Please Larry it's our only hope...

[BobcatsAllDay]

LB you have to get our PGs involved in the offense. When Ray & DJ are agressive we are a far better team. Add the fact that our PG contribution needs to be the 3rd head of the offense (of course Crash and Jack are the one, two punch). I know you have the plays in the playbook that can put these guys in attack mode on offense. All you have to do is tell Ray and he may go overboard but that's better than what we have seen so far (besides the 2nd half of game 1). DJ hit two threes in the 1st half of game one and I'm not sure if he took a shot after that. If our PGs are not attacking we don't stand a chance. That's what I'm looking for on Saturday from the 1st to the 4th.

[spectre]

I'm sure he wants them to, but you can't discount Orlando's defense. They've been doing a very admirable job keeping our PGs out on the perimeter.

Jax...love him or hate him...does not really contribute to ball movement. I know he likes to think he does (and sometime he really does), but we see way too many times him doing that iso game. Until we really start to move the ball like we have in the past we're not going to get that much penetration other than from our wings.

[Felton for Prez]

Jax...love him or hate him...does not really contribute to ball movement. I know he likes to think he does (and sometime he really does), but we see way too many times him doing that iso game.

Thank you. The problem with his iso game is that it's 12 seconds of jab steps and ball fakes which basically causes the other 4 guys to just stand there. All "flow" dies. It drives me nuts.

[spectre]

Heh...remember when people bitched about Felton shooting? What was that line..."going into hero mode"? He's been deferring for most of the year (and that's been a good thing), but now we all want him to shoot!

I agree we need more aggression from the PGs and everyone else. Felton did a great job of that in the 2nd half of the 1st game and we need more of that. DJ looked like he's shaken some of the fear off last game with those 2 3s, but he can't stop looking not to shoot. Unlike Felton scoring has always been more his forte'.

Playoffs look bigger than Felton, so far (http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/04/22/1393165/playoffs-look-bigger-than-felton.html)

A lot of it is true.

Of course...give Felton the reins of the 2nd seed/defending EC champions with one of the best Ds in the league and match them up against a 7th seed in their 1st playoff series and I don't know that it'd be the same.

Eh. A lot of guys could be doing "more". Again...I just don't know what the hell some people actually expected.

[110oldeast]

My man. I just wrote a thread called: Will the Real Raymond Felton please stand up? Of course, I accidentally hit a button and the beautiful system kicked me back to the login page, leaving my post nowhere to be found. I will try to put it in this thread.


LB you have to get our PGs involved in the offense. When Ray & DJ are agressive we are a far better team. Add the fact that our PG contribution needs to be the 3rd head of the offense (of course Crash and Jack are the one, two punch). I know you have the plays in the playbook that can put these guys in attack mode on offense. All you have to do is tell Ray and he may go overboard but that's better than what we have seen so far (besides the 2nd half of game 1). DJ hit two threes in the 1st half of game one and I'm not sure if he took a shot after that. If our PGs are not attacking we don't stand a chance. That's what I'm looking for on Saturday from the 1st to the 4th.

[110oldeast]

While many things have disappointed me thus far in this series (our approach to defending the 3 and NOT running guys off the 3 pt shot being near the top), one of my biggest disappointments has been the PASSIVE and DEFERRENTIAL play of Raymond Felton. While Bobcats folks (media/fans) have always had a hate/love relationship with him, what cannot be denied is that whenever we have beaten or been competitive with the top tier teams in the league is that he has been a significant factor. Even in this series, the one good half of ball we had was one in which he had (an unmentioned/glossed over) 14 pts including 10 in the 4th quarter when we came back in Game 1.

The one plotline I disagreed with from the beginning, as nice as it was for PR purposes, was that we would go as far as Jack and Crash "carried" us. Because, while this may be the case against lower level teams like Philly or the Clippers, they have not, cannot, and likely will not "carry" us against the top teams. The 3rd and often 2nd significant factor in our games against top comp has often been Felton. In this series, we have gotten better shots when he has been aggressive, whether through driving and dishing or getting it up on the board and giving the help defender's man a lane to the offensive boards. When Ray has passed it off and watched the other guys run the offense, it has opened us up for more TOs and bad shots, leading to easy shots for Orlando. We are turning it over about 17 times a game in this series and Felton has 3 of the total 34 TOs. To me that says he's not handling the ball enough.

I honestly thought that after Felton's aggressive 2nd half in Game 1 that he would come out aggressive in Game 2, but instead he went back into "coach/people pleasing let the game come to my, don't do too much" mode. The problem is that when he does this against quality teams, other guys on the floor start trying to do too much with detrimental outcomes. That approach is cool if it is working, but when you as a pg see that it's not, you need to adjust and get aggressive.

