the problems with B-Cats

[bobcats_express]

bobcats have the potential to be a contender and i thought this would be their season, however their playing tells otherwise.

they have some great talent and good depth with DJ.
Its a shame that Morrison and Sean May has been limited due to horrible injuries, but the bobcats should be winning far more.

why isnt this good team dominating as it should?

[bing!]

the potential
... that right there is your answer. When Cats start living up to theirs... ::happy times::

[Ampsportsduo]

Their schedule has not been favorable to start. Although, they have enjoyed a lot of home games, they've played nearly 3/4 of their games against playoff teams from a year ago. Add to that, the addition of a new coach, with a complex system, there was going to be some growing pains early on. On top of that, the complete lack of a PF on the roster for nearly the first month of the season and losing J-Rich for seven games.

With all that said, only two games, the New York and the most recent game at Milwaukee stick out as games the team <i>should</i> have won. There certainly are others they <i>could</i> have won, but I think this team's record and progress are close to what most people expected.

[BRNC]

Inability to close out other teams in the last 2 minutes is distressing to a degree...and frankly I'm not sure I have an answer...some games it appears to be poor decisions by the PGs...some games appears to be plays breaking down, some games turn overs, some games poor offensive rebounding...no real consistent pattern of poor play or anything....it can be attributed to having to "think" about the new offensive scheme rather than just playing...but the last three game (Bucks, Cavs, Heat) the Bucks and Heat games should have/could have been wins....and frankly that is what the team needs at the moment...learn how to close down and get the "w" when they can...

[spectre]

In at least 2 games (last night and one last week...MIL maybe) we lost pretty much by giving up all those O boards. We might could have/should have won the game in the end, but if we'd took care of business on the boards like we should have then we'd have been in a much better position.

Trying to come back against Flash is a tall order indeed...esp. since you can't breathe on him without getting into foul trouble.

[BRNC]

In at least 2 games (last night and one last week...MIL maybe) we lost pretty much by giving up all those O boards. We might could have/should have won the game in the end, but if we'd took care of business on the boards like we should have then we'd have been in a much better position.

Trying to come back against Flash is a tall order indeed...esp. since you can't breathe on him without getting into foul trouble.

Lack of/inability to get rebounds has hurt in some games and many of would like to think it is because we don't have another "big" with EO50....while this is a problem (lack of another big) for the team I watched a game recently (Portland and Toronto) where Portland just kept getting offensive board after offensive board and eventually won the game....It would be hard to argue (with Bosh, J. O'Neal, and Bargnani) that Toronto does not have the bigs to rebound...

Our team (seems to me) either has not figured out how to box out or (in the case of McMay) wait for the ball to fall into their hands...but I have to say it would be nice to have a really athletic big to go with EO50 and help on the boards...or at least more help from the current cast...

[Slam]

In at least 2 games (last night and one last week...MIL maybe) we lost pretty much by giving up all those O boards. We might could have/should have won the game in the end, but if we'd took care of business on the boards like we should have then we'd have been in a much better position
It didn't stand out to me as much last night as it has in the past so I was suprised to look at the stats to see we were out rebounded both offensively and overall.

It's the simple things we need to fix. Boxing out, not hedging on screens (and getting called for offensive fouls), players not picking up STUPID 2nd fouls forcing them to sit (yes, I am looking at you Swish), poor turn overs etc.

Didn't we have something like 5 turn overs in the 4th last night as opposed to 4 for 1st, 2nd and 3rd combined?

We also missed ft's down the stretch.

Stuff like that is basketball 101 and if we don't do it, we get burnt.

[dav7z]

Fact is we have no one person who can finish. Swish is a great player but seems to fade late in games . Wallace don't seem to want the ball with the game on the line either .
The ball often ends up in Feltons hands by default forcing a bad shot . Felton often takes a bad rap for this but a shot has to be took .
Brown and the Bobcats are all so at a disadvantage in the p/f spot . We don't even have a average player to play that slot. In a starting role. Management told Brown they would address the problem of a combo guard and a power foward . I think Brown has learned to be satisified with his guard play. With the hustle of Felton ,DJ14 and S, Brown
But Brown all so feels like hes got his hands tied . Missing that one starting quility big thet will make the difference of us seeing the playoffs or not.
Management SHOULD have known better than gamble on S May . Hes never done nothing and never will as a Bobcat. A very bad bet for MJ and management.

[BRNC]

It seemed like ten TOs but I know we had back to back TOs...so no points for us and at that point stops are good but the team is not going ahead so no pressure on the Heat...stupid TOs in the last 2 minutes is just a killer for any team particularly in a close game on the road...

[spectre]

It didn't stand out to me as much last night as it has in the past so I was suprised to look at the stats to see we were out rebounded both offensively and overall.

It's the simple things we need to fix. Boxing out, not hedging on screens (and getting called for offensive fouls), players not picking up STUPID 2nd fouls forcing them to sit (yes, I am looking at you Swish), poor turn overs etc.

Didn't we have something like 5 turn overs in the 4th last night as opposed to 4 for 1st, 2nd and 3rd combined?

We also missed ft's down the stretch.

Stuff like that is basketball 101 and if we don't do it, we get burnt.

Remember Bonnell's articles saying how surprised LB was that the players on this team are so lacking in basic BB skills (the BB 101 stuff)?

Not having good vets and subpar coaches for all of our existence hurt this team and players like nothing else could have. Some might be ruined for their careers.

I love all our players (well, except for May), but realistically LB doing his thing and revamping the roster might be the best bet for us.

The O boards...man it really jumped out at me during the 2nd quarter (could have been the 3rd). They showed some stat last night and I seem to remember at one point 2nd chance points was like 15-20 to 2.

When I'm mumbling enough at the computer for my daughter to ask "what's wrong" then I know it's bad.

[BRNC]

...and this is not the first game that second chance points by the other team has killed us...it really is a shame because we've had too many games that could have been wins where (and I agree with you completely) BB 101 is just not there yet...

[Slam]

They showed some stat last night and I seem to remember at one point 2nd chance points was like 15-20 to 2.
I remember seeing that graphic and being very unimpressed too.

[TheBeagle]

All this stuff we're saying, we've been saying since game one of this franchise, when we had a shot to beat the Wizards at the Coliseum, if we had been able to limit second chance points, for crying out loud. Nothing has changed with this team and its inability to close out games: whether Bernie, Ham, or Larry is at the helm, this franchise is synonymous with choking in the clutch. I'm at such a level of despair with this team, I don't see it ever changing unless maybe there was a massive clean house that took place.

Last night was proof even our newer players have been infected with "choke-itis" when JR clangs 2 FTs and then inexplicably fouls with an 8 second difference in the shot and game clock. Remember, this is the same guy who blew the Celtics game last November by not calling a timeout and instead just throwing it to nobody in particular. And then there was DJ's missed layup, though he did knock down a couple big 3s before that.

I always thought with time these guys could learn how to close games out, but it's evidently not going to happen, which is a damn well deflating feeling...

[BRNC]

I had great hopes going into this 15 game stretch that we could pull close to .500 but (the Bucks and Heat) loosing two close games that I think we could/should have won is not encouraging...I know LB is the best coach this team has had and many of these guys work (and I think will continue) hard...but the loosing is tough to take (and I'm sure it is for the players and for LB)...I just hope it can be turned around without a major overhaul because if not it will take 3-4 years if they start a major retooling of the roster...