TooCool here, how you all hanging. Hope you’ve enjoyed beating Miami and Cleveland as much as I have, and on the ROAD too. Anyway, let’s get down to business.
I’m here to talk about our rookies.

Let me just start off by saying that I love Hendo. He’s a great player, professional and hard working. He has a great work ethic and he is a freakish athlete. He reminds me of a Crash, not as big or with the mouthpiece hanging out, but as an electrifying player. We’ve all seen flashes of brilliance from Henderson, from his huge blocks to alley-oops. The kid is a highlight reel when he gets the minutes, and that’s great for the Bobcats, more media coverage. I want more time for Hendo. Period. 16 ppg is pretty darn decent in college. With some extra work on his dribbling and 3 pointers, he can be a 20 ppg scorer easily. He can take over a game. He’s done it before, he can do it now.

UPS, I love the chap too. People claiming that Swedish chap is the steal of the draft? I don’t think so. Ooo, Once you see how UPS plays with SIGNIFICANT minutes, they’ll be crying foul ball. However, he probably won’t get significant minutes unless someone breaks the legs of Graham and Diaw (that’s something for you, anyone interested in that?). Jonas Jerebko, the steal of the draft. However, in 27 minutes he gets 8.2 ppg and 5.2 rpg. Give UPS 27 minutes. He’ll probably be 12/5 given the time. Then we’ll be seeing who is the steal of the draft is. UPS gave 13 ppg in college. He can ramp it up here when he gets more opportunity to shoot from the perimeter playing 3 instead of having to post up playing the 4.

However, Larry Brown in all his infinite (and many times questioned) logic has not played him much. Our rookies deserves playing time if anything due to one single thing. Development. Let’s be realistic here. Diaw shouldn’t even be starting. He’s getting back into form, but he is overweight, disinterested and not playing 100%. That should mean an instant bench warming career for him. However that’s not likely. Cpt. Jack, our favourite man-child pistol wielding all-star calibre pirate is getting old. At 31, he’s going to get older and older. That means he’ll get slower, and will have to start cutting down in his minutes. That’s a good thing for Hendo, good for the Bobcats too (in the future). However, also barring Hendo’s way is two players. Stevie “jack up alotta shots” Graham and Flipper.
Graham, I don’t exactly like. He’s crap. He can “attempt” to create a shot, then he’ll force it instead of dishing it out and he’ll be throwing bricks. Sound familiar? It’s when he started for Bell. Graham should be taking a side step for Hendo and UPS. Even with significant minutes, Graham is crap. Hendo is almost at the same stats as him, having lesser minutes and being the last choice on offense. Take a seat Graham. I don’t want you touching SG, play SF and be behind UPS for backing up Crash. In fact, I rather have LB waive the chap than anything else, save us some salary and saving us from his crappy play (I mean come on, Felton calling for the ball right in front of you and you chuck it to Crash who’s facing forward and jogging). Graham doesn’t have the potential to become an all-star. Hendo does, possibly even higher. So get out of the way.

Flip is a decent chap. He’s clutch, can score and is a decent defender. However, he’s also a selfish scorer and LB plays him too much. LB is cutting our legs from under us for playing Flip for long periods of time (sounds like Diaw also) instead of putting in our rookies. It’s nice to have Flippers come off the bench for 20 minutes, pile on 10 points and get utterly raped on defence, but I much rather have Hendo come off the bench for 20 minutes, pile on 6 points and not get raped on defence, and possibly have a highlight dunk and a block to go along with that.
Diaw is also a problem. LB is playing him 35+ minutes, for SUBPAR production and effort. I don’t like Diaw at all. His attitude seriously needs a huge change. At least Chandler is trying his ass off on the court for his crappy-ass stats. I wish you would do the same Frenchie. Hell, I rather have Lexy and his skinny ass than Diaw’s overweight one. Next Sean May much?
Let’s face it. If our rookies don’t get more playing time, we’re probably stuffed in the future. We’ll have a lack of development, and we could miss out on UPS and Hendo being all-stars. Yes, that’s right. I said it, all-stars. They both have the ability to become all-stars.

