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November 15, 2007
Okafor's foul trouble is bad news
The Bobcats have lost two of their last three and it’s no coincidence those were the games when Emeka Okafor was in foul trouble.
Not saying that’s the biggest reason they lost to Houston and Atlanta, but it was definitely a factor. And coach Sam Vincent saw this coming.
He brought it up a lot in the preseason, how he has to find a way to cut down on Okafor’s fouls without negating his ability to defend at the basket. The problem is as much about the roster as it is about anything Okafor does.
Okafor, splitting time between power forward and center, needs help in the lane at the defensive end. Starting center Primoz Brezec is long at 7-1, but he’s limited as a defender. Vincent praised the work Ryan Hollins did against the Hawks (11 points, six rebounds and two blocks). I suspect regardless of whether Brezec continues to start, Hollins will have an increased role off that performance.
The other issue is Othella Harrington’s surgically repaired left knee. He’s been cleared medically to play, and Vincent keeps pushing him to test the knee in a game, but so far Harrington says he’s not ready.
Vincent needs to know what Harrington can still do. He’s been a strong defender throughout his career, and at minimum Vincent needs him to take the kind of smart fouls in the lane that the departed Jake Voskuhl provided last season.
Posted by rbonnell on November 15, 2007 at 09:40 AM | Permalink
Comments
Losing Voskuhl hurt more than SOME folks expected. He gives you the face up shooting of Primo with greater toughness around the basket on both ends.
Can I ask a serious question with some thought before hypervigilent response?
When I found out the offer the Bobcats made to Okafor, it seemed really fair to me given production, potential, and HEALTH. He feels that he should get a Dwight Howard type contract. How much more help down low does Howard have as compared to Okafor? And before the usual suspects derail this into a Felton criticizing thread, how much more of a distributor is Nelson compared to Felton?
In my mind, Okafor is a very good player who does not have the ceiling or even current production level of a Howard. For that reason, the offer that was made to him seemed fair. If he is going to be a max or Howard kind of guy, while we no doubt need depth and help for him in the frontcourt, shouldn't the expectations be greater from him even before we get more help. That is, if he is a MAX contract guy.
And for the record, I still say our biggest weakness is the lack of the clear FOUR man. I was hoping for Hermann or maybe Dudley to step up here. I will say however, I am happy about the growth of young Hollins. The thing I like about him is that he gives us speed and size.
The other thing about the 4 position is Gerald Wallace. He is 3 in every facet of the game except outside shot. He can shoot it more confidently with 4s who are scared of his quickness guarding him and giving space than legit 3 men who will defend him straight up. If he were willing to play the 4 SOME more, it would allow us to be quick and to have perimeter threats at the pg (Felton) and both wings (Richardson and Carroll) while having a good shooting threat from a 4 in Wallace, giving Okafor all the room he needs and the drivers all the room they need.
We could try to outathlete and shoot teams similar to the way the Hawks did to us last night.
Posted by: jperry | Nov 15, 2007 10:26:15 AM
I agree entirely with your comments concerning the play of Okafor. His limited shooting range coupled with his low assist production limits what he can give the Bobcats offensively. Since I am in Austin, TX and watch the Bobcats on the NBA League Pass I am able to listen to the various broadcast crews from other teams critique the Bobcats and their personnel. So far every crew was surprised by Emeka's decision to turn down the Bobcats' offer.
Posted by: curetong | Nov 15, 2007 10:49:28 AM
Okafor's lack of ANY low post moves is the bad news.
Posted by: jessewt | Nov 15, 2007 12:11:04 PM
Saying that Brezec is limited as a defender is a compliment to him.
Posted by: defense | Nov 15, 2007 12:22:14 PM
All of the above said, Okafor is a/the rock on this team and a necessary building block for our future. I just hope we are able to sign him at market value so that we CAN get legitimate help for him and the team. We need consistent frontcourt scoring, as well as defensive help for him down there. I don't know how much we can get if we sign him to a max deal. It's kind of a catch 22.
Posted by: jperry | Nov 15, 2007 12:30:34 PM
I love Emeka, but he is limited offensively.
I noticed that he was smaller than Al Thornton on TV last night. I'm glad that he turned down the deal, because he will get less next year, or he will really get better and deserve the money. Hopefully we will get him help. The posters today are really on the money.
Posted by: Dan | Nov 15, 2007 1:59:10 PM
I love Emeka, but he is limited offensively.
I noticed that he was smaller than Al Thornton on TV last night. I'm glad that he turned down the deal, because he will get less next year, or he will really get better and deserve the money. Hopefully we will get him help. The posters today are really on the money.
Posted by: Dan | Nov 15, 2007 2:02:02 PM
Just for reference, Wallace has split his time nearly evenly between SF and PF this year. Given his injury history and his penchant for playing with reckless abandon, do we really want to put him banging in the post with players much bigger than him much more?
Posted by: Michael Procton | Nov 15, 2007 2:47:39 PM
Mike, I hear what you are saying. My point was more from the standpoint of the weaknesses and strengths of our offensive players and unit.
Gerald Wallace has the greatest OFFENSIVE potential at PF, b/c of the quickness advantage he has, the extra time that he will get to shoot his 3 and the less he has to be worried about getting crowded by guys like T-Mac on his drives from the top of the key. It helps us be truly uptempo and gives Okafor space to operate down low.
The problem is that Wallace is a below average perimeter threat for a SF, which affects all of the offense, including his own. It means that off the ball we only have one threat from the perimeter in Richardson with the other being Felton at the pg It allows teams to pack it in more than with Felton, Carroll, and Richardson out there. That is unless we can get Hermann production at the 4 with his range.
Dan,
I hear what you are saying. I have a hard time thinking someone will offer Okafor more than we have and if they do, it will be b/c he blows up, shows offensive moves and proficiency and we will be a better team for it.
Posted by: jperry | Nov 15, 2007 3:40:36 PM
Very good article by Rick Bonnell, and also good and interesting comments. I agree with Michael Procton; it's not in the team's best interest to push Gerald Wallace too much into the power forward position. When Emeka plays center, or is on the bench, I'd rather see Walter Hermann as the first option off the bench at PF; he can guard at this position (he has good defensive skills and he's taller than Wallace). I think that giving Hermann such sparse play time (as Rick noted previously) is Sam Vincent's most questionable decision thus far, and I hope he'll reconsider it. JPerry, your interesting comment makes sense as far the offense goes, but, besides Michael's valid point regarding Wallace at 4, playing small ball isn't the best thing from the defense viewpoint. For me, a model of how the Bobcats should play is not so much the fast, high scoring, game the Hawks displayed last night, but rather the great third quarter the Bobcats played in this losing game. If they could play consistently that tight, tenacious, defense
they showed in that quarter only, and generate offense out of it, plus limit turnovers, they'd be in very good shape.
I am, too, very impressed with Ryan Hollins's progress. He plays with a lot of
ambition and energy, he has the athleticism the Bobcats' front court badly needs, and he seems to get better with every game!
Posted by: Sandy | Nov 15, 2007 11:17:22 PM
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