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December 29, 2007
Vincent explains Bobcats' lineup changes
Bobcats coach Sam Vincent is, indeed, shaking up his lineup against the Orlando Magic. He’s going small – adding point guard Jeff McInnis to the starters and using Nazr Mohammed off the bench.
This could be another one-game experiment; it’s partially a reaction to how well the Magic spaces the floor with long-range shooters. However, it’s also a statement on what Vincent sees as his players’ limitations roughly a third of the way into his first season as an NBA head coach.
Here were Vincent’s impressions, in a pre-game interview:
- Vincent said Raymond Felton isn’t at his best as the team’s primary ballhandler (hence the incentive to move McInnis into the lineup). He said Felton being responsible for distributing the ball takes away from his aggressiveness offensively, and the Bobcats need that to win.
"I’m not saying he’s not a point guard,’’ Vincent said. "He’s a point guard who’s still learning’’ how to be effective at all the things a playmaker/scorer does.
Asked what Felton is, Vincent referred to the number system for players where a 1 is a point and a 2 is a shooting guard. "A 1-2 or a 2-1,’’ Vincent said. "A combo guard who can play the point.’’
(Earlier in the week, Vincent said he has to stop using Felton so much as a shooting guard, because moving him in and out of scorer’s mode is disruptive to his development as a playmaker. Obvious that notion didn’t last long.)
- Vincent said Emeka Okafor isn’t comfortable chasing long-range shooters around the perimeter, that he belongs back near the basket. Against a team like the Magic, where both forwards (Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu) have 3-point range, that means starting Okafor against the center and having Gerald Wallace guard the opposing team’s power forward.
- Vincent plans to use Matt Carroll as the first guard off the bench (as opposed to when McInnis was a sub) to try to help restore his confidence. Carroll has been in a brutal slump the past 10 or so games.
- Vincent said he plans to keep veteran Derek Anderson in the rotation, but might find some minutes for rookie Jared Dudley at power forward. Dudley didn’t get off the bench the past two games.
- Vincent volunteered that he sees his job as winning as many games as possible this season, as opposed to more long-range goals in the general development of the roster.
- Rick Bonnell
Posted by rbonnell on December 29, 2007 at 07:17 PM | Permalink
Comments
If Emeka Okafor is not going to finish these games then trade him. Trade him to the Miami Heat, or to the Suns or the Nets! This is ridiculous that Okafor can't get more than 4 points in a game, or that he has to guard everyone who breaks his man down off of the dribble.
Posted by: Bruce Griffith | Dec 29, 2007 9:55:18 PM
Jeff McInnis should NEVER EVER start - he is a sub for the point guard position at 5 minutes maximum a game. The Bobcats played hard, but the coaching was like something from the YMCA youth league. The NBA is like a complex game of chess so far Sam is still playing checkers.
Posted by: NC_Bobcats_Fan | Dec 29, 2007 10:50:45 PM
It seems to me that there is too much wavering in the way Sam Vincent is coaching this team and is shifting line-ups. Just a few days after announcing that he sees the need to play Okafor and Mohammed together, he plays them separately only. And, what is left of the new emphasis on playing inside/out, which actually helped the Bobcats to some wins? Scoring - and also defending - in the paint become much harder with only one true big man. Results: Orlando had 46 points in the paint vs. 26 for the Bobcats. You usually get punished with the rebounding too when you go small (lucky Orlando has just one super-rebounder, Dwight Howard, and not much else in this category).
Also, days after admitting that moving Felton back and forth between the one and two spots doesn't do good to his development as a point guard, coach Vincent puts him at the shooting guard for most of the game, with McInnis running the show. Results: McInnis had 3 assists in 32.5 minutes as the starting point guard, while Felton, playing mostly the two spot, still managed to give 6 assists (which is below his average). This is not to say that Felton is a great point guard. However, he is still the Bobcats best option at point guard currently, and he can only be expected to do better at this position if allowed to play it every minute that he's on the floor. I know, Raymond enjoys more being a scorer, but this is not what this team most needs from him. It's not
"what he's most comfortable with", but rather, what he can deliver based on the team's needs. On the other hand, all those extra minutes Jeff McInnis gets playing together with Felton could be much better spent on other players: Nazr Mohammed (20.5 minutes against Orlando - this is ridiculous!), Matt Carroll, or Jared Dudley, or Derek Anderson.
I honestly think that Sam Vincent's lack of NBA coaching experience starts showing in these vacillations, and I think he needs to sit down with Michael Jordan and Bernie Bickerstaff, discuss the team and come up with some better, and more stable, ideas on how to lead it.
Posted by: Sandy | Dec 30, 2007 1:59:04 AM
MJ and his underqualified pal Sam have set the Bobcats on the path to many, many years of losing seasons. Getting Okafor rather than Howard in the first draft was just plain bad luck but the subsequent horrible choices since then have just made the situation beyond help. A player shouldn't get worse with experience. Okafor was twice the player as a rookie that he is now. Bad coaching must take be a big part of the blame. Just settle on 3 moves that Emeka must master before he tries anything else...he looks like deer in the headlights everytime he attempts to catch the ball.