Both are hard-working, strong and intelligent. Hendo has a good basketball background, and they both come from good programs. Put Hendo and UPS in more. If anyone from Bobcats team management read this, I beg you to play Hendo and UPS more, for the good of the team and it’s future.

Looking at the Eastern Conference, our dear Crash has a lot of competition on his hands.

Let’s look at the players contesting with Wallace for the All-star position in the Eastern Conference for All-star.

Boston Celtics:

Paul Pierce, a seven time All-star. Impressive record, and last season he averaged 20.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. Pierce has given up numbers due to age and having Allen and Garnett on the floor at the same time. Pierce is a tough one for Wallace to beat, due to his great scoring and rebounding, as well as his good assist mark. His averages are expected to decrease due to age.

Cleveland Cavaliers:
Lebron James, is the new face of the NBA. Talented, big, athletic and charismatic, he amplifies what the NBA is looking for. He’s a highlight reel, can score and pass with ease and can have huge blocks too. He also has massive media coverage and a shoddy team for him to carry (seriously…Verajao?, raising his numbers. Expect him to start in the All-star game, unless he pulls up with a massive injury that keeps him out for months/season.

Indiana Pacers:
Danny Granger is a great player. He’s the sole reason that the Pacers are being carried. Last season he averaged 25.8 points per game, 5.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists. The guy seemingly can almost score at will.However, one thing to note is that the guy turns the ball over. A LOT. Last year he was an all-star, but so far this season he hasn’t been his dominant self.

Washington Wizards:
Caron Butler is a two-time all-star. He averaged 20.8 points per game, 6.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists last season. The thing that will keep Butler out of the race is his durability. He has NEVER played a full season uninjured. NEVER. Expect him to fall down the ranks if he gets hit by an injury.

The media:
The media barely knows Wallace exists. Crash has been spoken of as the most underrated player in the league, which is true. When he averaged 20 points, 2 steals and 2 blocks in a season and wasn’t chosen for the all-star game, it shows that the media cares more about points than anything else. Not to mention most of the NBA doesn’t even know we exist. Thus, our greatest enemy is the media.

Honourable Mentions:
Michael Beasley is a troubled troubled man. However, he has decent averages considering they have a go-to-guy in Dwayne Wade. Expect him to pick up more of the slack this year, however whether he will truly contest Crash for an all-star spot remains to be seen. He’s here as an honourable mention, but I doubt he will contest really for an all-star position unless Wade goes down with an injury.

Hedo Turkgulu is a great player. Versatile and tall, with great basketball IQ. Not to mention he has great ball handling skills. However, he has one thing against him, lousy defence and Age. With age, he’s become more and more tired. Expect his stats to drop and him to drop out of all-star contention. Clutch player, yes. All-star, no.

Rashard Lewis is not worth a 118 million salary for 6 years. The guy can score in clutch, he can shoot 3’s. But he’s got horrible defence. Not to mention he mainly plays PF. I get confused whether he plays PF or SF, Magic can’t make their mind up. Should I also mention that generally his averages are going down? Either way, I wish at times Vlad was as good as Lewis, and then it would justify Vladdy boy’s huge-ass contract. But he’s gone now. Say bye Vlad. And say bye to Rashard to All-star SF/PF, whatever he decides to become.

Crash has alot of competition. But if Crash is able to keep up the level he’s playing by averaging a double double, add a few more points to raise that scoring average to 20, we may just have our first all-star in our franchises history.

Okay, so a lot of people are surprised about the Jackson trade. I for one am damn happy that we got Captain Jack and Acie Law. When someone first brought up the trade, I decided to look and do some extensive research before I blog, and from what I’ve seen from Cpt. Jack, the good far outweighs the good. I’m not too sure about Law, but if one person can turn a PG boy into a man, it’s Larry Brown. First off, lets talk about on-court, and then off-court.