Felton and the team are at their best when he is assertive as a PRIMARY ballhandler/offense initiator and allows other guys to be SECONDARY ballhandlers/playmakers and play FINISHERS. I love when he says that he doesn't care how much he scores, he only cares about winning. However, in this series, he needs to accept that in order for his team to win, he is going to have to be an AGGRESSIVE participant making plays for himself and his teammates, pushing the ball when the opportunity is there, and not deferring so much in the halfcourt.

While folks have tried to call out "a hero complex" in the past, I would prefer that much more than his Zen/Monk approach of letting what will be, be. Go out swinging. You have been as much a part of this team's success as anyone else and it's time you take on that role and responsibility.

[110oldeast]

The thing Ray has done this year is that he has deferred until he realized the team needed him to step up. He has deferred in this series, but has not stepped up as the team has needed him outside of Game 1 2nd half.

He has stepped up against good teams a lot this year. He's gotta realize this aint Philly, LAC, or whomever else our wings can carry us against. He's gotta be part of a 3 headed monster.

And this is from someone who has always thought he was undervalued relative to our typical overvaluing of our players (his best assumed role has been scapegoat) and thought the hero mode talk was a load of crap.


Heh...remember when people bitched about Felton shooting? What was that line..."going into hero mode"? He's been deferring for most of the year (and that's been a good thing), but now we all want him to shoot!

I agree we need more aggression from the PGs and everyone else. Felton did a great job of that in the 2nd half of the 1st game and we need more of that. DJ looked like he's shaken some of the fear off last game with those 2 3s, but he can't stop looking not to shoot. Unlike Felton scoring has always been more his forte'.

Playoffs look bigger than Felton, so far (http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/04/22/1393165/playoffs-look-bigger-than-felton.html)

A lot of it is true.

Of course...give Felton the reins of the 2nd seed/defending EC champions with one of the best Ds in the league and match them up against a 7th seed in their 1st playoff series and I don't know that it'd be the same.

Eh. A lot of guys could be doing "more". Again...I just don't know what the hell some people actually expected.

[BlackH20]

LB you have to get our PGs involved in the offense. When Ray & DJ are agressive we are a far better team. Add the fact that our PG contribution needs to be the 3rd head of the offense (of course Crash and Jack are the one, two punch). I know you have the plays in the playbook that can put these guys in attack mode on offense. All you have to do is tell Ray and he may go overboard but that's better than what we have seen so far (besides the 2nd half of game 1). DJ hit two threes in the 1st half of game one and I'm not sure if he took a shot after that. If our PGs are not attacking we don't stand a chance. That's what I'm looking for on Saturday from the 1st to the 4th.

Hughes, if given the minutes would have got this team 1 win. Nothing for the future, maybe pissed off some young ones, but one win is what this team needed. A 6 foot 5 point guard with 12 years experience and good hands and can still steal the ball. One quarter last night, and he caught fire, but benched most the third, need to win a game. Hughes is no superstar, but earning 17 mil this year, he is here cause he wants to win and play in the playoffs. At 31, best defender on the team and still some of the best hands. Hand broke twice, not the best shooter, but can catch fire and put up a quick 20 and dish assist that you can't follow with your eyes. We should have won last night, Hughes was in with 5-7 point leads and some players did not want to pass to him (too hungry for play off stats). Plain shame. Brown, Jordon, too many questions, but I always say, get a W. Let a Vet do it. Hughes took Cleveland to the finals as a point guard. Lead the league in steals at Washington. Scored 14 points a game over 12 years. Fresh legs from D'Antoni's goofy system, let him loose a half.

[Marvel]

Felton is who he is.People are discrediting Jameer by saying he has a dominant big,sure, but not in this series.Put Felton in Meers shoes he probably couldn't hit the backboard.You can try and put a twist on Felton's deficiencies but he's still doing the same thing he's always done-drive too deep and look for the kickout or bring it back out and try his luck again with another pick n roll.
The bitter-sweet thing about playing Orlando is the exposure.They've exposed our weaknesses just like they did Cleveland last year and they made adjustments to counter that.We all knew we were deficient offensively but that deficiency has been magnified playing a team that made the finals last season.
The questions start to roll out,adjustments to the roster are made, we make progress.I have full confidence MJ will put a winning team-even better team on the floor next season.