Posted by: RoyFan | Dec 30, 2007 7:31:35 AM
I think the Sam Vincent experiment has failed and it would be best for the Bobcats "brain" trust to acknowlege it now. This tam will NOT be in the playoffs this year. The Bob's need to go back to the development mindset and hope they get enough ping pong balls to assure a shot at the number one pick. The first order of business is to STOP playing players who have no business playing in the NBA like Mcinness. There MUST be a young point guard in the D league who deserves a shot at the bigs. Watching McI try to compete with Jason Hart the other night was just plain dreadful.
Posted by: RoyFan | Dec 30, 2007 7:47:53 AM
I hope all Bobcats fans (not many) realize what the situation is here in Charlotte. I hate to be so negative, but to be quite frank, this franchise is going nowhere. Sam Vincent was arguably the worst hire in the history of professional sports. How in the world can we hire a guy with 1 YEAR OF NBA EXPERIENCE AS A COACH? This is very evident with the last month of rotating lineups, flip-flopping on what he says about his players, etc...if I were on this team I would be absolutely puzzled by what our coaching staff was doing. In reality, before this season we needed to hire a seasoned coach who KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING. Stan Van Gundy was there for the taking and instead we want to take a "flier" on an unproven guy just because he is "boys" with MJ. It's absolutely ridiculous, and as a season ticket holder I'm appauled. Again, I'm tired of being so negative, but when I continually see these trends with this management team, and absolutely no positives, it gets frustrating. We have made 1-2 good moves in the history of our franchise, and one of them was a couple weeks ago acquiring Nazr, but then we BENCH HIM FOR JEFF MCINNIS?? Are you serious? Do they look at Nazr's production? Do they realize Jeff McInnis has one of the WORST +/-'s in the entire league? (82games.com)...It is appauling to be a fan right now of this franchise, and quite frankly I wish we would just clean house and tank the rest of this year. We need a guy like Michael Beasley.
To think what could have been if Larry Bird got the ownership of this team back in 2002...what could have been...
Posted by: taylor | Dec 30, 2007 10:41:06 AM
GET rid of all the bums, MJ, Bernie, and big BOB.....sell Bob.
Sam VIncent would not make a good junior High Coach.. Get real run these bums out of town...
Posted by: jason | Dec 30, 2007 11:28:42 AM
I think Vincent is in over his head. Maybe Bernie should come back for the rest of the year, and then hire someone who knows how to coach in the NBA.
Posted by: Dan | Dec 30, 2007 11:44:28 AM
taylor, it's pretty obvious why they didn't hire the much more qualified van gundy as head coach. he's a white guy. sam vincent wasnt even the #1 assistant coach in Dallas. end of story, and it sucks to say that, but the truth hurts...
Posted by: realistic | Dec 30, 2007 12:39:27 PM
taylor, it's pretty obvious why they didn't hire the much more qualified van gundy as head coach. he's a white guy. sam vincent wasnt even the #1 assistant coach in Dallas. end of story, and it sucks to say that, but the truth hurts...
Posted by: realistic | Dec 30, 2007 12:40:22 PM
My nuts itch so bad, I can't take it anymore. I may just chop them off and be a woman.
Posted by: Michael Procton | Dec 30, 2007 12:42:24 PM
It was interesting to see the Bobcats playing the Hornets as one could argue these teams are mirror images of each other but getting different results. Watching the game I am always left wondering if the Bobcats run an offense? Felton is getting a bum rap in how he is playing and its not his fault...quite franly he is being utilized the wrong way. He has the POTENTIAL to be like Chris Paul...he simply doesnt have the consistent players around him that Paul does. I know this sounds crazy but Pauls's drive and dish game is a thing of beauty. If Felton did it who would he pass to? I cringe every time I see Wallace take an outside shot and pray that Richardson can stay hot for this team. McInnis as a backup is ridiculous as he brings nothing to the offense. The best thing for this team is to simply play Felton more minutes and let him find a groove in the offense. Without a willingness to feed Okafor the ball inside he is the team's third best scoring option (if you can deal with the turnovers).
Posted by: BJ | Dec 30, 2007 2:11:49 PM
Hoopshype.com says Charlotte has a standing offer for Pau Gasol of Memphis. Any truth to this Rick?...This would be great to pawn Okafor off for him. Okafor has absolutely no offensive game...
Posted by: Dougie | Dec 30, 2007 3:45:38 PM
Okafor is garbage. You can see the look of fear in his eyes when he goes up against guys like dwight howard and garnett. What a bust.
Posted by: Chuck | Dec 30, 2007 3:53:41 PM
The ONLY reason Sam Vincent was hired as head coach was that he was someone MJ could easily control (Just like Doug Collins in Washington). Jordan is a control freak, and he will never hire an established coach who will want to do things his own way. As long as Jordan is calling the shots, this is what you're going to get. It's too bad, because there is some talent on this team.
