Charlotte Bobcats Breakdown: 'Cats Need Sharper Claws

Newcomers Boris Diaw and Raja Bell were major catalysts in Charlotte’s 95-87 win over New Jersey. Still, while the duo should help the Bobcats in the short term, Charlotte will need more offensive firepower to contend in the long term.

Cat Claws

The Bobcats ran a lot of flex action, looking for baseline brush screens, evolving into down screens for Raja Bell and Boris Diaw. They also made it a point of emphasis to post Emeka Okafor early in the shot clock with successful results.

Diaw’s passing was wizardly, and was never in the same place for too long. Plus he was able to hit his share of elbow jumpers and running hooks. His all-around court game adds multiple dimensions to Charlotte’s offense.

Raja Bell locked up Vince Carter and converted all three of his looks behind the arc.

Emeka Okafor cuts hard after setting screens and is a terrific screen/roll player. He also had success sealing his defender in the post after being three-quartered and having the ball swung to different areas so he could angle off his defender. Part of that goes to Okafor, part of that goes to his teammates for moving in positions that would create better passing angles.

Raymond Felton—6-11 FG, 1-4 3FG, 9-13 FT, 3 AST, 1 TO, 22 PTS—outplayed Devin Harris (14 PTS). He’s quick, and can pull and pop off the bounce in either direction.

Gerald Wallace—4-8 FG, 2-3 3FG, 6-7 FT, 13 REB, 6 AST, 3 TO, 1 STL, 1 BLK, 16 PTS—is a complete player. He scored in the post, off the bounce, and when given enough time, from behind the arc. He’s also a high-leaping rebounder, unselfish with the ball, and a talented defender.

Nazr Mohammed hit his share of midrange jumpers and attacked the offensive glass with zeal.

D.J. Augustin is quick, possessed good court vision, and is a clever finisher.

In his brief rotation, Sean Singletary played great ball-denial defense and always hustled.

The Bobcats made it a point to attack Yi Jianlian’s defense as often as possible, the main reason for Boris Diaw’s 16 shot attempts (making eight). They also played with good unselfishness (26 assists on 35 shot attempts) and were patient and disciplined. Credit Larry Brown for that.

And the acquisition of Diaw and Bell give the Bobcats more depth, forcing Adam Morrison to the bench, another plus.

Clawless Cats

The Bobcats often clogged the lane well, but rarely were able to tag New Jersey’s three-point shooters. That’s why the Nets shot 9-18 from three.

The Cats don’t particularly finish well, and missed five layup attempts.

Charlotte also lacks a raw scorer who can make shots when their offensive sets aren’t working.

If Diaw was extremely unselfish, he also forced a handful of passes, and had trouble dribbling into a crowd, hence his five turnovers. Plus, Diaw’s defense at the paint was awful. He’d simply stand still and put his hands up trying to draw a charge when the attacking player was still feet away from the rim. Twice, a penetrating Devin Harris simply took a half step to Diaw’s left, avoiding a charge and finding an unimpeded layup.

Wallace’s talents appear best suited to an up-and-down game, rather than the grind it out style Charlotte employs.

Okafor’s range extends three feet from the basket. Plus even though he boxes out, he isn’t tall enough, long enough, or strong enough to keep opposing players from knocking rebounds away from him. And he was so firmly ensconced in the paint that he was thrice called for offensive three-second violations.

Felton has trouble making plays for others, finishing in a crowd, shooting threes, and playing defense. Therefore, he’s not a difference making point guard. And when played at the two-guard, Vince Carter undressed him in the post.

Augustin is too small to finish strong in traffic and to play adequate defense.

Matt Carroll was virtually useless.

The Bobcats don’t particularly have good ball handlers for their respective positions, and definitely suffer from a lack of offense.

Diaw and Bell will help for now because their ball and man movement will relieve some pressure from their offense, while Bell can team with Wallace to give Charlotte two good perimeter defenders.

Still, the Bobcats need a lot of help, most notably:

• Scorers, scorers, scorers.
• The development of an eight to ten foot jump shot for Okafor.
• Depth at every position.
• A wide-bodied rebounding power forward to come off the bench.
• A better point guard. D.J. Augustine may or may not be that upgrade.

As it is, the Bobcats are still undoing the damage caused by Sam Vincent’s inglorious one-year-head coaching campaign, and Brown has the team close to where they were under Bernie Bickerstaff. Which means the team plays hard, they play smart, and they play with passion, but they still lack the talent to contend.