Stephen Jackson is an emotionally driven man. If he likes where he’s playing, he’ll perform well. He’s like a gun-tooting version of Ron Artest in some aspects. Thankfully not as weird as Ron-Ron (Lets shave Chinese characters into my head), he certainly shares the control of emotion Ron has, and certainly will lead the Bobcats in technical fouls this season. Not to mention, Jackson is “happy to be in Charlotte under MJ.” Let’s hope our beloved MJ who doesn’t do…that much will be able to help us in this area by motivating Cpt. Jack.

Stephen Jackson last year averaged 20.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 6.5 assists on 41.4 FG%, 33.8 3-point FG% and 82.6 FT%. Those are some great numbers for a small forward. This guy is seriously high caliber, although his FG percentage could use a little boost. He has great vision and has a nice jumper, he’s a bit like Raymond Felton. Both are a bit like pit bulls, angry fellows on offense. Acie Law, is irrelevant at this point for now. I might blog about him at a later date.

NBA.com fantasy predicts that it’ll help the Bobcats. By having a dangerous player on the court, it frees up space for everyone else. In that respect, they believe that having Cpt. Jack will help the others around him. Others claim that Jackson’s averages will go down by approximately 30%. I for one believe that Jackson’s numbers will in fact go up, besides rebounding (which might decrease, with Wallace and assuming TC gets back). With Jackson, he’ll be our focal point on offense. Instead of Rayray taking the clutch shots, we have Jackson. He isn’t the most efficient scorer, but he can create his own shot, post up on his man, rebound, defend and pass. That’s a damn good package for a guy who’s 6’8. Now you might think of his age, 31. Bell was 33, and Vlad was 28. Not much difference, except we’ll get some good minutes out of Jackson. We must milk him for all he’s worth. The other thing that might worry our beloved Bobcats fans are his salary. But my expectations are that he’s going to be worth every penny out of our stingy owner’s ass.

With Jackson, we lost Bell and Vlad Rad. No offense, but Vlad Rad was utterly terrible. He was an upgrade on Shannon Brown and Adam Morrison, but not by much. He’s been playing poor the entire season. Not to mention he couldn’t defend if his life depended on it. Would I also mention that he will free up minutes for AA and Mohammed, and possibly UPS if they play G/Jackson at 4? Bell, I will miss. He’s a great guy. However he wasn’t shooting too well, and he wasn’t much of a scorer. He was a great defensive presence, and Jackson will be able to fill the void as Bell was getting slower with more wear and tear on his body. This would leave Flip and Hendo to get more minutes, which is definitely a good thing (for the future). Overall, the Bobcats will loose nothing on defense, but rather gain more. Seriously, you watch Radman try to defend and you just sit and cry yourself to sleep. But we don’t loose much at all. Speaking of positives, did I mention that Cpt. Jack is 6’8, 3 inches taller than Bell. That’s gotta help the Lockdown-D.

Offcourt, Jackson may be known as a troublemaker. However, Tim Duncan has described him as the “ultimate teammate.” This guy is known for his philanthropy and love for the communities he’s in. Off court, Jackson is a great guy and his few errors have probably been blown out into proportion. Also, with Cpt. Jack, he’ll bring a more high octane offensive threat that people would want to watch, hence filling up seats more…I hope.

For those who think Cpt. Jack was a stupid idea, I have to disagree with you. We have championship defense. I’m serious about the defense, ranked 3rd in the league for Defense, but last in the league for offense. With Cpt. Jack, we can make a serious boost for the playoffs as we finally have a strong scorer. Expect big things from Cpt. Jack, and I’m looking forward to what we can do with our own gun-tooting pirate at our side.

