CRASH 2.0

[Mustachio]

ITS TRAINING CAMP TIME! sorry im a little excited.

Ok by now you've all seen the media day pic's and what not.

Does anyone else notice how big Gerald Wallace looks. He looks about 20 pounds heavier and about 200 lbs stronger.

include a pic i shall



to me he looks huge. NOW THIS IS PURE SPECULATION... NO FACTS... just like i like it.

putting on lbs and muscle can mean lots of things. maybe in this situation it means:
- Crash got stronger to avoid injuries
- Coach V wants Crash bigger so he can play down low (as he does now very effectively) but now that he is bigger and stronger he can beat and bang with less consequence.

This would help cushion any letdown from Sean "glandular problem" May.
we talked about it often last season... the idea of Crash playing PF. some were for it... others against it strongly.
but most of the opposition came from the injury scare. "we dont want him getting hurt at PF" and thats understandable.

My question is - Is it possible we wanna run like hell and go not small ball but smaller than usual ball. with a bigger bulker Crash playing PF. (where he will still be faster, quicker and play higher than most every other PF)

Felton, Carrol/Morrison, J-rich, Crash, Okafor. To me thats the best way to get your best players on the floor at the same time. play to your strengths i say.

[Muttley]

From the bobcat's site (blogcat's training camp blog):

To no one’s surprise, Wallace has dedicated himself to improving this offseason. Although he’s still listed as 220 pounds on the Bobcats Training Camp roster, it’s evident he’s put on some more muscle in his upper body – something that can only help him as he bangs around in the paint and continues to attack the rim in 2007-08.

Also

It’s been no secret that Vincent wants to get up and down the court this season, but make sure to pay attention to the action in the paint under the new regime. Much of the scrimmage was dedicated to attacking inside on offense and denying the post on the defensive end. With a completely healthy Emeka Okafor and a bulked up Gerald Wallace patrolling the paint, points might be hard to come by when Charlotte shows up on its opponent’s schedule this season.

Maybe your line-up is spot on Stache!

However, with that line-up we may still be putting too much pressure on Ammo (even if matt starts). Hopefully he'll step up to it after having a year under his belt, but if not we could try some kind of a mix of Felton/Carrol/J-rich/Crash/Okafor and Felton/J-rich/(Dudley? Herrman? May?)/Crash/Okafor. Thoughts?
I think we have a lot of different looks we can throw at teams.

[spectre]

except the bolded part.

Felton, Carrol/Morrison, J-rich, Crash, Okafor

Unless May comes back strong ( ) I think the starting gig is Fabio's to lose. Neither Hammer or Ammo is known for "running".

[Mustachio]

From the bobcat's site (blogcat's training camp blog):

To no one’s surprise, Wallace has dedicated himself to improving this offseason. Although he’s still listed as 220 pounds on the Bobcats Training Camp roster, it’s evident he’s put on some more muscle in his upper body – something that can only help him as he bangs around in the paint and continues to attack the rim in 2007-08.

Also

It’s been no secret that Vincent wants to get up and down the court this season, but make sure to pay attention to the action in the paint under the new regime. Much of the scrimmage was dedicated to attacking inside on offense and denying the post on the defensive end. With a completely healthy Emeka Okafor and a bulked up Gerald Wallace patrolling the paint, points might be hard to come by when Charlotte shows up on its opponent’s schedule this season.

Maybe your line-up is spot on Stache!

HMMMMMM!!! very, very interesting. it makes sense to me... i know its not the conventional way of playing...but who cares.

you do the same thing you get the same results.

i think its our best shot of competing. We dont have the typical big dominant Center. so why not hit the other teams where it hurts. QUICKNESS, SPEED, LEAPING, and tough defense. we would run teams like Miami and Houston out of the building.

and when we wanna slow it down... we put May or Brezec and it keeps everyone fresh...

[bobcatsden]

Assuming they're healthy, the lineup will almost certainly be Felton, Richardson, Wallace, May, Okafor.

Second string: Anderson, Carroll, Hermann, Dudley, Primoz.

