if dj isn't hurt, what's his excuse now

[Chef]

i hate to keep hatin on dj, but his inconsistency is killing us. last time i said this was 2 days before ballwhore informed us about the hand injury (which was a full 3 days before bonnell was on it). if he is healthy, then he needs to be consistent. we need a solid 15/6 from him every night on at least 45% shooting from the floor. if he is healthy and playing like this, i am now convinced he is a 6th man at best and is not the "future" of this team.

[teej]

Henderson is the future of this team. He's really, really improving. Quickly.

I hate Duke, but I love Hendo.

[JGib23]

I really hope we take a pg with the Hornets 1st rounder we got in the Crash trade. Would love to have a different option off the bench than Livingston. I think Shaun should be the 5th guard(3rd pg/3rd sg) which could be the back up to either position if someone is injured but never a starter.

DJ, Brandon Knight, Shaun would be a decent young Pg lineup. Knight being 6'3" and a great long athlete at the pg spot would be a good contrast to DJ

[stun704]

he had a rolled ankle.. he rolled it in practice

[WFU4LIFE]

I hate Duke, but I love Hendo.
Same here. He showed some stuff tonight that I am very excited about. He will be a star soon. He is like Demar Derozan, only Derozan actually had a chance to play from the beginning. henderson didn't, but now that he does, his improvement is astounding.

[frontpager]

get off DJ's back.. hes not a superstar and never will be. He has a rolled ankle and was playing against top 10 player in the league. If you expected 20 and 8 from DJ against derrick rose than you need to lower your expectations. its his first full season as a starter, he will be inconsistent. I agree with Brandon Knight though, we should draft him because he has NBA point guard size and has potential to be a superstar.

[teej]

If you expected 20 and 8 from DJ against derrick rose than you need to lower your expectations.

DJ has owned Rose so far in their careers.

[spectre]

DJ has owned Rose so far in their careers.

No he hasn't. Most times he doesn't even match up vs. Rose on D. We usually have to use a wing for that.

He might have shot better than him in a few games...but no way he has "owned" him.

[Chef]

get off DJ's back.. hes not a superstar and never will be. He has a rolled ankle and was playing against top 10 player in the league. If you expected 20 and 8 from DJ against derrick rose than you need to lower your expectations. its his first full season as a starter, he will be inconsistent. I agree with Brandon Knight though, we should draft him because he has NBA point guard size and has potential to be a superstar.

ok so he is a little banged up. that explains some of his poor play. yes it is his first full season as a starter but it is his 3rd in the league and i feel very comfortable saying i would prefer another pg to rebuild a team with.

[frontpager]

I would prefer a different starting point guard to rebuild with, I agree. He is not a top 20 pg in this league.. think about it, there are alot of good starters in the league. He is a 7th man in this league.. we do not need to address that this year, instead wait until next year when more point guards might come out... austin rivers, kendall marshall, brandon knight..

[WFU4LIFE]

I would prefer a different starting point guard to rebuild with, I agree. He is not a top 20 pg in this league.. think about it, there are alot of good starters in the league. He is a 7th man in this league.. we do not need to address that this year, instead wait until next year when more point guards might come out... austin rivers, kendall marshall, brandon knight..
Add Marquis Teague to the list. Him and Rivers would be unbelievable gets.

[captaincrunk]

I would prefer a different starting point guard to rebuild with, I agree. He is not a top 20 pg in this league.. think about it, there are alot of good starters in the league. He is a 7th man in this league.. we do not need to address that this year, instead wait until next year when more point guards might come out... austin rivers, kendall marshall, brandon knight..
Which 20 are better than him? I think he's a top 20 PG already.

[Marvel]

Ah, the Knee Jerk Thread.

[LiquidWayno]

UMMMM, according to the always correct ESPN mock draft, we are taking Kemba Walker. No bones about it.

