[情報] Bobcats moving in wrong direction

看板Hornets (夏洛特黃蜂)作者Eddie23 (我是UNC控～XD)時間18年前 (2008/01/06 18:15)推噓2(2推 0噓 1→)

留言3則, 3人參與討論串1/1

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/7638776 by Charley Rosen Game Time: Nets 102, Bobcats 96 The Bobcats are only three years removed from their expansionist status, and previous to this season they've made definite progress under the avuncular direction of Bernie Bickerstaff. But with Bickerstaff abandoning the bench and being replaced by Sam Vincent, the Bobcats' steady progress has hit a roadblock. But it's not Vincent's fault. Indeed, whatever problems the Bobcats are struggling with are due to the fact that it takes more than four years to build a competitive team from scratch. Let's look at the current players and see how they grade out. A' Players In fact, the Bobcats have no authentic honor-roll players, but grading on a curve sends two players to the head of the class. Gerald Wallace: He's incredibly quick and determined when he drives to the hoop and he seeks — and thrives on — contact. Wallace can run and jump with anybody, and he's a fairly alert passer. He works hard on defense, but not as hard as he used to (he failed to box out on several occasions and was frequently frozen by ball-fakes). He likes to draw and dish, but he often takes an extra dibble and puts himself in a bad position to accomplish anything useful. Except for his five turnovers, Wallace's numbers looked stupendous — 8-for-15, 12 rebounds, five assists, 25 points — yet his shot release is too snappish and his jumper is suspect. He'd be a great tempo-boosting, sixth man for a top-notch ballclub. Jason Richardson: A streaky shooter — 12-for-28, 33 points — Richardson sometimes fades to his left as he releases the ball. But even if his shot isn't falling, he knows how to score — by running, hitting the offensive boards, making backdoor cuts should his man turn his head on defense, and even venturing into the low-post. Defending is a problem, not because of a lack of effort but because his lateral movement is a mite slow. He can hold his own off the boards (eight rebounds), looks to make the appropriate pass (four assists), and isn't a particularly wonderful ball-handler (four turnovers). But Richardson earns his wage by being a professional point-maker. 'B' Players None. 'C' Players Emeka Okafor: He's a good-but-not-great rebounder, mainly because he sometimes gets pushed out of position. He's also a decent shot-blocker, with the caveat that he doesn't always come to the ball with the proper energy. Making poor choices on defense is another chronic problem. In fact, the best part of his game is his ability to throw out-let passes after securing a defensive rebound, a skill that routinely initiates the Bobcats' fast break. Passing is another weakness, and Okafor is extremely uncomfortable in the low post. His crude moves in the paint resulted in two traveling violations and one blocked shot. In all, Okafor was 2-for-2 with 13 rebounds, two assists, four blocks, one steal, 4 turnovers and 6 points. In a perfect world, Okafor would be a primo backup for a championship team. Matt Carroll: Is a terrific catch-and-shoot guy who plays earnest-but-ineffective defense. Too bad the Bobcats don't run the type of disciplined offense that would get Carroll the looks he needs — 3-for-7 for seven points. Nazr Mohammed: This guy is perfectly situated exactly where he is — in a backup role for a poor team. He's strictly a jump shooter — 1-for-5, four rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block for two points — who has no dependable moves in the pivot. His one misadventure in the paint resulted in a jump hook that was a foot short of the ring. 'D' Players Jeff McInnis: He gambles on defense and gets burned when he tries to play straight up. Making precision passes is not part of his repertoire, either. His numbers for the game appear to be more than adequate — 6-for-8, five assists, one turnover, 13 points — but he's strictly a penetrate-and-pop guy, and most of his points came in the waning moments when the verdict had already been delivered. Here's still another career backup who is forced to start. Raymond Felton: He is certainly the best all-around ball-distributor on the squad. Too bad he can't shoot straight — 4-for-12 (including 1-for-7 on jump shots), eight assists, two steals, three turnovers, eight points — can't defend, and isn't quick enough to play the point. 