On another note, I was watching highlights from the Orlando v Charlotte game. I was watching Rashard Lewis layup over TC. He made the basket, but TC elevated so damn high, I was wondering why he doesn’t get more rebounds/blocks. Seriously, the guy has hops. Let’s hope he’s able to jump that high for every rebound, and he won’t be playing as terrible as he has been. All is not lost for TC yet, let’s hope and pray a bit more and harder. LB won’t let TC earn 11 mill by putting up lousy numbers. I’m sure LB will want TC to be more active, to score, rebound, box out and block shots. He’s motivated to do well, and I seriously believe all is not lost with TC. Call me naïve, optimistic or downright stupid, but I for one haven’t lost hope…yet.

Hey guys, TooCool here with my first blog post. Hope you all enjoy it, and that I don’t bore you to death.

Defence to the Bobcats and our beloved coaching staff can be summed up in a single quote. “Larry Brown teaches, preaches, and even craps defence” – Along13. Defence is what makes the world go round, for Larry Brown anyway. Defence doesn’t revolve around the players. It revolves around Larry Brown’s head. They say that Defence wins championships. That statement is completely true. Without being able to get stops on a consistent basis, your team will never truly be a strong playoff team.

What is defence?

According to our beloved dictionary.com, defence is defined as:

a. the practice or art of defending oneself or one’s goal against attack, as in fencing, boxing, soccer, or football.
b. the team attempting to thwart the attack of the team having the ball or puck.
c. the players of a team who line up in their own defensive zone.
d. the positions on the field, ice, etc., taken by such players.

We now have a common knowledge of what defence is. This is what Larry Brown emphasises so much on, and this is what will lead Charlotte going forward.

Myths about Defence

Defence isn’t about blocking every shot like its hot, or fouling your man by whacking him in the face when he’s taking the easy layup, then getting him hit with the technical when he gets all aggro about his male ego being deflated from you slapping him in the face. Defence is all about making sure the ball doesn’t get in the hole. Defence is not having tall guys standing up with their arms raised and praying that you’ll have enough inches to make your opponent miss. Defence is moving your feet, not just your hands, hustling, staying in front of your man, contesting almost every shot and making it as difficult as possible for your man to get an easy shot.

Defence, and what it means to our beloved Bobcats:

There are several types of defensive teams out there. For reading purposes I will outline only three examples. I could rant on, but then you’ll probably stop reading and I don’t want that. We have the non-existent defenders i.e Knicks, GSW. We have the shot-blocking specialists i.e Magic. And then, we have the Lockdown-D teams i.e Lakers.

So with that in mind, where do our beloved Bobcats fit in?
Let us look at our lineup:

Lexy: 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Saint Augustin: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Bell: 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
UPS: 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Chandler: 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)
Diaw: 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Diop: 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 28
Rayray: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Gray-hams: 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Hendo: 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Prophet Nazzy: 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Flip: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
VladRad: 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
G. Wallace: 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)

Calculating our team’s average, we have a team average of 6 ft 7 (2.01 m), or Crash’s height on average. Lockdown-D Teams usually have an average height of 6 ft 5 (1.96 m). So yes, this means that VladRad,s extra inches actually do help…theoretically. Magic got blown away by the Lakers in the 2009 Playoffs because of one reason. Height. There are three players on the Lakers roster that are below 6 ft 5. Shannon Brown, Derek Fisher and Jordan Farmar. Everyone else is above 6 ft 5. That’s tough for superstar Dwight Howard, who would have to beat Gasol (7 ft), Bynum (7 ft) and Odom (6 ft 10). Dwight himself is 6 ft 10, but facing these players on a rotation basis, it’s really tough.

Our Bobcats on a recent rating, was ranked 3rd OVERALL as the best defensive teams, behind the Celtics and Magic. That’s impressive for a team, however we also have the worst offensive record…but that’s irrelevant.

