Charlotte Bobcats make the playoffs, achieve their highest goal for the season

He was nasty against the Hornets… he also made key plays the last couple of games that kept us in the game.

Thank you Dudmanhey somebody needed to say it. The fact that this team the way it has been constructed has had so much success realy upsets some people. (you know who you are) This team for the first time is taken seriously. I have heard many anaylst pick us as a Darkhorse in the Playoffs. The fact is we have not had that credibility before Larry asembled this team. Have you been to a game at the Cable Box latley the crowd and energy is something we never dreamed of a year ago. Give credit when credit is do Larry and Jordan are doing a great job. I know criticism is easily thrown so how about throwing out some praise even though it isnt the way You would have built the team.

Yeah, David and a few others have some prejudices player-wise. So do I. So do we all. For example:
When Felton started displaying his remarkable improvement I cautioned that it will take more than a handfull of decent games to prove the performances weren’t an aberration. It turned out that Ray was the real deal. Davids’ acceptance of that fact has been slow and grudging.

But there is no way that I agree that it’s time to call the Chandler trade a “monumental success for the Bobcats.” I’ve always said it made financial sense. But the same rule applier to Tyson Chandler that applied to Felton – a few good games does not mean a thing. Every person at this site knows I’ve been mocking old “balsa wood ankles” all season. I’ve also been cheering loudly at his performance since his return. Maybe we’ll be lucky and this DOES represent the new and improved Tyson. But he’s always been injury prone. He may be bringing a double-double skillset each night now, but if he gets hurt again that won’t matter squat. All we’ll be able to do is look behind the bench and say, “look at that wasted talent. He was doing so good too.” I expect this is a temporary manifestation of talent and his game will soon fall back to earth. Like I said, we all have our player prejudices and Chandler is definitely mine.

I do believe that this is just the beginning for the Bobcats – especially if we can get Felton to ink a contract with the Bird exception.
We have expendable bigs available for trade bait and we should have no problem picking up a decent backup for Felton if Augustin feels he can do better than play second-fiddle. What he has shown the NBA thus far is great potential and even greater inconsistency. He’s showing indications that he’s breaking out of his extensive sophomore slump, but he’s “blooming” at the same time this season that he did last. If he comes back next fall and starts off slowly I say we cut bait and get whatever we can for him.
And I’m the guy that named DJ the potential team MVP in one of my very first posts at ROF.

I’ll be watching very closely to see which Cats opt in to play summer ball. If Mr. Augustin wants to prove himself, he would be wise to take advantage of the opportunity. Derrick Brown and Gerald Henderson may well have their entire professional careers riding on the Summer League. All three have something to prove to Larry Brown and it’s something he didn’t see during the regular season. Some months ago Michael Procton educated me on how difficult it is to play at the one if you’re a shooting guard. If I were Henderson, I’d be looking at the landscape though. Summer ball is the perfect place for him to see if he can make that transition. With Augustin in LB’s doghouse, Gerald could get himself some solid minutes behind Felton. Certainly more than he’ll get behind the other shooting guards on the squad. It will also increase his value in the markeplace if he can become a competent backcourt swingman.

FWIW, I’m not the only one who happens to think the Bobcats completely sold out their future to get the 7 seed. SI ee the most recent ESPN Future Power Rankings put the Cats dead last.

I won’t fully rehash my position on this, which I assume you’ve read, but no one denies that the Bobcats are in position to contend for the 6, 7, 8 seeds while Wallace plays as well as he has this year and Jackson doesn’t fall off. However, the argument is that they’ve given up their 2010 first round pick (Ajinca), and their 2012 first-round pick (lottery-protected,Tyrus), and they’ve locked in their roster such that projecting anything beyond 6, 7, 8 before another rebuild is wishful thinking not grounding in reason. If you want to map out the game plan for continuous contention, I absolutely welcome it.

Where we really differ is this: In my view, actual game time does not equate to player development. It is certainly a part of it, but there are many other aspects to how a player develops and whether or not they become solid NBA types.

You can’t tell me (and make me believe it) that Henderson Brown and Ajinca have all somehow not developed. Just because they’re not logging 10-15 a night in the rotation doesn’t man that they are not gaining valuable experience. And if a player is unable to get better by just working hard and practicing for/with a hall of fame coach, on a team that is coming into it’s own and getting better in its own right, then odds are they don’t have what it takes to be a key player at this level to begin with.

Playing the rooks is always a fan favorite, but the more prudent coaching decision is almost certainly LB’s method. The learning curve is slower but in the long run it probably is a better situation for both the team and the individual players. Henderson and Ajinca are younger than DBrown and all of them now have at least 1 full year of NBA experience under their belt before ever having to deal with the pressure of being a contributor.

I may be wrong on this, but i believe that ultimately LB has lots of confidence in Henderson & DB being able to progress into players sooner than later. Flip, Hughes, Graham; they all have one season inexpensive contracts. Stop gap measures to get the the team established as playoff material and by next year Henderson Brown & hopefully Ajinca & Augustin along with Tyrus Thomas will be part of one of the deepest and talented 2nd strings in the NBA. If that is the case, then the Cats really should a have a legitimate shot at a conference and/or NBA title.

Why is everyone yapping about next year?

how much Diop’s contract is horrendously over bloated and that we actually brought him on abroad.

I weep at night thinking of such things.

If MJ can find a way to get us out of that contract I’ll hail him as a modern miracle worker.

I’ve been consistent with this, I’m pretty sure. Okafor’s contract is no bargain, but it’s worth what he produces, and he produces a lot. Bigs and points are more difficult to acquire than swingmen, so when you get an above average one who produces to, or above, his contract, you keep him. We might get a better center than Okafor after next season, but for these two seasons with Chandler, if he stays, we’re paying him more than Okafor makes, and probably not getting his total production.

Which player on the list would another team trade straight up for Diop?

That’s Bill Simmons, hardly a rigorous analyst.

They both wreak of mediocreness to me.

There’s real manlove between the two of them. This season Ray changed the way he plays his position in some fundamental ways and it made him into a quality PG. I don’t see that changing. I don’t know how much he’ll be able to build on that under another coach, but I don’t see him backsliding. It would involve throwing out everything he’s learned. If he’s in Charlotte, Brown won’t stand for it. If he’s elsewhere and reverts he’s someone else’s headache, not ours.