Turning Point??

[BlockParty]

This is from Bonnell's column. A great recap of the quotes from last night's game that were mentioned in the Game threads. Most importantly, the mini-break they have before Denver comes to town needs to be filled with some accountability, soul searching and leading by example. Hopefully they take it to heart and we see this as the Turning Point of the season.

Thoughts?

"We look like an AAU team right now,'' guard Stephen Jackson said of the Charlotte Bobcats Saturday. "It looks really bad.''

Apologies to AAU basketball, but it's obvious what Jackson meant: Immature, disorganized, lacking in a group identity.

Jackson said that after the Bobcats' 109-91 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. They can only hope that beat-down, against another struggling team, marks bottom.

But who knows? They're 7-13, yet only a game behind eighth-place Toronto for the East's final playoff spot. Their coach says there's nothing isolated about the problems that made them look so feeble Saturday.

"We don't play together, we don't play hard enough. We don't move the ball, we don't defend as a team,'' said coach Larry Brown, adding, "That's my fault.''

This might not be a crisis – they've played a quarter of their 82-game schedule – but it sure resembles a crossroads. Forward Gerald Wallace looks to the immediate schedule – seven of the remaining 11 games this month are at home – and says, "After December, we'll know where we stand.''

For now they wobble. Eight months removed from their first playoff appearance, the Bobcats have devolved from a physically-tough, confident group to a team that, as Wallace describes, adopts a different style each game.

In three remarkably candid interviews Saturday night, Brown and captains Jackson and Wallace discussed all that is troubling this team:

Leadership and experience
To hear Wallace and Jackson tell it, the departures of point guard Raymond Felton and centers Tyson Chandler and Theo Ratliff threw this team for a loop.

"No disrespect to anybody, but I think everyone was more focused on doing their jobs last year,'' said Jackson. "We had such professionals last year. We had Theo and Tyson, and when Tyrus (Thomas) first came here, he had a lot of energy. And Raymond led this team.''

Felton is a Knick, Ratliff a Laker and Chandler a Maverick. That means D.J. Augustin became the starter at point guard and power forward Thomas is growing into a larger role off the bench.

Wallace notes a key difference between Felton's intensity and Augustin's more deferential personality.

Wallace misses Felton's "aggression, his approach on defense. The point guard is the head of the team. He picks everybody up and brings us along.

"D.J. doesn't have the fight. Not to compare them as far as abilities, but D.J.'s personality is not as high as Ray's was as far as aggression and attitude on the court. D.J. is more laid-back.

Augustin acknowledges he's shy by nature and Brown calls Felton a "bulldog.'' But Brown said if there's a leadership void, it's Wallace's and Jackson's task to fix that as captains.
"It starts with (Wallace). It's starts with Jack, it starts with Boris'' Diaw, said Brown, adding, "It's not the youth. I think the youth plays with energy.''

Jackson took Brown's words as a challenge to "have more pride about losing games, be upset when we lose. We need to start taking it more personally. We've got to be more professional and more hungry.''


Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/201...#ixzz17IgKJcLC

[Fred Williamson]

Wallace notes a key difference between Felton's intensity and Augustin's more deferential personality.

Wallace misses Felton's "aggression, his approach on defense. The point guard is the head of the team. He picks everybody up and brings us along.

"D.J. doesn't have the fight. Not to compare them as far as abilities, but D.J.'s personality is not as high as Ray's was as far as aggression and attitude on the court. D.J. is more laid-back.

way to go blaming a 22year old PG, asshole. Did he forgot that he's the captain of this team? and its his job to pick everybody up?

[spectre]

Wow...didn't see this coming. LB has always been known to toss a word out against his players/team in the media (what I've always hated most about him), but I'm very surprised Crash & Jax "went there".

Tho I do think they have a point...it's up to those 2 guys to stand up and fill the void in leadership. On the flip DJ has to stop disappearing/being passive in the games. He needs a "hero mode"...something Felton got bashed about repeatedly but also something this team desperately needs from the PG.

[ammofan]

They all need to shut up. All they are doing by saying this is making everything worse.

[ohara831]

This team is crumbling and it is coming apart from the inside. DJ has work to do, yes. But he is far from the most serious problem we have. LB publicly bashing players is sad enough. But for Crash and Jax to also start the bull$hit as an excuse for their own crappy play is cowardly. Crash has seriously taken a major hit in my book as far as respectability. I did not expect this kind of crap from him. Jax, maybe, but not Crash. When you have a cancer on the team, get rid of it. Period. That means every cancer there is on the team.

