| The Good, The Bad And The Ugly Authored by Joel Dawes - April 21, 2008 - 6:13 pm
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The Good:
Emeka Okafor having played all 82 games. It looks like he has managed to finally put the high ankle sprain behind him and is fit and strong. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he averaged 75+ games a season for the rest of his career (short of another freak accident).
Hopefully this silences some of the people who questioned his health and labeled it as a "concern". It never really was, but after missing out on most of the season during his sophomore year, it was reassuring to see him not only play all 82 games, but also play most consistently as well.
Jason Richardson. A lot of Bobcats fans badly wanted him, so when we got him it was fair to say that the expectations were very, very high. Not only did he meet them, more often than not he surpassed them.
After a slow start to the season where he averaged only 17 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists on 41%/43%/58% shooting, Richardson found his groove and became comfortable in his new surroundings. Over the last three months of the season, he averaged 25 pts, 5.5 rbds, 3.3 asts on 45%/40%/77% shooting – and that included games five games where he tallied eleven points or fewer.
It wasn’t just the points, but the way he went about getting them. Richardson’s outside shooting was nothing short of amazing as he found himself fourth on the all-time list of made three-pointers in a single season by the end of the year. He also used his size and power while posting up and even showed that he still had his hops after being on the receiving end of many alley oops. If the rest of the team buys into what Richardson is trying to enforce (the quick inbounds, getting up and down the court quickly, ball movement, etc..) then the NBA better watch out for the Bobcats next season!
Jared Dudley. He’ll probably never be an All Star – heck, he may never be classified as a starter and a majority of NBA fans may never have even heard of him, but Dudley has shown maturity and awareness well beyond his years. And he is only a rookie!
He’s the quintessential blue collar, no nonsense, hard working glue guy that all great teams need. A great draft selection at #22. After three months Dudley was averaging only 11.8 minutes per game, but with Gerald Wallace getting injured, Dudley saw his playing time increase to 26 mpg. Dudley had a career high 18 boards against the Warriors on March 5th, and not because he is a tall or incredibly athletic.
He got them because of superior positioning, anticipation and smarts. All the things that are quickly making him a fan favorite.
Time Warner Cable Arena. Sure, it’s a heck of a lot to try and say, but finally after three years the Bobcats Arena got themselves a naming rights sponsor. Not only that, but as a part of the sponsorship deal the Bobcats games will now be broadcast to a much wider audience with the estimation growing from 1.8 million to almost 4 million which should increase the Bobcats brand and identity in the Carolina’s.
The Bad:
Not making the playoffs. In a season where we set and seemed primed to make a playoff push, we fell short. It’s been a huge setback in our progression and not improving upon last year's win total is disappointing – to say the least.
Gerald Wallace suffering his fourth concussion in as many years. After clicking well with Richardson, Wallace saw his year reduced by prolonged time on the sideline again after taking an elbow to the head. He missed a total of twenty games this season and is yet to play a full season in his young career.
Unlike Okafor, it’s looking doubtful that Wallace will ever shake the "injury prone" tag. After the Bobcats made a significant financial commitment to him last summer, it’s important for Wallace to play as close to a full season as possible every year.
Winning on the road, or more to the point, not winning on the road. Good teams need to win on the road, something that the Bobcats are still trying to learn to do. They ended up with a 32-50 record and of those 32 wins, only 11 came on the road. Of those 11, seven came in March and April meaning that the Bobcats won only four road games in the first four months of the season!
The season-ending injuries to Adam Morrison and Sean May before the year had even started robbed the Bobcats of some much needed depth. In order for the Bobcats to compete at a high level next season, they have to remain healthy.
Also, four years and STILL no triple-double?
The Ugly:
Sam Vincent. The rookie coach did pretty much everything wrong that a rookie coach could do. He attacked his players through the press on more than one occasion causing an eventual player revolt, he cut playing time and messed around with the rotations to a point that players were unsure of their roles and their positions within the team. Then he capped it all off by saying in a newspaper article "so we didn’t make the playoffs? Oops. Sorry."
The management is angry with the local businessmen for not supporting the team. The local public is mad at management for not seeming to care enough about the team to show up at games or be welcoming. The local media is angry at the NBA for being back in town. And now all of the dirty laundry is being aired.
Emeka Okafor’s contract. It’s been no secret that the mild-mannered big man has been rubbed the wrong way all season by his rookie coach. With Okafor the anchor of the Bobcats' defense, the team can’t afford to lose him. Going into negotiations over the summer, the Bobcats best tread lightly. |
