Game 40 Preview: Blazers vs. Bobcats
by Dave on Jan 16, 2009 11:53 PM PST
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PrintI will get through this preview without saying "Hornets". I will get through this preview without saying "Hornets". I will get through this preview without saying "Hornets".
A Look at the BOBCATS
The Charlotte BOBCATS come into this game with a 15-24 record. Now, a couple of games ago I compared the 16-21 record of the Chicago Bulls to owning a '99 Ford Escort (adequate, but not very sexy). All of the Ford Escort owners were up in arms, chiming in vigorously in the comment section of that preview. So let me say for the record right now that a 15-24 record is nothing at all like owning a Ford Escort.
A 15-24 record is like owning TWO Ford Escorts.
I mean, it's OK to make mistakes, but you're not supposed to repeat them.
Then again, that record has them only 3.5 games out of the 8th seed in the conference, so I guess in the East an Escort might be enough to win the race...or at least get you on the lead lap.
In any case, having won only 18 32 games all of last season you can definitely pretty much say things are looking up for the BOBCATS. They are going through a transition that Portland negotiated a couple seasons ago, moving from a team that everybody beats no matter what to a team that can beat you if you don't take them seriously.
The BOBCATS are led by a familiar trio plus another three new faces.
The old hands are center Emeka Okafor, forward Gerald Wallace, and point guard Raymond Felton. Okafor is the steady, intimidating low-post machine that he's always been. He's averaging 11 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. He's also shooting over 58% from the floor. He recognizes his effective areas offensively and stays within them. The career-high shooting percentage is still only translating into his same old 14 ppg, however, as he lets the offense flow through others. The BOBCATS would love him to assert himself more but that's not his game. Another guy taking fewer shots this year is Gerald Wallace. He's a frantic, energy player chafing at the BOBCATS' slow pace this year. He's still shooting quite well (46%) but his scoring average has fallen for the first time since he's become a regular rotation player. He's still good for 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals a night though. Felton, on the other hand, is shooting as much as ever. He's also missing as much as ever, averaging only 40% on the year. His three-point percentage has gone up 20 points to 30.6% but his chronic brick-fests keep him around 14 ppg as well. This is undoubtedly what's driving a possession-oriented coach like Larry Brown crazy and is also leading to the rampant trade talks regarding Felton. Nevertheless he remains one of the BOBCATS' better players and he's had some amazing games--several in the 20's and one 31-point effort against the Pacers--this season.
The new names include a couple of ex-Suns and a rookie. Point guard D.J. Augustin is Felton's heir apparent. He's got an abdominal strain and is officially listed as day-to-day but we're unlikely to see him tonight. We will get to see Boris Diaw and Raja Bell who, if they don't provide as much firepower as the traded Jason Richardson, do provide maturity and better all-around play to a squad that needed both.
After that the BOBCATS' bench is hit and miss, with a general emphasis on the miss. They have some veterans like Nazr Mohammed and Juwon Howard plus some young guys like Adam Morrison, Sean May, Sean Singletary and Shannon Brown. Getting into the BOBCATS' bench is usually a positive thing for the opponent.
Charlotte just traded Ryan Hollins and Matt Carroll to the Mavericks for center DeSagana Diop but we'll probably not see him tonight either.
The most striking thing about the BOBCATS this year is the low number of shots they attempt and make in Larry Brown's offensive scheme. One tried and true method of not letting games run away from you when you can't match up talent-wise is to grind, thereby lowering the deficit you're building throughout the game. Also the BOBCATS want their percentage scorers to assert themselves and the king of those is Okafor, who likes to play slow. Charlotte is last in the league in field goals attempted and made. Unfortunately they're also 22nd in field goal percentage, which leads to their league-trailing 91.1 ppg average. They're average free-throw shooters and below average three-point shooters as a group, so those all-important extra points are hard to come by. They turn the ball over a lot which doesn't help.
