Good News for Bobcats Fans

I'd been a little unsure what to think of the Charlotte Bobcats' prospects. It seemed to me that they could, in principle, be a playoff team in the weak east. In practice, though, this is a team that appeared determined to give major minutes to its worst player in order to avoid admitting that they shouldn't have drafted him. But now with Adam Morrison out for the year with a knee injury, there may be some hope for him yet. Then again, any organization that could have given Morrison thirty minutes per game last season can surely find whole new things to screw up.

Hollinger's preseason writeup for Charlotte had said of Morrison "he's either going to get better or he's not going to play, but there's no way he's going to soak up 2,000 minutes and be as abysmally bad as he was last season," but I'm really not sure why he was so optimistic that they would come to their senses had injury not forced their hand.

Comments

Why so hard on the guy? It was his rookie year. The 76ers play Kyle Korver got God's sake, and he can't guard a statue.

Posted by Joe Klein's conscience | October 23, 2007 4:41 PM

Yes, but the Sixers will stink whether they play Korver or not. In addition, the Sixers have no ulterior motive for playing Korver. They play him merely because they are woeful.

Posted by Njorl | October 23, 2007 4:48 PM

That's harsh, Matthew. It may be true, but still...

In any case, I am of the opinion that the Bobcats are a bit thin. They are solid at the starting 1, 2, 3, and 5. But they have no 4 now that Sean May is microfractured. I guess they have to play Fabio at the 4, although he doesn't seem like he's going to be able to guard 4s or rebound, and the Bobcats haven't really played him at the 4 this preseason. And now their backup at the swing positions are Matt Carrol and Derek Anderson? Yikes.

Looks like another team in the Southeast will not be able to catch the Wiz. Seems to me that the Southeast will have to go to the Wiz by default - all the other teams are just bad.

Posted by Al | October 23, 2007 5:09 PM

Isn't Bobcat one of Mark Penn's micro-demographics? Female high school teachers with crushes on their students, or something?

Posted by lemuel pitkin | October 23, 2007 5:28 PM

Kyle Korver is actually a reasonably productive player. Morrison is SO inefficient - he was by some margin the worst rotation player in the league last year.

I've also been waiting for a basketblogging thread to drop the latest round of WTF , Dave Berri?. Apparently, Kobe = Paul Pierce...

Posted by Pooh | October 23, 2007 5:29 PM

I really wish you and any other Morrison-haters would confront the fact that you would not have feelings about him of any kind if he weren't white.

Posted by Freddie | October 23, 2007 5:30 PM

I just keep wondering if it's any coincidence that Morrison looks so much like Sterling Morrison of the Velvet Underground.

Posted by Swopa | October 23, 2007 5:33 PM

I only saw parts of the fourth quarter, but how exactly did the Knicks beat the Celtics last night after losing to them by forty last week?

Posted by washerdreyer | October 23, 2007 5:46 PM

Morrison is SO inefficient - he was by some margin the worst rotation player in the league last year.

Oh, I dunno. Jason Collins (2.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG - from your starting PF/C - on 36% shooting, 47% from the line) would give him a run for the money. OTOH, at least Collins can defend.

Posted by Al | October 23, 2007 5:51 PM

Gee, Matt. These are really cruel and stupid comments. Do you also hope for rival Atlantic bloggers to develop brain tumors so that you get more visitors?

What did Morrison ever do to you?

Posted by Dan Kervick | October 23, 2007 5:54 PM

Washerdreyer - I saw the second half of that game. The Knicks were treating it very seriously. The Celtics were also intense - there were a couple of near altercations - but nowhere near as much as the Knicks. But Clyde and Breen were commenting on how good the game was - much better than any of the regular season games between the two teams last year. Plus, both teams played their starters regular season minutes - Garnett, Pierce, Allen, and Rondo played 38+ minutes each. But, I don't know the reason for it, the Knicks just came out like it was a playoff game.

Posted by Al | October 23, 2007 5:56 PM

Freddie - it's not that he's white, it's not even him. The issue is that he is not producing but the Bobcats, rather than admit to a mistake, keep shoving an unproductive player down our throats. It kind of reminds me of another situation, ...except I have a choice about watching the Bobcats.

