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April 01, 2008
Bosh illustrates Bobcats shortcoming
The Bobcats aren’t unique in giving up a big game to Chris Bosh.
Still, the 32 points Bosh posted Monday, and the ease with which he did it, exploited a key flaw in how the Bobcats are currently configured.
The Bobcats can’t play Emeka Okafor and Nazr Mohammed together if the opposing team has a big man who can stray from the lane and still score. Neither Okafor, nor Mohammed, can chase those guys, whether it’s Bosh or Orlando’s Hedo Turkoglu or Detroit’s Rasheed Wallace.
Granted, those three are all All-Star-worthy. But if the Bobcats expect to evolve into a playoff team, and ultimately a team that advances in the playoffs, this won’t work. Teams are going to have a big man with a wide enough skill set to expose this flaw.
Management had better figure out a way to counter these guys, because there is no one on the roster who will effectively limit these long, athletic types with 20-foot jump shots.
Posted by rbonnell on April 1, 2008 at 12:40 AM | Permalink
Comments
The needs to be gutted. New coach and new players. Keep Richardson and Wallace and Carroll and Dudley. Everyone else is expendable.
Posted by: Zuul | Apr 1, 2008 8:45:51 AM
^^^ Ugh, the team needs to be gutted...
Posted by: Zuul | Apr 1, 2008 8:47:46 AM
I REALLY hope Sean May is healthy next year. He can potentially fill the void you are mentioning. I know May isn't popular in this blog section, but the guy is a good basketball player. I hope he shows some discipline and becomes the PF the Bobcats expected him to be.
I also hope that the Bobcats trade Okafor if Emeka asks for more than 13 million. Morrison may need to be on the trading block too. Adam is a good shooter, but Matt Carroll and Dudley are better all around players. I'm cautiously optimistic that the Bobcats from office will do the right thing.
Posted by: Token | Apr 1, 2008 9:07:13 AM
Typo above...Bobcats front office...
Posted by: Token | Apr 1, 2008 9:09:20 AM
In total agreement that this team needs to be gutted.. (have said it b4 on here as well), but until we decide what the fate of Vincent and the rest of the coaching staff... it will be difficult to start to waive and trade players as the Bobcats still dont have an identity. As for May, as SeanMay's momma has said repeatedly, it's hard work for him to keep his strength up, thats why he eats so much and can always be found at cosmos and can's. Just a bit curious, IF he is so much to being on this team, why wasnt he on the last road trip??? (oh thats right he was sitting in Sec 104 during the UNC-Wash St game), he aint THAT hurt!! Absurb, waive the bum now, we've invested far too much time for a player who has logged 58 total games out of a possible 238 (24.3%)...LESS than a qtr of the total... Puhhhhleaze!!!
Posted by: dtnnc | Apr 1, 2008 10:03:23 AM
what he's saying is true but lets remember that Chris Bosh does that to EVERYONE that guards him! thats what makes ELITE players ELITE...they are just better. Guys like Bosh, Garnett, D. Howard, Duncan, etc. are going to score on anyone. I think its pretty safe to say that Felton and Okafor are NEVER going to be elite, average to pretty decent is about all we can expect ok?
To be a playoff team next year we need to focus on our strength (Crash & J-Rich) and let Felton be the facilitor but he start knocking down open jump shots like Avery Johnson did for the Spurs...also let Okafor and Nazr concentrate on hitting the boards and defending the paint..Okafor can get his 11 shots a game but anything more is forcing it...hopefully Morrison/Dudley/ Matt can give us scoring off the bench..we're only talking about having to win approx. 38 games to make the playoffs in the East!
Posted by: Bobcat Terry | Apr 1, 2008 10:09:39 AM
We had Walter Hermann, who could do this kind of job (and much else...), as he showed, for instance, when playing against Orlando and matching up against Turkoglu. Sam Vincent, however, chose to keep him mostly on the bench, until the best option left for the management was to trade him - rather than let his potential be wasted on the bench. I think bringing Walter Hermann back should be a priority for the Bobcats this summer (when he'll be a free agent), but really, only if the coach is changed - otherwise, this is gonna be a waste again.