With Okafor keying the interior defense the BOBCATS can hold their own most nights. Like most teams they excel when you let them set and have problems when you move the ball. They suffer from the lack of a wingman to help Emeka on the boards consistently. A team playing possession basketball needs to rebound and they're only average offensively and poor defensively.
The Bobcats are 9-2 when they reach 100 points, 6-22 otherwise.
Keys to the Game
1. This team often has a hard time putting up points. Don't make it any easier on them. No transition buckets for Wallace and no lazy, fouling halfcourt defense.
2. Get a hand in Raja Bell's face if he tries to shoot from distance but pack it in on everybody else.
3. Box out Emeka Okafor and you have the entire glass to yourself. For most teams that's impossible but Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla are pretty good rebounders themselves. If they just keep a body on him and we get a little weak-side rebounding help we should dominate.
4. Every player under 6'8" for them is exploitable defensively. Don't settle for jump shots against this team. You don't have to. Penetrate, draw attention, then dish to somebody for the dunk or the three.
5. All of that said, do not take this team for granted. They still have individual athletes who can lay a whuppin' on you. Put enough energy into the game to build a big lead and then let your bench outscore theirs to seal the deal.
Final Thoughts
There! I did it! All the way through without mentioning any name but BOBCATS! Now, if we can just get Brandon Roy to play like that old-time superhero the Green Bobcat while Rudy and Travis come off the bench and strafe them like a couple of F/A-18 Bobcats... and if our offense doesn't sputter like an old AMC Bobcat (one of the few cars that could lose a race to an Escort) and if we manage to swarm them on the break like a bunch of picnic Bobcats around a soda can... well, then we'll be in business.
Check out the Charlotte point of view at RufusonFire.
Enter tonight's Jersey Contest form here.
--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)
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I can’t wait to see PayUp/B-Rex/BayWatch/Face/BaylessRingSource/Predator/Diamond/Scrotum/JB/JayBay/GayGay/Rawr tear up the Hornets Bobkittens.
by Bust a Bucket on Jan 17, 2009 12:00 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
You said Hornets three times
in the very first paragraph.
2-2 would be a decent but not very good road trip, 3-1 would be good.
Look for us to run plenty of zone again tonight, with (as you said) an eye out for Bell.
Look for Charlotte to try to pressure the ball coming up court, with Blake out. Also look for them to run some zone, especially against the starters (with Blake out, we don’t have a lot of 3 point threat in the starting unit). Maybe Nic can knock some shots down, we haven’t seen a lot of that.
It would be nice if Greg had a good game, so he can come home on a good note and ready to rumble against Milwaukie and Cleveland next week. It would also mean that we are about 25% more likely to win this one.
We should beat these guys. They’ve played decently recently, but they aren’t really that good, and the trade disrupts their chemistry. It would be nice to have a good first quarter and put them away, because they can be dangerous. There’s enough talent there to hurt us if we don’t come out and play.
Several Western playoff contenders lost last night. Utah plays at Dallas tonight, so we’ll open a little space on someone if we win this one.
I know you can put admiration in bags, because admiration is real, and tominhawaii says that everything that is real is measurable.
2-2 would be a disappointment considering the quality of opponents. When people saying go 50% on the road and win the home games, that doesn’t mean you should go 50% against sub-.500 teams. We’ve got plenty of tough road games out West and against good teams and can’t afford to be dropping two on this road trip.
We need to win and we will win.
by Bust a Bucket on Jan 17, 2009 12:12 AM PST up reply actions
Well
we should win, no doubt about it. But…
If you look at the real quality of opponents, it’s not quite so obvious….
Chicago is 13-7 at home (13-6 not counting their game against us) and just beat the Cavs in Chicago. There would be no embarrassment in losing to them there. That was a good, solid win — you don’t call it a bad loss if you lose to a team that wins that many at home.
