SB Nation - Stephen Graham

Bobcats Lose to Pacers 101-98; TJ Ford Runs a Clinic

David Arnott — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 02:58:07 -0000

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One night after a stirring comeback win, the Bobcats fell to the Pacers, 101-98. Granted, it was the second half of a back to back, and on the road, too, but Indiana was without Danny Granger, making this game tougher to accept.

The Pacers simply had better ball movement, better passes, more open looks... it was a clinic for much of the game, led by Professor T.J. Ford. The Cats kept it close with a few key advantages and made a tight game of it in the fourth, staying in the game until the final possession, but, ultimately, it just wasn't enough to overcome the other holes they'd dug.

Highlights and lowlights after the jump.

BAD

-- Did Boris Diaw hit rock bottom last night? No, he did not. Tonight? Not quite. But the Knicks game may have been a precursor to tonight's stinker. While he was 3-3 from the field with 8 points, he had 0 rebounds and only 1 assist, all in 36 minutes. On the final inbounds play, with 1.4 seconds remaining in the game, he received the inbounds pass from Flip (why wasn't Gerald inbounding?) and then, instead of shooting the three for the tie, passed it on to Augustin, who had no chance to get his shot off before buzzer. Furthermore, Troy Murphy -- a guy I love, by the way -- absolutely torched Boris and whoever else was guarding him. Murphy ended up with 26 points and 15 rebounds, including 5-7 from three.

-- Stephen Graham: 15 minutes. Gerald Henderson? Derrick Brown? They combined for 0. Lovely.

-- It's interesting that Larry Brown is okay with letting Ronald Murray be himself. As quoted in the Observer, Brown's perfectly fine if Murray shoots his way out of slumps. Flip's probably earned that right with his play over the years, but what strikes me about it is the base notion that it's no use trying to force Flip to change dramatically, that LB is a better coach if he deploys his player based on his established strengths and weaknesses instead of expending energy trying to change him and putting him in positions where he'll be expected to be someone he isn't. I appreciate coaches who do that, because they're acknowledging that they are not all-powerful and can't work miracles.

So why the double standard with D.J. Augustin? He was a certain player in college. He was a certain player in his rookie year. He's not a pure creator and he's not a rugged defender, but he can handle the ball and facilitate the offense and shoot the lights out! Sure, it'd be nice to try to imbue him with some of those qualities, but Damon Stoudemire made a long career for himself as a point guard without being exceptional at any of that. Same for Eddie House, if you want the role player example. Why tear D.J. down from that kind of player to try to rebuild him into something else? He'd probably be better off in a triangle or D'Antoni or Donnieball offense, but just because our offense is best run by an all-around creator doesn't mean he can't be a productive player in said system.

-- The defense couldn't stop T.J. Ford, or anyone really, from creating good shots. The Pacers made 35 field goals, and 29 were assisted, 13 by Ford. They were 48% from the field overall and 12-24 from three. Ouch. I'm probably thin-slicing, but I think I'm developing a fear of smaller, relatively faster, point guards after seeing Will Bynum and now Ford vivisect our defense.

-- Will someone please inform basketball officials that when Tyler Hansbrough splays his arms and curls his legs as he goes up for a layup under the basket, it's probably not a foul, but just something he does to get foul calls. I don't mind if he does it for emphasis, like when Gerald thinks he's being shoved around and he snaps his head back on screens, but every time? Really? That's the secret to getting to the line so much?

GOOD

-- Gerald Wallace scored 29 points and had 12 rebounds. There just isn't much more to say about him... except that he's slowly moving from underground aesthetic hero to underground dark horse All Star candidate.

-- Tyson Chandler had the kind of game we hoped he'd bring at least twice a week. 13 points and 13 rebounds, while getting to the line for 9 free throws. For purposes of both this entry and the Boris entry, I'm conveniently ignoring that Indiana's big man defense is, reputation-wise, atrocious.

-- The Cats were 30-40 from the line, which gave them a huge advantage over the Pacers, who were only 19-26.

Send Gerald Henderson to the D-League? Why?

David Arnott — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:11:34 -0000

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Rick Bonnell floats an idea that terrifies me -- I really hope there's no basis for this other than his own musings, that it's not something the team is testing through him.

Crazy idea that I don't think is so crazy: Send Gerald Henderson to the D-league for a bit.

I don't comment on Bonnell's posts much, but this one requires comment with a theme you've seen here before:

What does Stephen Graham do that either Brown or Henderson can't do? Furthermore, even if you think Graham is better right now than either of those guys at the 2 and 3 (I don't), does that present-day production outweigh the benefits of giving the rookies real NBA minutes? He may be a great guy, but he's not a good basketball player, and he has no future on the Bobcats, so why is LB messing around playing him more minutes than the guys who ostensibly do have a future with this team?

