Stephen Graham and More on Murray

[playoffs...PLAYOFFS?]

Bonnell's newest post..
http://blogs.charlotte.com/inside_the_nba/2009/09/more-on-murray-and-bobcats.html

Seems like Stephen Graham is on his way to Charlotte. I don't know much about this guy, but looks like he would be playing backup SF, assuming he ends up in the roster. I'm guessing LB wants more athleticism at the position. But adding Stephen seems to me like it will cut into minutes for Vladi/UPS..

With some many new people coming in, and assuming we get a new PF, which it seems like we will, there's going to be a lot of players hungry for minutes. I think the starting line up is set.. Should be interesting to see how the second team lineup ends up..

[TattoodCats4life]

Getting an athletic 3 might be a means to put Wallace at the 4 as a backup for 5-10 min per game as well.

[WhatTheHeel74]

Getting an athletic 3 might be a means to put Wallace at the 4 as a backup for 5-10 min per game as well.

Did you just say make Gerald Wallace our backup PF? He's the best player on our team IMO.

[WhatTheHeel74]

Bonnell's newest post..
http://blogs.charlotte.com/inside_the_nba/2009/09/more-on-murray-and-bobcats.html

Seems like Stephen Graham is on his way to Charlotte. I don't know much about this guy, but looks like he would be playing backup SF, assuming he ends up in the roster. I'm guessing LB wants more athleticism at the position. But adding Stephen seems to me like it will cut into minutes for Vladi/UPS..

With some many new people coming in, and assuming we get a new PF, which it seems like we will, there's going to be a lot of players hungry for minutes. I think the starting line up is set.. Should be interesting to see how the second team lineup ends up..

I don't know anything about him either so maybe he's just a training camp body who will be cut before the start of the season.

[CatNation]

Did you just say make Gerald Wallace our backup PF? He's the best player on our team IMO.

I think he said that we could see Gerald at the PF spot for 5/10 mpg when Diaw needs a rest since we have a lot of guys that can play SF..

[playoffs...PLAYOFFS?]

playing GW at PF is not a good idea at all..just remember that ham bisquit was the coach the last time that GW was playing the 4

[WhatTheHeel74]

playing GW at PF is not a good idea at all..just remember that ham bisquit was the coach the last time that GW was playing the 4

Not to mention that Gerald ends up in the hospital when he plays PF...

[WarioVsMooChicken]

Wallace is a great change of pace at PF for 5-10 minutes a game.

It was just terrible to start him there.

[dnbman]

Wallace is a great change of pace at PF for 5-10 minutes a game.

It was just terrible to start him there.

Yeah, I kind of see Wallace and Diaw switching up a bit in the flow of the game anyway. Though, we definitely need to limit Wallace's minutes there.

[TattoodCats4life]

Yeah, I kind of see Wallace and Diaw switching up a bit in the flow of the game anyway. Though, we definitely need to limit Wallace's minutes there.


My point exactly... Wallace is NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT a 38 min PF... but against an undersized team, second unit etc, he could stand up strong with someone good on the 3 behind him or if there were a 3 guard set with wallace and Chandler or even Diaw (yes Diaw, he did cover the center for a sprinkle of minutes in like 4-5 games last season when we needed a fast lineup against a small fast team.

[Fred Williamson]

I always cross my fingers, when I see him defending guys like Amare or Dwight. Wallace is not an undersized tweener, he's a pure swingman who should play SG/SF.

I also hate it, when people on realGM say, that he's injury prone. I mean come on, if you let guys like Igoudala, Anthony or Maggette defend a 6'11" PF/C, there's no doubt, they'll get injured or knocked out, sooner or later.

[SWedd523]

I always cross my fingers, when I see him defending guys like Amare or Dwight. Wallace is not an undersized tweener, he's a pure swingman who should play SG/SF.

I also hate it, when people on realGM say, that he's injury prone. I mean come on, if you let guys like Igoudala, Anthony or Maggette defend a 6'11" PF/C, there's no doubt, they'll get injured or knocked out, sooner or later.

Wallace is not a SG. He's pure SF.

[Ghost Kat]

What about Derrick Brown? Mr. UPS, because In Larry Brown I Trust. He can play both SF/PF with both Wallace or Diaw. LB and the other coaches are crazy about him. Wait till we see more of him in live action. He has the shape and muscle tone of Dwight Howard IMO just way shorter. He can handle the ball a little bit and he can run, Plus doesn't he have monkey arms, For some reason I think he has a 8 foot wing span.