All you ever heard from Sam was that he didn't want to play Okafor at the 5 and Felton at the 2. Then he turns around and benches Nazr for McInnis? It's just insane.
Posted by: Jim Todd | Dec 30, 2007 3:55:29 PM
The Can Sam Countdown Clock is ticking.
Posted by: Big Q | Dec 30, 2007 4:57:25 PM
Fire vincent and draft a pg for next season and this team will be alright. The good thing is I don't think this coach will be able to coax the usual late season run out of this team. Can you say D Rose?
Posted by: bball | Dec 30, 2007 5:12:10 PM
Possible Replacement Coaches?
Bickerstaff (temporarily)?
Paul Silas?
Anyone with any ideas?
Posted by: Big Q | Dec 30, 2007 5:17:09 PM
Would any one like to touch my monkey? I'll show you the monkey, and you can touch it. Touch the monkey, my monkey...
Posted by: Michael Procton | Dec 30, 2007 5:33:49 PM
I can't understand why you would take Carroll out of the game after going 3 for 4, knowing that a timing type shooter needs to stay in rhythm.Vincent has him standing in the corner without much cutting and hopes he gets hot. Then when he is he sits him. MJ needs to get involved
Posted by: jk | Dec 31, 2007 3:34:51 PM
You guys need to get realistic about this team. A big name coach may have us at about 13-16 instead of 11-18. I blame Sam for the Celtics game and the first Wizards game. However, our team is about where it should be given the loss of two of our high draft picks. Our other two draft picks have to step up. Okafor's footwork in the post is just atrocious. How can you blame Sam Vincent for that. The jury is still out on Felton as point guard as well. He has the speed and ball handling ability of CP3 but he is not under control when he goes to the basket. This is real basketball not an AND1 show.
Posted by: adcoop | Jan 1, 2008 4:03:16 PM
If we are going to sack Vincent, MJ should have a look at himself also - after all, he did hire the incompetent fool.
Vincent is basketball challenged and a lost soul. Firstly, he spends the first 2 months of the season banging on about how Emeka should not be played at the 5 to protect him (which was also his excuse for not playing Herrmann and Carrol more). Result? He trades for Herrmann and Brezec for Nazr who steps into the C and starts producing great numbers not to mention providing on court experience to a young team. Fast forward 4 games and Nazr is now coming off the pine with Vincent stating to the media that Emeka doesn't like playing the 4 because he has trouble extending his D...com'on Vincent, get it right! Could you have figured that out before you traded Herrmann and perhaps reverted to Bernie's starting squad that went 7-5 at the end of last season and included Herrmann shooting at a 20pt / 50%FG... How Herrmann did not even get a look in is beyond me.
Sack Vincent - he is out of his depth.
Posted by: Foxy | Jan 1, 2008 6:15:19 PM
adcoop, you made the most sense out of all the posts I read. Felton is just not ready to be a starting PG. He doesn't play under control like the elite PG's in the league. If you watch Steve Nash, CP3, Chauncy, or Baron Davis play. They rarely make bad plays during crucial points in the game. You don't see a turnover b/c they dribbled the ball off their shoe while doing a spin move. They know when to use thier quickness and they make big shots. If Felton continues on this path, I can see the Bobcats taking D. Rose out of Memphis.
We have all the pieces in my opinion. J.Rich is finally getting comfortable, Gerald has become an elite small forward, Emeka isnt D.howrd, but he's a good player, and Nazr has been a great addition. Our bench would have been our biggest asset if Adam and Sean was available. Adam, Sean, Matt, Jared, and Ryan make a decent bench.
It's been rough this year mainly b/c Felton has failed to fully develop into the PG we expected, but key injuries have played a huge role in our record. You can tell Sam has no confidence in Felton running a team b/c he's playing Jeff along with Ray at the end of games. Jeff doesn't belong on the court at the end of a basketball. He's a backup!!
final note: Emeka is gonna wish he signed that contract the Bobcats offered him. He's not going to get max money with the way he's playing. He's lucky to get 8 million. Gilbert Arenas is trying to educate these young guys. You don't leave 10-12 million on the table b/c you feel your a max player.
Posted by: bobcats fan | Jan 1, 2008 7:32:59 PM
Felton as a 2 guard....com'on people.
Here are two magic questions:
What is Raymond Felton's career field goal percentage???
A: 39% - wow.
What has Felton shot from the field over his last 5 games, including the two games as shooting guard?
A: 33.9% on 56 attempts.
Please don't embarrass the kid by making him shoot any more than he has too...
Posted by: Foxy | Jan 1, 2008 8:00:02 PM
But Foxy, he certainly can't run an offense. If his only above-average ability is slashing to the basket, you might as well take the ball out of his hands so somebody else (even if that person is the TERRIBLE Jeff McInnis) can make that decision for him instead of Felton either throwing it away or jacking it up with 3 seconds on the shot clock because he couldn't properly run the play.
Posted by: Michael Procton | Jan 1, 2008 8:27:39 PM
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