The goal of shot-blocking:

The goal of shot blocking is not to block the other person’s shot. There are two goals for shot-blocking and contesting a shot. Firstly, it isn’t all about blocking every shot, it is to make it seem like you are going to block every shot of the opponent. Secondly, the other goal is to make the opponent change their shot to decrease the percentages of the shot going in. With this in mind, the Diop mentality (Must block every shot!) doesn’t always have to apply to every shot. Put a hand in the opponents face and it’s a lot harder to score. It’s a lot harder to score with a hand in your face than a wide open shot, yet we can’t seem to sink either of these shots.

Look at this Retard, Offence > Defence:

Wrong. There has only been one run-and-gun team ever to have done well in the playoffs. Those were the 1980’s Lakers, the run-and-gun team back then. However, they also had great defence and not to mention Magic Johnson. Look at the Golden State Warriors, they have relied on offence over defence, and have limited success. Denver Nuggets are packed with offensively minded people, but they haven’t had the success they could have had until they signed Chris “Birdman” Anderson for a defensive presence.

Defence = Boring:

You ever seen Gerald Wallace block a shot? If you haven’t, grab some popcorn, download/stream a Bobcats game and sit your punk ass down in that chair. If you can’t afford a chair to sit down on, sit on your bed. No bed, then find a box or a crate. Then, lean forward and watch anticipated for the traditional Gerald Wallace rejection. And they are big! You see him rise up in the air, and slap the ball away into the stands. If you think seeing that is boring, then you truly are not a BCP member. Thus, go PM Ziggy saying that you want him to delete your account, go find the nearest Lakers fansite and join it. Because if you say that is boring, just go and join the Lakers bandwagon.

Confusion about the +/-

Stat whores love the +/-, they talk all about it. If you don’t understand what the crap they’re on about, I’m here to save you. If you’re on the court, and they score 2 points on you, you’ll get a -2. If you score 2 points back, you go back to a 0. Therefore, when you are on the court and your team is blowing the other team away, you’ll have a positive. It all depends on how many points respective your team is scoring/getting scored on. So if your team scores 10 points, and the opponents score 2, you’ll have a rating of +8. And no, getting dunked on does not mean the opponents get extra points, or you posterizing the same player for the 5th time in that game doesn’t warrant extra points either.

Tyson vs Emeka in the key.

Emeka is 6 ft 10. Tyson is 7 ft 1. You may think 3 inches isn’t much at all, but it adds a lot, especially to a team like ours who needs all the stops we can get. Emeka, although stronger than Chandler wasn’t that much of a strong defender. Sure he could block shots, but he wasn’t intimidating to players. Tyson has everything. He’s got length, longass arms and a big beard to imitate a terrorist to send the opponents scurrying. Hence, Tyson far outweighs Emeka as a defensive presence. Not to mention that Tyson is a vocal guy. Nothing worse than trying to posterize the guy who’s the most vocal and confident on the court, only to get your ball slapped away like a sissy.

The Flop:

Vlade Divac, the father of flopping. People say that flopping is a legitimate tactic. I find it downright dirty and unjustified. Famous floppers include Derek Fisher (the grandmaster of flopping), Andrei Kirilenko (douchebag that no one likes) and our favourite Brazilian flopper, Anderson Varejao (Oh noes, not only did he flop but his hair whipped me in the back of the head). We ourselves have our own beloved flopper, Raja Bell. However, flopping is illegal and no one condones flopping. NBA is cracking down on flopping, and I personally would pay to see Varejao’s face if he gets caught, and gets a nice big fat fine.

Still think Defence is boring? Think again.
Defence at its finest:

The People’s Elbow, courtesy of Hendo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVib6gjoZAI

Birdman Block party: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ha2tcAUa-e8

Huge block by Wallace: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVzu6JgOMoI
Defence is what will lead the Bobcats forward. We have defence down pat, so now lets work on the offence…I beg you LB. With that in mind, I still stand by the ILBIT, although IDTLBOO (I don’t trust Larry Brown on Offence) is something I will also stand by on, until I see something better than the train wreck that is our offence. For now, the Bobcats have one of the best defences in the league. Now, we just need to work on our offence, and things will be good.