Posted by: Sandy | Apr 1, 2008 10:21:21 AM
The problem doesn't lie in the players but instead the Coach. Bosh is a great player, not because makes amazing plays every possession but the fact that the makes the most out of every possession he gets, uncontested turn around jumpers, or a shot fake and go for an open layup doesn't impress. Our players waste opportunities and possession consistantly, not from lack of ability but lack or motivation. Vincent is not a master motivator and doesn't seems to understand how to mass manage talent. They have the talent to win on a nightly basis in the NBA and gutting the team, while it seems popular, look at how that has helped Sacramento, Memphis, and New York. We have had great stretches of basketball and have proven we can play with any team in the NBA, the problem is playing at the level night to night and Vincent doesn't know to get his team to do that. Eventually he might figure it out, but with attendence in the bottom 10 of the NBA, the organization cannot afford to wait on that. MJ and Rod Higgins need to contact Larry Brown, a proven motivator (with the exception of Isaiah's debacle in NY) and I believe would put the Bobcats into a top 4 team in the East in '09. Oh and a power forward on the roster might help also.
Posted by: GoCats11 | Apr 1, 2008 12:01:35 PM
I've said ALL YEAR that in order to move up to the next level, we need a VERSATILE 4. It has as much to do with offense as it does defense. It's also why Dudley and Wallace (like it or not) have had to play minutes at the 4 for us to be effective. The twin towers lineup with Wallace at the 3 is not effective for any sustained period of time and often gets us in holes that we are trying to dig our way out of (see 1st quarter combined with opening of 3rd quarter last night).
I'm glad Rick is stepping up and putting it out there. Unfortunately, May is hurt and impossible to count on as a definite in the future, as this would be his spot. This should be a top priority for the team in the near future however as it effects everything related to the team, rotations and such. And yes, someone on the wing could/should be able to get shopped to make this happen.
Posted by: jperry | Apr 1, 2008 2:31:09 PM
No no no no no no no no. DO NOT GUT THE TEAM, DO NOT WASTE AMMO, AND MOST OF ALL DO NOT HIRE LARRY BROWN. That man is cancer. Power forwards good, Vincent bad.
Posted by: Bro. D. | Apr 1, 2008 2:34:16 PM
WALTER HERRMANN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: fabio | Apr 1, 2008 3:22:21 PM
May wasn't traveling with the team because injured players generally don't travel with the team on road trips.
Posted by: Justin | Apr 1, 2008 3:51:47 PM
Interesting commet Justin... considering AMMO traveled to Seattle on the last road trip! Thats BS additional examples include... "Injured" Agent Zero travelling the whole yr with the Wizards, "Injured Dble-Dble star" Elton Brand travels with the Clips as well!
Bottom-line, May just AINT all that hurt AND clearly he's not serious about being a Bobcat... so CUT, WAIVE or FIRE his @zz!
Posted by: dtnnc | Apr 1, 2008 5:58:07 PM
I see my baby's name being throw here and about agin on this blog show. So let me set y'all straight...and this comin from his momma now. My baby is working out on the side so no body gunna see him. He be liftin' them big weights and all. Runnin round out there on South Blvd at 3 am gettin all them sprints ole Sammy Vincent say he needs. He even taken extra vitamins to make him strong. He says he even be taken some of that there viagra drug just to make sure ALL them parts be workin' good. When you see him at them clubs and all, dancin' real close with them young things, he just makin sure all that medicine he takin' really workin righteously.
So I say, my baby, he comin' back next year stronger than ever. Now mind ya, he gunna be a bit larger than you remember him. He be tellin me just the other night how all these vitamin, special kinda injections he takin, gotta be taken with food. He say people makin fun of him cuz he got himself so big and all. Well shoot! Let 'em make fun of my baby. He just big boned and all. Notin' you can do about that. And he makin $2.5 million again next year. So make all the fun you want.