Bobcats Lose to Mavericks in OT, 98-97

David Arnott — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 04:33:00 -0000

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When the Bobcats acquired Stephen Jackson, pretty much everyone guessed he would raise the team's ceiling. I think it's fair to say he raises their ceiling on a game to game basis, even if it's still an open question whether or not he'll add many more wins over the course of the season. In losing to the Mavericks 98-97, the Cats still showed they can play with anyone when Jackson is on.

By that, I mean that I sense there's more variance in the Bobcats' possible results with Jax in the lineup than there was before, but being able to beat better teams with his occasional excellent games will get washed out by his occasional inefficient stinkbombs.

They didn't shut anyone down. They contained the Mavs' stars about as well as they have other teams' stars. However, this time around, the Cats' offense kicked into gear instead of stalling out, led by -- who else? -- Gerald Wallace and S-Jax. Where, at the start of the season, we figured the formula would be to shut down the other team's offense and hope our offense was adequate, now the formula is to shut down the other team's offense, trust that our offense is adequate, and hope that they put up a better than average game.

Highlights and lowlights after the jump.

BAD

-- Team bench production. First, it's okay that Ronald Murray got a DNP-CD, though not ideal. He probably doesn't deserve it, seeing as he's pretty much the same guy he's always been, but -- all together now -- Stephen Graham stinks. Again, he seems like exactly the kind of guy you want at the end of your bench, but he has no business playing 16 minutes in an NBA game unless there's some serious garbage time. Murray sat. Gerald Henderson sat. Derrick Brown played 3 1/2 minutes. I'm at a loss. I want answers. What, exactly, concretely, does Graham do that makes him deserving of those minutes?

-- Boris, seriously. Something's wrong, isn't it? 8 points, 4 rebounds, 0 assists, and 6 turnovers. Maybe it's not a bad thing that you're producing at this level, and this is just who you are. Maybe I should have been much more grateful for the exemplary team player you were last season, when you were probably playing over your head a bit. He did play the best defense possible on Dirk Nowitzki at the end of OT. Maybe Hakeem Olajuwon blocks that shot. Maybe.

GOOD

-- Stephen Jackson shot 11-25 from the field, good for 28 points. In addition, he did an admirable defensive job on Jason Kidd. He may not look as "athletic" as Gerald or many other swingmen in the NBA, but he's got the footwork and tenacity to bother the best scorers in the league, big and small. Larry Brown should take more advantage of Crash 'n Jax's defensive flexibility.

-- Gerald Wallace scored 23 points and pulled down 16 rebounds. He wasn't quite as effective on the boards in the fourth quarter and OT as he usually is, but that total contribution is still awesome. Um, Larry? Are you sure you want to be running your best player for 50 minutes in a single game?

-- Tyson Chandler stayed out of foul trouble and we saw some good results, including 11 points and a few clutch rebounds late in the game Unfortunately, he didn't rebound nearly as much as he should the rest of the time, but we're taking baby steps here, people.

-- At what point can we feel confident that Raymond Felton Gets It? I've mentioned that he should be taking fewer shots, because that indicates he's doing Point Guard things instead of following the misguided notion that he's a Go-To Scorer. However, even though he took the second most shots of any Bobcat in this game (8-16, second most behind Jackson), that seemed a function of going through Plans A, B, C, and D before resorting to that Plan E, and I'm okay with that. This was certainly Good Felton, doing Point Guard things. It's a textbook case of eschewing the things that show up in the standard box score and facilitating the offense instead because it makes the team better. He wasn't much good at those box score things, anyway, so now that he's only taking the best scoring opportunities, his rate stats are all looking much better.

Loss to Spurs Disappointing; Gameday Preview Charlotte Bobcats at Dallas Mavericks

David Arnott — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 14:54:52 -0000

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Disappointing seems like such a... well... disappointing and inadequate word to describe losing to the Spurs last night. On the one hand, this is the Spurs we're talking about, the dominant dynasty of the past decade. But on the other hand, Spurs version 2009 is very different from Spurs version 2005. They're still figuring things out, and this was an opportunity to steal a road win from a team that suddenly looks more vulnerable than they have in years, like last year's Pistons.

Instead, we settle for the pleasure in seeing the Cats make the game competitive with a great third quarter, even though they ultimately lost 104-85. I caution against the notion of microcosm, but if this game wasn't a microcosm (it wasn't), it was a part of the larger developing pattern.

Highlights, lowlights, and a preview of tonight's Dallas Mavericks game after the jump.

(A couple of these were contributed in last night's thread. Username of the contributor is in bold. Thanks, guys!)

BAD

-- Tyson Chandler had 8 turnovers in 21:31. That looks like a typo, and I really hope it is. That's the kind of insanely horrible line that will make a fickle guy like Larry Brown yank him from the starting lineup.

