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Boris Diaw, PF 27 MIN | 4-9 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 6 AST | 8 PTS | -19
I’ve probably been the most outspoken critic of Diaw on QCH since I started writing for this website, and normally, with a stat line like he posted tonight, I would give him a D. However, my biggest problem with Diaw is he doesn’t look for his own shot nearly enough, and tonight, he honestly looked like he was trying to score. |
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Tyrus Thomas, PF 23 MIN | 1-5 FG | 0-0 FT | 5 REB | 1 AST | 2 PTS | -6
Good lord, I don’t know where to start. He should’ve had four blocks, but got called for a bogus foul on Asik late in the game. He did have a monster swat on an alley-oop attempt, but he’s been nothing short of horrible on offense all season long. |
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Bismack Biyombo, C 30 MIN | 3-5 FG | 2-3 FT | 10 REB | 1 AST | 8 PTS | -21
He air-balled a free-throw, or else I would’ve given him an A. He should’ve had a double-double, but for whatever reason, Paul Silas decided to sit him in the fourth quarter. |
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Reggie Williams, SF 27 MIN | 3-10 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 2 AST | 6 PTS | -22
Williams came back down to Earth tonight. His shot looked it was coming off Jason Heyward’s bat in the form of a frozen-rope line drive. He wasn’t too bad on defense, though. |
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Kemba Walker, PG 31 MIN | 2-11 FG | 4-4 FT | 4 REB | 5 AST | 9 PTS | -21
Kemba got into the paint plenty of times, but looked like a lost puppy when he got there. It’s hard to blame him though, because what six-foot NBA rookie point guard wouldn’t look like that against Noah, Asik and Boozer? |
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Corey Maggette, SF 13 MIN | 2-7 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 4 PTS | -16
I’m not 100 percent sure what made Silas start Maggette in the second quarter. Maybe the coach was having a bad day and needed a good laugh watching 50 puke himself on offense. |
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DeSagana Diop, C 12 MIN | 1-2 FG | 0-2 FT | 6 REB | 0 AST | 2 PTS | -3
Pretty typical Diop box score. He’s passable on defense, but that’s about it. How he’s making almost $7 million this year escapes me. |
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Matt Carroll, SG 9 MIN | 0-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 0 PTS | -7
The box score says it all. |
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D.J. White, PF 18 MIN | 3-5 FG | 1-2 FT | 4 REB | 2 AST | 7 PTS | -11
Even though he scored just seven points, White was one of Charlotte’s only players to look somewhat competent on offense against the Bulls. |
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Derrick Brown, F 20 MIN | 4-8 FG | 2-3 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 10 PTS | -10
Brown gets an A for being the only Bobcat to score in double figures. Other than that he had a pretty “meh” game. |
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Cory Higgins, G 17 MIN | 2-7 FG | 4-5 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 8 PTS | -10
He ran the point for most of his 17 minutes and I could’ve sworn Rose was guarding him the way Higgins played offensively. Alas, he was getting shut down by John Lucas… |
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Byron Mullens, C 12 MIN | 0-5 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 0 PTS | -9
Seriously, Mullens was the guy who Silas put in for Biyombo in the fourth quarter, when the rookie should’ve been getting after a double-double. Mullen’s confidence is completely gone. He pump faked a couple wide open jumpers and missed a sure layup to go along with his putrid box score. |
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Five Things We Saw
- There’s no slot for grading coaches in this recap template, but Paul Silas gets an F- for one simple reason. With just under seven minutes to go in the third, Bismack Biyombo scored his eighth points of the game and put himself just two points and one rebound away from his second double double in three games. Just before the third quarter ended, he got his 10th rebound. Silas sat him down for the rest of the night. I know I have an unreasonably biased passion for Biyombo, but there’s literally no reason not to keep him in the game. He’s the NBA’s youngest player, a pillar Charlotte is going to build around for years and someone who gives his all every second of every game. I know Biyombo doesn’t care, because he was the first one off the bench to greet his teammates during every break in the fourth quarter, but he deserved a double-double and Silas took it away from him.
- Just one Bobcat scored in double figures tonight. ONE! If that’s not embarrassing then I don’t know what is.
- Most of the fans kept their seats the entire game. Good for them. Charlotte is playing a brand of basketball that’s hard to watch right now, but at least the city hasn’t given up on them. Even with a shortened schedule, the NBA has a long season, and when Augustin and Hendo get back, the Bobcats will be a much better team.
- For as bad as Kemba’s been from the floor this year, he’s certainly no slouch at the free-throw line. He’s missed just on shot from the charity stripe in the last five games. For his sake and that of the Bobcats, he needs to do more to get to the line in the future.
