That may not be the most accurate description, but that is exactly how Deron Williams’ floater felt to me when he drained it with 0.8 seconds left on the clock

Did you guys get that same sick pain too?

While it won’t be official until later tommorow, it’s all but a certainty that Larry Brown will be fined $50,000 by the NBA for his comments regarding officiating following a 91-88 loss to the Orlando Magic.

Brown had been asked about Stephen Jackson’s $50,000 fine that day for “verbal abuse” of officials, and responded with a criticism of how officials are taking advantage of the “Respect the Game” rules. When asked about the situation, which came from a loss in Detroit, Brown had this to say:

“I know I went ‘Wow.’ and the referee went bang, ‘gotcha’, and I got a technical for saying ‘Wow.’ And they said they had a lip reader on Stephen. Somebody read lips, I don’t know. This respect for the game goes both ways. Our trainer got cussed at tonight. Yeah. That’s respect for the game.

So it blows me away. For me to say ‘Wow’ and a guy to go ‘gotcha’ and there’s no recourse and that they were lip reading as he was walking away, 50 feet…I don’t know.”

According to a source within the organization, Bobcats majority owner Michael Jordan has already had multiple conversations with NBA Commissioner David Stern regarding both NBA officials and the new rules. Stern views Jordan favorably, and if any owner would be able to convince the commissioner of issues in the system, it would be Jordan, the only owner who played in the league.

At a recent Charlotte Bobcats team function, Nazr Mohammed provided some video of a few of the Bobcats doing some Karaoke. If you have sensitive ears, you may want to skip this.

First up Gerald Henderson – Not even autotune can fix this voice. It’s good to know that Henderson spent the summer working on his jumpshot instead of in a recording studio cutting an album.

After reading further through the forums I have to say that I am impressed with most of the comments; the readers here are obviously well informed about their team and are not shy about sharing their thoughts.

That being said I have a question or more of an observation of sorts that I would like to present; I will be very curious and a little eager even to read your comments.

The concerns at point guard are clear. Whether or not the team should have let Raymond Felton go we will not truly know until the season gets going and we see what D.J. Augustin and Shaun Livingston are able to accomplish.

Stephen Jackson appears to have found a home after his first season with the team. Last season he had career highs in points per game (21.1) and rebounds (5.1; tied with 2008-09 season for career high), and seemed to compliment Gerald Wallace well.

At the forwards, with Wallace and Thomas, the Bobcats should be deadly next season. Anyone that averages a double-double over the course of the season is just a joy to watch in my book (18.2 points and 10 rebounds). In Tyrus Thomas’s short time with the team he showed some real signs of promise, and will likely be even better after going through his first training camp with the team. With Boris Diaw coming off the bench the Bobcats will not be hurting for quality play at the forwards.

However (and this is where the question comes in), I don’t know if I could say the same for the center position.

I was a little surprised that they traded for Erick Dampier from the Dallas Mavericks for one. Many of you in the forums have referred to his salary; while I recognize that as a concern, I think his play is questionable as well. His best days are well behind him (2003-04 with Golden State). His numbers have been in a steady decline along with his health. If the Bobcats could dump him on someone else through a trade I don’t think anyone would cry.

Then again the other options the team has on the roster really aren’t much better. Nazr Mohammed is obviously not a scoring threat for the team nor would he likely to be called upon to do so with players like Wallace and Jackson on the court, but he does not exactly provide the team with many second chance opportunities (2.0 offensive rebounds and 3.3 defensive rebounds last season).

DeSagana Diop is a big ole’ boy and maybe he’ll produce better than he has with more minutes. In 11 seasons in the NBA he has never averaged more than 19 minutes a game and has had the lack of production to go with it. He is definitely a much bigger body than two of the guys that the team has let go elsewhere, Theo Ratliff and Tyson Chandler.

Diop could do well as the starter. Having been in the league for 11 seasons now does not exactly make him an old man, but he is not a spring chicken either. However, when you look at his stats he has not played a whole lot over the span of his career so he can’t be beaten up too bad.

I do not write this to just bad mouth the players that the team has on the roster, and I don’t have a solution to offer either. Mostly I am interested to see what the Bobcat loyal think about their centers and what the team should do (or not do) about the position. Should they stand pat with what they got and see what happens or is there a player available in free agency worth picking up?

