Thu19

Gerald Wallace is a bad Mother..Shut Your Mouth!

Posted by on Mar 19, 2009 in Gerald Wallace, Sacramento Kings | 0 comments

They say that any win is a good win. I guess that I’ll have to accept that but last night’s win against the Sacramento Kings was a tough one to experience. The first quarter was fun, we built up a nice 33-25 lead and the Kings were offering little if any resistance. Then it got weird, Rashad McCants had a Tarheel flashback and started nailing everything from the perimeter, The Bobcats started turning the ball over like Jake Delhomme in the first round of an NFC playoff game (yes, I’m still bitter about that).

 Worst of all towards the end of the 2nd quarter, Gerald Wallace hits the floor with what looks like a seriously damaged knee. When I first saw it, the first thing that popped into my mind was ‘ACL’. Amazingly, Gerald refused to go to the hospital for an MRI, went against the doctor’s recommendations and returned to the game at the beginning of the 3rd quarter, he proceeded to drop 14 points and 5 rebounds on the Kings in the 2nd half on a knee that he said was basically numb. That my friends, is hardcore.

The fourth quarter was a little easier to watch, we managed to stretch the lead and keep it comfortably in double digits. There was even a Sean May sighting before we closed out the game with a 104-88 win. This win has us tied for 9th with the Milwaukee Bucks, 1.5 games behind the Chicago Bulls with 14 games left. We can do this.

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Sat24

How OJ Mayo could slide to the Bobcats at #9

Posted by on May 24, 2008 in Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA Draft, Sacramento Kings | 0 comments

Via longtimeBobcatsPlanet member BIGSLAM

1: Bulls = Beasley
2: Heat = Rose
3: Wolves = Randolph
4: Sonics = B.Lopez
5: Grizzlies = Love
6: Knicks = Bayless
7: Clippers = Gordon
8: Bucks = Gallinari
9: Bobcats = Mayo
10: Nets = Batum
11: Pacers = Augustin
12: Kings = Westbrook
13: Blazers = Budinger
14: Warriors = Greene

click here for Slam’s full mock 

Heres his take on how the slide could happen:

Every year, someone slides. It’s just the nature of the draft. B.Wright was said to be a lock for the 3rd pick last year and he slide to #8. Rudy Gay was tossed around as a potential 1st over all the year before and he also fell to #8.

I think that some GM will fall for a Jordan/McGee/Love/Speights/Authur type and their size combined with a soild workout and predraft measurements.
I think that Mayo might be the kid to slide this year. His “baggage” issues had been all but earased – then all of a sudden the story breaks last week that he might have accepted cash etc from USC to play there, violating NCAA rules. Once again, his character is brought into question. This “might” turn some GM’s off. That and the fact that all of the teams above us (except for the Clipps) have other pressing needs other than a SG makes me think he might fall.

Bulls – Have Gordon (and wont pass on Beasley/Rose anyway)
Heat – Have Wade (and wont pass on Beasley/Rose anyway)
Wolves – Have Foye (and need someone to help/compliment Big Al)
Sonics – Have Durant (who they foolishly play as a SG)
Grizzles – Have Miller (and need a big to round out their starting 5)
Knicks – Have Crawford (who is JUST like Mayo – and they need a PG)
Clipps – The danger team
Bucks – Have Redd (and need a SF)
Bobcats – Have Swish (but we all think he’s a better SF than SG)

See what I mean?

BTW – The Knicks are a team who I think might reach for someone like Jordan, which woulld still help us. They have Curry and Randolph (a horrible pairing) and need a defensive stopper/rebounder. Enter Jordan.
If that DID happen, look for the Clipps to draft Bayless which would really help Mayo fall to us.

Make sense?