-- What do we have to do to improve the free throw shooting? The Cats only shot 18-29 from the line (62%). I shoot about 70% from the line (granted, not in in-game situations, but whenever I practice shooting free throws, I do it in between running lines). I'll show the team how to shoot Rick Barry style. When I shoot normally, I'm about 30%, but the underhand shot has been a godsend for my free throw performance. My email is in the sidebar, guys. I'm available.

-- Gerald Henderson was again marginalized, again forced to watch Stephen Graham stink for more than 10 minutes while he only got 2 minutes. I'm past the point of being angry with LB about this. Even when he finally does give Henderson real minutes on a consistent basis, I'll probably continue to harbor a grudge for this totally unreasonable and illogical railroading.

GOOD

-- Derrick Brown consistently makes good use of his minutes. In 22 minutes tonight his line was 7 pts on 3-7 shooting, 2 rebounds, 1 steal. What those numbers don’t show is that he was a pivotal player in the 3rd quarter Bobcats run that shaved the once 20+ pt deficit disappear. The numbers also don't tell you about the nasty fast break throw down dunk Brown had during that run. --dudemanhey

(DA: I've shared my soft spot for super-athletic combo forwards before. This is more of the same from Brown, who, thanks to a dearth of power forward options, has shown he's capable of being a rotation player in this league.

-- Gerald Wallace shot 6-9 from the field and 6-10 from the line, for 18 points. That's an uptick from his scoring average, but still very efficient. He only got 6 boards, but that still led the team and was more than 1/5 of the 25 the Cats grabbed.

OTHER OBSERVATIONS

-- We’re always quick to revel in the numbers when one of our own contains a supposedly better player. Well, Felton and Wallace got contained tonight and what it meant was that Wallace’s numbers were merely damned good instead of incredible and Felton’s stats were reduced to mediocre instead of the numbers of an emerging star. Considering that it happened on the road against a team many think will be duking it out (or am I supposed to call it Chapel Hilling it out?) with the Lakers for the Western Conference crown, I’m not going to cry over it. --Ourdaywillcome

(DA: As contentious as we can sometimes be about evaluating Raymond Felton and defining his place in the NBA sphere, I think there's one uncontroversial thing we can all agree upon: When Felton shoots less, he tends to do more for this team. It's not a direct relationship, seeing as someone like Luke Walton can do very little negative on either end of the court and still not add much, but I do think it's indicative that he's doing other things to help the team. Combine that with a downturn in turnovers and an undeniable commitment to defense, and suddenly his outlook is rosy. Last night was a mixed bag, but was still an improvement upon his past games that inhabit my nightmares. He took only 7 shots. Four other players took as many or more field goal attempts. That's a good thing for a point guard who's never been a good scorer himself.)

===

Hey! It's a Texas back to back and the Cats will face the Mavericks tonight!

Pump Up Music: Lucky Boy Confusion -- "Hey Driver"

The Big Picture: The Mavs are coming off a win at Miami last night in which Erick Dampier absolutely sonned Joel Anthony to the tune of 20 points and 17 rebounds, and both Jason Kidd and J.J. Barea had 10 assists. I'll go out on a limb and say that probably won't happen tonight.

A developing meme I've noticed this year is the notion that Dirk Nowitzki's millionth straight amazing season is cementing his spot as greatest European player in NBA history. Maybe so. Dude's still in his prime, and that this is under consideration adds another layer to the respect we should have for him. Enjoy watching.

Key to Victory: I really don't think the Cats will have to make many lineup adjustments to match up with the Mavs, even when they go crazy with their lineup permutations. Here's how I'd do it.

When Dallas goes Barea, Kidd, Marion, Dirk, Dampier, I'd put Felton on Barea, Gerald on Kidd, Diaw on Marion, Jackson on Dirk, and Tyson on Dampier. This is specifically because, historically, Dirk has had trouble with smaller, long, defenders. He's at his best when he can put the ball on the floor against slower big men, so I'd take my chances with him posting up Jackson and everyone else is outside, turning Kidd/Marion and others into spot up shooters, which I definitely want to happen. Same thing happens when Terry is on the floor in place of either Kidd or Barea. Put Gerald on him and see what happens. Alternatively, the Cats could follow Mike D'Antoni's lead and imitate what he did when he assigned Jared Jeffries to guard Rajon Rondo: Put Diaw on Kidd, sag off, and dare Kidd to be a jump shooter. That would put Gerald on Marion.

It's still not much of an issue when Dallas goes super small with their three-guard lineup, Barea, Kidd, Terry, Marion, Dirk. Maybe we go slightly smaller with Diaw at center. Or maybe we take special care to save Tyson so we can put him on Dirk in these situations. Basically, it all comes down to a willingness to put Diaw on Marion. Dude hasn't been able to shoot threes in two and a half years. Make him beat you that way.