[Fred Williamson]

Wallace is not a SG. He's pure SF.

He's a swingman.

[dnbman]

What about Derrick Brown? Mr. UPS, because In Larry Brown I Trust. He can play both SF/PF with both Wallace or Diaw. LB and the other coaches are crazy about him. Wait till we see more of him in live action. He has the shape and muscle tone of Dwight Howard IMO just way shorter. He can handle the ball a little bit and he can run, Plus doesn't he have monkey arms, For some reason I think he has a 8 foot wing span.

It's not that he can't do it. I'm just tired of undersized 4s on this squad. I want a guy with legit PF bulk. Being long is great, but if he's getting shoved around in the lane, it's not going to mean much.

[dnbman]

He's a swingman.

He definitely was considered a swingman early in his career, but I think he's developed into a pretty pure, even classic, SF. He's not a pull up type player. He can occasionally shoot outside, but he makes his living attacking the basket, rebounding, and playing help D.

[110oldeast]

Stephen Graham is more of an undersized, strong PF than a SF.

And despite folks saying that Gerald's injuries come from playing PF, it's not true. It comes from his style of play. It's the style that makes him a crowd favorite, but a style that would leave him still as vulnerable to injury if he were playing point guard. Now, I am no means saying he should play a lot of PF, but Gerald has been getting hurt here throughout his career. Sam Vincent playing him some at PF was not the root of this. It did present another opportunity for Bonnell and everyone to scapegoat the 1 year holdover in Vincent, while Jordan waited to get the official word back from LB. After all, Gerald was the best PF on that roster, as evidenced by LB bringing in an influx of guys (Diaw, Howard, Vlad, Lexy, etc.) after coming here.

The truth is that Gerald ran up his contract number when he was mixed in at PF. He is a more efficient and explosive player offensively here. He is quicker, has more time to get off his jumpshot without pressure, and more easily gets to the baseline when a PF is guarding him. When he is guarded by a SF, he is more effective posting on the baseline.

Again, that doesn't make it a position he needs to play long minutes at. I'm just saying that the idea that Gerald @ the 4 is the worst thing that could happen for this team and that he won't miss games with injury if he does not play there are not true. These were just things that needed to be tossed around when we were justifying firing a 1 year rookie coach who again was brought in as a homerun or strikeout situation while we waited for the guy Jordan really wanted, Larry Brown, to decide, excuse me, convince his wife to let him come here.

[dnbman]

Stephen Graham is more of an undersized, strong PF than a SF.

And despite folks saying that Gerald's injuries come from playing PF, it's not true. It comes from his style of play. It's the style that makes him a crowd favorite, but a style that would leave him still as vulnerable to injury if he were playing point guard. Now, I am no means saying he should play a lot of PF, but Gerald has been getting hurt here throughout his career. Sam Vincent playing him some at PF was not the root of this. It did present another opportunity for Bonnell and everyone to scapegoat the 1 year holdover in Vincent, while Jordan waited to get the official word back from LB. After all, Gerald was the best PF on that roster, as evidenced by LB bringing in an influx of guys (Diaw, Howard, Vlad, Lexy, etc.) after coming here.

The truth is that Gerald ran up his contract number when he was mixed in at PF. He is a more efficient and explosive player offensively here. He is quicker, has more time to get off his jumpshot without pressure, and more easily gets to the baseline when a PF is guarding him. When he is guarded by a SF, he is more effective posting on the baseline.

Again, that doesn't make it a position he needs to play long minutes at. I'm just saying that the idea that Gerald @ the 4 is the worst thing that could happen for this team and that he won't miss games with injury if he does not play there are not true. These were just things that needed to be tossed around when we were justifying firing a 1 year rookie coach who again was brought in as a homerun or strikeout situation while we waited for the guy Jordan really wanted, Larry Brown, to decide, excuse me, convince his wife to let him come here.

All of that's true, and Wallace can be effective in limited minutes at the 4. However, his best attribute is cutting to the basket from the wing, especially when he's roaming around the perimeter making defenses work. I just don't like the idea of planning on handling the 4 with a variety of undersized guys.

[teej]

I'm fine with Crash playing a little at the 4 with Diaw at the 5 when we play a team like NYC, but not on a regular basis. I just don't like it. But ILBIT over all.