Bobcats Baseline Season 9 | Week 3 Recap

Charlotte’s luck of catching injury-riddled teams finally ran out. Week 3 saw an elite Grizzlies squad, two probable Playoff teams (Milwaukee/Atlanta) and a desperate one (Toronto) trying to turn their season around – all at full strength.

The good news is that Coach Dunlap was able to keep his team playing hard even when things went bad. The Memphis game (84-97) never reached blowout status despite the Grizz’s massive talent advantage and the Cats had multiple chances to get back in it. Wins against the Bucks (102-98) and the Raps (98-97) came despite Charlotte being down late in the fourth quarter. Even last night’s home loss to the Hawks was (91-101) winnable late – until a rash of mental errors finally caught up to them.

Three Thoughts on the Week

Byron Mullens Creates Bi-Polar People

We hated him. Then he started posting up and driving and we liked him. Then he went back to hoisting threes and fadeaways and we hated him again.
Grantland’s Zach Lowe wrote a great feature on NBA Gunners earlier in the week which breaks down the importance of the high-volume/low efficiency scorer brilliantly (yes, BJ makes the list). See, the reason Mullens keeps chucking up shots is because, well, there’s really no one else on the team who can. The Cats desperately need a centerpiece to run their halfcourt offense through and “oh lord, it’s Byron” is the only man on the roster currently up for the job. Unfortunately, until the front office can find a suitable replacement, Mullens will continue to shoot like there’s no tomorrow.

We So Excited About Jeff Taylor

His three looks like its starting to fall regularly (5-8 over the last two games) and his on-ball defense is a thing of absolute beauty. Taylor hounded Demar Derozan all Wednesday night – so much that Demar “got up in his face” for a double-technical psueda-spat. I’d be frustrated too, Taylor hasn’t even learned to keep his hands up regularly yet still wreaks havoc against his covers. Offensively, he’s slowly but surely figuring it out. His release is still extremely slow (Mike Dunleavy, Jr. of all people swatted one of his jumpers); this makes him hesitant around the rim and on fast breaks where he hasn’t yet developed a feel for NBA-level shotblockers. Ultimately, I think he’ll figure this part out and when he does, the Bobcats are going to have a major question on their hands: There’s only 96 wing position minutes to go around per night. Taylor and MKG should play 65-70 of those. Gerald Henderson and Ben Gordon won’t be happy dividing up the rest and that’s before some of those SG minutes get eaten up by a Kemba/Sessions dual PG lineup. With Henderson in line for a big contract extension come July, don’t be surprised if Taylor’s excellent play translates into a Henderson trade between now and February’s deadline.

“We Need to be Bad” Nurtures a Culture of Losing

I keep hearing the old doctrine rehashed on Twitter, “we need to be bad – we can’t be this good this fast, we need more lottery picks! We trade for someone like Carlos Boozer and we’re mediocre again!!!”
Everybody, relax. Seriously.
1. If Lottery Picks equaled winning, the Sacramento Kings would have more banners than any organization in sports. Even better, the Bobcats themselves have had more lottery picks than nearly everyone else over the past decade. What did that buy them? A seven win season. Compare the number of Charlotte lottery picks over that time to San Antonio’s (10-1) or the Lakers (10-0). Just because one contending team in the past 25 years have built themselves entirely through the Lottery (OKC) doesn’t mean that’s the only way to do it.
2. “But free agents are overpaid and expensive!!!” Well, I have great news for you ladies & gents, there are other ways to acquire talent in the NBA! Also, not all free agents are overpaid. OJ Mayo is making $4 million this season and is in the top 5 in League Scoring. Carl Landry has been Golden State’s most consistent offensive threat on an identical contract. Our own Ramon Sessions has become the stabilizing force behind the team’s 6 victories yet is paid just $5 million over two seasons. Brook Lopez signed a max contract with the Nets over the summer but has been playing lights out and very well may be the best offensive center in all of basketball.
Also, ask Memphis fans how they acquired Zach Randolph. Or Marc Gasol. Or Mareese Speights. All via well calculated trades. And need I even mention all of the mid to late round draft picks who are/have been dominating the league: Ginobli, Parker, Ibaka, Kobe, Steve Nash, Al Jefferson, Josh Smith, Varejao, Ellis, Ty Lawson, et all. Then there’s Euro talent like Pekovic, AK47 and Shved that can be found every year. Fact is, there is MORE talent outside the lottery than in it – it’s just a little harder to find.
3. Finally, keep in mind that Charlotte still has high draft picks from Portland and Detroit owed to them. The Detroit pick in particular will likely be a top 10. Packaging one of these with their own to move up in the lottery is always a possiblity if worthy talent is there. In the meantime, the Bobcats need to build a culture of winning – with Kemba, MKG and Sessions, they may as well do it now, winning a Top 5 pick in a weak 2013 Draft isn’t much of a consolation.