Oh by the way. Momma has a funny one for ya. Ole Nazr (aint he a fine young thing?) was over the other night and I be tellin' him that Mr Johnson needs to spend more time with the team instead out there thumpnin' and pumpin' for the ho Hilary. Ole Nazr, he say, Mister Johnson aint his name....he just call himself that cuz he be bragin'!
So be watchin' for my baby pumpin iron and all. He be ready soon...if he dont trip over them dam big feet and hurt himself all over agin! Oh and next time, when momma aint suffrin from the vapors, she wants to talk to y'all about that gangsta Mikey Jordan. Momma's very unhappy with that thug. I swear, he and that hoodlum Kobe could be twins! Only thing savin' that big boy's ass is he handing out with that FINE young man Tiger Woods. But we gunna bang that around next time.
Posted by: seansmomma | Apr 1, 2008 6:10:37 PM
2 words,,,,,,PAUL SILAS
Posted by: steelcurtain | Apr 1, 2008 6:15:25 PM
We need the CHANGE THE NAME! Bobcats? Are you serious? Where is the intimidation? Where is the marketing? Where are the wins?
Lets revamp - keep Felton and trade or get rid of everybody else. Maybe keep Carroll and Wallace, maybe.
Posted by: James327 | Apr 1, 2008 8:25:29 PM
Sean May? Discipline? Hah. You're right, though, he does fill a rather large void everywhere he goes.
Posted by: Michael Procton | Apr 1, 2008 9:27:10 PM
Sandy...we don't miss Walter Herrmann...we have ALL-NBA STUD Nazr Mohammed instead!!!
Posted by: Michael Procton | Apr 1, 2008 9:30:57 PM
The best idea for the bobcats is to get rid of Sam. I've been to multiple games this year and he make stupid coaching decisions. I question his judgment and leadership.If the 76ers and be in the playoffs with a less talented team, it's clear we don't have a great coach. A decent power forward would help, even though I do like Dudley in that spot if your playing small and up tempo. Sam doesn't really play like golden state like he said he would even though were equipped to play that style of basketball.
Posted by: Jay Jackson | Apr 2, 2008 1:54:59 PM
The best idea for the bobcats is to get rid of Sam. I've been to multiple games this year and he makes stupid coaching decisions. I question his judgment and leadership.If the 76ers can be in the playoffs with a less talented team, it's clear we don't have a great coach. A decent power forward would help, even though I do like Dudley in that spot if your playing small and up tempo. Sam doesn't really play like golden state like he said he would even though were equipped to play that style of basketball.
Posted by: Jay Jackson | Apr 2, 2008 1:56:17 PM
The Bobcats can't do anything right...name one thing they have done that has been outstanding. The service at the game, the halftime entertainment, the absent owner, the sucky TV deal, the losing, losing, losing, the bad coaching. I give them a C- to a D on everything. However, they want to stick Charlotte with extremely high prices for games and astronomical prices for food. So, you want us to pay delux prices for amateurish basketball and entertainment? Are you kidding me? As Bob Johnson so nicely put it: The Value Proposition is not working in Charlotte....we're not buying chicken feed at Morton's prices...
Posted by: Rodney Wilkins | Apr 2, 2008 3:02:20 PM
2 more words, steelcurtain...CHARLOTTE HORNETS.
Outside of the Knicks the Bob's Cats are the most poorly run franchise in the league.
Posted by: Paul | Apr 2, 2008 5:52:31 PM
Hey Rick, I know you're probably at the game or watching it right now, but do you know any reason why there isn't a game on channel news-14??? It's listed everywhere as being on that channel but I'm not seeing anything...
Posted by: Daniel | Apr 2, 2008 7:40:55 PM
No playoffs this year... I have to think if we had Bernie at the helm we would've made the postseason
Posted by: Damn | Apr 2, 2008 10:30:07 PM
Danny, it was on your local myTV affiliate. Unfortunately, it's more than likely you probably either: a. don't have one, or b. you've never watched the channel in your life. Great TV deal, Bobbies!
And damn...totally right. I hope you weren't one of the people who bashed him for three years nonstop.
Posted by: Michael Procton | Apr 3, 2008 10:14:17 AM
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