[G Force]

Hughes, if given the minutes would have got this team 1 win. Nothing for the future, maybe pissed off some young ones, but one win is what this team needed. A 6 foot 5 point guard with 12 years experience and good hands and can still steal the ball. One quarter last night, and he caught fire, but benched most the third, need to win a game. Hughes is no superstar, but earning 17 mil this year, he is here cause he wants to win and play in the playoffs. At 31, best defender on the team and still some of the best hands. Hand broke twice, not the best shooter, but can catch fire and put up a quick 20 and dish assist that you can't follow with your eyes. We should have won last night, Hughes was in with 5-7 point leads and some players did not want to pass to him (too hungry for play off stats). Plain shame. Brown, Jordon, too many questions, but I always say, get a W. Let a Vet do it. Hughes took Cleveland to the finals as a point guard. Lead the league in steals at Washington. Scored 14 points a game over 12 years. Fresh legs from D'Antoni's goofy system, let him loose a half.

Is this some lame attempt at comedy?

Larry Hughes "earning 17 mill this year?"

Try $160,000.


He's one of the worst players and still hasn't bought into Larry Brown's system. "Best defender on the team?" Just stop. You've made a complete fool of yourself today. Larry Hughes was not the difference between a loss and a win. STOP.

[teej]

Is this some lame attempt at comedy?

Larry Hughes "earning 17 mill this year?"

Try $160,000.


He's one of the worst players and still hasn't bought into Larry Brown's system. "Best defender on the team?" Just stop. You've made a complete fool of yourself today. Larry Hughes was not the difference between a loss and a win. STOP.

He made 13 mil before being bought out by the Kings...

And he's one of the best defenders we have, and had he played instead of Ray, we could've won Game 3...:g:

[Fred Williamson]

After 5 years, I'm done with Felton as our starting point guard. Time for a change.

[Toocool]

Best defender, I doubt it. He's good, but I don't think he's as good as Crash on the defensive end. Hughes does have short comings. He searches for his shot more than others, I remember him BUTCHERING fast breaks horribly, or taking it himself and missing, horribly.

As for winning game 3, perhaps, perhaps not. It's in the past, we gotta suck it up and move on.

[spectre]

"(Nelson has) come out very aggressively, he's played very well offensively," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "And again, it's tough because we've got a lot of other guys they've got to pay attention to. It's not like it's a one-on-one battle and he's taking apart somebody one-on-one. You've got to decide."

Nelson's final line—32 points on 12-of-21 shooting, five 3-pointers, four rebounds, four steals, three assists and zero turnovers—was a thing of beauty.

"He's reading the defense," Magic forward Rashard Lewis said. "On the pick-and-roll, they're not committing to him, they're trying to stay with Dwight, and he's reading the defense real good and making open layups, making open shots. When the defense comes to him, he's making the right pass out to the open guys. He's just being a point guard."
http://www.sportingnews.com/nba/article/2010-04-24/bobcats-bottle-howard-cant-stop-nelson

[110oldeast]

Exactly. I love how folks are acting like Jameer is just doing this individually. The Magic have us spread and scrambling.

Nelson hit 5 3 pointers in Game 3. 3 were off a kickout from Howard (there goes your dominant big being irrelevant theory Marvel) and 1 was off Lewis drive and kick after we had to run out at him. The 5th was that "and one" shot.

Again, Jameer is getting the job done no doubt, but to act like the corresponding parts are irrelevant in nuts.

It's scapegoating by folks who have been biding their time to do so.

Again, we had the chance to win 2 games in this series: 1 and 3. In those our star was 6 of 18 in both and 1 of 10 from 3. Felton has had a poor series but he has averaged 16.5 pts 5 assists and 2 TOs while shooting 42% from the floor and 33% from 3. Again, my point is in saying that it's not ALL on him as folks want to dump.

ORLANDO IS JUST BETTER all around, the same way Detroit was when Chauncey took Jameer to the woodshed and swept Orlando in the 1st round.

When you have 3 guys who are knockdown shooters on the floor for kickout options, the floor is wide open and poison will have to be picked.

Personally, I say HARD DOUBLE the pick and roll and force them to throw it to the big guy 15-17 feet away from the hoop and force him to make a play.



http://www.sportingnews.com/nba/article/2010-04-24/bobcats-bottle-howard-cant-stop-nelson

[BobCatsFanInTx]

After 5 years, I'm done with Felton as our starting point guard. Time for a change.You people are funny. Lol Felton is one of our favorites going into the playoffs against a #2 seed team and defending Eastern Conference champion. Felton struggles in his FIRST EVER PLAYOFF series and everybody want's to can him.

Stop making Felton the scape goat. Yes he has struggled but if you really want to get all riled up over a player not performing do so about Diaw. Boris has been down this road before and yet he has no heart and seems to give up when things are not starting well for him. If Diaw gave a shit he would at least continue to play inspired and fight through his struggles.

