is that the pessimistic truth is usually more valuable than the happy lie. More subtly, the pessimistic outlook based on a more complete assessment of facts is usually more valuable than the happy outlook based on a few positive indicators gleaned from among the many negative.

What that means for the Bobcats is that even though they'd lost seven games in a row and even though they'd won four games in a row, that doesn't necessarily change the total assessment of their abilities. Recent performance matters, and it should be weighted more heavily than performance from long ago, but only so much. When guys have established over the course of their careers who they are, it takes a lot to prove that they've materially changed their talent levels and that we're not just in the midst of a hot streak.

Boris Diaw is a great example of this. Despite his excellent run right after coming to Charlotte via trade, he settled into his established level of performance and has been there, with minor ups and downs, ever since. He changed his style significantly last season, but the results were the same on an individual level. Perhaps that change helped others raise their games, but I'm not so sure we can tease that conclusion out of the actual results the team generated.

So, for now, we lick our wounds after a particularly galling defeat and go on thinking about the Bobcats. I think I overestimated them in my preseason previews, but the addition of Stephen Jackson brings them back to the talent level they had for much of last year, which makes them, roughly, a 32-37 win team. What evidence have we seen to tell us any different?

BULLET POINTS BECAUSE THEY'RE QUICK LIKE BULLETS

They went down by more than twenty with Gerald Wallace out of the game, yet played only -3 when Gerald was in. Thin-slicing, I know, but I'll find anything to confirm my faith in Gerald.
Has Good Felton finally overtaken Bad Felton? (Give it twenty more games. Give or take.)
Is anyone else tired of Larry Brown blaming lack of effort? Again, you're going to look bad at times against good teams. It's probably not effort, but a lack of skill that was exploited. Don't act like the players would be the greatest team on earth if only they'd play exactly like you tell them to. That's what video games are for.

Bobcats Fall to Celtics 108-90

David Arnott — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 02:36:48 -0000

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So much for the exuberance of a four game winning streak. The Celtics came in to the Cable Box and swatted the Bobcats 108-90.

Reality is rarely blunt because it's a massive cloud of mixed signals. The past four games were tantalizing, and then this game was devastating, seemingly indicative of a massive talent gap between the East's elite and the Cats. I don't know what the precise, objectively real, truth is, but I'm pretty certain that on average it won't end up this bad. It's why I've tried to temper the optimism brought on by those recent games. We're better than we were three weeks ago, but that doesn't mean we're so much better that we can start printing playoff tickets. This team still has a long way to go, and sustained success will not come free with purchase of one Stephen Jackson.

Highlights and lowlights after the jump.

BAD

-- I mentioned this in the game thread several times, but it bears special highlighting here. Larry Brown's decisions probably wouldn't have swung the game, but his handling of Gerald Wallace's "foul trouble" was insane. Crash played 5:31 in the first quarter before getting his second foul, at which point LB removed him and didn't bring him back until the second half. So, of course, late in the fourth quarter, Wallace had played every minute of the second half without committing a foul. Crash played fewer than 30 minutes in this game, but not because of foul trouble. It was because Larry Brown doesn't know how to handle a lineup rotation. Gerald didn't score much (1-6 from the field), but damned if he didn't rebound like mad again.

-- 2-11 from three. This is almost comical now. Stop shooting threes. Put the ball on the floor. Attack the rim.

-- Tyson Chandler has to be a defensive beast to be worthwhile. He hasn't been, whether due to injury or whatever. His offense is what it is, though, and we've got to figure out how best to use him. I don't care that Nazr Mohammed has looked perfectly reasonable in the early season: Nazr Mohammed is the best answer only if you're asking the wrong question. I still have hope Chandler will be the defensive anchor that makes our defense elite, not just very good, but his offense is so grisly that other teams have taken to ignoring him.

-- Flip, my man. If you're the designated scorer off the bench, it'd help to work on your scoring efficiency. 2-12 shooting is pretty bad.

GOOD

-- Nazr Mohammed scored 16 points on 6-10 shooting in 19 minutes. He's in great shape and playing okay defense, too. Do I hear a second round draft pick and an expiring contract attached to a useless player?

-- Boris Diaw actually scored, going 5-10 from the field, including 2-3 from beyond the arc. 1 assist and 2 rebounds is pretty tough to accept from the power forward position, though.

-- We continue to see Good Felton. Yes, he took more shots than we'd like to see from a point guard, but he was reasonably efficient and turned it over only once.