Philly is sub-.500 by precisely one loss now, and has won 6 in a row, including putting a pasting on the Spurs. You can’t really call that one a bad loss (though it was bad that we lost it so badly).
NJ is sub-.500 by precisely two losses (one of them to us), and has two legit all-star talents, and we had them on the road on a back to back — with Blake out. That would not have been a bad loss, either.
That’s three games that we could legitimately have lost even if we played well. Charlotte? Well, they’ve won 4 of their last six, but they really aren’t very good. This will be a bad loss if we don’t get it.
But 2-2 would be a decent trip. If you had told me at the start of the trip that we were going to win one of the first 3 and then the fourth one, I’d have said that is a respectable (if not good) trip. By winning 2 of the first 3, we’ve locked down a respectable trip and given ourselves a chance at a good one.
I know you can put admiration in bags, because admiration is real, and tominhawaii says that everything that is real is measurable.
2-2 would be all right
i never like saying that such-and-such is “unacceptable.” stuff happens. they’re trying hard. as soon as blake went down i thought we were in for a few losses, and not just because he’s been a stabilizing force.
the good game by bayless was satisfying, but that was just one game. remember anthony morrow on golden state? he was unstoppable for about a week, and now he’s barely hanging on.
just so, adam morrison has had some 20+ pt games, which were fool’s gold.
let’s hope for the best.
ignacio
Unacceptable
What does it mean when a fan says a performance is “unacceptable”, anyway?
Does it mean you are going to stop being a fan? Does it mean you will throw a shoe at your television? Will you stop posting on Bedge? Will you write Paul Allen a letter ordering him to fire the coach, or sell the team, or something?
I’m with you 110% (which is impossible, but who cares?) on “unacceptable”. It’s a silly thing for a fan to say unless you actually really mean that you aren’t going to accept it and you are going to change your behavior in some substantive way (more substantive than Internet temper tantrums) as a result. Otherwise, face up to it — you ARE accepting it.
—-
I expect Sergio to step up and have a good game tonight. We’ll see. Typically at least one of your role players comes to the front against weaker teams. Sergio, Jerryd, Rudy, Travis, Nic, Joel — one or more of those guys is likely to be feeling it and have a really good game, and if Brandon is Brandon and LMA gives us 18 and 7, that should be enough.
We’ve got the weapons to beat these guys, even with Blake out. If we could beat Boston and Detroit at home with Brandon out, we should be able to beat the Bobcats with Blake out, even on the road. Not that it will be easy, but this one should go in the W column.
I know you can put admiration in bags, because admiration is real, and tominhawaii says that everything that is real is measurable.
like this??
Larry (the new Johnnie Cochran) Miller: "If we get screwed, we're gonna sue"
by 92wastheyear on Jan 17, 2009 9:11 AM PST up reply actions
I'm elated to learn that I'm not the only one...
…who can’t remember that they’re the BOBCATS. Geez, it would help if there were anything the slightest bit regional about bobcats, but they’re found all over the country. So if we keep calling the team the Hornets, whose fault is that??
"We don't back down to nobody." --Joel Przybilla
Are Hornets regional?
The obvious solution is to change:
1. The L.A. L@kers to the Hollywood Whores.
2. The Utah Jazz to the SLC Salt Puddles.
3. The Hornets to the Hurricanes.
4. The Bobcats to, ur, um, I need help. What IS regional in Charlotte? Oh, I’ve got it, Charlotte Churches. Right in the Bible Belt, and no difficulty deciding who to bring in to sing for halftime entertainment.
I know you can put admiration in bags, because admiration is real, and tominhawaii says that everything that is real is measurable.
Charlotte is the 2nd biggest banking center in the United States
Wachovia was based there (and now Wells Fargo’s east coast operations will be), as is Bank of America. So maybe the Charlotte Bailouts, or the Charlotte Foreclosures would be appropriate.
Travis Outlaw is an alien, but in a good way.