Toocool here, with a blog finally. Since it’s now the off-season, I decided to look at our line-up, and analyse how well they did in the normal season, and what they can improve on. I am taking into account that ALL players are resigned/stay on for the next season. Stephen Jackson, Theo and TT’s stats are Charlotte season averages, not the entire season.

The starting 5:
Raymond Felton aka Tonberry:
Stats: 12.1 PPG, 5.6 APG, 3.6 RPG, 1.5 SPG, 0.3 BPG, 2.1 TPG, 33 MPG, 0.459 FG%, 0.385 3FG%
Season: Raymond Felton started slowly, and gradually built up. Although his stats are down, we’ve seen in essence a breakout season from Raymond. We saw him come in with shoddy play-making ability and questionable shots and turn into an even more solid point guard. Comparisons were drawn to Chauncey Billups with Raymond’s calm and efficient play making ability, and the ability to come up in the clutch. His stats overall were down, however he looked far more comfortable out there this season. Again, solid defensively. He also averaged career high 3FG% and FG%. Playoffs he was dominated by Jameer.
Improvement: I would love to see Felton continue to develop his perimeter game. He’s made leaps and bounds on his 3-point shooting, and would like to see him continue to develop that. As well as that, his play-making could use some improvement. Improvement on turning over the ball will also help.

Stephen Jackson aka Captain Jack:
Stats: 21.1 PPG, 3.6 APG, 5.1 RPG, 1.6 SPG, 0.5 BPG, 3.2 TPG, 39.3 MPG, 0.423 FG%, 0.334 3FG%
Season: Our no. 1 offensive threat and clutch player, and for good reason. Jackson had made a name as a Clutch player, and whenever we needed a basket, we would put the ball in his hand. His quote ‘make love to pressure’ became a fan favourite for us here at BCP, and we wear a shirt proclaiming that with pride. Jackson was in essence a God-send; he drew much more attention and was a strong perimeter and inside threat. His length at 6”8, combined with his experience and skill helped to overcome many of the shorter shooting guards he was against. Combined with his great defense, he was a great asset to the team. Came up short in the playoffs however, not having the impact we had hoped for.
Improvement: Jackson needs to work on his ISO situations, chucking the ball and TOs. He TOs the ball at an alarming rate, 3.2 TPG and he can be shown at times to completely stall an offensive with his jab steps. Also, when he is in a shooting slump, Jackson will continue to fire up shots like no tomorrow. If he can work on these areas, raise his stats a bit while lowering his TOs, he may get his first all-star selection next year.

Gerald Wallace aka Crash:
Stats: 18.2 PPG, 2.1 APG, 10 RPG, 1.6 SPG, 1.1 BPG, 2.3 TPG, 41.0 MPG, 0.484 FG%, 0.371 3FG%
Season: Quick fact, Crash is the only Wallace without a ring. This season was Crash’s breakout season. Although all-star selection should really have been a long time coming, Crash had propelled himself to Dennis Rodman heights with his rebounding, tenacity and hustle. His hard work and effort has paid off, becoming our Season’s first all-star. He made leaps and bounds on his jumper, being able to hit from 3 with decent consistency. He also ramped up his offensive production, and even on off-nights, played tough defence.
Improvement: What can I say. If Crash can continue to work on his 3FG%, his mid range jumper and passing, he would become an even greater player. Now Crash commands a lot of respect on the court for his offensive slashing skills. If he can become an even better perimeter player, he can cause FITS for other teams. This was also a good season where he only missed 6 games. His perimeter defence could use a tiny bit of work.

Boris Diaw aka Doris Meow:
Stats: 11.3 PPG, 4 APG, 5.2 RPG, 0.7 SPG, 0.7 BPG, 2.2 TPG, 35.4 MPG, 0.483 FG%, 0.320 3FG%
Season: Diaw seeming at times looked good, while at others looked horrible. Lower stats than last year. Terribly inconsistent, he had up and down days, mostly having mediocre stats. Again, he showed flashes of what he could do, but at times seemed overweight, lazy and disinterested. However, he did show off his brilliant passing ability. He also was very passive on offensive, passing easy shots to other players. Solid defender, while at other times giving away stupid three point plays on fast breaks.
Improvement: Consistency is the main problem plaguing Diaw. Consistency, aggression and focus. He doesn’t seem to be able to bring all of these factors into every game. If he’s able to get more consistency and aggression into his game, his stats will definitely rise.