Detail That Might Interest .08% of You: Recently, Tim Thomas was linked to a 3am fight at a Dallas-area Denny's.

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.

Nets End Losing Streak, Beat Bobcats 97-91; Larry Brown Should Be Embarrassed With His Performance

David Arnott — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 03:54:07 -0000

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The Nets had to win, eventually. It's only embarrassing to the Bobcats if they act like New Jersey doesn't belong in the league, which they most certainly do. Losing 97-91 on the road to them is the same as losing to any other team this time of year. All they can do is keep their focus and keep working.

By and large, the guys on the floor did an admirable job. Brook Lopez had a huge game, with 31 points and 14 rebounds. That's a little damning of Tyson Chandler, but Lopez is a rising star, and he's going to have those kinds of nights. The same goes for Courtney Lee and his 27 points. There's a reason they thought highly enough of him that they demanded he come over from the Magic for Vince Carter.

However, the infuriating theme emerging again this year -- one that everyone warned us would happen with Larry Brown -- is the inexcusable mishandling of rookies and other young players. D.J. Augustin, Gerald Henderson, Derrick Brown, and Alexis Ajinca have all had their careers adversely affected by their usage this year. Augustin's encouraging rookie season could have been a springboard to a starting job, but instead he was undermined by the retention of Raymond Felton and subsequent signing of Flip Murray. Gerald Henderson just hasn't played, buried on the bench even though when he has played he's been reasonably solid and could absolutely be the backup to Stephen Jackson. Derrick Brown has proven in his limited playing time that he deserves a shot to win a rotation spot, and with no backup power forward in sight, that would seem to be a perfect situation for him, but instead, Vladimir Radmanovic(!) got those minutes, and now Coach Brown is going through all kinds of mental gymnastics to justify reasons to not play him, like putting Tyson Chandler at the four. Ajinca is a separate case. He shouldn't have been expected to contribute last year, and yet he languished on the bench. He should have been in the D-League most of last year and this year, playing 30 minutes every night and taking his lumps, but instead, he's been jerked around. What progress he's made has no expression.

And tonight, none of those players played. The bench and free throw shooting lost this game, and none of those players played. The Nets, one of the five worst teams in the league, beat the Bobcats, and Larry Brown saw fit to play STEPHEN GRAHAM more than 13 minutes and refused to play any of his younger players, even after it was clear his preferred formula wasn't going to put the Cats over the top. I've tried to express reasonable disagreement over the course of the season, but this performance from Larry Brown doesn't deserve reasonable treatment anymore. It was disgusting. The players shouldn't be embarrassed, but Brown should be.

Highlights and lowlights after the jump:

BAD

-- What does Graham have to do to prove he doesn't belong in an NBA rotation? I'm sure he's a perfectly good guy; the broadcasters seem to like him, and you can't be a jerk and stick around as a scrub for long, and he's stuck around for four years. But you know what? He played more than 13 minutes, was 0-2 from the field, had 1 rebound, 0 assists, 1 turnover, and 2 fouls. And he's done this his whole career. It's not his fault he's being put out there, but he's emblematic of Larry Brown's myopia.

-- Nazr Mohammed has been excellent all year, and this game is probably just a bump in the road, but it's still disappointing to see him crash so abruptly. 0 points in 11 minutes.

-- 18-30 from the charity stripe is bad. Maybe the Jeff Capel School of Free Throw Shooting should be discredited.

GOOD

-- Gerald Wallace is still a beast. 13 points on 5-8 shooting, and 20 rebounds. I keep coming back to the mid-late career Dennis Rodman comparison, only if Rodman ran the floor and finished like Drexler.

-- Tyson Chandler seems healthy. The defense doesn't seem to be at the elite level, but I suspect a lot of that has to do with being comfortable with teammates, and the Cats' roster hasn't exactly been together forever. Still, 13 points and 12 rebounds is the kind of performance we need from our center.

-- Good Raymond Felton is still with us. He was a facilitator for most of the game and scored efficiently -- at one point I think he was 6-7 from the field. He's still not the creator I'd like him to be at point, and he probably never will be, but for this game, he got results, scoring 28 points on 11-14 shooting and only turning it over 2 times.

-- Congratulations to the Nets for getting that monkey off their backs. They don't deserve it, and neither do their fans. Now they can move on and concentrate on the important things, like developing their young players and gelling as a team.