Awesome Graphic was provided by CIC, because he felt like he should be hazed.
by Clevelander among roses on Jan 17, 2009 1:24 AM PST up reply actions
No, hornets are all over the place
But I was USED to calling them the Charlotte Hornets. Why should I have to remember ANOTHER non-regional name. Of course, ridiculously IN-appropriate names are also memorable in their own way, like the Utah Jazz. At least there’s a couple dried up lakes in the LA region (or so I imagine). But there’s VERY little jazz in Utah. I’ll bet they’ve tried to outlaw it once or twice.
So the Jazz is appropriately memorable. Then again, the Utah Salt Puddles does have a ring to it…
"We don't back down to nobody." --Joel Przybilla
The Hornets
are all over the place. For sure. they got destroyed last night in Cleveland. I think the successes last year went to their heads. Watching Chris Paul get kicked out was painful. I can’t stand seeing the great players whine like infants.
So, yeah. Blah blah blah Hornets blah. Feel the sting blah.
"Bayless is awesome." -Clyde Drexler
OH! you mean hornets are all over the place. I see now. Well if it’s any help they wore their Bucs uniforms last night. It’s all so confusing. ;P
"Bayless is awesome." -Clyde Drexler
Appropriate names are a two-way street, unfortunately.
I’m sure that fans of other teams think we should rename our team the Portland Drips or Drizzles or Dribbles or etc.
No, the "Trailblazers" is appropriate & memorable...
…particularly considering that, in the imaginations of much of the country, Oregon is still unpaved frontier territory.
"We don't back down to nobody." --Joel Przybilla
Hmmm....
LA L@kers —> LA Fakers
Utah Jazz —> Utah Salt Flats
NO Hornets —> NO Jazz
Charlotte Bobcats —> Charlotte Smokeys
Actually,
“Hornets” belong in Charlotte, just as Jazz belongs in New Orleans and L*kers belong in Minnesota. I say, rotate them all back where they belong, kind of like what you have here.
Also, I like LA F*kers better than LA Fakers.
Gah. You're right.
LA L@kers —> LA F@kers
Minnesota Timberwolves —> Minnesota Lakers
Utah Jazz —> Utah Salty Mormons
NO Hornets —> NO Jazz
Charlotte Bobcats —> Charlotte Hornets
OKC Thunder —> Seattle SuperSonics
LA Clippers —> D-League
best idea yet!
If you smile at me I will understand, because that is something everybody everywhere does in the same language. - Crosby/Stills/Kantner
Charlotte Sweb
Presto, no copyright infringement.
(Kidding)
by Kaboomm on Jan 17, 2009 1:30 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Diop will be their new steeple
If you smile at me I will understand, because that is something everybody everywhere does in the same language. - Crosby/Stills/Kantner
Slow play, we're the kings of slow play
We should beat this team pretty badly even on the road. They play similarly to the way we play except we’re much better at it. I hope Roy plays better against Bell; he gives Roy trouble sometimes. I think that’s why Roy went for 52 against Pheonix after the trade. Roy was like, they traded away their best parameter defender, (when I say best I mean only) nice. I think Bayless can drive on the Bobcats, I just hope he can pass the ball off enough to keep the defense honest. We’ll see at 4pm. Go Blazers.
I owned a Ford Tempo in college
Which is probably the only car in the Ford collection of 90’s and later autos worse than an Escort. My senior year a bunch of guys in my dorm helped decal the car so that the back end of the Tempo was a giant fireball. Talk about visual sarcasm.
Travis Outlaw is an alien, but in a good way.
Awesome Graphic was provided by CIC, because he felt like he should be hazed.
by Clevelander among roses on Jan 17, 2009 1:08 AM PST reply actions
The whole Escort thing reminded me of a comic
I heard once. He claimed to have an Ford Escort “L”. He then peeled off the “L” sticker and would then challenge regular Escorts drivers to a race.