[Scottley Crue]

I definitely think this is a turning point, especially now that they've publicly acknowledged some of their problems and issues. Struggling teams will do this...there will be finger pointing at times. This can lead to discord but it can also lead everyone to the mirror to ask the guy in there what he can do to make it better. They're very clearly tired of the way they're playing and know a great deal of it is self-inflicted (effort/energy...remember those things?). Now how they react to this epiphany is certainly a turning point. They've clearly identified the problems, will they do what's needed to fix it? Let's hope so. I really think addressing the issues of urgency, effort and energy will go a long way to help what we see out there.

[spectre]

Now how they react to this epiphany is certainly a turning point. They've clearly identified the problems, will they do what's needed to fix it? Let's hope so. I really think addressing the issues of urgency, effort and energy will go a long way to help what we see out there.

I agree on that last as it's been sorely lacking, but now you have the coach & the two captains either directly or indirectly pointing at the leadership loss at PG. This also appeared to be LB's concern at the start of the season and why we were looking at Caleron () and Devin Harris.

Are the odds better that Jordan acquiesces to LB, Crash & Jax and looks to trade for a veteran PG or does Jordan say they're all wrong and cans LB and moves the 2 captains?

Even tho LB has intimated it throughout this offseason/season he did say that those two were wrong on the leadership and it put it right back onto them.

[ohara831]

We have all noted how Jax makes stupid plays, quits on defense do he can yell at the refs, and just plain screws up a lot. And we all have questioned how this season Crash seems to have totally just lost interest in a game and doesn't shoot, and seems to not be interested in playing defense. Now I will totally agree that DJ has not played great defense, but it is not for lack of trying. I dont think I have seen a game where it was obvious he just quit on the team and took the day off. So for the 2 veteran leaders on the team to point fingers at anyone but themselves is just cowardly. This team deserves to lose every game if their Coach and 2 leaders handle business this way. For me, I cannot wait for the next time Crash makes a "crash landing" and has to sit out a while. Maybe it will knock some damn sense into his overrated head. All Star my a$$!

[spectre]

In defense of Crash...remember the guy had pretty much never even learned the game of basketball until he got under LB's wing. He's never been that outspoken so far as I could tell...so isn't it kind of a reach to think he should "suddenly" be the leader on the court?

DJ HAS to be a threat when he's out there. If he's playing passively then we only have the 2 guys who can create some points...and the other teams know that. Crash only has one big thing in his repetoire and that's driving to the hole...so he's only going to be able to do so much.

The FO knew where the leadership was coming from last year and they made the decision to go another way...to try and fill whatever void that was created by putting more on Jax & Crash. They deserve some of the fault to be sure.

For me, I cannot wait for the next time Crash makes a "crash landing" and has to sit out a while. Maybe it will knock some damn sense into his overrated head. All Star my a$$!

I'm sure that's anger speaking...but I can't go along with this at all.

[Proudiddy]

I posted this in Ballwhore's thread about this article:

I was completely blown away that Jack and Crash would even say anything like this in a published article. At least go with the "anonymous source" route. As I was reading it, my jaw just kept dropping. I get that Felton was a leader, but they were in this article talking about him like a f*cking Marvel Comic. I don't get it. And for all that personality and intensity he brought, it didn't prevent him from getting his ass busted by Jameer Nelson in the playoffs.

This is ridiculous. And DJ has done nothing but played his ass off this year. Sure, he's had a few off games, but the guy is balling, just like I predicted he would if given the opportunity last year. Sorry if he's not super-expressive, but you don't have to be to be a leader. Why do Jack, who supposedly had DJ's back, and Crash feel they have the right to criticize him in the paper? Although this article's title suggests that it's about the problems with the team, it mainly just ends up being a "we miss Felton, DJ's not our guy" article. SN: If they wanted Felton that bad, he wasn't that expensive... Yet, we didn't bring him back.

Also, Crash is the same one that called Tyson out last year, yet this year he was an amazing player and leader in the locker room... lol.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, this team is going nowhere because of how it is constructed. If Crash and Jack were stand-up vets, we wouldn't have this problem. Instead, they wanna be immature, me-first vets, and are looking for excuses as to why that isn't working anymore. Yes, losing guys like Felton, Theo, and Tyson hurt because they picked up the slack maturity wise and handled things within the team when Crash and Jack wouldn't... As vets often do.

I said earlier in the season, I think we can trade Crash for maximum value now. And I think UPS can grow into the SF role. I think Hendo can be a player at SG. And whatever we can get back should be equal or better in value than those guys. It's time to make some deals because these guys don't get it. You can't point fingers and without looking at yourself first. These two are grown ass men, complaining that they don't have another grown man there to hold their hand and "set the tone" for them. GTFO. Please, BLOW IT UP NOW.

Crash really did change after last year's success. I'm tired of it. I promise you... I know from experience... A locker room like this will not win. They have to make changes or this season will be lost.