-ASChin

Bobcats Baseline Season 9 | Week 1 Recap

Five Thoughts on the Week

The first week of the ’12-’13 Bobcats season wraps up with the team going 1-2. After putting an end to their infamous 23 game losing streak in the opener against Indy, the team was blown out in Dallas, then dropped a winnable game at home against the Suns on Wednesday night.

#1 Byron Mullens makes me want to throw things.

Simply can’t think of a more infuriating player to watch. His defense has improved from “non-existent” to “below average” and at times he actually makes plays on that end. But the sleepy time rotations are killing the team inside and a big reason the Cats are allowing a league worst 110 ppg. As for Mully’s vaunted jumper? Before Wednesday’s 6-10 three pointer explosion, BJ was just 2 of 14 from the beyond the arc. Yes he’s attempted 24 threes in three games. I get that Dunlap needs Mullens to space the floor for Kemba and Sessions to drive but he’s gonna need better, more consistent shot selection.

#2 MKG is the real deal.

The box score is impressive but the performance is even more so: Kidd-Gilchrist is a defensive marvel. I can’t remember seeing a young player stay grounded the way he does on shot fakes yet still come up with a couple of blocks every game (2.0 bpg). You just can’t teach instincts like that. His lateral movement and the way he orients his hips to stay in front of his assignment is just phenomenol. Though MKG’s only 19, few SFs can match his rebounding (6.6 rpg in just 26 minutes) and don’t even get me started on his knack for deflections (1.7 spg) – in two seasons we could be looking at a team with the league’s top shot blocker (Biyombo) and top steals artist. His offense has been as raw as advertised but he did nail a 17 footer in Dallas that didn’t look half bad and attempted another versus the Suns that looked good before it rimmed out. I’m not worried about that aspect of his game, it will come eventually. Best news of the young season by far is that MKG is a stud.

#3 The Kemba/Sessions Platoon.

Charlotte’s point men are leading the team in PER (18.98 for Walker, 20.22 for Sessions) and aside from Mullens, are basically the entire Cats offense. Kemba exploded for 30 points in the opener but has since come back to earth. His size limits what he can do at the rim and the Cats just don’t have enough shooters to punish opponents for clogging the lane. Sessions is currently the more skilled of the two and has been killing it with his push up the floor and rolls to the hoop.

#4 Henderson Out 2-4 Weeks.

This hurt. GH2 is right behind MKG as the team’s top defender and was able to slide in as a better shooting backup three when the team went small. He was the team’s best wing player getting to the rim and the only thing close to a shot clock bail-out option in the starting 5. In the interim, Coach Dunlap will have to find production from either Reggie Williams (better shooter, huge defensive downgrade) or rookie Jeffrey Taylor – who has logged 16 NBA minutes but has yet to generate one positive stat.

#5 Brendan Haywood was a great pickup.

At $2 million per, I can’t imagine a better value signing for a team so desperately in need of the things Haywood provides. His offense is much more advanced than I remembered – the baseline hopstep-and-one he pulled against Phoenix Wednesday night was Hakeem-esque. Haywood is the team’s best rebounder, best post defender and anchors the defense like an inside linebacker. Excellent pickup for the present and the future as a mentor for Bismack Biyombo.

–ASChin

POLL : Will Coach Dunlap Make It Through The Season?

Of Course He Will (72%, 86 Votes)
No, He'll Be Fired Mid-Season (2%, 2 Votes)
Yes, But Released Next Summer (6%, 7 Votes)
Coach of the Year 2012-13 (21%, 25 Votes)

Total Voters: 120

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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)

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