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October 29, 2009
This was a storm on the horizon
I'd love to tell you that what I saw Wednesday in Boston was an aberration, but that would be true only by degree.
The Bobcats are a distinctly flawed team right now. The Boston Celtics are better equipped than most to exploit that -- hence the 92-59 score -- but this was as much about what's wrong with the Bobcats as what's so right about the Celtics.
Larry Brown saw this coming after the last exhibition versus the Memphis Grizzlies: He talked about how disconcerting it is that his team had more turnovers than assists for the preseason. And he brought up the rebounding, specific to how little he's getting from Boris Diaw.
So look at Wednesday's box score: 18 turnovers to 10 assists. And Diaw had two rebounds in 25 minutes.
I'm not picking on Diaw, who pretty much remade this team last season with his passing. But until those two factors -- Assist/turnover ratio and rebounding -- improve, this team is in deep trouble. You can say the Bobcats finished with more rebounds than the Celtics (46-44), but that's skewed by how quickly this game got out of hand in the second half. The Celtics ran out of scrubs to put in the game.
The Panthers' demise was predictable from the preseason: They had fundamental problems -- blocking, turnovers, sloppy tackling -- that are hard to overcome.
I wonder if this is the same dynamic, and that would make Brown nuts. He doesn't like to lose, but he hates being fundamentally unsound.
Posted by Observer Sports on October 29, 2009 at 01:02 AM | Permalink
Comments
Is Diaw still out of shape?
Posted by: fanatic | Oct 29, 2009 1:29:05 AM
yes.
Posted by: Rick Bonnell | Oct 29, 2009 1:47:42 AM
Ugly, embarassing, and unacceptable. Celtics are a great team, so I imagine the carnage was inflated, but I fear the Bobcats will have another agonizing season. It's tough whenn the best you can hope for is to really overachieve, but as I said before more wins are probably earned in the preparation done in the offseason, namely through acquistions to improve the team, and that means spending money. Since the Bobcats were not inclined to do so, the results will show on the court, no matter how much of a magician Larry Brown can be at times, you still need the horses to win in the end.
Posted by: Ari | Oct 29, 2009 5:05:32 AM
wow..Tyson Chandler was bad last night, taking wide open jumpers and clanking them off the rim, missing passes.. i can't help but wonder how we would have done with Okafor. Although I can't put it all on TC, only that I hope he comes around. Without him, this team would be in even bigger trouble. Rest of the team played very poorly - A LOT of bad shots, it was like they were afraid to attack the rim. Knicks got crushed last night too - now we will see what this team is really made of versus a lesser opponent.
Posted by: dh | Oct 29, 2009 6:12:45 AM
Rick,
Thanks for the reports. My question is when do they blow this whole thing up? Sorry to ask that after 1 game, as I know there will be victories down the road, but their weaknesses are glaring. Diaw is back to being average Boris. He's talented, but not dedicated to being "all he could be". He's not a rebounder, and not really a PF. DJ plays like he's in a YMCA league...doesn't take charge to lead the team, runs the pick & roll poorly, and is a poor defender. We have Wallace, some promising rookies (as role players), and a few guys who can contribute. But this team needs a big PF who can score and a 2 guard who can score. I say make a deal for Boozer (send Diaw & change) and Stephen Jackson (Bell, a player and a pick). That would shake things up. Might be a mess but what do we have now?
Posted by: Mark | Oct 29, 2009 8:22:25 AM
You would think the NBA regular season has "sudden death" rules, based on a lot of the comments I've read this morning (particularly in the game summary column). So, are we done after one game? Eliminated from playoff contention with a demoralizing 0-1 record? Is it OK if I go ahead and follow the other 81 games anyway, rooting for the Cats all the while, just for my own personal amusement? Thanks!
Posted by: Newsinz | Oct 29, 2009 9:40:50 AM
Hey guys! We're off and running with another season of Bobcats B-ball!
I'll just say what I've been saying in this space for 2 years. This team is NOT THAT GOOD! Don't be shocked when they get beat by 30 by a good team.
If everyone would stop talking about players being out of shape, players playing out of position, etc, and start admitting that half this roster is composed of castoffs that no one else in the league wants, so they're not supposed to be good.
You know why Felton signed his offer sheet? Because no one else was willing to give him starter money! Tyson Chandler was dumped in a trade last year, only to be returned to the Hornets when he couldn't pass his physical. So who steps up to take him? Diop is the worst contract in the league. Radman didn't even dress for Lakers games, but we made sure we got his nice long contract.
Ask yourselves, would any of our starters start for a good team? The Lakers? Cavs? Celtics? You'd have a hard time finding playing time for any of them, let alone starting.
Guys, as long as MJ and Bob Johnson are in charge, this team will be bad. BJ is only concerned with doing everything cheaply, and MJ is only concerned about his next party. When the front office gets serious basketball execs, you should start taking them seriously as a team. Until then? Enjoy the 30 point losses and don't get to upset.