[Chef]

UMMMM, according to the always correct ESPN mock draft, we are taking Kemba Walker. No bones about it.

then we better get rid of dj because they are the same player. although that step back jumper tonight was nasty.

[Dcarnys]

UMMMM, according to the always correct ESPN mock draft, we are taking Kemba Walker. No bones about it.

I actually don't have a prblem with that.

[GoBobs]

The thing with DJ is he is never going to be a difference maker on defense. If he is going to be a better then average starter in this league he needs to be a difference maker on offense every night. Right now it is more like every other night if we are lucky.

To me DJ just doesn't have the eye of the tiger. Almost all DJ's made threes come on totally open shots. He doesn't work off a pick and make the other team pay for going under it. He isn't exceptional at getting other guys the ball in positions they get easy buckets. I think DJ and Livingston have both preformed at the level of elite backup pgs this year, but not solid starters. At least not solid starters on a playoff team.

[ballwhore]

I wonder how Liv and Dj would perform on a playoff team because Charlotte doesn't have one. I tend to think better pieces make better players. On this team they both appear to leave something to be desired. How can you set up Kwame Brown? (He can't catch) How can you set up Jack? (He is an iso player you give the ball and then move away and let him jab step and chunk) Diaw? (Standing around at the three waiting for the drive then kick back) Henderson is the only person ever really moving that you can throw a lob to etc. Just saying yeah DJ my boy but let's not get it twisted better players make better players.

[ballwhore]

no excuse for the shooting woes though

[spectre]

Just saying yeah DJ my boy but let's not get it twisted better players make better players.

I absolutely agree, and we've had this problem since our inception.

Thing is other guys seem to get assists. Hendo had like 8 the other night.

I KNOW DJ can do it because I've seen him do it. He just needs to get consistent at it or there will continually be these discussions, both on places like this and in his team's FO.

[Chef]

I wonder how Liv and Dj would perform on a playoff team because Charlotte doesn't have one. I tend to think better pieces make better players. On this team they both appear to leave something to be desired. How can you set up Kwame Brown? (He can't catch) How can you set up Jack? (He is an iso player you give the ball and then move away and let him jab step and chunk) Diaw? (Standing around at the three waiting for the drive then kick back) Henderson is the only person ever really moving that you can throw a lob to etc. Just saying yeah DJ my boy but let's not get it twisted better players make better players.

you speak the truth for sure. dj would be much better on a better team and as i have said many times i believe as a 6th man. that why i made the post. if we are rebuilding i don't think dj is a core player for us.

[ballwhore]

@Spectre how many of those 8 assists are from setting up somebody. Even when DJ was getting his assist numbers it was a simple pass and a made jump shot. There is no fluid big man to run pick and roll and who is a good athelete besides Hendo. Hell I bet at least three times a game a drive and dish to Kwame is a mishandle pass by him or a missed 1 foot lay up. I'm just saying let's not act as if Hendo's 8 was Nash like there weren't many set ups if any.

@Chef I agree DJ is not for Charlotte and knew that before they even drafted him that's why he didnt even work out for them he was sppose to go to Portland they were dead set on taking him. I was hoping he was moved to the Clipper's a team that can really run. This whole 12 second shot clock with Silas was bullsh#t nobody is running hell nine times out of ten DJ is pushing it to the rack solo. We are back to the same stuff we was doing under LB. Hopefully he is a goner sooner than later as constructed no Pg will thrive in Charlotte. I'm with you on the sixth man deal.

[spectre]

@Spectre how many of those 8 assists are from setting up somebody. Even when DJ was getting his assist numbers it was a simple pass and a made jump shot. There is no fluid big man to run pick and roll and who is a good athelete besides Hendo. Hell I bet at least three times a game a drive and dish to Kwame is a mishandle pass by him or a missed 1 foot lay up. I'm just saying let's not act as if Hendo's 8 was Nash like there weren't many set ups if any.