Bobcats Fans Don't Have A Consensus of Trust

David Arnott — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:17:05 -0000

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Ultimately, I think what we all want from the Bobcats is a consensus of trust. I want to be able to look at whatever my team does and think to myself: "Absolutely... Makes all kinds of sense... That's perfect..." like New England Patriots fans did with Bill Belichick circa 2003, or, more appropriately, like Seattle Mariners fans are doing right now. I'm pretty certain this is what fan contentment looks like, even when the team isn't yet a championship contender:

What am I supposed to write about when they’re doing exactly what we suggest, targeting players we’ve already advocated for because they make a lot of sense? I mean, yeah, the team is getting better, but I’m running out of material. I don’t know how many different ways to write "woohoo! good move!"

And then Larry Brown goes and tells Rick Bonnell something like this:

Brown says no more than three guards should play regularly, but there are all sorts of conflicting goals to service: He is trying to develop the rookies, he's trying to help D.J. Augustin get back his confidence, and he'd rather Stephen Graham not disappear through no fault of his own.

[snip]

Short of some trade that would swap a guard for a viable 4-man, this is going to be improvisational.

"Maybe we need to re-explore playing Tyson (Chandler) there," Brown said.

The potential to play Chandler as a center and a power forward was one of the incentives for the offseason trade of Emeka Okafor. But that hasn't happened much, with Chandler still not all the way back from ankle surgery.

"We've got to get him to a point where he's comfortable and confident, and he's not playing that way right now," Brown said. "The more he plays, the more confidence he gets and then maybe we can play him more" at multiple positions.

1 -- I'd like to know what, exactly, Brown is doing to "develop the rookies", because he's certainly not giving them NBA minutes. Gerald Henderson is averaging 9.3 minutes per game, and he's played fewer total minutes than all but SEVEN first round picks this year, and five of those guys haven't even played in the NBA at all, for various reasons (Blake Griffin, Ricky Rubio, Victor Claver, B.J. Mullens, Christian Eyenga). The two others? Jordan Hill has been a disaster in New York and James Johnson was beaten out for playing time by second round rookie Taj Gibson in Chicago.

2 -- Stephen Graham absolutely should be the odd man out, and that this is an open question speaks volumes about what Larry Brown values. What does Graham do that a combination of Henderson and D. Brown at guard and forward can't do? Even if you think Graham is better right now than those two, is he so much better than either of them that the benefits of giving the rookies minutes are outweighed by Graham's awesomeness? Seems to me that explicitly demoting Graham gives minutes to the rookies. Two problems solved.

3 -- We're really going to revisit Tyson Chandler at power forward? Really? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. I understand the desire to give Nazr Mohammed more minutes based on his inspired run this season, even though I think Chandler's the better bet moving forward to be a more productive total player, but playing Chandler at power forward, given what we know about him and the rest of this team, should simply be a non-starter. There's no way he can guard the quickest PFs like Josh Smith, and the only reason we should even consider playing him alongside Nazr is if we're facing a twin tower lineup like Sheed-Garnett or Shaq-Z. If we can't make a trade for someone like Sean Williams, who's been marginalized on his current team, then we should stay in our holding pattern and give minutes to D. Brown in the power forward slot, or (deep breath) give Alexis Ajinca chances to sink or swim. Either way, I don't think playing Chandler at the four advances any objectives, whether that's giving playing time to younger guys or winning now, or trying to juggle those two objectives.

All I want is to hear the Bobcats are mulling a move, or have made a move, and know before I even look at the details, that it's probably a good idea and not just some desperate ploy, or shuffling of deck chairs in the vague hope something changes for the better.

Game 11 Preview: Blazers vs. Bobcats

Dave — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 07:30:55 -0000

Game Time: 4:00 Pacific TV: Comcast and NBATV

We won't try to sell the Bobcats as a good team because they really haven't been. Their 3-5 start this season is typical of their success level. But they've been good against Portland, especially at home, and that's enough. Charlotte has some nice individual talent and the kind of energy that gives the Blazers fits. It's like Portland comes in expecting a slightly sub-par team and gets jabbed in the face, stumbles, and eventually is overcome. Hopefully, road-weary as they undoubtedly are, the Blazers will come loaded for bear and not squirrel tonight, ready to match energy with energy.

Small forward Gerald Wallace leads Charlotte's attack and he's been particularly problematic for the Blazers over the years. He's never been a good jump shooter. When he's clicking he spends most of his time blitzing up and down the court trying to get the ball into the lane and finish strong. Even though the whole league knows what he's up to, he succeeds. He's just got the knack. Plus this year he's providing 12 rebounds a game, bolstered by 20- and 18- rebound performances late last month against the Nets and Hawks. Unsurprisingly he also generates steals and free throws, hallmarks of aggression. He's the kind of player who is no threat when you have him locked up but as soon as he's loose you might as well run for the hills because your bases are belonging to him.

