Year-End Grades for Every Key Charlotte Bobcats Player
The extended run of futility and tanking may finally be making its way toward the rear-view mirror for the Charlotte Bobcats.
Truth be told, the 7-59 season in 2011-12 felt like it lasted about a decade. Believe it or not, it has only been four years since the Bobcats were a playoff team.
The soon-to-be Hornets have played inspiring ball for rookie coach Steve Clifford and should see some nice gifts coming their way on Christmas morning this year.
Following its big acquisition of Al Jefferson over the summer, Charlotte was presumably in the position to claw their way into a seven or eight seed in the Eastern Conference. Little did we know the east would be looking like junior varsity compared to the west.
Michael Jordan's bunch have been hanging around .500 throughout most of the season, which pathetically could nab them home-court advantage in the playoffs this year.
The young guys are starting to show why they were drafted so high. Al Jefferson is starting to show why Jordan dumped cement trucks full of money on his lawn. Heck, even Cody Zeller is coming around.
Clifford has had to endure a tidal wave of injuries, mostly to his perimeter players. Budding talent Michael Kidd-Gilchrist remains out with a broken hand and Jeff Taylor recently went down for the year with an Achilles injury.
Nonetheless, Clifford has weathered the storm with some creative lineups.
Unlike years' past, Charlotte looks to be gaining steam instead of packing it up around Christmas. These are some good times to be a fan as they finally have a product worth watching, and fans have taken notice slotting them at 14th in attendance.
Clifford's crew has been giving absolutely every ounce of basketball ability they have in them to their new head coach, and it is starting to pay dividends in both the win column and in their year-end grades.
Here are each guy's individual grade for the young season before the calendar flips.
Ben Gordon
1 of 10
Anyone have any idea why Ben Gordon is stuck on the pine? Seriously, why doesn't he get more minutes? It is the one big question mark with Steve Clifford's coaching so far.
Yes, his numbers are down, but that is to be expected with how infrequently he rips off his warm-up uni. He played 26 minutes in the month of November. What gives?
It's not like the career 40-percent three-point shooter just lost his shot. A big reason why Mike Dunlap lasted one year in Charlotte as head coach was because of his misuse of Gordon.
Worst of all is Charlotte sits dead last in the league shooting treys. They are abysmal, and only Kemba Walker is currently making more than one per game on average. It doesn't take a basketball junkie to realize that Gordon could fix that, especially since he is seemingly the only healthy perimeter player left.
That being said, Gordon could be playing better. He deserves the benefit of the doubt due to his dearth of minutes, but he isn't doing much to exactly force Steve Clifford's hand.
Gordon is still just 30, and that electric offensive game is definitely still in there somewhere. Both parties are to blame for his weak performance so far this year. It would behoove Clifford to not find more room for him moving forward.
Grade: C-
Bismack Biyombo
2 of 10
It is still tough to predict what Bismack Biyombo will develop into, but for now he is still a main cog in this team's revamped defense.
He has been a stalwart on pick-and-rolls this year, forcing opponents into low-percentage shots with incredible consistency. He hasn't been blocking as many shots, but Clifford has his guys playing stingy team defense.
Biyombo hasn't really been forced into the role he was the previous two years where he was mainly a rim protector. Clifford has him roaming more and stuffing pick-and-rolls while still protecting the rim and helping on defense anywhere possible.
Biz has looked more comfortable overall this year, but still doesn't expand his comfort zone on offense. He is converting an astounding 65 percent of his shots overall, but without shooting nearly as much.
Where he has displayed marked improvement is on the glass. Biyombo's per-36 numbers in the rebounding department are at 12.6, up three per game from last season.
Biyombo has gotten better in the areas he was already good at, but where he could improve is on his offensive repertoire. He has embraced his role as Al Jefferson's backup and has shown little interest in shooting anything outside of three feet.
Grade: C+
Cody Zeller
3 of 10
Although premature, there were a handful of "bust" rumors being thrown around in regards to Cody Zeller's underwhelming start. However, in recent weeks the No. 4 pick has started to show real signs of putting it together.
Zeller looked generally lost early on, but looked anything but in his recent standout performance against the Bucks, the best game of his career up to this point. Zeller filled up the stat sheet with 12 points, seven rebounds, four assists and a couple of blocks while knocking down a number of long jumpers in rhythm and showing aggression on both ends.
One area where Zeller has helped Charlotte is in its offensive pace. The Bobcats sit at 95.3 possessions per game, the seventh slowest pace in the game—a number sure to be even lower without Zeller. Jefferson is slow-footed and Biyombo is almost nonexistent on offense, so Zeller's ability to run the floor is a great asset for the Cats.
It is only a matter of time before his offense likely comes around and he gets more comfortable. For the time being, he is certainly athletic enough to provide a jolt off the bench.
Grade: C+
Jeff Taylor
4 of 10
Jeff Taylor's torn Achilles was a big blow to the Bobcats, especially with fellow sophomore Michael Kidd-Gilchrist still nursing a broken hand. The injury has vaulted Anthony Tolliver into the starting small forward spot, yet Charlotte just keeps on plugging away.
Taylor does not have a huge impact on the stat sheet, averaging just eight points per game with weak percentages this season. His value lies in being a reliable defender, a much more glaring deficiency without MKG.
It's a real shame to see a promising young player like Taylor go down. The injury bug strikes yet again.
Grade: C+
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
5 of 10
MKG was blossoming into an absolutely dominant lock-down perimeter defender before breaking his hand. He is slated to return sometime in mid-January and with Taylor now out, Charlotte needs their young spark-plug back immediately.
Kidd-Gilchrist is impossible not to love with his controlled recklessness on the court. He knows his strengths and sticks to them as evidenced by the 14 threes he has attempted in his short career. He has developed a reasonable mid-range jumper, but gets mostly all of his buckets crashing the rim for backdoor cuts or put-backs.
