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May 10, 2008
Another coach's take on Brown's system
I had a long chat Friday with an NBA assistant coach about how Larry Brown and his priorities would affect the Bobcats, both collectively and individually. This guy’s team uses a variation of the defensive system Brown prefers.
The assistant’s impressions:
-- Adam Morrison will struggle most to fit into Brown’s system, where wing players are expected both to help defensively in the lane and run out aggressively to contest 3-point shots. The goal in Brown’s defense is to force the other team to take a guarded, 2-point jump shot. Morrison might simply not have the quickness and change-of-direction defensively to do all that.
-- Jason Richardson and Gerald Wallace could struggle, as a starting pair, to accomplish what Brown expects defensively. Richardson isn’t a particularly good defender. Wallace is, but more in a takeaway, risk-taking manner. Brown, the assistant surmises, would sacrifice some of Wallace’s takeaways in return for better defensive positioning.
-- While Raymond Felton is a good defender, more will be expected of him, as far as pressuring the entry pass and keeping penetration out of the lane. The standards are high on any Brown point guard.
-- Brown will push his bosses to do what it takes to sign Okafor to a long-term contract extension because he’ll prioritize Okafor’s strengths (rebounding and guarding the rim) more than his predecessor, Sam Vincent.
-- Finally, it won’t surprise this assistant if Brown lobbies for acquiring a mid-size defender off another team to play the role George Lynch did in Philadelphia. Just a guess, the assistant said, but Atlanta’s Josh Childress might fit that description.
Posted by Observer Sports on May 10, 2008 at 08:06 PM | Permalink
Comments
Josh Childress , Double Yuck . Hope Brown has some more players than Josh Childress on his mind .
Posted by: Bobcats3 | May 10, 2008 9:21:51 PM
Good information. Looks like moves Jordan made with Morrision,etc. were all based on offense. Hope we get the right chemistry for defense next year.
Posted by: kelso | May 11, 2008 5:45:01 AM
Nice work Bonnell, for once. Josh Childress would be a welcome addition to this team, a 2-3 that can defend and facilitate the offense. Don't know if Atl would take Ammo for him in a sign-and-trade. They could use a shooter though. He might come too costly as FA for Bob.
Posted by: BroD | May 11, 2008 9:32:16 AM
I think a guy like Matt Barnes, Bonzi Wells, or Quinton Ross would be a better fit than Childress if we're talking about just getting a defensive role player off the bench. Not only are they all unrestricted FAs (unlike Childress, but they're all probably going to be quite a bit cheaper.
Posted by: Michael Procton | May 11, 2008 12:43:10 PM
Will we even recognize our team come opening night of the upcoming season?
Posted by: onewickedlady | May 11, 2008 1:33:57 PM
we should trade for this guy named jared dudley to play the "lynch role", oh wait, he's already on our roster. problem solved.
Posted by: fats | May 11, 2008 3:04:50 PM
Defense.Defense.Defense. Offense sells tickets. Defense wins...a Eastern Conference playoff berth.
Posted by: sf | May 11, 2008 6:17:00 PM
Dudley's got decent hands to defend on the perimeter, but he's not very good in the post or as a shot-blocker despite his size. That was one thing Lynch was always pretty darned good at.
Posted by: Michael Procton | May 11, 2008 7:08:40 PM
i emeka but i hope we don't give him dwight howard money...he doesn't deserve that much money based on his play.
Posted by: mgs | May 11, 2008 9:12:03 PM
that should have been i like emeka but...
Posted by: mgs | May 11, 2008 9:13:26 PM
We need a true starting center, someone like an Andrew Bogut which would allow Okafor to play his natural position of power forward. Mohammed is good but hes not starting material in my opinion. As for Childress, he could work out but I doubt the Hawks will be eager to give him up.
Posted by: ND | May 12, 2008 4:59:51 AM
Procton, are you serious, Bonzi Wells? Bonzi has never played a minute of defense in his life. I agree that a guy like Matt Barnes would be a great fit but Bonzi? I think if Adam Morrison returns to full strength we might see what kind of trade value he would bring.
Posted by: Mason | May 12, 2008 5:58:24 AM
I hope Bobcats are better this year. I hope M. Jordan leaves after this year, he is becomming quite a joke.
Posted by: btgo | May 12, 2008 6:11:00 AM
Center is Okafor's natural position. Maybe we'll get lucky in the draft and get into the top 2. Rose or Beasley would be a great addition.