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Tue01

HeartBreak City

Posted by on Apr 1, 2008 in Sacramento Kings | 0 comments

Heartbreak.  That’s the only emotion I can elicit after witnessing Davidson college come within two points of making the Final Four on Sunday evening.  At the beginning of the tournament, Davidson was our state’s little secret, quietly riding the nations longest win streak on the back of a local legend’s son.  The tiny school from the titular town in North Carolina flew under the national radar all year, despite valiantly fought battles and epic near-misses against a handful of the countries most decorated basketball powerhouses. This team oozed charisma, and there were just too many facets of this group not to love. From Stephen Curry’s man-sized game and pre-pubescent looks to the Old-school at-ease charm of Coach Bob McKillop; from the “that’s the guy who leads the nation in assists?” reaction one of your buddies would educe every time CBS would show point guard Jason Richards stats, to the vague Saved By the Bell-dian familiarity of Forward Max Paulhaus-Gossler’s name.  In an otherwise largely disappointing tournament, Davidson provided thrills for each and every game.  First, it was Curry’s 40 point torrent against the erstwhile Cinderella’s of Gonzaga.  Then it was the astonishing come from behind win against the much ballyhooed defense of Georgetown; followed by the systematic beat down of the major conference Wisconsin Badgers.  Our little secret suddenly became America’s Sweetheart’s, scorching through the competition with an alarming amount of confidence.  Something strange happened towards halftime of the Wisconsin game; I started to believe that Davidson truly was the better team.  I started to think, “If Wisconsin wins this game, it will be a miracle”.  Tiny Davidson was no longer the giant slayer, they were the giant.  They belonged, and they came one catastrophically designed play away from reaching immortality and the Final Four.  Of course, Curry’s performances have already become the stuff of legends, catapulting him into the pantheon of the all time tourney greats.  Ever since the first game of the season (North Carolina) I’ve been telling my buddies how much Curry reminds me of Reggie Miller. The body type, the silky smooth shot, the way he is constantly in motion bouncing off a series of screens to get open, even his unorthodox appearance is reminiscent Pacers great (although “unorthodox” is probably the most um…flattering, way I can think to describe Miller’s appearance). But after watching Curry single handedly take on college basketball’s best defenses for the last three weeks I’m beginning to think that that comparison may be selling him a little short.  I don’t want to put the horse in front of the buggy here, but it’s not a stretch to think that this guy could potentially become a truly great scorer in the NBA.  Of course, he could become just the next great college scorer to be marginalized on the bench of the Cleveland Cavaliers, clapping for the occasional bucket but rarely getting a chance to get out of his warm ups. I guess what I’m saying is, he’s either the next Reggie Miller or the next Wally Szczerbiak.  Luckily for Davidson, the NBA will have to wait at least one more year to find that out.

Despite the heartbreak, this Final Four has the opportunity to salvage an otherwise humdrum tournament, with the four number 1 seeds making it to the finals for the first time ever.  I still have the Bobcat Juniors, er… Tarheels, swaying to the tune of Luther’s “One Shining Moment” when it’s all said and done, but their match up with Kansas this Saturday should be nothing short of excellent.  Aside from the obvious Roy Williams back-story, there are probably 10 players we will see on Saturday that are likely to be shooting threes from the big boy’s line in the coming years.  As a Bobcat’s fan, it’s hard for me to watch Brandon Rush and not laugh.  The guy appears to have all the tools and size to become a very serviceable pro, but he has along way to go in my book to erase the memories of older brother Kareem clanking shot after ill-advised shot off the Bobcat’s arena rims. Now, this may come as a surprise to some, but the one guy I believe will ultimately make the best pro on either of these teams is…Denny Green.  His greatest asset is his length (still among the most coveted attributes in the league), and he has that Teyshaun Prince, all around style game that is almost vital to a championship caliber team. He’s a high energy guy (we’ve all seen the dance) with a penchant for hitting momentum shots.  You know the kind of shots that maintain, assuage, or completely sway the momentum of a game? The shots that completely rip the still beating heart out of opposing teams? Green is a master of those types of shots. One more year at Chapel Hill would really help him develop his game for the pros, but if he jumps this year, don’t be surprised.  He’s close to NBA ready. 

Speaking of NBA ready, at the end of my last article I wrote that Texas A&M big DeAndre Jordan was “mysterious and promising”.  After watching Jordan go head to head with frosh Kevin Love in the second round of the tournament I can’t help but think that “mystery” was Jordan’s greatest strength going into the draft.  The mystery is gone.  New scouting report for DeAndre Jordan: “enormously irrelevant tall guy, frightened of the ball and hustle”. Is that too harsh?  I felt like I was watching a Yinka Dare highlight reel. Love on the other hand left the complete opposite impression on me.  His footwork and range were impressive, and he appears to have a preternaturally high basketball IQ and seems to genuinely love playing the game. Plus, they showed him in practice shooting from the baseline of the opposite end of the court and draining multiple shots, like Lebron in that Powerade commercial.  Except it was real.  Yeah, exactly.