In the end we need depth at the 4 and Diaw should not be in our teams future. To me he seems like he doesn't even want to be with the Bobcats and has not for quite some time. He has played well for a stretch but rather than seem like he embraces the playoff opportunity with our team he acts like he is uninspired. Maybe that is just how he seems but most of last year he seemed to have a fire in his belly. Not so this season.

I myself won't throw any one player under the bus. Despite the talk of the Miami Wades, LA Bryant's, Cleveland James's and the such, basketball is a team game. We as Bobcats fans should know that better than any considering we have no Super Stars. It is time to stop zeroing in on any one player. It's also time to be glad we made our first playoffs.

Most expansion teams struggle in their first playoffs. Especially when they are a 7th seed and playing the defending Eastern Conference Champion who is VERY VERY determined to win it all this time around.

I think before we scream the sky is falling we should take a deep breath and allow 98% of our players a full season to connect and mature from this first playoff experience. Chances are the players you hate this season in the PLAYOFFS will be key to a real run next season.

I myself am not ready to can the whole team. Well maybe if we could trade our team for OKC's team. That is the ONLY exception. I only say that because of the youth of OKC and them being set for a long run at elite team status.

Other than that I like the makeup of our team. We have really good guys and most of them are smart enough and good enough to be a better team NEXT season. We will wait and see what free agency does to the NBA's door mats but I think it is safe to say that with RAYMOND FELTON we will be an improved team NEXT season. Don't let a poor playoff series destroy the good will Raymond has earned this season with his hustle and hard play.

As an organization we can grow a lot from being eliminated in the first round this season. Our guys will have matured as a team and they will want to avoid being such a low seed next season. I think they will do that.

As far as the draft, we have two rookies this season more than ready to get minutes next season and I think they will contribute greatly to next seasons team.

[G Force]

You should be suspended from this message board for saying that Larry Hughes is the best defender on the team. And making 17 mill this year. :facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm: :facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm: :facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm: :facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm: :facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm: :facepalm::facepalm:

[BobCatsFanInTx]

Exactly. I love how folks are acting like Jameer is just doing this individually. The Magic have us spread and scrambling.

Nelson hit 5 3 pointers in Game 3. 3 were off a kickout from Howard (there goes your dominant big being irrelevant theory Marvel) and 1 was off Lewis drive and kick after we had to run out at him. The 5th was that "and one" shot.

Again, Jameer is getting the job done no doubt, but to act like the corresponding parts are irrelevant in nuts.

It's scapegoating by folks who have been biding their time to do so.

Again, we had the chance to win 2 games in this series: 1 and 3. In those our star was 6 of 18 in both and 1 of 10 from 3. Felton has had a poor series but he has averaged 16.5 pts 5 assists and 2 TOs while shooting 42% from the floor and 33% from 3. Again, my point is in saying that it's not ALL on him as folks want to dump.

ORLANDO IS JUST BETTER all around, the same way Detroit was when Chauncey took Jameer to the woodshed and swept Orlando in the 1st round.

When you have 3 guys who are knockdown shooters on the floor for kickout options, the floor is wide open and poison will have to be picked.

Personally, I say HARD DOUBLE the pick and roll and force them to throw it to the big guy 15-17 feet away from the hoop and force him to make a play.Our Bobcats are a 7th seed in the East for a reason. The fact that OKC is challenging LAL is more a matter of LA playing beneath themselves as it is OKC being better or as good as LA. OKC can win the series but ONLY because LA is not the same now as they were 6 weeks ago.

On the other hand the Orlando team beat in last years Finals is playing inspired and smart basketball. They went into the playoffs kicking ass and they have not quit. It is not like our Bobcats are an isolated incident. For our Bobcats to have a chance they would have to play damn near perfect and Orlando would have to be mentally unprepared. That has not happened and for any of us to think it would makes us stupid.

In game one our Bobcats were getting routed and Orlando relaxed a bit. Our Cats showed heart and did not give up, they forced the Magic to wake up and earn the victory late. In game two our Cats made a bit of run to get back into the game but Orlando this time woke up sooner and took momentum away. In game three our Bobcats played well throughout the game and could have pulled that one out had they played smarter. Orlando played very smart and as the better more experienced team that they are, they won.

Could our team have won at least one game? Yes. They could have but they have not been down this road together so it is a learning experience for them. Orlando is a group of guys who are very connected and know their roles. Several players have been through playoff series losses together. The new guys have a great team to come to because Orlando as a team is mature and battle tested.

Our day will come, we are just getting started.