Charlotte has surrounded Wallace with experienced, heady players, a little short on the offensive end but good game technicians and rebounders. Raja Bell doesn't seem like much until you see him handcuff Brandon Roy one-on-one. He can hit a three off of the check-down pass and he's capable of finding the open man himself. Power forward Boris Diaw is a fine all-around contributor who will take whatever you give him without giving you mistakes back in return. Raymond Felton is a point guard who likes to score (with mixed results, especially this year) but also racks up the assist numbers. He's not someone you'd hang your hat on but he can bust out with the big game.

Over the summer the Bobcats swapped franchise-level draftee Emeka Okafor to the Hornets for Tyson Chandler. Despite posting some decent rebounding numbers Chandler's effectiveness has been limited so far, partially from foul trouble and partially because of a non-existent offensive game. With Wallace the only superstar-potential scorer on the team and him needing to run to be at his best the Bobcats can't afford a no-show from any of their other offensive players. You don't have to give them 20 points but you better be able to give them 12. Chandler's around 6.8 right now.

For the most part the bench players mirror the rest of the team: experienced but two-dimensional. You know the names Flip Murray (slasher), Vladimir Radmanovic (shooter), Nazr Mohammed (rebounder), Stephen Graham (energy guy), and DeSagana Diop (requisite out-of-shape player in Larry Brown's doghouse). All of these guys have been elsewhere. All have been passed on. It's like you tried to build a bench that would neither fail nor succeed. That's great if you have a starting lineup like Boston's. It's not so good when your first five give you maybe 55 points combined. You need a spark off the bench. It's just not here.

The best hope for that spark comes from second-year point guard D.J. Augustin. He started the year like gangbusters but lately has just looked like a buster, posting 7 points and 5 assists in his last three games combined. He's speedy but he has trouble defending. He's also a point guard without a lot of clear options to pass to.

The Bobcats hold their opponents to 89.6 points per game, which looks pretty good until you realize that they only score 83.5 points themselves. The Golden State Warriors score that many by accident. They play at a glacial pace and are the only team scoring fewer fast-break points per game than the Blazers. Even so they turn the ball over enough to make the vein in Larry Brown's forehead bulge. Slow pace and high turnovers is a toxic combination. They are good rebounders, especially at the offensive end. This helps make up for their poor shooting. And by "poor" we mean "unacceptable". Their main offensive advantage comes at the free throw line, where they gain around 4 points on the opposition. It's not enough.

Pivotal Points of the Game

1. For the most part if you keep Wallace down you keep the Bobcats down. He's had 15 or more rebounds every time they've won this season. They've also won both times he's scored 18 or more. Most of that offensive damage was from the foul line. He's shooting in putrid fashion this year. So...keep crash off of the boards and off of the foul line and you'll probably win.

2. The Blazers have made good rebounding teams look inferior this year and they need to do so tonight.

3. Pack the middle. Every once in a while Diaw or Felton will get hot but for the most part the Bobcats aren't distance shooters. The only significant exception is Bell, whom you don't leave open.

4. Somebody other than Brandon is going to have to score tonight. It's time for the Websters, Outlaws, and Fernandezeses of the world to step up.

5. They like to generate extra offense by turning you over. Take care of the ball.

Final Thoughts

Be sure to visit one of my favorite blogs, RufusonFire.

Here's ye old Jersey Contest form for tonight's game: Jersey Contest form

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Celtics Crush Bobcats 92-59

David Arnott — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 02:11:51 -0000

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The Celtics absolutely smoked the Bobcats in the season opener at Boston's TD Garden. The final score was 92-59, which doesn't really do the beatdown justice. There were flickers of life throughout the first half, but in the third quarter, the Celtics manhandled the Cats, outscoring them 25-10 and pulling away for good.

Parsing the box score, there isn't much to be happy about; the game brought to life every fear the pessimists had for Charlotte before the season. They had near-zero offensive presence on the inside, which had a cascade effect. Gerald Wallace and others couldn't slash because defenders could help more readily, and the shooters, already a mediocre bunch (even more so without Raja Bell or Ronald Murray), couldn't shoot because there was no worry about anyone trying to score from inside ten feet.

Highlights (maybe) and Lowlights after the jump:

GOOD

-- Wallace had 10 points and 12 rebounds, by default the best performance of the night. Emphasis on "by default".

-- Nazr Mohammed very nearly earned that honor with 5 points and 8(!) rebounds in only 18 minutes. Seriously, he's probably the team's biggest inside threat on offense. That hurt to type.

-- Derrick Brown certainly looks like he belongs. Obviously, this is small sample size theater, but so be it.

-- It's fair to say Alexis Ajinca has two intriguing NBA skills: backdoor alley-oops and a nearly unblockable eighteen foot fadeaway jumper. Even his most ardent haters have to admit that his greatest shortcoming last season was his complete lack of basketball IQ even close to an NBA level.