- The Bobcats will look to avoid a franchise-worst 14 game losing streak tomorrow night. All they have to do is beat Lob City aka Griffindor aka Are-These-Guys-Really-The-Clippers? Good luck.
I was at the game. Paul Silas has no recourse against him for the general performance of the bobcats this season. But seriously? What is he doing w/ Biyombo?
It’s not like he’s a player who is going through the motions and putting up pedestrian numbers (TT/DIAW). This is a guy who is very quickly becoming assimilated to NBA basketball. He’s the youngest player in the league, who had no pre-season, and who came in with extremely low expectations. But (to at least my surprise) he seems like an absolute sponge. It’s clear that he’s determined to improve himself and become a better player. And so it’s so so so so so so so frustrating to see someone doing the right things and making such great strides and to have these limits put on his progress. It sucks as a fan, and it sucks as a person who generally believes that the world is at least fair enough to reward the guy who works hard, get’s better, does the right things, and brings food to the table. But I guess Mullins needs to get his 7’2 3pt pump fakes in and Diop needs to get his cardio for the night.
Me and my friends were actually pretty surprised in the 3rd quarter. Rose hadn’t played the whole time. The Bobcats looked horrible. But still, the arena was fairly filled out. I’d say attendance was around 75-80% mid-way through the 3rd. Which is absurd considering Rose didnt’ play a minute and it was a toss up between Noah + Bismack being the marquee player on the court. So I wanna echo #3 of the above “Five Things”. It’s clear that Charlotte is craving good basketball. (Keep in mind attendance was at this level w/ CP3 + the Clippers coming to town the very next night….curious to know what kind of capacity the Hive 2.0 hits on 2/11)
Also, I know this is the NBA and all, but watch the Bobcats take shots. They have the worst form of any team I’ve seen this season. Generally, the Bobcat jumpshot is unsettled, abrupt, guarded, fading away-left-or-right, with no follow-through and either clanking off the rim w/ 20 seconds on the shot clock or hitting nothing from the free throw line. Are you kidding me?
(as an aside: I think Chicago Bulls fans are becoming my least favorite fans across the board. I really enjoy watching the bulls (and like most people growing up during the Jordan-era, I always have. I’ll treasure watching the greatest of all time make magic on the court and on the silver screen in the box office smash, Space Jam), but come on. To claim yourself as a “Bulls Fan” and be trash talking the Charlotte Bobcats tonight is absolutely ridiculous. You’ve had MICHAEL JORDAN, the greatest and most dominant athlete of all time per their sport be the cornerstone of your franchise and build a dynasty, and sure you have had a few bad years compounded by horrendous managerial decisions, but then you fall ass-backwards into one of the elite players of our time. If you consider yourself a “bulls fan” then I have to question whether you even understand what it means to actually care about a team and be a “fan”. I guess I’ll just be a fan of the heat, thunder, mavericks, lakers, spurs, nuggets, clippers, celtics, timber wolves, manchester united, alabama, lsu, UK Basketball, NY yankees, LA Angels, Brock Lesner, Stone Cold Steve Austin, NY Giants, New England Patriots, Cam Newton, the Mighty Ducks, and Aaron Rodgers nutsack. If you were walking around TWC Arena tonight w/ Derrick Rose or #23 apparel on, I think you are a big loser. And even if you’re from Chicago you deserve the worst of whatever this stupid Cubs curse is. REMAINDER REMOVED FOR INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT. )
Also,
I’m trying to start a rumor that the number “0″ on the back of Bismack Biyombo’s jersey isn’t actually the number “zero”, but the letter “O”. (for Biyomb-”O”)
Should I just start saying this is true or what? I’m not good at starting rumors. But I feel like the Cats need some sort of Fan-lore.
Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Re: Biyombo, I have no idea what Silas is doing with him. Maybe he was afraid of getting him injured… but I doubt it.
Re: Fans/Capacity, The Clippers game is supposedly sold out from what I’ve heard. (The Bulls game was sold out too, but I could see not all the seats were full). I bet more people will show up to watch Lob City, though. Maybe Silas can even inspire this team to a win.
Re: Harry Caray, lmao.
But Biyombo can’t get injured b/c he’s invincible. What’s Silas thinking?!?!?
Maybe I’m just being optimistic, but I’d like to think the reason Paul sat Bismack in the 4th is because he wanted to keep him fresh for tomorrow’s game, one that we still have a chance to win. He did get 30 minutes, I’m quite happy with that number, I don’t really want to see him getting many more minutes than that, the guy’s still pretty young, the last thing we want is for him to get hurt. You know how it is with big guys, they get worn down and they get hurt, thats the way it goes a lot of the time, so I’m going to just be happy that he isnt extremely under-using Bismack anymore.
Yeah. This is more rational. I can get on this train.