Magic at Bobcats – Game 4 Preview

Will Game 4 Be The Last Day For Ray?

Throughout the 2009-2010 NBA Season, Raymond Felton was setting the table to make things easy for his agent this off-season. Raymond will be an unrestricted free agent, and had played the best basketball of his career. His team had excelled defensively, hit a franchise wins record, and landed their first trip to the Playoffs. Then, he started to make his agent (and Bobcats fans) a little nervous.

Things looked great for Felton until Game 1 versus the Orlando Magic. Jameer Nelson has spent the series shredding the Bobcats and making Felton look horribly outmatched. If the Bobcats are eliminated in Game 4 this evening, the team will likely look to make a few significant roster adjustments. The decision regarding Felton’s free agency status should be the first order of business. And at this stage, it seems as though Charlotte would be better off to look elsewhere for their future starting point guard.

Also, let’s not forget that Game 4 might be the last chance that Charlotte fans have to boo, taunt, and berate J.J. Redick this year.

Go Cats!

POLL : SHOULD CHARLOTTE RE-SIGN RAYMOND FELTON?

YES
(32%, 59 Votes)
NO
(68%, 127 Votes)

Total Voters: 186

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That’s a Wrap

The NBA regular season is over, and once again the Charlotte Bobcats have clinched the fourth seed of the Southeast Division. The season’s 35-47 record helps to validate the careers of local sportswriters and Bob Johnson haters, Rick Bonnell and Scott Fowler (Charlotte Observer). Both predicted that the Bobcats had no chance of making it into the postseason this year and repeated that sentiment frequently. The Bobcats did give their supporters a little taste of what it’s like to watch a playoff race late in the season, but then left everyone unsatisfied.

The 2008-2009 season was certainly the best year for the team’s relevance amongst the sports world. Making headlines with personnel moves and upset wins helped the Cats appear newsworthy for the first time in franchise history. While Bobcats Baseline will surely provide deeper analysis and review of the past season, here’s a quick list of some of the important and encouraging events of this season.

• Sam Vincent Fired As Head Coach
• Larry Brown Selected As New Head Coach
• DJ Augustin Drafted (Alexis Ajinca also selected late in the first round)
• Training Camp Observed By NC Basketball Royalty (Dean Smith and Michael Jordan)
• Bobcats Trade Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley for Boris Diaw, Raja Bell, and Sean Singletary
• Juwan Howard Signed For the Season
• Cats Trade Matt Carroll for Desagana Diop
• Bobcats Defeat the Lakers in LA. . . G. Wallace Suffers Rib & Lung Injuries
• Charlotte Retains Raymond Felton Despite Trade Talks
• Bobcats Trade Adam Morrison & Shannon Brown for Vladimir Radmanovich
• Cartier Martin Signed (from D League)
• Amidst Playoff Chase, Bobcats Defeat Lakers in Charlotte
• Franchise High 35 Wins – Final Home Game (76ers)

Blow It Up

The Bobcats look horrible this season. Three Wins, Seven Losses. Only 30%-40% of the arena seats are filled. Even the cable broadcasts are screwed up this year.

There’s nothing to do but blow the whole thing up.

Larry Brown’s “system” just isn’t cutting it. Perhaps, the personnel is lacking? Perhaps, the game has changed too much for this old man? Whatever the answer may be, the Bobcats have put a sad product together and shoveled it out onto the floor this season. That much must be recognized.

The embarrassment suffered last night to the Dallas Mavericks was the last straw for this ‘Cats apologist. This team will find little success until major changes are made. Whether it be changes to the roster or the coach’s offensive philosophy, the Bobcats need a shakeup. Until then, the Playoffs are a fantasy. The Mavericks were once the laughing stock of the league (for about a decade). Then, they got it together. It’s about time for the Bobcats to cut the fans some slack and get it together. Seriously guys, I know Jason Richardson was out but no team’s starting line up should feature Matt Carroll.

Let’s review who has been Entirely Worthless vs. the players who have only been Somewhat Worthless.

ENTIRELY WORTHLESS:

Sean May (hungry, hungry hippo)
Matt Carroll (c’mon man, get it together)
Andre Brown (he played in the opening game. . . then?)
Linton Johnson (Jermareo was released to pick up this guy – for what?)

SOMEWHAT WORTHLESS:

Emeka Okafor (Not quite a top-tier big man, but his contract would fool you)
Nazr Mohammed (We’ve rarely seen this guy)
Alexis Ajinca (Such a work in progress)
Ryan Hollins (While he’s energetic, he doesn’t fill the huge hole that the Cats have)

The question must be asked – “Why are all of the Bobcats’ big men worthless?” Primarily, this is due to their inability to rebound or score in the paint. Secondly, no big man has arisen as a defensive presence this season. Okafor has been serviceable, but not quite 72 million dollars worth of service.

We should expect some sort of trade for a real big man or a change to the starting line up in the next few weeks. Maybe, this is just an overreaction? Maybe not? Stability is often important, but the Pistons and Nuggets seem to be doing okay after their recent swap. Ryan Hollins’ willingness to play ball inside the paint and run the floor with intensity might just give him a shot at starting a few times this year. Maybe a Hollins / Okafor / Wallace / Richardson / Felton lineup wouldn’t be so bad. It sure beats starting Sean May or Matt Carroll.

Additionally, don’t get fooled by the stat sheet that shows record of DJ Augustin’s big point total against the Mavericks. Augustin didn’t actually succeed as a point guard in the game, he simply racked up a lot of “garbage time” points. The entire game could be considered garbage time for the ‘Cats. Dallas was up by so much and the starters were off of the court for about 40 minutes of the match. When a team loses by such a big margin and their point guard has a big scoring night, it’s safe to surmise that he wasn’t “facilitating the offense” with any success. Maybe the Bobcats have found their identity. The Lakers used to be called “Show Time!” Now, the Bobcats can reserve – “Garbage Time!”

-Mike S.