Tyson Chandler aka Mr. Glass
Stats: 6.5 PPG, 0.3 APG, 6.3 RPG, 0.3 SPG, 1.1 BPG, 1.8 TPG, 22.8 MPG, 0.574 FG%, 0.00 3FG%
Season: Horrible season for Chandler. After coming from off-season surgery, simply couldn’t get started on the court. Struggled for most of the early season, before coming off with injuries that caused him to miss even more games. However, when he came back, finally healthy he looked very strong defensively and made some key rebounds when it mattered. Still a force defensively, but struggled at the offensive end.
Improvement: Offense, and durability. Chandler can’t seem to stay on the floor. When he was finally making headway in the season, he went down with injuries. With an un-interrupted pre-season, if Chandler can work on his offensive game and make himself a threat in the low post and develop a short-mid range jumper, he would draw much more attention to himself on the offensive end.
Now the guys who sit on the bench, and…uhhh sit on the bench. Oh, they also play…some of them.

D.J Augustin aka Saint:
Stats: 6.3 PPG, 2.4 APG, 1.2 RPG, 0.6 SPG, 0.1 BPG, 1.6 TPG, 18.4 MPG, 0.386 FG%, 0.393 3FG%
Season: Utterly horrible season for DJ. Struggled with his shot throughout the most part of the season, only finally coming out of his slump near the end of the season, where he showed glimpses of why he was a lottery pick. Made leaps and bounds on his defensive game, having bulked up and looks stronger. Not so much a liability on the defensive end.
Improvement: Needs to work on his play-making ability and to be more aggressive with his shot, as he has a sweet jumper. Should also look to put on at least another 10 pounds to be able to be stronger in the post, and needs to really put in hard work over the summer. Hopefully next year he can start the season strong, as we could see what he could do in the pre-season.

Theo Ratliff aka Zombie:
Stats: 5.1 PPG, 0.6 APG, 4.2 RPG, 0.3 SPG, 1.5 BPG, 0.9 TPG, 22.3 MPG, 0.466 FG%, 0.000 3FG%
Season: Big man, big heart, big game. Struggled in the playoffs, probably due to the lack of playing on the Spurs bench and seemed tired. Filled in admirably for Chandler and Nazzy when they were both down with injuries. Formed the three-headed dragon back court with Chandler and TT.
Improvement: Theo will unfortunately only really get worse at this point. He’s growing older and his body is getting slower. He can work on his mid range jumper though to make him more of an offensive threat.

Tyrus Thomas aka TT
Stats: 10.1 PPG, 0.9 APG, 6.1 RPG, 0.9 SPG, 1.5 BPG, 1.6 TPG, 21.7 MPG, 0.442 FG%, 0.000 3FG%
Season: Came in mid-way through the season, at the end of the trade deadline. Played solidly throughout the season and came up big in game 4 of the playoffs. Had great defensive and rebounding ability, and was aggressive to getting to the rack. His defence, rebounding and energy really helped us in the limited minutes he was on the court.
Improvement: TT needs to develop a go-to-move in the post. He’s shown he has a hook shot or two, and a few other post up moves, but he needs a stronger repertoire of them. Has a lovely mid range jumper, and if he can continue to improve its consistency, he could be a big threat on the offensive end. Like DJ, I would suggest him putting on another 10 pounds.
Larry Hughes aka The-one-who-will-not-pass-on-a-fastbreak
Stats: 8.1 PPG, 2.0 APG, 2.3 RPG, 0.9 SPG, 0.3 BPG, 1.4 TPG, 21.1 MPG, 0.327 FG%, 0.357 3FG%
Season: When he came in, he looked horrible. Didn’t know why LB played him for such significant minutes when he couldn’t even play. Couldn’t shoot for crap, and was a black hole on offense. Thankfully, he improved and his defence was solid. For a veteran guard, he made a lot of terrible mistakes and would not pass on a fast break. Showed a solid behind the backboard shot.
Improvement: Needs to work on his decision making and team playing mentality. Needs to learn to pass on a 3 v 2, 3 v 1, a 4 v 2, a 4 v 1, a 5 v 1 etc. Fast break. Needs to also learn to score when he goes to the rim on a fast break.