-- The Cats outrebounded the Celtics, ~~44-41~~ 46-44.

BAD

-- 59 points.

-- Tyson Chandler: 0 points, 6 rebounds, 3 turnovers, 21 minutes. Ouch.

-- D.J. Augustin, Raymond Felton, and Stephen Graham combined: 5-27 from the field.

-- 59 points. If this is any indication, let's hope for a lot of 83-78 victories.

Waive Goodbye, Part 1

Jon L — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:00:35 -0000

by Haraz N. Ghanbari - AP

Paul Davis poses for trading card photo. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

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Here it is; the long-awaited (okay maybe not), oft-promised look at who got waived and who made an NBA roster. I'm breaking this up into three parts, and here's what they'll look like: for each team, there will be a list of who got cut and who got kept (and yes I know the grammar isn't great, but that's what I've decided to go with). To make it interesting, I'll look at one Eastern Conference team and one Western Conference team each day. I probably won't discuss every player, since at this point in his career Juan Dixon can do whatever as far as I'm concerned, but I'll try to hit most of the players who either previously spent time in the D-League or might be considering it as an option this season. I'm also operating under the assumption that the vast majority of guys that I talk about will be playing in Europe. The season's already started over there in a lot of places, but there's usually room for one more skilled American player. Nonetheless, I'll try to keep the D-League optimism up. Okay? Okay. So here we go. First up: the Southeast and Pacific Divisions, below the jump.

Atlanta Hawks

Who got cut: Juan Dixon, Mike Wilks, Courtney Sims, Garrett Siler, Mario West

Who got kept: No one.

Sims and Siler are the main guys to know here, as Dixon, Wilks and West are all veterans at this point who will jump into the pool of emergency guards for less thoughtful teams to sign in case, I dunno, Eric Gordon gets hurt or something. Sims has admirers around the team, and he's showed off his scoring in the preseason, but the rebounding that was so good in the D-League last year has been largely absent thus far. That kind of game (among other reasons) makes me think he's bound for overseas despite the fact that he intrigues front offices. If they really cared, he'd have a contract by now. Siler, on the other hand, is just coming onto the scene and has nice touch and solid rebounding ability. He's just, let's call it "large." If I had to guess I'd say he's a more likely candidate for the D-League, where getting "large" guys into shape seems to be the stock in trade. He's already pretty effective as it is, and he doesn't seem have the foul problems that plague other "large" gentlemen like Mike Sweetney or Kentrell Gransberry, so if he can shed the weight then he might start garnering more serious interest.

Charlotte Bobcats

Who got cut: Dontell Jefferson, Antonio Anderson

Who got kept: Stephen Graham

I was actually kind of shocked at this one. Jefferson is a great man defender (and an all-aaround good guy) who the Bobcats seemed to like (they called him up last year), plus one of their better (if not their best) perimeter defenders with a guaranteed contract just got hurt. So why wouldn't they keep him? Stephen Graham is fine as a player, and he's a D-League success story of sorts so I shouldn't knock him too hard, but while he's a better rebounder than Jefferson, he's not as good of a defender. Hopefully Jefferson comes to the D-League and gets called up quickly, but either of those happening is unlikely, let alone both of them.

Golden State Warriors

Who got cut: Diamon Simpson, Shaun Pruitt

Who got kept: No one

Simpson is raw. Really, really, really raw. But intriguing (at least to me). I thought so when he was on Washington's Summer League team, but he got cut before they played any games and I don't think he played any in the preseason for Golden State, either. It would behoove him to go to the D-League, but who knows if that will happen. He's a Dominic McGuire-type, if McGuire is good enough to have his own type, but it boils down to this: a lot of hustle, the tools to be a very good defender, a very good rebounder, undersized as a PF but no offensive game to make up for it. Who doesn't like that kind of player? Anyway, he'll need to learn some offense somewhere, so why not the D-League? ASSUMING he enters the draft, I could see Rio Grande Valley drafting him and developing him for the Rockets, who are enamored with 6'7" power forwards who rebound really, really well. But what I think should happen and what does happen are usually two different things. Example: Fernwood 2Nite is still not on DVD.

Los Angeles Clippers

Who got cut: Anthony Roberson, Taj Gray, Jerel McNeal

Who got kept: Kareem Rush

Sorry Mike Wilks, Juan Dixon and Mario West, your fellow Brotherhood of Mediocre Shooting Guards member Kareem Rush got this. Roberson is likely headed back to Europe, with all the rest of the good three-point shooters. So is Gray. Jerel McNeal could stick around this neck of the woods, because he's a.) younger and b.) still could use some work on his offensive game. His DraftExpress "best case" is supposedly Shannon Brown, so there's some D-League-to-NBA precedent for a guy like McNeal, and he's solid enough all-around that if he continues to cut down on his turnovers he could draw some real interest.