Posted by Dan | October 23, 2007 6:03 PM

Freddie,

If Adam Morrison weren't white he'd be an undrafted FA either playing in Europe or riding the pine in the NBA and there'd be no reason to pay attention to him.

Posted by Eric K | October 23, 2007 6:46 PM

I've also been waiting for a basketblogging thread to drop the latest round of WTF , Dave Berri?. Apparently, Kobe = Paul Pierce...

Maybe everyone is just hoping that if we stop paying attention to Berri he will just go away.

Posted by mpowell | October 23, 2007 6:56 PM

If Adam Morrison weren't white he'd be an undrafted FA either playing in Europe or riding the pine in the NBA and there'd be no reason to pay attention to him.

Evidence: Alando Tucker.

Posted by Pooh | October 23, 2007 7:00 PM

"Why so hard on the guy? It was his rookie year. The 76ers play Kyle Korver got God's sake, and he can't guard a statue."

Korver is a significantly better player than Morrison on both sides of the court.

Why do nescient hoops fans think all white players are the same?

Posted by Petey | October 23, 2007 7:10 PM

Do you also hope for rival Atlantic bloggers to develop brain tumors...?

I can't speak for Matt, but....

Posted by Swopa | October 23, 2007 7:11 PM

"But, I don't know the reason for it, the Knicks just came out like it was a playoff game."

Maybe because the Celtics beat them by 40 points a week ago...

Posted by Petey | October 23, 2007 7:12 PM

"I'd been a little unsure what to think of the Charlotte Bobcats' prospects. It seemed to me that they could, in principle, be a playoff team in the weak east."

I think it's pretty damn unlikely for the Bobcats to make the playoffs. I'm befuddled as to why Hollinger rates them as highly as he does.

Posted by Petey | October 23, 2007 7:14 PM

Maybe because the Celtics beat them by 40 points a week ago...

Obviously last week was a beatdown. But it was a beatdown in the preseason game. Still leaves me puzzled as to why the Knicks would care so much.

Posted by Al | October 23, 2007 7:22 PM

On paper, a rotation of Felton, Richardson, Wallace, Okafor, Brezec, Carroll, HERRRRRRMANNNNNN and Jared Dudley is pretty solid.

Posted by Pooh | October 23, 2007 7:23 PM

I'm still with Hollinger that if anyone's going to push the Magic for third in the Southeast, it's going to be the Hawks. On paper, a rotation of Law, Johnson, Horford, Smith, UNC Williams, Childress, Duke Williams, Zaza, and Tyronn Lue looks decent to me. The back end is a little week, but it's much better than anything they've put forward before.

Posted by Nicholas Beaudrot | October 23, 2007 7:39 PM

On paper, a rotation of Law, Johnson, Horford, Smith, UNC Williams, Childress, Duke Williams, Zaza, and Tyronn Lue looks decent to me.

I agree. On the court, however....Law/Lue is a killer. Maybe in a couple of years.

Posted by SomeCallMeTim | October 23, 2007 7:44 PM

Yeah, the Hawks retain terrible back court play. As much as I loved him in college, I can't see Acie Law being an NBA starter on a playoff team.

Posted by Pooh | October 23, 2007 7:53 PM

On paper, a rotation of Felton, Richardson, Wallace, Okafor, Brezec, Carroll, HERRRRRRMANNNNNN and Jared Dudley is pretty solid

What?

Felton still ain't great. Richardson, Wallace and Okafor are decent NBA starters. But Brezec is awful. Jared Dudley is unknown. Carroll is OK. And Fabio is not a 4.

As far as I can tell, they have exactly one decent NBA player at the two power positions. They also have a OK point but no acceptable backup.

Posted by Al | October 23, 2007 7:54 PM

Oh, and don't forget about Anthony Johnson at PG in the ATL. They have a strange PG situation - between Law, Lue, Anthony Johnson, Speedy Claxton and Salim Stoudamire, they have 5 backup PGs and noone good enough to be a starter on a good NBA team.

Posted by Al | October 23, 2007 7:58 PM

Honestly, the only one of those 5 that should even be a contributor on a contending team is Salim, and that's as the chucker 4th guard, aka "EddieHouse" role.

