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January 29, 2009
Diaw to play more small forward
Boris Diaw is a classic hybrid forward, somewhat in the mold of Antawn Jamison. He’s a bit small for a power forward, but he can out-quick most of them. He’s not as quick as most small forwards, but he can physically overpower most of them.
So now that Bobcats coach Larry Brown needs Diaw to play more small forward in Gerald Wallace’s absence, Brown will tweak the offense a bit. Since it’s harder for Diaw to beat small forwards off the dribble, Brown will install more post-ups and pick-and-roll plays for Diaw.
That approach would feature Diaw’s strength advantage over most 3’s and open some jump-shooting and passing opportunities in the pick-and-roll.
Starting in Wallace’s spot didn’t do much for Adam Morrison Wednesday in Portland. Playing 27 minutes – most he’s played since Dec. 10 – Morrison was 2-of-6 from the field, reflective of a shaky and reluctant shooter.
Brown says Morrison shows the classic signs of a player who’s lost his confidence.
“He passes up shots,’’ Brown said. “He doesn’t play like he plays in practice.’’
Posted by Observer Sports on January 29, 2009 at 12:09 PM | Permalink
Comments
Rick,
Is there any possibility for the Bobcats to bring Josh Childress from Europe back to the NBA. I don't exactly know how his contract works, but I beleive OKC did something similar with Nenad Krstic.
Yes it would be a little more expensive, but now that Dudley is not in the Team and Adam has been completly unreliable, this could be a good time to bring him in. Is Adam's contract due after this season or the next?
Josh is a 6-8, very athletic and skilled player. He is a very good defender and an above average shooter, plus a good rebounder. He can play SG, SF and even PF if we go small. Against teams like Portland, Golden State & Orlando among others, he could be great.
What are your thoughts?
Posted by: RobC | Jan 29, 2009 12:53:49 PM
Josh just had surgery, so he won't be playing for anybody right now.
Posted by: CD Inc | Jan 29, 2009 1:34:43 PM
Rick,
Did you see the article in the business section that says the Bobcats are averaging 14,000 fans a night?? LOL LOL
You should call your co-worker to set the record straight. I have seen crowds of 5,000 on most nights.
Thoughts?
Posted by: FormerCat | Jan 29, 2009 1:38:38 PM
Why not try to give Adam Morrison the minutes and see if he is capable of playing at a high level. It's not like our defense is anything great without him so how bad could it possibly be with him? It seems like Adam is so worried about Larry Brown constantly getting on him that he isn't able to focus on the game. Brown needs to get off his back and give him a shot.
Posted by: brad | Jan 29, 2009 1:52:34 PM
Rick,
If the Cats play well in Wallace's absence, would there be any thoughts to leaving Diaw at SF and trading Wallace and someone else for a good PF? Through no fault of his own, Wallace has been a lightening rod for injuries. I love his hard play, but his absences make the return on investment questionable. Your thoughts?
Posted by: Thad | Jan 29, 2009 1:58:26 PM
Ouch!!! Wasn't aware of that. I saw a comment in his ESPN profile, but it didn't had a date so I thought it was from last season!!! Well, back to square one.
Posted by: RobC | Jan 29, 2009 2:00:02 PM
This are the moments were not having Dudley or Caroll really hurts.
Posted by: RobC | Jan 29, 2009 2:00:39 PM
Let's send Diop back to Dallas and get Carroll and Hollins back for a month!!!
Posted by: RobC | Jan 29, 2009 2:01:17 PM
Don't worry....Cartier Martin will step up. He's a stud.
Posted by: Andy | Jan 29, 2009 2:29:35 PM
The rights to Josh Childress are still held by Atlanta, just the same as Marc Gasols were held for a while after even though he never played for LA (and then they traded the rights to him to the Griz) so if he came back to the NBA Atlanta has first dibs...
I think Cartier will be great, I don't think he is the best SF in the D-league, but I think he is the one that Larry knew the most about. Larry still has strong ties to KU and knew who this guy was from talking with KU and Iowa's coaching staff, and basically anyone Larry signs off on is pretty much okay.
With the above article, watch for Felton, Bell, Diaw, Okafor, Diop to start on Denver. Okafor has gotten considerably better 5-15 feet out from the basket so he deserves a shot at it.
Posted by: tattoo | Jan 29, 2009 3:16:54 PM
GO OUT WITH YOUR BOOTS ON ADAM!
Give the NBA your best shot. Go out in a blaze of glory. If you are not going to make it in the NBA you can at least know you gave it your best shot. Don't go out hiding in a foxhole.
Posted by: Mark | Jan 29, 2009 4:41:37 PM
Rob, Childress won't be bought out in-season from Europe, but in the NBA offseason of each of the next three years (the summer), he is reestablished as a restricted free agent for whom any offer can be matched by the Hawks.
brad, the notion that: a. our defense isn't good in general (we're fifth in the league in scoring defense and our FG% defense is in the top ten as well), or b. Adam Morrison doesn't affect it in a negative fashion (with Morrison on the court, the team gives up an average of EIGHT more points/100 possessions, a huge gap.) is silly. I'll continue to defend his abilities and value as a player, but that value needs to come on the offensive end, because he's always going to make his teammates work harder because he's on the floor.
Posted by: Michael Procton | Jan 29, 2009 6:40:56 PM
Rob, Childress won't be bought out in-season from Europe, but in the NBA offseason of each of the next three years (the summer), he is reestablished as a restricted free agent for whom any offer can be matched by the Hawks.
brad, the notion that: a. our defense isn't good in general (we're fifth in the league in scoring defense and our FG% defense is in the top ten as well), or b. Adam Morrison doesn't affect it in a negative fashion (with Morrison on the court, the team gives up an average of EIGHT more points/100 possessions, a huge gap.) is silly. I'll continue to defend his abilities and value as a player, but that value needs to come on the offensive end, because he's always going to make his teammates work harder because he's on the floor.
Posted by: Michael Procton | Jan 29, 2009 6:41:00 PM
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