CHARLOTTE BOBCATS
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Stats:
PACE: #26 92.0
OFFENSE: #25 100.8
DEFENSE: #16 104.8
After going to the playoffs in the
previous season while compiling a respectable record of 44-38, the Bobcats
couldn’t fill the good expectations for the following season and the final
outcome was 10 more losses than they had suffered in the year before. Their
expectations were legitimate, as they maintained the same coach and the main
core of the roster from the previous season. We know that eventually Charlotte
traded Gerald Wallace to Portland and their coach Larry Brown was fired, but
the truth is that the Bobcats never showed their level from the previous
season. When Brown was fired, the Bobcats were 9-19 and when Wallace was
traded, Charlotte was 25-32. So, the million dollar question is why did the
Bobcats regress so badly last season? The answer is quite simple and can be
expressed in just one word: defense!
Charlotte Bobcats defensive efficiency ranks:
08-09 #7 103.4
09-10 #1 100.2
10-11 #16 104.8
Larry Brown’s teams have the trademark of
being great defensive teams, but when he can’t implement such mentality to his
teams, a disaster usually happens. Just look at what happened during his tenure
with the Knicks. The Bobcats were an average offensive team and with the roster
they had, it was tough to see how they could improve in that area of the game,
so the regression they suffered on defense from being the best in the league to
an average #16 place made them into a weak team.
From all the defensive metrics stats, the
biggest drop off from the previous season by the Bobcats was on forcing
turnovers. They had been #3 in the league in 09-10 with a 14.70% opposite
turnover rate, but last season they were just #20 with a 12.86% rate. Note that
in 09-10, Charlotte had three players in the top 15 of steals per game: #10 S.
Jackson with 1.63; #14 G. Wallace with 1.54; #15 R. Felton with 1.54 as well.
We can conclude that Felton leaving the team influenced the team’s defensive
regression, but that fact alone can’t explain such defensive drop off. After
Larry Brown was fired, Paul Silas became the head coach and even though the
Bobcats became slightly better offensively, they couldn’t improve their
defensive numbers.
Bobcats GM Michael Jordan’s long term plans
are easy to understand: he wants to build a team for the future via the draft,
but the way they got rid of their veteran players are questionable at best, as
the Bobcats got very little from trading their best players.
We are talking about trading Tyson
Chandler for Erick Dampier, just to waive Dampier almost immediately. We are
talking about trading Gerald Wallace for expiring contracts and draft picks. At
least they got Corey Maggette for trading Stephen Jackson! The first step of
rebounding via the draft was the picks of Kemba Walker and Bismack Biyombo.
Walker is an explosive PG that has a good
court vision and most importantly has a high character, so we are looking for a
future floor leader of this team. The problem is that both Walker and DJ Augustin
are both undersized for the PG position, so coach Silas will have to protect
defensively his point guards. I don’t know if it’s sustainable to have both
players on the floor at the same time due to this size problem.
Jordan also drafted in the first round
Biyombo. Don’t underrate him from being listed as 6’9’’ because he is a freak of
nature with a tremendous wingspan! If big minutes are given to him, Biyombo
will naturally be on the top of the league in terms of rebounds and blocked
shots! But you can’t have it all and Biyombo is quite limited offensively. He
will dunk all over his opponents but he needs to work on the fundamentals.
However, Charlotte is a perfect team for him because he will have time to
develop. In Jordan’s mind, the Bobcats will have another top draft pick next
season waiting for them and so, they will rather develop their young players
thinking in the future than win today.
However, the Bobcats have traded for
Maggette, who will be looking to bounce back from a disastrous season last
year. A combination of him, Tyrus Thomas, Bismack Biyombo, Gerald Henderson and
Kemba Walker will make the Bobcats be an ultra athletic team. It’s hard to
predict how well the Bobcats will play this season. They will have potentially
three new starters in Biyombo, Maggette and Walker, so the job of coach Silas
won’t be easy this season, as he will have to implement the young players on
the team’s system in such a short time.
I don’t expect Charlotte to reach the
playoffs this season and neither does their GM Michael Jordan. Nevertheless,
for the first time in Jordan’s career as a GM, the Bobcats have now a direction
and a long term plan. We will certainly talk about that during next year’s draft.
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