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February 23, 2008
Bobcats must gauge of Wallace at power forward
It doesn’t matter who coaches the Charlotte Bobcats; that guy is going to be tempted to play Gerald Wallace at power forward.
And by playing Wallace at power forward, you increase the risk of putting him in the hospital.
Before Friday’s game, Bobcats coach Sam Vincent said his best chance of winning games the rest of the season was starting his small lineup. Vincent specified that Wallace creating matchup problems at power forward is a distinct advantage.
Vincent was absolutely right, strategically. His predecessor, Bernie Bickerstaff, discovered the same thing last season, when several injuries forced Wallace to move from small forward to power forward.
The problem is playing Wallace at power forward inevitably increases his injury risk. It’s physics; Wallace gives up 30 or more pounds against almost any NBA power forward. Keep colliding with someone that much bigger and heftier again and again, and Wallace gets busted up.
Friday night he got busted up, when Sacramento big man Mikki Moore elbowed Wallace, causing a serious concussion.
I’m not saying Wallace playing power forward caused this concussion. I am saying Wallace playing power forward increases the chance of him colliding with guys way out of his weight class. And if you tell Wallace to stop taking risks, he stops being Gerald Wallace.
You can either match him against men his own size, or you can take your chances against the bruisers.
Posted by Observer Sports on February 23, 2008 at 01:02 AM | Permalink
Comments
Absolutely right! Gerald won't back down from any challenge, therefore it's up to the coach to keep him from putting him in situations that can cause him bodily harm. We want Gerald to be the Gerald we know and love for years to come, and if coaches continue to put him in situations that physically punish him, I don't know how much longer Gerald can be Gerald...
Posted by: TheBeagle | Feb 23, 2008 2:10:35 AM
Gerald is a talented player inspite of being a warrior.I think Gerald would be more effective if he is shooting guard like kobe bryant because of his movement.you cannot gamble his conditions by giving his post like power forward otherwise you will lost his big points contribution to his team if he hurt badly!!!
Posted by: ALLAN EMPINO | Feb 23, 2008 4:41:57 AM
So under Vincent, Felton, Herrmann, Carrol, and Okafor take huge steps back in their development and NOW he's endangering our best player in order to "win now."
Get this freak off the payroll now. G-Force should be a three and JRich a two and Felton a one or at least a backup one. Go after a real PF in the offseason or get lucky and draft Beasley. OR Herrmann at the PF like late last season. Oh, I forgot, you gave him away to the Pistons because the coach didn't know how to use him. Brilliant.
Posted by: ASChin | Feb 23, 2008 10:48:53 AM
Hermann's not on the team anymore.
Posted by: Justin | Feb 23, 2008 2:04:04 PM
Good reading skills, Justin...how is it you got into UNC again? "OR Herrmann at the PF like late last season. Oh, I forgot, YOU GAVE HIM AWAY TO THE PISTONS because the coach didn't know how to use him. Brilliant." Just remember, ASC...we've got Nazr Mohammed, franchise savior and low post BEAST!
Posted by: Michael Procton | Feb 23, 2008 5:04:32 PM
I am so sick of Vincent's incompetence I could scream!!!!!!!! Jordan needs to act like he cares about this franchise(does he?) and can this loser.
Posted by: James Reed | Feb 23, 2008 7:29:43 PM
MJ does care, but what would firing Vincent (the man who insists on starting McInnis and does not play Carroll enough) at this point in the season do if we don't have someone better to replace him with?
Posted by: Who's next | Feb 23, 2008 10:10:16 PM
Bring back Bernie, or go after Larry Brown? Oh and why didnt we draft Brandon Roy or Rudy Gay?
Posted by: agentbrown.net | Feb 23, 2008 10:42:37 PM
It's not such a long time since Sam Vincent himself acknowledged that playing Gerald at the 4 spot against the true power forwards of this league increases his risk of injury, and therefore, he'll stop doing this! Also, just a few weeks ago Sam Vincent announced he's back to starting Okafor and Mohammed together. How right was Rick Bonnell to caution that, knowing Sam Vincent, you can't expect this sort of change to last long.
And that's Sam Vincent: endless vacillations, endless moving back-and-forth between bad ideas, better ones and back to the same old bad ideas! I don't think that changing the coach so late in the season will do much good, but Sam Vincent needs to go before the next season begins. This team needs an experienced coach to take it to the playoffs next season.