You are probably right re: Bobcats - losing May hurts them much more than losing Morrison.

Posted by Pooh | October 23, 2007 8:02 PM

"I'm still with Hollinger that if anyone's going to push the Magic for third in the Southeast, it's going to be the Hawks."

Third? I'd pencil the Magic in to first in the Southeast, with the Heat and 'zards as formidable challengers.

Atlanta, not so much. 37 wins would be a wildly successful season for them.

-----

And you heard it here first: ROY is a two man race between Durant and Al Thornton. Thornton has been putting up crazy numbers in the pre-season, and unlike Durant, is actually efficient on offense. And with Brand down until the spring, he'll be getting the minutes and touches.

Posted by Petey | October 23, 2007 8:27 PM

ROY is a two man race between Durant and Al Thornton.

Durant's going to get pantsed this year. He's too thin.

Posted by SomeCallMeTim | October 23, 2007 8:31 PM

Thornton is a good offensive player; I saw him play in a preseason game a week ago where he scored 30 points. His game is reminiscent of Marion's: 3-point range, gets open & can finish near the rim, and can take a couple of dribble and put up a quick midrange jumper.

Doesn't handle the ball well enough to be a go-to player, but a good complementary scorer, and the Clips have enough other threats that he should be able to get open a fair amount.

Posted by Swopa | October 23, 2007 8:34 PM

The bizarre thing to me is the way everyone avoided Thornton because of his age.

Almost every pre-draft analysis talked about the fact that he's a year older than LeBron as a reason to stay far away from him.

But while his age admittedly limits his ceiling - he'll likely never be a 1st team All-NBA player - weren't there some teams that drafted ahead of the Clips who could've used an above-average NBA ready player that they get to pay under the rookie contract scale for 4 or 5 years?

I mean, seriously. The Clips are going to owe Thornton only $2.8m in 2010/11.

Seems to me that teams like GS, New Orleans, Milwaukee, Charlotte, Chicago, and Sacramento might have seriously missed out.

Posted by Petey | October 23, 2007 8:53 PM

Obviously last week was a beatdown. But it was a beatdown in the preseason game. Still leaves me puzzled as to why the Knicks would care so much.

The Celts and C's had a thing going all last year and Isiah always has and always will hate Boston more than any place on Earth (see: his comments on Simmons last year). Somehow Isiah managed to get them fired up and they performed.

I think it also helped that the Celts' resident enforcer, Kendrick Perkins, who was mixing things up good with Curry last week, was out. Oh, and Ray Allen missed his last 10 shots. But no excuses: I watched the game and the Knicks outworked them and outbanged them inside.

For the Knicks part, I think part of the reason they looked so awful last week was because Curry was playing his first game with Randolph and the rest of the team. They had no flow, no rythm, and seemed very unprepared for serious competition. Meanwhile, by last week, the Celts had already had at least one fairly serious game in Europe with their full rotation in place.

Posted by owenz | October 23, 2007 9:25 PM

"Still leaves me puzzled as to why the Knicks would care so much."

- 40 pt blowout by same squad fresh in their minds.
- First home season-ticket holder game. Avoid boos. Anucha.
- Chance to test themselves against an Eastern elite team.

Posted by Petey | October 23, 2007 9:47 PM

If Adam Morrison weren't white he'd be an undrafted FA either playing in Europe or riding the pine in the NBA and there'd be no reason to pay attention to him.

No.

Look, I am neither a supporter or booster of him, but the fact is that you all care because he is white. I imagine that you are angered that a person that looks like that is a professional athlete, and you can't be. But for whatever reason, that's the fact-- you would not hate him if he were black. You wouldn't. And I know it, and really, you know it. You just won't admit to it.

Posted by Freddie | October 23, 2007 9:54 PM

but the fact is that you all care because he is white.

People, including me, dislike him because was so overrated. And he was overrated--in his case--because he is white. So it's not as if there is no connection. But the overrating smacks of a kind of unfairness, and that irritates people. Look around and you'll see lots of hate on this site directed at players who are black--Duncan, Wade, that criminal, Bowen--and perceived to get an unfair advantage.

Posted by SomeCallMeTim | October 23, 2007 10:18 PM

Never trust those fucking diabetics.