Los Angeles Lakers

Who got cut: Mickael Gelabale, David Monds, Tony Gaffney, Michael Fey, Thomas Kelati

Who got kept: No one

Somewhat off-topic, but at this point I'm wondering what the point of the Lakers having their own D-League affiliate is. I know I'm not supposed to say that, but...who was the last player they developed in-house? Jordan Farmar, I guess? Does Josh Powell count since he never plays? I know that they're in "win-now" mode as long as Kobe Bryant is on the team, but heck, trading for Adam Morrison? They could've found someone else, put him on the D-Fenders for two years, and still eventually have gotten more out of him than Morrison will end up giving them. And no, this isn't about cutting Sun Yue. Okay, maybe it's partially about cutting Sun Yue. But that was the plan with Mickael Gelabale, I assume, who has a lot of talent and a knack for scoring. But he couldn't earn a deal and DJ Mbenga could? Mbenga is good for something, right? I mean, he is, right? I could've sworn he did something well at some point. David Monds played very well for the Lakers' Summer League team, so that likely got him some attention even if his preseason didn't. I'm willing to bet that he comes back to the D-League, just not heavily.

Miami Heat

Who got cut: John Lucas, Alade Aminu, Andre Brown, Anthony Tolliver

Who got kept: Carlos Arroyo, Shavlik Randolph

Sigh. Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh. Not that Arroyo is still around, I guess, since he's not the worst option out there and can run the pick and roll adequately, but Lucas really can play, size notwithstanding. I'm pretty sure Lucas has had some problems with not being paid by his European employers in the past, so it could be that he's soured on the enterprise, and if he comes back to the D-League he'll join the Maine Red Claws, but my best guess is that he'll try going overseas again and hope to get his check on time. Aminu may try his hand at the D-League, since his younger (and more talented) brother is still in college. Aminu played some decent defense for Washington's Summer League team, and he's pretty athletic along with being a decent ball-handler for a 6'10" guy. He needs to work on not turning the ball over and acquiring some post moves, and the D-League is as good a place as any to do that.

Orlando Magic

Who got cut: Morris Almond

Who got kept: Linton Johnson

I'm a little surprised that Johnson is still around, although Adonal Foyle got hurt so there's room for another frontcourt player. Sort of. I mean with Brandon Bass, Ryan Anderson, Rashard Lewis, Mickael Pietrus, Vince Carter and Matt Barnes around I'm not really sure how much playing time Johnson will get, even in practice. Some of those guys can play guard, true, but this team is apparently committed to the Jason Williams Reclamation Project and not, you know, keeping a guard who can actually help the team out. It's a good question where Almond goes from here, as he's "done with the D-League." Maybe he joins Dixon, et al. or maybe he just cuts his losses and heads yonder, but either way I can't shake the feeling that he never really got a fair look this offseason.

Phoenix Suns

Who got cut: Carlos Powell, Dan Dickau, Raymond Sykes

Who got kept: No one.

Well, at least our long national Dan Dickau nightmare is over. Powell played very well in the preseason, and the team spoke well of him which should help combat some old on-court character issues. He's a strong call-up candidate this season should he go to the D-League, and he's been working hard to get to the NBA so he may go that route. I've already linked to it once, but for more on Powell's play I recommend this Bright Side of the Sun post.

Sacramento Kings

Who got cut: Lanny Smith, Melvin Ely

Who got kept: No one.

I would bet that Smith returns to the D-League. He's not that far removed from breaking his foot in college, and he was a backup in Idaho last year, so he still has a lot to show. He can play, though, and it shouldn't be too surprising if he becomes a top point guard in the D-League this year. That's assuming he goes there, however, and not overseas. He played for the "NBA Generations" team that played in Korea and the Philippines, so he's gotten some international exposure, and non-US teams could come calling.

Washington Wizards

Who got cut: Vincent Grier

Who got kept: Paul Davis

Grier never really played, so this isn't a shock. He's a pretty good combo guard and scorer, but the Wizards have a ton of shooting guards on the team so this was always going to be a longshot. Paul Davis is sticking around because Antawn Jamison will be out for at least a month, and the team was already thin up front. As in, Fabricio Oberto who was signed to be the end-of-bench veteran presence, is now the starting power forward. Davis is now the fifth big, and he's defied my expectations by playing pretty well this preseason, averaging about 18 points and nine rebounds per 36 minutes while staying out of foul trouble. He shot 5-10 from the floor, and I have no idea where those shots came from exactly, but one reason I was skeptical is that last season his eFG percentages were .333 on "close" shots and .344 on jump shots (as determined by 82games.com), which are pretty bad. As long as the Wizards don't expect much from Davis on the offensive end other than dunks and tip-ins, they should be fine.