'F' Players Derek Anderson: At age 33, and with a recent history of multiple injuries, Anderson is going, going and almost gone. Ryan Hollins: A finesse 7-footer with bad hands. What does this team need to resume its long, upward climb to respectability? # A big man who can provide a scoring threat in the low post. # A wing man who can shoot and create his own scoring opportunities. # Most of all, an NBA-caliber point guard. But hey, taking three steps forward and one step backward isn't all that bad. Straight Shooting Just before the Nix lost to a decimated Kings team in Madison Square Garden, Isiah Thomas said this to the assembled media: "I believe one day we will win a championship. I believe a couple of these players will be part of that. I believe I'll be part of that." Thomas further discussed his goal to leave a winning "legacy" behind him. I've received an imaginary transcript of Zeke's next appearance before the media in which he makes the following statements: "The moon is made of green cheese." "Storks bring babies." As delusional as he is, and as inept a coach and general manager as he's proven to be, Thomas can be counted on to provide something that's necessary yet clearly lacking as another season races to the finish line — comic relief. Fortunately for NBA observers and partisans of other teams — but unfortunately for the Nix family — Zeke's terminal foot-in-mouth affliction will be his most lasting legacy. Vox Populi Why is it so hard for a CBA coach to advance to the NBA? Our local team, the Yakima SunKings, have a great young coach in Paul Woolpert, yet he never seems to be considered when a vacancy occurs in the NBA. Instead, former NBA coaches with losing records are recycled and rarely live up to expectations. Any ideas? — Fletcher Scaife, Zillah, Wash. # It's because the NBA has invested so much money in the NBDL, and because that's where NBA teams periodically send their young and/or marginal players for seasoning. In short, the D-League is now part of the NBA family. That's why even the most successful CBA coaches, like Woolpert, are ignored. Indeed, if they had an influential godfather, they wouldn't be in the CBA to begin with. Notice, too, that all of the 10-day contracts and call-ups are awarded to D-League players. It used to be that they all came from the CBA. Of course, Phil Jackson, Flip Saunders, Larry Krystkowiak and George Karl all served their coaching apprenticeships in the CBA. But those days are gone. (Thank you, Zeke!) Second-hand coaches are often hired to run NBA teams simply because they're deemed to be less of a risk than rookies. After all, if a guy was good enough for some other team to hire, then giving him another ride on the carousel protects the GM (or president) from a certain amount of criticism. Travels with Charley Phil Jackson grew up in Montana and was accustomed to dealing with winter blizzards. That's why he always drove the Albany Patroons' team van whenever the weather was foul. His driving skills were severely tested one morning after we had played the Lightning in Lancaster, Pa. We were scheduled for a back-to-back game in Albany, N.Y., which in clear weather was still a five- or six-hour ride. However, a severe snowstorm was going full blast, and in those days the only viable route from Lancaster to the New York Thruway was Interstate 209, a two-lane road with a 35 mph speed limit. Covering the distance as quickly as possible was imperative. If we didn't arrive in Albany by game-time, it was entirely possible that we'd have to forfeit. This scenario was both expensive and a severe blow to our playoff possibilities. So P.J. simply stepped on the gas and plowed through the foot or so of snow that already obscured the road at about 50-55 mph. Since it was a Sunday morning, he further amused himself by spreading the New York Times. crossword puzzle across the steering wheel and tried to fill in the blanks as we sped along. I was riding shotgun and was somewhat nervous, but the players behind us were absolutely petrified. Suddenly, Phil and I became aware of a pungent odor drifting toward us from the back of the van. A quick look around discovered one of the players frantically, and blatantly, puffing away on a joint. Say what? Between puffs, the player made the following announcement: "If I got to die in the CBA, then I'm gonna die stoned." We all survived the trip and arrived in Albany on time — and it turned out that the toker actually lived stoned, was out of basketball a year later and is currently selling used cars somewhere in the Midwest. -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 61.230.177.14