Posted by Mike | October 23, 2007 10:37 PM

Never trust those fucking diabetics.

Posted by Mike | October 23, 2007 10:38 PM

"People, including me, dislike him because was so overrated."

Yup.

It was reasonably obvious that he was chosen as high as he was in the draft almost solely because his being a white native-born player was seen as a marketing opportunity.

It'd be odd if that didn't cause some degree of resentment amongst folks who like the association.

Posted by Petey | October 23, 2007 10:51 PM

Personally, I love Morrison's look. The bad hair, the porn stache...it's timeless.

Posted by owenz | October 23, 2007 10:51 PM

Pick your poison...

McCain terrifies me on issues of war and peace, but seems the least odious on constitutional issues like torture and (perhaps) surveillance. He also seems less likely than the other candidates to put a stick in the Democrats' eye just for the sake of pleasing the base. As conservative as he is on social issues, he doesn't get off on the culture wars - but he'd nominate conservative judges.

Rudy terrifies me on war and peace and constitutional issues, but would potentially defuse the culture war and reduce the influence of religion in politics.

Mitt is such a blank slate that you can imprint almost anything on him, whether it's a more optimstic view like Matt's...or the more pessimistic view that he'll attack Democrats for the sole reason of pleasing the base on everything from social issues, to constitutional issues, to war and peace. I agree with Matt that he has the potential to be the best. But I also think he could be the worst in terms of unthinkingly adopting the ultra-conservative position on every single issue. No one knows.

Thompson, for his part, seems a bit less hyper-partisan than his colleagues, but maybe that's because he's not awake.

(Strategically, I'd like to see Romney win because he's the most beatable for the Dems.)

Posted by owenz | October 23, 2007 11:14 PM

HAHAHA....SORRY.

I thought this was the Romney thread.

Shit. Time to go to bed.

Posted by owenz | October 23, 2007 11:16 PM

Freddie,

I hate him because I'm a UW fan who is sick of overhyped, perenially over-rated Gonzaga:-)

It was a huge relief when the Blazers showed their wisdom by drafting Roy and Aldridge instead of him.

Posted by eric k | October 23, 2007 11:29 PM

"HAHAHA....SORRY."

On the plus side, Morrison could probably shoot 45% from the field if McCain was guarding him...

Posted by Petey | October 23, 2007 11:39 PM

On the plus side, Morrison could probably shoot 45% from the field if McCain was guarding him...

Jopke?

Posted by Pooh | October 23, 2007 11:54 PM

great post by Matt. As usual, the positive tone of his blog is uplifting.

Posted by thehova | October 24, 2007 12:09 AM

Woo-hoo. Chucky Atkins and Nene sightings for the first time tonight. And Kenyon put up another nice line.

One week until the opener against Seattle...

Posted by Petey | October 24, 2007 1:40 AM

Morrison's 3-point % was nearly as good as his abysmal field goal %. Just put him in ten minutes a game to hit some threes.

Posted by bjk | October 24, 2007 2:25 AM

And FreeDarko correctly predicts Linas Kleiza's season.

Learn the name, folks.

The Iverson prediction is dead-on as well.

Posted by Petey | October 24, 2007 2:38 AM

I agree that Morrison sucks pretty bad and it was a dumb pick, but we might be forgetting that he was a pretty awesome college player. Maybe that, and not his whiteness, explains why some people thought he'd be a good pro. Hell, I though he'd be an average pro.

I also think Matt's being a little unfair to the Bobcats. They played the guy because they thought he'd get better with more playing time. He was a rookie and they were a team going nowhere, so it's not a dumb move. The problem with Morrison is that he just doesn't seem to have the physical skills necessary to get much better. The other problem is that last year seems to have destroyed his confidence.

Posted by too many steves | October 24, 2007 11:07 AM

Too Many Steves,

That is, the thing he was a way over rated college player. Putting up a lot of points against the teams Gonzaga plays is hardly tough. Replace Morrison with dozens of players and they do just as well.

The fundamental problem with Morrison is he is too small to be a PF and too slow to be a SF, it isn't just that he can't guard a chair, it is that everything he does is slow, he takes way too much time to get his shot off.

Posted by Eric K | October 24, 2007 2:32 PM