Larry (the new Johnnie Cochran) Miller: "If we get screwed, we're gonna sue"
by 92wastheyear on Jan 17, 2009 9:19 AM PST up reply actions
Ford Probe
Nastiest car name ever. Keep that thing washed at all times. Please. – Elgin
If you smile at me I will understand, because that is something everybody everywhere does in the same language. - Crosby/Stills/Kantner
That is sooo funny
I have said the same thing for years. They may as well called it the Ford Rectal Exam. PR/Marketing people get too clever for their own good sometimes
Larry (the new Johnnie Cochran) Miller: "If we get screwed, we're gonna sue"
by 92wastheyear on Jan 17, 2009 2:01 PM PST up reply actions
Once again,
ESPN and Accuscore have combined to give the home team a 51-49 advantage over us.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/preview?gameId=290117030
And I didn’t know they swept us last season. Just goes to show that you learn something new everyday.
those cold hard espn factoids
can’t factor in the heart of the rookie heavy new-look blazers. Go EU! Go Bayless! Go GO! Go Los Blazers!
Activate Shavlik Randolph
Question?
"One tried and true method of not letting games run away from you when you can’t match up talent-wise is to grind, thereby lowering the deficit you’re building throughout the game.
The Bobcats are 9-2 when they reach 100 points, 6-22 otherwise."
Can you explain how these two things connect? It would seem to me that if they like to grind it out, then their record should be better when they don’t reach 100 points? Or is it they like to grind their opponents down with tough D? But then you say everyone under 6’8" is a liability for them?
By grinding it out
you keep the opponent’s score low. If you reach 100, it means you were shooting well in that grind it out game, so you win.
I suspect if you check those 100 point games, in general they shot a much higher percentage (or got a lot more FTs) than in their other games.
If they reach 100 by upping the pace, they are in trouble. If they reach 100 in a grind it out game by hitting a high percentage of their shots, they are dangerous.
Obvious solution — block all their shots to keep them under 100.
I know you can put admiration in bags, because admiration is real, and tominhawaii says that everything that is real is measurable.
They’re average free-throw shooters and below average three-point shooters as a group, so those all-important extra points are hard to come by. They turn the ball over a lot which doesn’t help.
That right there scares the tarnation out of me. They will probably get to the line 20+ times hitting about 85% of there freethrows,and what has been a recent trend against the Blazers they will have someone get hot from beyond the three line(not Morrison,God noooooo)TO stats may be the key tonight,,,,,,
I try to help with everything," Fernandez said. "If the coach says go rebound, I go rebound. I work for the team."
Oh, Dave
Your elitist West coast biase reveals itself again. The Bobcats won 18 games their first year in the league, 2004, and LAST season they won 32 games. The year before they won 33. Consistency!
I re-read your paragraph, like, 20 times because I thought I had to have missed something. Excited, I ran down here, out of breath, thrilled I get to correct Dave and be a real smarty pants hero face. Once I got down here, I thought HMMM… maybe it’s a trick! Dave isn’t prone to mistakes, perhaps the joke was that while he wouldn’t accidentally say HORNETS, he’d get the previous record way wrong and make it like he was focusing so much on saying Bobcats, he couldn’t see the truth being served before him.
I re-read the rest of the article 27 times, looking for a hint of awareness of the joke, but alas, none is there. Now I am certainly convinced the joke is on me, because there is no way Dave makes a mistake, and thus, I have been served :(
Served, by ever doubting you Dave. And questioning your word.
If you say the Bobcats won 18 games last year, I don’t think it’s right of me to challenge you. I apologize.
Mortimer
Dave is right, of course
You dead people always live in the past, anyway, so we can’t expect you to get it right.
The other 14 games they won were home games against the Eastern Conference, and the league ruled that the East was so bad last year that those wins don’t count.
I know you can put admiration in bags, because admiration is real, and tominhawaii says that everything that is real is measurable.