I'm not about to sit here and say that Hendo's assists were anything; if you'd been to the game chats lately it's gotten to be less on the game and more towards making the 2 1/2 hours not boring as hell.

The point is PGs should be able to generate some assists because he's usually the guy who has the ball in his hands the most. To DJ's credit his coaches here all have opted to make him more of a scorer vs a distributor. Thing is in some games he's shown a great ability to draw defenses and set up easy shots.

I'm sure some of it is trying to be a good soldier, but if DJ truly wants to be a PG in this league he has to make them let him play his game. At times he has. All I'm saying is he needs to do it more and do it consistently.

Get what I mean?

[ballwhore]

Not saying they weren't anything either but just as I said they are not from setting people up just like DJ mutiple assists numbers come fropm simple passes. It's a fact. Who is there to set up besides Hendo on this roster? He just recently put together good offensive games. I get what you mean on every front but it's hard to demand someone to let you play your game when your on a team lacking scorers. The coach should determine what's best for the team. Who is DJ to buck Silas and the assistants.They see more than we do on a day to day basis and until he is truly just killing it on a consistent basis he has to fall in line. Maybe him and Hendo can develop some type of two man chemistry but who knows if that can even happen with Capt'n Jack back. We'll see though but I wasn't slighting Hendo i'm just saying set up assists are hard to come by on the bobcats. Check it out tonight. I personally will be counting.

[polarcat]

I agree that DJ needs some talent around him, and he will improve. Dude can nail the 3, drive and is fearless going to the hole. His defense is mediocre-at-best, but if he can score and drop 7-10 assists a game, I'm okay with the defensive ineptitude. He may not be in the CP3, DW, Rose convo, but I like him as part of our core. He is in a slump right now, but I feel like our team is as well. We've been dismantled and playing on the fly since LB left and it hasn't stopped yet. We had a 10-game stretch where we looked like a 6 seed, but that quickly went south. I believe DJ's mental state has been shaky for years, and now under Silas, and some time with some talent, he can be a top 10-15 pg in this league. This season is a write-off for everyone at this point, IMO. Whether it's DJ, T2, Jack, whomever. We flat out suck right now and I'm not ready to stress over DJ's play.

[GoBobs]

I kind of agree about it being hard to rack up assists with our current roster. Livingston hardly gets any despite playing quite a few minutes. I just don't see the Bobcats as the right fit for DJ. He is going to be coming up on a contract soon and I think another team will be willing to pay more than we will.

I have always thought one of the best destinations for him would be the OKC Thunder. He could either start with Westbrook at the 2, or come off the bench as the 6th man. That would be a deadly attack having to stop Westbrook on the drive with DJ and Durrant spreading the floor.

Plus there are a lot of pgs we might be able to take in the draft with late first round pick, like Kemba Walker, Brandon Knight, or Josh Selby. We could start Liv while one of those guys wait in the wings and trade DJ to the thunder for a draft pick. Then we can use the money we save to pursue a free agents later (S Curry).

[ballwhore]

I think most people on here don't realize how much this team sucks right now. You really could say Charlotte is running out 3 back ups maybe 5 as starters at this point and the second unit has four guys that would not average over 5 minutes a contest..

[Marvel]

I doubt Steve Nash could average 8-9 assists with this team.

Also forgot McGuire IS IN the starting lineup. We....DJ NEEDS more shooters with him on the floor.

Expecting an eruption from DJ tonight.

[ballwhore]

@Gobobs I agree with you. There is no shortage of takers even when he was in that funk last year he still had very good value Jordan nixed every trade. He will get paid though and I am certain when surrounded by better players will shine as a starter or sixth man.

[spectre]

Brevin Knight in our first season averaged 9 assists a game. In our 2nd season he averaged 8.8 assists per game and during that same year Felton playing alongside him as SG most of the year averaged 5.6 assists per game.