Posted by: DanCat | May 12, 2008 6:39:34 AM
ND, the problem with that is that there is just no decent big man availible with any upside whatsoever. The best options are probably Kurt Thomas and DeSagana Diop. Neither are exactly starting material at this point in their careers. As such, I think a more important find would be a backup point guard with starting experience, like Beno Udrih or Chris Duhon. Not somebody to even come in and compete with Felton, but somebody the team can feel comfortable with if/when Felton gets sat down.
And yes, Mason, I am serious. A guy who's "never played a minute of defense in his life" doesn't average over 1 SPG for his career. Wells is a decent defender, has positional versatility, and is a very dynamic scorer for a second-unit player. I doubt Morrison's getting us much of anything at this point. Maybe a very protected 1st-rounder or a mediocre vet.
Posted by: Michael Procton | May 12, 2008 7:11:32 AM
Did anyone watch Wells launch 5 craptastically horrible shots in a row when NO still had a fighting chance vs. SA in game 3? Shoot-first, me-first player if I've ever seen one.
I'm not here much but I can tell why Procton gets so much shyte on this board.
Posted by: Rock | May 12, 2008 8:50:24 AM
Don't try and argue that Bonzi is a solid defensive player. Just because he gambles on defense and makes a couple of steals doesn't make him a good defensive player. Have you ever actually watched him play? He is versatile but concentrates almost solely on his offensive game and plays terrible defense when his shots aren't falling. He is the exact opposite of a Larry Brown type of player and will never play under Brown. Having said that we can now move on.
Posted by: Mason | May 12, 2008 10:14:06 AM
Camby , Would be a Larry Brown center . Shot blocking ability & score . Camby on the block . Bobcats could do a combo trade for Carmelo Anthony & Marcus Camby . Larry Brown & MJ ( Take Carmelo under there wings & And make a great defense man out of him )
Posted by: Bobcats3 | May 12, 2008 10:55:19 AM
Bobcats3:
Who exactly would Denver take off the Bobcats roster for Melo and Camby?
Posted by: what? | May 12, 2008 11:11:48 AM
Well if no center with any starting ability is in the free agents we must take a center in the draft. Problem is, I don't see a clear choice to take. Some say we should take Kevin Love but for some reason everytime I see Love play I think of Sean May. Hopefully Love isn't on the Bic Mac combo diet that May is on. Our 2nd round pick should be a PG though, like Procton was saying, someone who would pack up Felton and add depth.
Posted by: ND | May 13, 2008 5:26:07 AM
And by "pack up" I mean "back up". Don't want to confuse anyone. ;)
Posted by: ND | May 13, 2008 5:27:31 AM
DeAndre (sp?) Jordan from A&M is an athletic 7 footer and Randolph from LSU is a Chris Bosh type of PF. Either of them would help the Bobcats. If they drafted Randolph we would move Okafur to center and would now have an extremely athletic 4 who would be able to guard the smaller quicker PFs in the Eastern Conference that Okafur has no chance of guarding. Both of those guys are expected to go between 6 and 10 in the draft.
Posted by: Mason | May 13, 2008 6:00:44 AM
If Randolph is a legit Chris bosh type, then that is what the bcats need most.
Felton, carrol, j rich, Randolph, okafor
boykins, ? ,G Wall, May if healthy, Nazr
?, Morrison, Dudley, Davidson
That's a pretty good team. Love to trade G wall and morrison for something...
Posted by: Bonnell = Procton | May 13, 2008 8:09:31 AM
ND, Love is plenty chubby. The problem with this draft is not that there aren't good players, it's just that a lot of them are very raw. Jordan and Randolph are both the same type. Frankly, I think we need to get the player who is most ready to contribute now over somebody with upside. Jerryd Bayless would immediately be our best playmaking PG, and if we're going to add a big, I'd rather have Danilo Gallinari (Italy) or Darrell Arthur (Kansas.) Both are much better in the post than Randolph, not to mention better developed physically.
Posted by: Michael Procton | May 13, 2008 9:16:09 AM
Wouldn't mind seeing Singletary picked up in the 2nd round.