Oh Morti
It’s completely clear how Dave arrived at 18 wins:
- As you stated, the year before last season, the Hornets won 33 games. Last season, our record against teams from the East was 15-15. Of course you have to subtract those 15 games from their record. 33 – 15 = 18
- Also, read your John Hollinger – which Dave of course does religiously (no pun intended). The margin of victory of the Bobcats was so bad last season that they only deserved 18 “real” wins (actually 27, but you have to subtract 9 since we are in 2009). Just like you might think we ended the season 41-41, but in reality it was just 38-44.
Oh...FUNNY
The site I read that off of has the seasons listed in reverse order!
My apologies to all Bobcats’ fans.
Uh…I mean…yes, it was humor.
—Dave
love the Hornets jab
I do it all the time, thinking of them as the Hornets.
There is probably no more terrible instance of enlightenment than the one in which you discover your father is a man — with human flesh.
Paul Muad'Dib - Dune (Frank Herbert)
My Translation: My Dad is a dude just like me, and my sons are dudes like me also. I love that.
Season Tix: Section 315, with my sons
Something tells me many fans in Charlotte
would rather have the Hornets back (minus George Shinn, of course).
OTOH, at least Shinn knew better than to let MJ run his team.
by EngineerScotty on Jan 17, 2009 10:18 AM PST reply actions
Portland should win this game easily
…which means it’ll either go to overtime or Portland will only win on a last second shot. I’m not stupid enough to predict a Portland loss though.
I really hope that tonight is Oden’s night. He should be pretty fresh after playing around 30 minutes over the past two games. It seems like Nate is the only one who can stop Oden these days.
I've seen Charlotte run Felton and
Augustine in the back court at the same time and have good results. Keep those two in control with be huge keys to Success.
Dear Blazers,
No double digit deficits by quarter 2 this game please. kthxbye
No double digit deficits at anytime during the game.....Please!!!!!
We want a win!!!!!!!! Preferably a blowout!!!!
Blazer's Edge Ambassador to The Dream Shake Blog
LMA had a decent game!
36:21 Mins 10-19 FGs 1 Off 6 Rebs 2 Ast 1 Blk 20 Points - LMA vs Nets 1-15-09
B-REX ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! RRRRROOOOWWWWRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
25:20 Mins 6-9 FGs 11-11 FTs +5 3 Rebs 3 Ast 23 Points!!!!!! B-Rex vs Nets 1-15-09
Carroll on the Mavs
He might help them. He might help them more than Diop, anyway. – Elgin
If you smile at me I will understand, because that is something everybody everywhere does in the same language. - Crosby/Stills/Kantner
"A 15-24 record is like owning TWO Ford Escorts." Nope!
A 15-24 record is like owning TWO Mercury BOBCATS!
The Mercury Bobcat was really nothing more and nothing less than a Ford Pinto clone.
Blazer's Edge Ambassador to The Dream Shake Blog
LMA had a decent game!
36:21 Mins 10-19 FGs 1 Off 6 Rebs 2 Ast 1 Blk 20 Points - LMA vs Nets 1-15-09
B-REX ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! RRRRROOOOWWWWRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
25:20 Mins 6-9 FGs 11-11 FTs +5 3 Rebs 3 Ast 23 Points!!!!!! B-Rex vs Nets 1-15-09
by LaMarvelous on Jan 17, 2009 1:14 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
But look at those sweet, sweet stripes
Reminds me of the Hot Wheels I had as a kid. They just don’t make them like that anymore.
—Dave
Or an AMC Gremlin (the subcompact version of the Hornet)
Not only was the Gremlin introduced on April Fools Day, but Marge Simpson drove one when she was dating Homer (WikipediaFTW).
No way that it is a Pinto clone!!
It was a Pinto with a fancier grill…and like Dave says…stripes, baby!
Larry (the new Johnnie Cochran) Miller: "If we get screwed, we're gonna sue"
by 92wastheyear on Jan 17, 2009 2:04 PM PST up reply actions
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