Posted by: BobsRealist | Oct 29, 2009 9:52:43 AM
I know Raja and Flip were both out last night, and both "should" be back soon. But will either really give us the offensive boost that we need?? My solution...trade for Michael Redd. Trade Nazr and either Bell or Felton for him and slide him into the starting lineup...gives us a legitimate scorer and if you trade Ray for him, you can slide DJ into the starting lineup. DJ played bad last night, but he'll snap out of it.
Posted by: Justin | Oct 29, 2009 10:18:12 AM
Saw them in the preseason against Milwaukee and thought they looked decent. Last night was just god awful. No body wanted to take the shot. They just looked lost out there and Boston pretty much did whatever they wanted. If the Celts had shot better we could have lost by 50. Very discouraging.
Posted by: Claydog | Oct 29, 2009 11:29:22 AM
i'm thoroughly surprised at how disappointing augustin has looked the past couple of games. i might have missed the preseason games he played well in cause the games that were televised and last night.....the guy has been nonexistant. thats a far cry from the guy that outplayed derrick rose head to head last year twice.
i like what i see out of derrick brown, sit stevie graham down and use him when we need ruggedness not when we need scoring. i like the way henderson looked. ajinca needs to stop fouling but still looks NUTS on offense and can swat a few shots but can't really guard man to man. but wow.....the starters (not talking about graham cause he's not a starter) looked terrible.
is rashad mccants still hurt? can somebody get him on the phone?
Posted by: charlottean | Oct 29, 2009 12:09:08 PM
Tyson was open for so many alley oops, hes used to CP3 looking for him. Had DJ or Ray simply thrown it to his area he would have converted. Oh well, first game is over and done with. We'll improve and our rooks showed lots of promise.
Posted by: MJC | Oct 29, 2009 2:28:19 PM
Mark (Hermie?),
You seem to know basketball, but how on earth can you believe the Jazz would send us Boozer for Diaw and Change. It ain't happening.
Secondly, Diaw is barely back in play from an injury and we're supposed to believe that his performance last season was some fluke that will never be duplicated???
Posted by: DeLaQuest | Oct 29, 2009 3:48:26 PM
The state of the Bobcats is no mystery. A series of catastrophic draft decisions has put the franchise where it is. Consider where the team might be if Brandon Roy had been chosen, rather than Adam Morrison, or if Danny Granger had been chosen over Sean May. We are not talking about taking Olajuwan over Jordan here--these are the kind of monumental blunders that put a franchise on its back for years to come. Instead of securing a Chris Paul, Roy, or Granger to build around, we have a collection of role players and cast-offs, destined to finish a handful of games out of the playoffs in a weak conference year after year. Brown might make them competitive, but this team isn't going anywhere, can't go anywhere, with this personnel. Horrible drafting got us here, and it will keep us here for quite some time to come. Every time I watch Danny Granger, I can only think about what might have been.
Posted by: misterclean | Oct 29, 2009 4:11:09 PM
If the preseason was a prediction of the Cats performanced, then you saw what you may see in the regular season.....wow!!!!!!!! I couldn't believe the played....I mean the entire team didn't play well at all....it appears like a twenty year old guy (Celtics team) playing basketball against an inexperience four year kid (the Bobcats). The Cats failed to rebound offensively and defensively. Their dribble was terrible....and I can only imaginge that Okafor will proved Brown wrong with the trade. He scored eighteen points last night, his first debut for the New Orleans Hornets.
If this team is being patched like a wound-out clothe, then its still lacks the ingredients to compete. What next???? trade Felton, who played miserable.....rethink Diaw's performance, he's overrated by NBA standards.....Gerald Wallace remain the best player on this team though he's inconsistent. Something is fundamentally worng with the entire organization (Bobcats). Let me see how the next games will proceed....I'm about to rethink my support for this franchise. Prove me wrong by wining three games at least in row.....beat your next opponent.
Posted by: nunu20041 | Oct 29, 2009 4:26:53 PM
i like the idea of the trade for michael redd except i think his contract for next year is in the 20 million range and we just flat out don't have the players to move in a deal for him that milwaukee would take unless they're big gerald wallace and nazr mohommed fans. as much as i love wallace, after seeing brown play this preseason and show fearlessness last night........wallace is completely expendable if it adds a LEGIT (no jason richardson) scorer to the mix.
Posted by: charlottean | Oct 29, 2009 5:44:25 PM
18, 10, and 0 turnovers for Okafor;
0, 6, and 3 turnovers for Chandler.
Obviously many people, including our very own beat writer, undervalued Okafor.
I won't say I told you so, but I told you so.
Posted by: RP | Oct 29, 2009 6:37:54 PM
Mike Jordan is a God. Who has the guts to criticize him. he is awesome at whatever he does.
Posted by: cmo | Oct 29, 2009 8:10:15 PM
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