I don't think lack of shooters is a totally legitimate excuse...unless anyone wants to argue that the quality of our shooters those first two years was anything other than dismal.


I think most people on here don't realize how much this team sucks right now.

Boy do I realize it. So much so that it's a flat struggle to watch them on those crappy internet feeds nowadays. I didn't have that problem even during those 1st couple of years.

[spectre]

To make one thing clear...it's not NUMBER of assists I look for anyway, tho I think most PGs should average at least 5 or 6 just because they have the ball so much.

It's making EASY baskets for their mates. That can be driving/kicking out, driving and drawing a post guy's defender and in general just disrupting the opponents' D.

And maybe I've just missed some lately. Maybe he's doing it and his mates aren't converting. As I've said the quality on the court isn't really keeping me riveted on the game.

[rsxnova]

To make one thing clear...it's not NUMBER of assists I look for anyway, tho I think most PGs should average at least 5 or 6 just because they have the ball so much.

It's making EASY baskets for their mates. That can be driving/kicking out, driving and drawing a post guy's defender and in general just disrupting the opponents' D.

And maybe I've just missed some lately. Maybe he's doing it and his mates aren't converting. As I've said the quality on the court isn't really keeping me riveted on the game.

Quality of the game chat keeps me in it at times.

[Marvel]

Brevin Knight in our first season averaged 9 assists a game. In our 2nd season he averaged 8.8 assists per game and during that same year Felton playing alongside him as SG most of the year averaged 5.6 assists per game.

I don't think lack of shooters is a totally legitimate excuse...unless anyone wants to argue that the quality of our shooters those first two years was anything other than dismal.



Boy do I realize it. So much so that it's a flat struggle to watch them on those crappy internet feeds nowadays. I didn't have that problem even during those 1st couple of years.

True, but we were running at a much faster pace under Bernie with Brevin and Ray. 12th fastest pace in 04-05, 3rd in 05-06. 25th this season. DJ also had to adjust mid season after the dismissal of LB.

Anyway, i think Brevin was a better passer than DJ, but this isn't Brevin vs DJ, i'm just pointing out what "DJ" needs in order for him to get around that 7-8 assists per game mark and what it'll take to get this offense flowing.

[Chef]

True, but we were running at a much faster pace under Bernie with Brevin and Ray. 12th fastest pace in 04-05, 3rd in 05-06. 25th this season. DJ also had to adjust mid season after the dismissal of LB.

Anyway, i think Brevin was a better passer than DJ, but this isn't Brevin vs DJ, i'm just pointing out what "DJ" needs in order for him to get around that 7-8 assists per game mark and what it'll take to get this offense flowing.

brevin looks odd on nba tv. like his head is way to small for his body or suit is way too big. something is off there.

[spectre]

I haven't looked up the stats so I don't know how many he got last nite (kind of irrelevant...see my prior post), but he definitely made some of the passes I've been talking about. He just needs to be consistent with it.

He's also seemed to have lost his midrange game.

[spectre]

True, but we were running at a much faster pace under Bernie with Brevin and Ray. 12th fastest pace in 04-05, 3rd in 05-06. 25th this season. DJ also had to adjust mid season after the dismissal of LB.

Anyway, i think Brevin was a better passer than DJ, but this isn't Brevin vs DJ, i'm just pointing out what "DJ" needs in order for him to get around that 7-8 assists per game mark and what it'll take to get this offense flowing.

What you say is probably true, but you know what I'm talking about. You watch them all the same as me and you have good knowledge of the game.

To me the assist/TO ratio is a double edged stat. It certainly shows how much a player takes care of the ball, but it could also mean that the same player takes TOO good care of the ball...refusing to make that sometimes risky pass that could end up a dunk/layup/wide open shot. For a team that often struggles to make a basket we need a guy who's willing to take some chances with the ball who won't do the stupid ass lazy pass (Boris/Jax).

I've seen him do it more under Silas than LB...but I want to see it more and consistently.