Clifford sticks MKG on the other team's best perimeter player on a nightly basis—which is one of the main reasons Charlotte is giving up the third fewest points per game in the NBA.
To get a glimpse of his value, look no further than this stat. Charlotte gave up over 100 points just three times in 19 games prior to his injury, and have given up 100 four times in 10 games without him.
Some notable games from notable stars against MKG this year. Carmelo Anthony shot 10-for-28 against him. Paul Pierce went 3-for-11. Paul George was harassed all night long and finished 6-for-15 with five turnovers. Rudy Gay shot an abysmal 8-for-21 against him.
If MKG never averages more than 12 points, he can still be a fantastic player in this league for the reasons we have already seen in his young career. He is still just 20 and has plenty of time to smooth out that hitch in his jumper.
No one embodies what Clifford is trying to do with this team more than MKG.
Grade: B-
Ramon Sessions
6 of 10
Ramon Sessions has been a reliable backup point guard throughout his career, but so far this season he has been underachieving.
His scoring at 10.7 points per game is down almost four from last season, and he is averaging a career low 2.9 assists. For a team so weak in both of those departments, a revitalization in 2014 for Sessions would give the Cats a substantial boost.
A quick glance at his shot chart would suggest just how poorly he has performed so far. It looks more like a stop sign than one would prefer.
Sessions has always been a pass-first point guard in his career. He needs to be exactly that especially since Kemba Walker is more of the opposite. Sessions needs to be more of the veteran presence for the young Cats than he has been so far.
His career numbers have been consistent, so it would be surprising if he didn't elevate his game.
Grade: C+
Josh McRoberts
7 of 10
The unsung hero of the 2013-14 Bobcats has been Josh McRoberts to this point.
A career journeyman, he has had an underrated impact at every stop along the way, but none like he's having now.
The knock would have to be that he is falling in love with the three a little too much, but for a team that can't shoot worth a lick, it is hard to totally blame him for that. Someone has to shoot threes for this team.
McBob's impact has been increased because like many of his teammates, he has bought into Clifford's defensive schemes. McRoberts is posting 1.3 defensive win shares, the second highest rate of his career and nearly double his output of last season.
His all-around game is crucial to this team, as he is second on the squad in threes, steals and assists. He is third in rebounds. He is averaging 4.2 assists currently, more than double his career mark while keeping his turnovers down.
It isn't the prettiest thing in the world watching him shoot threes, but he does knock down a borderline respectable amount of them at 33 percent. He gives Charlotte the type of game that no one else on the roster is capable of, and because of that he has become invaluable.
Grade: B
Gerald Henderson
8 of 10
Gerald Henderson has more pressure than ever on him without the two youngsters Taylor and Kidd-Gilchrist in the lineup for the time being.
Over the course of the season, he has shot worse than his career numbers, while his peripherals are up across the board. Consider that somewhat of a push.
Like his counterparts, Henderson has really ramped it up on the defensive end. On offense, he could use some more time to settle in like many of his teammates.
The team's percentages are strikingly low which could be attributed to a number of things, mainly the team's slow pace. They are way too young and athletic to not be running teams out of the gym on a somewhat regular basis.
Henderson is a highlight play waiting to happen, but could still use some improvement in terms of shot selection. His shot chart suggests that he shoots too many threes considering his low percentage and that his efficiency around the rim is lower than one would expect from somebody with his athletic prowess.
The former Blue Devil is still this team's biggest offensive threat from the wing and will surely get more comfortable in the coming months.
Grade: B-
Al Jefferson
9 of 10
Big Al started off the season slow—understandable considering his early injury and new digs, but over the past couple weeks he has settled in quite smoothly.
Jefferson is averaging 17.3 points and 10.8 boards in the month of December after a poor month of November.
Charlotte's biggest weakness last year was a lack of scoring punch down low. There are few guys as talented on the offensive end down on the block as Jefferson is. He is a legitimate elite offensive center and is proving to be worth every penny for the upstart Cats.
His performance early on has had a huge impact in the win/loss column. Jefferson has averaged 14 points per game in Charlotte's losses as opposed to 19 a game when they win. His recent spike in production has played a huge part in Charlotte winning four of the past five games before Christmas.
Jefferson has always been a solid defender as well, but never has he had the defensive talent around him on the perimeter like he has at his disposal now.
His lack of elite athleticism has been complemented perfectly by guys like Biyombo and Kidd-Gilchrist masking his inefficiencies.
Look for Charlotte to keep feeding Big Al like the well-paid star that he is and working everyone else's games around him.
Grade: B+
Kemba Walker
10 of 10
After a disappointing 36 percent shooting throughout November, Kemba has jacked up his production to elite levels in December, shooting over 50 percent from the field for 22.6 points per game.
In year three, Walker is making leaps and continuing to develop into the star point guard he was drafted to be. Not only is he filling up the stat sheets, but he is hitting huge cold-blooded shots down the stretch and putting the team on his back to will them to victory.
At such a young age, it is encouraging to see things like this from Walker. Over his past five games, he is averaging 26.4 points on 56 percent shooting while getting his teammates increasingly involved and flirting with the occasional triple-double.
He and Jefferson have grown accustomed to playing with one another and are looking more comfortable every game. As the season moves on the two will need help, but for now they are orchestrating a beautiful two-man game.
His defensive win shares are improving steadily at 1.6 this year, as has his three-point percentage. He is continuing to trend upward and his lack of elite-level assists can partly be attributed to the lack of shooting and overall offensive ability he has around him.
This team needs him to score in bunches, and he has done exactly that. Jefferson returning to his normal level of play is only having an increasingly positive effect on the young Walker.
Grade: A-
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