Pickup Games @ the Cable Box

[BlockParty]

This is from Bonnell's blog and sheds some insight on who is playing in the pickup games at the Cable Box and the varying levels of interest the Bobcats may or may not have in each player. It's good to see high numbers involved in preparation for Training Camp. Also good to see we apparently have little interest in Antoine Walker and possibly Darius Miles. Also included in the pickup games was Larry Hughes

from: http://blogs.charlotte.com/inside_th...ervations.html
{Anyway, I was over at the arena Wednesday, watching some pickup games among about 10 Bobcats, plus some other players (most notably, former All-Star Antoine Walker). Some quick observations:

-- Bobcats general manager Rod Higgins said Walker is playing pick-up at the invitation of former Kentucky teammate (and Charlotte center) Nazr Mohammed, and fans shouldn't view this as a prelude to Walker being in the Bobcats' training camp. I will say Walker looked good; he needs a comeback after some financial setbacks, and clearly is back in shape.

-- Higgins said former lottery pick Darius Miles, with the Bobcats in preparation for summer league in July, is welcome at training camp. However, Higgins emphasized Miles hasn't yet signed any contract with the Bobcats.

-- Power forward Tyrus Thomas looks in tremendous shape; looks like he's trimmed any spare weight over the summer (not that he ever looked chunky). Thomas made the best play I saw Wednesday, a look-away, one-handed pass out of the post to Walker, setting up an easy driving layup.

-- Ex-Bobcat Larry Hughes participated in the pickup games Tuesday, although I wonder if there's any room for him on Charlotte's roster. The team is pretty deep at shooting guard with guaranteed contracts to Stephen Jackson, Gerald Henderson and Matt Carroll.

-- Once-and-again Bobcat Carroll is still a big-time long-range shooter, and 3-point range obviously wasn't a Bobcats strength last season. I forgot how little rotation Carroll uses on his jump-shot. You can almost read the logos as his shot settles through the rim.

-- Four Bobcats -- Jackson, Boris Diaw, Gana Diop and Eduardo Najera -- weren't in the gym Wednesday. I'm told Jackson has been playing a lot, and should be back for pickup games Thursday.}

[Toocool]

As the sponsor of TT, this part makes me happy

Power forward Tyrus Thomas looks in tremendous shape; looks like he's trimmed any spare weight over the summer (not that he ever looked chunky). Thomas made the best play I saw Wednesday, a look-away, one-handed pass out of the post to Walker, setting up an easy driving layup.

[ALuhrs704]

i'd love to be able to catch some of these games. im feening for hoops. i wonder if they play on the practice court? but normally that got those blinds down so the fans cant look in.
tyrus is gonna be a borderline all star next year. and of course iaw's not there maybe thats where he could earn the D in his last name

[teej]

i'd love to be able to catch some of these games. im feening for hoops. i wonder if they play on the practice court? but normally that got those blinds down so the fans cant look in.

Yeah, but maybe the door by the air vents won't be blinded?

[Muttley]

The fact that the Tyrus blurb mentions a PASS as the most spectacular of his many good plays (in a pick-up game) gives me a lot of confidence in what the kid will do this season. Real good stuff.

[BRNC]

If he (TT) has the "play team ball" concept he could turn into an outstanding player...having someone (even Bonnell) comment on his passing can only be a good thing...

[BlockParty]

More from Bonnell on today's pickup games:

From http://blogs.charlotte.com/inside_th...me-fodder.html
More Bobcats pick-up game fodder

Some observations from Thursday's pickup games among Charlotte Bobcats and various guests at Time Warner Cable Arena:

-- Several of you emailed to check if specific players looked in-shape (Kwame Brown, for instance). From what I could tell Wednesday and Thursday, everyone is in good shape. That doesn't surprise me in Season III under Larry Brown, because he's a stickler about that and word travels.
Mike Gminski, who played for Brown in New Jersey, told me when Larry took the job here that he has no tolerance for players who aren't in basketball shape. You could argue the contrary, concerning Boris Diaw perhaps, but Diaw has something else (a wide skill set) that is highly valuable in Brown's system. And Diaw did spend the summer playing for the French national team.

But I digress; my point is I saw nothing in the practice gym Thursday suggesting there's a Bobcat who's not physically ready for a tough training camp in just over a week in Wilmington.

-- The other inquiry I get a lot is about new point guard Shaun Livingston. I understand the curiosity, particularly since Livingston is still reclaiming a career from a severe knee injury.

Short answer: He looks fine. Longer answer: I wouldn't expect pick-up games to be where Livingston excells. Livingston was still a free agent of value for his length and his cerebral approach to the game. He never was a speed-demon before the injury and now he thinks his way through the game, somewhat like Derek Anderson did in the latter stage of his career.
Pick-up games, even among the world's best players, become mostly about running the fast break and going one-on-one. That's not what they'll be paying Livingston to do.

-- I like what I saw from D.J. Augustin Thursday (and they're obviously betting on Augustin's improvement at point guard). He was strong on several crossover dribbles and made a marvelous touch pass to Brendan Haywood in an impromptu screen-and-roll from the top of the key. Haywood, now a Dallas Mavericks center, is a regular in these games because he lives in Charlotte in the summer.

-- By the way, Augustin will be a different kind of point guard than Raymond Felton was; less of a dribbler, more disposed to getting the ball to Stephen Jackson or Gerald Wallace, then spotting up. Maybe he'll be more effective playing off the starters than running the second team.

-- Brown has been known to joke that Tyrus Thomas is his new Rasheed Wallace. By that Brown means he'll live with Thomas' quirks if in the balance he can develop all that talent. Case-in-point about Thomas' quirky, but intense, personality: Augustin overthrew him on a lob pass, and Thomas was a bit too emphatic in his reaction. But Thomas had the good sense on the way back downcourt to give Augustin a little hug that said, ''Didn't mean to overreact.''

-- Speaking of Thomas, one of the neat things about his athleticism is how long he can hang in the air. He almost hovers at the top of his leap, which means he doesn't need perfect timing to block shots. He had a heck of a block in the post of an Antoine Walker jump hook. Jump hooks are generally the toughest shots to block.

-- Darius Miles, who's been invited to training camp (I assume on an unguaranteed contract, if he accepts that) played in Thursday's pickup game. Miles obviously isn't the athlete he once was, but that doesn't mean he can't be effective. He's now more of a face-up jump-shooter and someone who breaks defenders down off change-of-direction, rather than pure explosion.