Posted by: BroD | May 13, 2008 10:08:10 AM
Bobcats have drafted the player they thought was immediately ready to contribute the last several years instead of taking a chance on a more talented but "raw" players and that hasn't worked out too well. Bayless will be gone by the time we draft but I wouldn't be upset if we took him. He would provide lots of scoring from the 1 though there are lots of doubts on whether or not he will be able to play the 1 in the NBA. Personally, I think we need some bigs and passing on a 19 year old athletic 7-footer (think Bynum for the Lakers) or a 6-11 kid who moves and reminds scouts of Chris Bosh will be tough to do.
Posted by: Mason | May 13, 2008 1:06:09 PM
I hope we can get Love or Hibbert in the draft as we need a big body at the Center position. Trading for a quality big man is tough in the NBA and expensive. Brown will change the Bobcats around quickly with trades, draft, and defensive focus. May, Morrison, and Felton will struggle unless they are traded before the season begins.
Posted by: tarpanthercat | May 13, 2008 3:19:42 PM
Hibbert is awful.
Posted by: BroD | May 13, 2008 4:23:10 PM
i think our best pick would be jordan from a&m or randolph from lsu....we need to free emeka up to play one position...not shift him back and forth every 2 minutes...in the 2nd...we need to draft a back-up point guard to spell felton...not to move him to SG to spell him...maybe singletary?...and i like the idea of trading wallace, morrison...and hell...may if we can get anything for him....lots of mock drafts have milwaukee drafting a center...maybe bogut could be had?....maybe camby?....what about wallace and the 2nd rounder for brand from the clippers?
Posted by: yancy | May 15, 2008 11:12:30 AM
No way the Bucks are giving up on Bogut. He had a top 5 season among centers. And though Brand is a beast, he'd be expensive and he's coming of a very major injury.
Posted by: Michael Procton | May 15, 2008 1:28:59 PM
Kevin Love is a very good defender (anybody that plays for Ben Howland works hard on defense or they are on the bench) Love is also a good passer out of the post. He gets a rebound and fires the ball downcourt to the streaking guards as well as anyone I've ever seen.
But he isn't as big as listed. Honestly, I don't think he is over 6'8 1/2" He's not 6' 10" as advertised. He is a power forward, not a center in the NBA, although he can play with his back to the basket.
Posted by: DBM LA | May 15, 2008 8:24:17 PM
Kevin Love will get DESTROYED if he tries to bang in the post with NBA PFs. He needs to continue developing his outside game, because that's where he'll make his mark at his size and with his skill set.
Posted by: Michael Procton | May 16, 2008 1:58:49 AM
The Cats are best served drafting an athletic PF such as Randolph. Ideally we would get lucky and get a shot a Beasly, but thats probably not going to happen. Okafor may "naturally" be a PF based on size, but he lacks the lateral quickness to guard PF's like Bosh, Marion, Rasheed, West, Nowitzki, Amare, and other athletic bigs who can step out on the premiter. The guy likes to bang down low, rebound, and block...and to have a big like that is priceless. We need someone who can compliment that, someone who's quick and long enough to guard those aforementioned bigs and at the same time is capable of boxing out and pulling down some boards. Remember, we had a hell of a time giving up offensive boards last year. On the other side of the ball, the guy needs to be able to score inside and out. If we have a PF who is capable of shooting a nice mid to long rance jump shot, then it will better space the floor for Okafor down low, and will give the Cats the option to play a little high screen, pick and pop with Felton...something that seems to working out pretty well for the Hornets and the Suns. We dont really need a big center...with Okafor playing an undersized (although effective) Center, and with a decent (not great) backup with Nazi and even Hollins, we'll be fine at center. But unless May can prove something this year, we're thing at the 4.
Posted by: Gunn | May 16, 2008 9:39:23 AM
I think the one we're missing here is that Brown doesn't like to give significant minutes to rookies. Plus, the Bobcats are trying to win now. My guess is that the pick gets traded, much like last year. We still have some cap room, and Brown likes to use verterns.
Posted by: Phillip | May 20, 2008 8:26:20 AM
I think the roster will change quite a bit with Brown as the coach. I don't know what changes he will make but we can be sure they won't get younger or less athletic. I would not be at all surprised to see Morison gone sooner than later unless he becomes some Dell Curry/Glenn Rice type player and soon. To be a bad defender is one thing if you are good for 20 points or more a night. That is what the Bobcats had in mind when they drafted him right?
Posted by: Ryan | May 20, 2008 12:08:15 PM
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