Last night’s effort against the Hornets was puzzling to say the least. Lately we seem to be falling into a pattern of not giving an all out effort until the 4th quarter when the game is inevitably out of reach. BobcatsPlanet member Keetch gives his analysis after attending last night’s game.
Except for JRich and maybe Felton; I don’t see anyone really playing
hard on Defense. I know Wallace has a way of moving around and cutting
off passing lanes, and is good for one or two spectacular blocks, but
otherwise he’s often way out of position; at least until the last 5
minutes of the game when he seems to wake up.
I’m not a coach
and definitely not a defensive authority by any means, but last night I
just kept rewinding the DVR to try to see how the Hornets kept getting
wide open looks and/or to the basket.
What I saw were Bobcats
out of position; literally not even close to the man they were
guarding; standing flat footed while out-of-position; not "rotating" as
they say…; the bigs especially routinely leave their man to help the
perimeter (which even at that they’re always too late to really be any
help), leaving the paint wide open for Wallace or JRich to wave at
Chandler/West hell anybody or to foul. They often were beaten up court
even when there was no reason for it.
Yes the Hornets were
excellant at setting screens; but that only made the process more
brutal. Felton was hustling, but was normally the first guy picked
off; he’s probably pretty bruised right now. And while Felton was
being hammered, some other Bobcat like Nazr or Okafor would be on the
way to help only to get blown by…all night.
Rebounding…ugh…
The backboard camera had a really fun way of showing 3 Bobcats with
hands up, but elbows down standing behind one Hornet getting the
rebound or put-back. Just awful.
Okay if the guys really want
to win; and I’m sure they do..why aren’t they playing harder? I’m
worried that the coaching they are getting is confusing and they’re
just shutting down out there. The pain-faces on the players are
becoming numb-ride-this-out faces and that worries me.
I also
see little from Vincent on the sideline other than pursed lips and
rolling eyes; which might be sending the message "not my fault; this
isn’t my team" instead of getting into the players and motivating them
with a little grilling. Too often he stands at the scorers table with
his arms crossed, then when something bad happens he turns his back to
the court and slumps into his chair. Wrong message. Jeez….I don’t
know.
I hope Sam can get this together, but its getting worrisome.
In my opinion the common issue in the majority of our losses is a lack of effort feeding the post and too much of a reliance on perimeter players. To put it in perspective in the past two games (both losses) Jason Richardson and Gerald Wallace has combined for a total of 75 shots, Emeka Okafor and Nazr Mohammed combined for only 35 shots.
Sam Vincent comments on this in today’s Charlotte Observer .
A good start would be reminding themselves of the inside-out
approach that won them two of three games recently. Coach Sam Vincent
and managing partner Michael Jordan want the ball in Emeka Okafor’s
hands in the post, either for easy baskets or to contract the defense
around him. Okafor took five shots Friday (making three). When he
contributes so little offensively, the Bobcats typically lose.
"They’re
not (always) comfortable he’s giving them the target they need to make
the pass,” Vincent said of the point guards finding Okafor.
Tonight at 7pm the Bobcats travel to Orlando to face Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic.
Its very doubtful that George Shinn pictured to the left will makie his way to town. He’s far too busy with his hobbies of biting the heads off chickens, practicing witchcraft, drinking infant blood and getting 666 tattoos… busy, busy, busy.