Posted by: Sandy | Feb 23, 2008 11:17:31 PM
Wow Procton, still bashing Mohammad I see. How f'ing obsessed are you with this? Get over it man, let it go. You're gonna be ok, take a deep breath and another Xanax. This is directly related to your man crush and the love of your life, terrible Primoz Brezec. I'm sure you saw he got traded, AGAIN. Pathetic.
Posted by: Proctonsprostate | Feb 24, 2008 12:38:40 AM
Why can't some people on this board just accept that the Bobcats made some mistakes in the draft, and as a result, are just not that talented. Yes, the Bobcats can find a better coach than Sam Vincent. However, this team will not reach the playoffs with Felton as the starting point guard. Felton makes too many unforced turnovers trying to make the spectacular play instead completing the routine play. I am so tired of going to game after game and seeing him make a million dollar move with a two cent finish.
Further, I am really questioning the potential of Okafor. His reflexes are quite slow in keeping up with his man on defense, he is too small to be a full-time center, and he will never be a legitimate threat on offense. The Bobcats must live with the mistake of drafting him. However, this franchise will be set back years if they pay him big, long-term money. Trade him this summer and draft a point guard to challenge Felton now. As I have said before, the only keepers the Bobcats have are Wallace and Richardson.
Posted by: Adcoop | Feb 24, 2008 11:05:59 AM
Just to be sure, you're talking about the same Emeka Okafor who's in the top 15 of the entire league in rebounding (top 6 in offensive and defensive), FG%, blocks, and double-doubles? If there was a guard on this team who could get him the ball in the post, he might just be able to show a little more on offense.
Posted by: Michael Procton | Feb 24, 2008 1:48:46 PM
It's official: We should play for ping pong balls. Develop the young guys and use this year as a learning exercise.
Posted by: Bro. D. | Feb 24, 2008 2:26:20 PM
Listen. as much as the nazi trade has helped his career, it really hasnt helped the bobcats. We are still at the bottom of the league, and took nazi (an aging center) and his large cap #. Walter was legit, and since under vincet the one guy was right. Okafor has been killed by sam and its sad bc he could be an all star player. until vincent gets fired, i find it hard for the bobcats to get near .500 and i hope MJ can just cut his losses and move on. just like he needs to do with morrison.
Posted by: Bobcats Ultimate Fan | Feb 24, 2008 2:41:10 PM
their biggest need is a center who is actually talented. get one in free agency/trade, and draft donte green SF from Syracuse
Posted by: cats | Feb 24, 2008 3:29:25 PM
This team has 4 quality SFs in Morrison, Dudley, Wallace, and Richardson. Why would you continue to stock a position where we have a gross overload?
Posted by: Michael Procton | Feb 24, 2008 4:51:54 PM
To the guy who claims to be the Bobcats Ultimate Fan, his name is Nazr not nazi. Based on your self-proclaimed title you should know that.
Also to Procton, J-Rich is a naturally a 2 who can play the 3 and has been doing so because of Vincent's insistence on going small and playing Gerald at the 4.
Posted by: Q? | Feb 24, 2008 6:05:00 PM
To the guy who claims to be the Bobcats Ultimate Fan, his name is Nazr not nazi. Based on your self-proclaimed title you should know that.
Also to Procton, J-Rich is naturally a 2 who can play the 3 and has only been doing so because of Vincent's insistence on going small and playing Gerald at the 4.
Posted by: Q? | Feb 24, 2008 6:06:30 PM
Procton...thanks again for the assist...speaking of "gross overload"...was it just me or had they installed suspension beams under the chairs of Sean "Brooklyn Bridge" May at the game the other night? He gets any bigger DOT is going to make him wear a sign on his back "NO PASSING...WIDE LOAD"....need to send ole "Double wide" out to Rt 66 so he can straddle the lane where he wont do any collateral damage....
Posted by: mike | Feb 25, 2008 10:04:07 AM
Makes you wonder what our record would be if Bernie were still coaching. I used to think that coaching didn't matter that much in the nba but this season has definitely changed my mind.
Posted by: apauldds | Feb 27, 2008 9:09:19 AM
I think Raymong could grow to become a solid pg in this league. He probably isn't going to be the next Nash or Kidd, but he could be solid. As for Okafur, he has been in the league for four years now and has yet to show any signs of offensive improvement. I don't think he will ever be an threat on the offensive end. He could be a nice Camby or Ben Wallace type of player if the Bobcats could aquire a legitimate offensive post player.
P.S. Vincent should be fired asap. But atleast he gave the young guys a chance against the celtics last nite.
Posted by: Walker | Mar 2, 2008 5:18:49 PM
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