Stephen Graham aka Hulk jr.
Stats: 4.2 PPG, 0.3 APG, 1.9 RPG, 0.3 SPG, 0.1 BPG, 0.5 TPG, 11.5 MPG, 0.496 FG%, 0.320 3FG%
Season: Came in spotty minutes, and at the start of the season tried to do far too much by himself. After he was kicked from the starting line up, playing as a back-up 2 or 3 was much more suited to him. Came in and gave good defence and some offensive in limited minutes. Was solid overall.
Improvement: 3 point shot needs some work. Isn’t consistent enough. Also needs to work on his perimeter defence.

Alexis Ajinca aka Lexi the Benchwarming Frenchman
D League Stats: (they took him away, so if I recall it was around 14/7)
Season: Useless in the normal season and was subsequently shoved to the D-league. Showed his potential in the D-league and in the pre-season, and seems to know what he’s doing much more now. An injury ended his season, but he showed commitment by bulking up to over 250 pounds.
Improvement: Everything. AA has been in the system now for 2 years, but still very raw. He is still 21, and still has a lot to learn. He shouldn’t be bullied around in the post as much now. Needs to develop his mid-range jumper and post moves now to even get a chance to compete for the 4/5 position and playing time. Needs to do a lot of hard work over the off-season.

Desagana Diop aka the other Benchwarming guy.
Stats: 1.2 PPG, 0.2 APG, 2.4 RPG, 0.2 SPG, 0.5 BPG, 0.4 TPG, 9.7 MPG, 0.517 FG%, 0.000 3FG%
Season: Played in 27 games…didn’t do much at all. Had one decent game…and that was it.
Improvement: I’ll cut it short and say he needs to work on everything.

Nazr Mohammed aka Prophet
Stats: 7.9 PPG, 0.5 APG, 5.2 RPG, 0.3 SPG, 0.7 BPG, 0.9 TPG, 17.0 MPG, 0.553 FG%, 0.000 3FG%
Season: Nazr had a brilliant season. He worked hard on the off-season, determined to put in hard work to get playing time. LB rewarded him, and we saw him shine through with some great games, and a dunk when we needed to win a game. Unfortunately, a season de-railed his season and he never looked his old self. However, he had a fine season.
Improvement: Do what he did last off-season, and everyone will be happy.

Derrick Brown aka UPS
Stats: 3.3 PPG, 0.3 APG, 1.4 RPG, 0.4 SPG, 0.2 BPG, 0.3 TPG, 9.4 MPG, 0.463 FG%, 0.286 3FG%
Season: Looked very very solid in the minutes he got. Broke into the rotation in the season, but then got kicked out by no fault of his own. He showed great shot selection and some nice put-back dunks. Brought lots of energy to the court, and showed that he is worth far more than a 2nd round draft pick. Look for big things from this mate.
Improvement: He needs to decide whether he wants to be a 3 or a 4. From what I’ve gathered, he wants to be a 3. With that, he needs to work on his ball handling and perimeter shot. His release is rather…slow and awkward and he needs to work on that. His ball handling is also rather one dimensional, and needs to work on that in the off-season.

Gerald Henderson aka Hendo
Stats: 2.6 PPG, 0.3 APG, 1.3 RPG, 0.2 SPG, 0.2 BPG, 0.6 TPG, 8.3 MPG, 0.356FG%, 0.211 3FG%
Season: Didn’t get much of an opportunity, and as such did a lot of bench warming. Late in the season, he showed what he could do, and his great defensive game shone through. Wasn’t a big threat on the offensive end, but had a big game where he showed his slashing game. Fell in love too much with the mid range shot, especially as it wasn’t consistent enough.
Improvement: Needs a big off-season, as he’ll be fighting for minutes. Training camp and pre-season games will show whether he deserves minutes or not. He needs to work on his shooting, although his release is solid. Also needs to work on his ball-handling, and keep adding to his game if he’s to compete with the others for minutes.

Now that the Charlotte Bobcats are officially in the offseason, it’s time to grade them. Over the next month, I’ll be giving every player and select non-players their grades for the season. But I’ll start with a general report card for the entire team. Enjoy!