Last week I checked Marc Stein’s NBA power rankings on ESPN.com.  The Bob’s dropped from 23 to 26 place, and his commentary was on whether or not MJ would be giving Sam Vincent another year to prove his coaching mettle.  Well I’d like to chime in with a resounding hell no, please. I mean, this is the man that decided to start Jeff McInnis for over half of a PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL season at point guard.  I’m sorry, but the only way you can justify starting Jeff McInnis more than one time in any given year is if you are traveling on a west coast road trip to Oregon via covered wagon and your entire team contracts dysentery (or Typhoid, the Oregon Trail is ruthless).  Even then he’s worth a 10 day contract at best.  Now I obviously realize that the Cat’s have been hurt by injuries this year and the chemistry issues that are tacit to a team who imports a new “star” player and new coach, but come on, does anybody see this guy being a great coach at any point in the future?  I mean, if Vincent were even doing a decent job at coaching this club it would be an incredibly obvious improvement over the tutelage of Bernie Bickerstaff.  Vincent should at worst be the girl who is really only a 5 or 6  but who automatically looks fairly hot hanging out next to her chubby, unattractive friend.  But I don’t ever find myself checking Vincent out, which leads me to believe one of these two scenarios is true: either a) the chubby friend wasn’t really all that unattractive (not possible), or b)Sam really isn’t that hot after all.  We can’t wait another less than mediocre season to come to this conclusion, I’ve already had enough heartbreak for one week.

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Tue26

Blogcat’s Take, 2/25

Posted by on Feb 26, 2008 in Cleveland Cavaliers, Sacramento Kings | 0 comments

Call it the “Dime Magazine Cover Jinx.” The very night I got the latest issue of Dime, which promised an in-depth article about Gerald Wallace on the cover, Crash got clocked by a Mikki Moore elbow and knocked more unconscious than Trent Green. Opening the magazine, I became uncomfortable straight away when the article began with a quote from Arthur Ashe. These comically earnest attempts to hold up athletes as transcendent, Christ-like figures are never a good idea, and unless the subject is Mohammed Ali, authors should avoid it (especially if they’re later going to write that their subjects also like NASCAR and enjoy sandwiches from Chik-Fil-A). Yep, bad karma was everywhere, and I probably didn’t help things by dissing Moore the last time we played Sacramento. Sure enough, early in the third quarter, Mikki landed a shot to Gerald’s jaw that was better than anything in the entire Klitschko-Ibragimov bout.

Now Crash will be out for two weeks with a 3rd degree concussion (apparently, they’re measured like burns), and the hole he leaves in the lineup looms larger than Hillary Clinton’s Dunkin’ Donuts bill. Against the Kings, the Bobcats rallied to send the game to OT—thanks largely to a gonzo-ridiculous 3-poitner by Jason Richardson with 20 seconds left—but faltered pitifully in the extra frame, because we lacked Wallace’s scoring ingenuity. We had a 114-112 lead with 2:40 to go, and—I feel like I’ve written this before—POSSESSION OF THE BALL, and we proceeded to commit–in rapid succession–a shot-clock violation, two missed free throws, a missed layup, and a-(sigh)-nother missed free-throw. And yet we STILL had a chance with 3 seconds left and trailing by 1. But Raymond Felton missed a baseline jumper for the win, and Sack-Town (the Bay Area, and Back Down), went back to California, a state where they allegedly know how to party.

Anyway, apart from the Wallace injury, which was just plain tragic, there were some quirky aspects to this one. The strangest of all was Kevin Martin’s stat line of 15 points on 1-of-8 shooting from the field (and 13-of-15 from the foul line). There was also Francisco Garcia’s extraordinary 6-of-8 three-point shooting. Meanwhile, Ron Artest—who wouldn’t recognize ordinary if it threw a cup of beer on him—finished with 20 points, 9 boards, 4 steals, and 2 blocks. Finally, replacing Mike Bibby (although let’s face it, there’s no such thing as “replacing” a guy like Bibby), was Beno Udrih, with 17 points, 6 boards, 8 assists, a block (?), and, um, 6 personal fouls—weird…

One of the Sacramento announcers called Udrih the “Tasmanian Slovenian,” although I’m not sure if that actually works as a nickname. If you wanted to label him as a sort of whirling-dervish type, wouldn’t he have to be called the “Slovenian Devil”? After all, it’s the “Devil”-part of “Tasmanian Devil” that lets you know someone’s crazy and out-of-control; otherwise, the person is merely from Tasmania and not necessarily crazy (unless you’re prejudiced against Tasmanians). A “Tasmanian-Slovenian” would technically just be a guy who lives in Slovenia and has Tasmanian ethnicity, similar to an African-American here in the U.S.