Edited: Spectre is right that May will have to work hard to get into the starting lineup - Hermann will have the position by default coming out of training camp, if May can't get on the court.

[Mustachio]

except the bolded part.

Felton, Carrol/Morrison, J-rich, Crash, Okafor

Unless May comes back strong ( ) I think the starting gig is Fabio's to lose. Neither Hammer or Ammo is known for "running".

i agree that Hammer and Ammo arent the protypical running SGs... but for the 1000th time. lets make sure The Primetime Argentine isnt an end of season flash in the pan.
he did what he did against less motivated teams at the end of the season and it came mostly off the bench. Starting material will have to be proven if you ask me. however... its not like Ammo or Hammer have proven worthy of starting either.

[Wallace15]

Assuming they're healthy, the lineup will almost certainly be Felton, Richardson, Wallace, May, Okafor.

Second string: Anderson, Carroll, Hermann, Dudley, Primoz.

Edited: Spectre is right that May will have to work hard to get into the starting lineup - Hermann will have the position by default coming out of training camp, if May can't get on the court.

That's how I see the line-up too, and just from looking at that picture I can tell that Wallace has certainly put on quite a few puonds of muscle. He's definitley more than 215. I'd say around 225 is where he's at.

[Mustachio]

I heard today on the radio that May was in New York seeing a knee specialist. and that he will be in Alabama tom. having his knee looked at by the top knee doc in America. so its not looking great for McMay. So if hes out.. we have a gaping hole at PF/C.

Im just saying that since Crash has put on so much weight and muscle... and that May is likely gonna get limited time .. that we are gonna have to have options at the PF. couple that with Ammo and Hammers contracts being pretty large for just scrap minutes... i just think its a high probality that we see the small lineup more than you think.

I also think the coaching staff is gonna give Ammo more time than you guys want him to get. He showed too much in college and too much in certain games last year to just rot away and use as trade bait.

Ray/Ammo/Jrich/Crash/Mek watch ... i feel it.

[bobcatsden]

The Alabama specialist is Dr. James Andrews - he performed surgeries on Derek Jeter, Emmitt Smith, Drew Brees, Donovan McNabb, HHH, Rey Mysterio, and John Cena.

I think you're savvy to emphasize the fact that May is traveling down to see him. It certainly doesn't seem like a good sign, no matter how you spin it.

If May is out at 4, and Wallace is shifted to PF, I think they bring Carroll in to play the SG (sliding Richardson to SF). That is a significant defensive downgrade, though.

[spectre]

i agree that Hammer and Ammo arent the protypical running SGs... but for the 1000th time. lets make sure The Primetime Argentine isnt an end of season flash in the pan.
he did what he did against less motivated teams at the end of the season and it came mostly off the bench. Starting material will have to be proven if you ask me. however... its not like Ammo or Hammer have proven worthy of starting either.

I understand being hesitant about Fabio, but going by that metric we should be even MORE hesitant about Ammo. The competition might be questionable (I'd argue that one as there was still teams trying to get into the playoffs, but anyway), but he did more than Ammo has done except for a couple of games.

Not saying it was all Ammo's fault as Bernie used him horribly...but if we're using the "what have you done for me" standard Fabio wins on that one too.

Hammer has a better chance at starting, but we suffer defensively with him guarding 2s vs. JRich. Fabio has shown he can defend.

I also think the coaching staff is gonna give Ammo more time than you guys want him to get. He showed too much in college and too much in certain games last year to just rot away and use as trade bait.

I think he's going to have to earn PT this year vs. having it handed to him because of his draft position. We sorely needed him to be our go to guy last year; we took that from him with the JRich acquisition.

Pretty much agree with what Hollinger said: He's either going to get better or we won't play him...so he won't be the negative to us like he was last year.

It's not about what I want him to get vs. not...I WANT him to succeed. I'd like nothing better than for his play to demand a starting spot. He's just going to have to earn it this year unlike last year.

If May is out at 4, and Wallace is shifted to PF, I think they bring Carroll in to play the SG (sliding Richardson to SF). That is a significant defensive downgrade, though.

Are you considering Fabio's end of season run a fluke too?