Front Office:
When you can turn an aging, injured shooting guard on an expiring contract (Raja Bell) and a sorely overpaid, worthless, shooter playing power forward (Vladimir Radmonovic) into a Top 10 shooting guard (Stephen Jackson) and another tradeable asset (Acie Law IV), you automatically had an above average season. But Michael Jordan, Rod Higgins, and Larry Brown didn’t stop there. In the offseason, they signed Flip Murray to be a serviceable 6th man for just under $2 million. In essence, a bargain. But he wasn’t the only bargain. Stephen Graham, who filled as a starter 8 times, was signed for the league minimum. Not too shabby. The Bobcats also picked up Gerald Henderson and Derrick Brown in the draft. While neither received much playing time, both showed flashes of their talent in limited minutes. When they received over 20 minutes in a game, Henderson averaged 11 points, Brown 9.7 points. But not even a solid draft, free agency, and a great trade to start the year would make the front office lazy. At the trade deadline, they picked up Theo Ratliff for what amounts to nothing and Tyrus Thomas came in for Murray, Law, and a protected 1st. Ratliff started 26 of his 28 games in a Bobcats uniform, and his 1.5 blocks per game in Charlotte helped propel the team to it’s first playoff birth. While the result of the Thomas trade has yet to be discovered, he showed stretches of brilliance on the road to the postseason. Not to mention, Bob Johnson sold the team to Michael Jordan. All in all, a great year in the front office

Final Grade: A

Coaching:
Obviously, if Larry Brown is coaching your team, you’ve got a chance to make some noise. Brown made good on that reputation this past season, turning Gerald Wallace into an All-Star and rebounding machine, keeping Stephen Jackson moderately in check, and improving just about everyone one the roster. And when Brown was ejected (twice in the regular season and once in the preseason), Lead Assistant Dave Hanners capably stepped up. The reason I bring up Hanners is because, unlike Coach Brown, Coach Hanners is aware that there are players sitting next to him who are able to play more than thirty seconds per game. That’s one of Larry’s weaknesses, and it showed. Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson were among the league leaders in minutes, while rookies Gerald Henderson and Derrick Brown played a COMBINED 890 minutes. That’s 60% of DeJaun Blair’s playing time. And need I remind you Blair went in the second round (just a few picks before Brown, but well after Henderson, a lottery pick) and was Tim Duncan’s backup? They received just 40% of Jonas Jerebko’s playing time, and he was both suspended for a game and taken after Blair. But, despite his rotation shortcomings, Larry did coach his way to a team record 44 wins. So, everything combined, a solid season for the journeyman coach.

Final Grade: B+

Players:
While this is a very broad grade, and there are underperformers and overperformers, in the end it’s the total sum of how your team plays that matters. While Gerald Wallace played better than just about anyone expected, he was countered by a lazy season from Boris Diaw. Talk all you want about how much Nazr Mohammed improved, but he was countered by the oft-injured Tyson Chandler, who had a horrible start to the season, and Theo Ratliff’s horrific showing in the playoffs. Raymond Felton may have skyrocketed his shooting percentages, but DJ Augustin’s plummeted. While Stephen Jackson stepped in and led the team in scoring, it took heaven and earth moving for 2008 first round pick Alexis Ajinca to even make the active roster. Larry Hughes joined the team to replace Murray, but somehow had a lower shooting percentage (and lower True Shooting for the stat geeks) than Murray, who had the green light from Coach Brown. While Tyrus Thomas had a huge impact on the team’s defense, he actually had a negative win shares on offense. So, if you look deeply, the team was a little bit above average, and it showed in their .536 winning percentage.

Final Grade: C+

Playoffs:
Well, when you’re the only team to get swept, there’s not much good. But the Charlotte community showed up en masse for both of the team’s home games, and enjoyed booing JJ Redick. But outside of that and Tyrus Thomas’ impressive showing, there wasn’t much to like. The Bobcats only really contended in Game 3, and poor decision making doomed them then. A poor showing, and the better team won quickly.

Final Grade: D

Charlotte Bobcats 2009-2010 Season Final Grade: B+

The team accomplished its goal of making the playoffs, but now they have to show it wasn’t a fluke.