Whatever. These are the things I try to concentrate on amidst the rubble that is the 07-08 season. The next night brought no respite from this barrage of hopelessness either, as we lost even more decisively to Washington. These were the same Wizards, mind you, that were coming off a loss to a Cavaliers team that essentially started LeBron James and 4 D-Leaguers. And Damon Jones, who ended up as the second-highest scorer of the game with 27 points. Actually, this was probably the worst thing that could have happened to us, because it meant Antawn Jamison would be pissed. Indeed, Jamison went for 22 points, 9 rebounds (almost every one of which seemed to be a Felton layup that rimmed out), 5 assists, and 2 steals. The Wizards were brutally efficient, finishing with just 7 turnovers and a staggering 22 offensive boards, good for 28 second-chance points.

Jesus, did Jeff McInnis play for Washington too? I thought I heard one of the Wizards announcers say it…Yep, he sure did: in 1998-99 he was with them. Huh. Traded for the immortal Isaac Austin (how could I have forgotten that blockbuster?). Having McInnis on your team is the equivalent of dating an older slutty girl, because you have to listen to all these other TV announcers talking about when they “had” him, no doubt smirking at the fact that he’s now your problem. Anyway, McInnis put in another 31 minutes, while Earl Boykins continues to play in the mid-teens. And speaking of PT, I know his 25 points were great and all, but why did J-Rich only play 39 minutes? Without Wallace, shouldn’t Richardson be on the court for basically the whole game?

In honor of the Razzies, my nominee for this game would have to be Nazr Mohammed. Besides owning a large share of responsibility for the appalling difference in rebounds, Mohammed went 1-of-9 from the field for 5 points and 2 turnovers. The worst supporting actor would be Ryan Hollins, who played 3 minutes and got a technical foul for taunting. It was just a bad, bad game. If this game were a hip-hop song, it would fall somewhere between “Ice, Ice Baby” and one of those Smash Williams “raps” at Dillon pep rallies.

I don’t know how much more I can stand of this. Like Axl Rose, I ain’t got time for the pain. Screw it, I’m done with basketball. I think I’m going to get back into comic books—cancel my subscription to Dime and replace it with Wizard Magazine or something. At least comic book characters never die or get seriously injured. Wonder what Captain America’s up to these days…This sports stuff is just too…real for me. My wife accuses me of being spacey and antisocial, but I think I actually need to withdraw further from reality—maybe I’ll play some World of Warcraft or D&D online and get into random arguments with strangers over who has more hit points and whatnot.

But it’ll have to be after Wednesday, because next up is the Knicks, and I’ll actually be in person for this one at the Garden. Oh yeah, Knicks-Bobcats, baby—I can hardly wait. If anyone’s going to be at MSG, let me know and maybe we can try and meet up. I’m guessing we shouldn’t have much trouble finding each other…

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Sat23

Gerald Wallace suffers a class 3 concussion

Posted by on Feb 23, 2008 in Sacramento Kings | 0 comments

Last night in Bobcats Arena, Gerald Wallace suffered a class 3 concussion after receiving an inadvertent elbow from the Sacramento Kings Mikki Moore. He was down on the court for 15 minutes motionless before being wheeled off. It was a frightening situation.


 

 

Reaction from BobcatsPlanet members that were in attendance at the arena last night:

BFer 

I was at the game and about 15 feet from him laying on the ground. it was scary, really scary. the players were upset because i heard on the radio that his lip was just shaking and his eyes were rolled in the back of his head. the players were really upset. there was a big hush over the crowd and his wife and family was there and were upset but calm as they were told to go right to the hospital. you could hear a pin drop. when they moved him on the stretcher (which i have never seen before) he looked lifeless. i am just happy he is awake with just a concussion and amnesia. gosh, it was really scary seeing him on the ground like that. especially since we see  him fall all the time.



thoughts and prayers with him and his family. it was definitly scary though. (hard to explain in words)

TheBeagle

Like other attendees can attest, it was masoleum silence while Gerald was down.  A solid, loud crowd much of the night was just silent…very erie.  You could tell it was ugly because there was no movement from the time he was on the floor all the way through his being wheeled out into the tunnel.  "I hate you Mikki Moore.  You hurt Gerald.  You just jealous," is what the girl sitting beside me yelled out, which was priceless Cheesy    Last I heard, leaving the arena after the postgame concert was that he had been released from the hospital, so I can only imagine that’s good news, though I can’t see him playing again for a while (at least a couple weeks, probably?  I don’t know…)  That was just surreal and miserable.

Our guys did very well, considering the GW trauma and the person labeled "Head Coach" of the team; if not for this individual, we probably could’ve won in regulation because Jared would’ve been logging more minutes, and Jeff would’ve been logging little time; but that said, our guys have no say in that matter, so they did what they could, and really got "The Biscuit" rockin’ at the end of the 4th and in OT, and that’s really all you can ask for at this point in the season…

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