One of my favorite basketball websites is a basketball-reference.com. You can often find me perusing its offerings when I should instead be fulfilling my various adult obligations. One measurement of a team’s strength – or lack thereof – which they use is the Simple Rating System, or SRS. The rating takes into account average point differential and strength of schedule to arrive at a final point value above/below an average rating of zero. I like this rating because it factors in the difficulty of the schedule faced by a given team to date.

Twenty-three games into the season (3-20) the Bobcats have a SRS of -14.41. The second worst rating in the League belongs to the Pistons at -9.51. Quick math – yes, that’s nearly five points separating the two teams. Therefore, there’s really no argument that as currently constructed (injuries taken into consideration) the Bobcats are the worst team in the NBA. But that’s not the question this post set out to answer. We here at QCH aim higher. And by higher I mean lower – all-time lower.

Is this the worst team in NBA history? No. By season’s end could it be? Yes.

Upon completing my search for the League’s all-time worst team – according to SRS, anyway – the distinction fell on the 1992-93 Dallas Mavericks, who posted a rating of -14.68 and finished last in the NBA in both Offensive and Defensive Rating. Much like this year’s Bobcats team, the roster featured a host of inexperienced players. In the Mavericks’ case, the majority of these players also went on to have ineffective NBA careers.

So, who currently stands number two according to SRS? Yes, your 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats. With a Margin of Victory of -14.04 and a Strength of Schedule of -0.37, their rating of -14.41 currently ranks 2nd worst all-time. Do I think this team is as bad as that Mavericks team? No. The team’s struggles have certainly been exacerbated by the injury problems suffered due in large part to the compressed schedule. The severely truncated training camp did the Bobcats no favors either, as the team was not afforded the requisite practice time to incorporate new players and schemes. However, these are factors every team has had and continues to deal with this season.

Will the Bobcats finish the season as the NBA’s all-time worst team? We’ll see. As for me, I won’t be cheering for it. In a league where finishing with the worst record affords you nothing more than a one-in-four shot at the #1 pick and with the realization that they will more than likely finish in the bottom three no matter what, I’m hoping to see improvement out of the team – especially from the younger players.

Regardless of whom the Bobcats select in the upcoming NBA Draft, the team will need impact players to suit up alongside him. In a town which is simply not a destination for premier free agents, it will require the team to develop many of these players from the current roster. Therefore, those of you who might be inclined to root for record futility – please fight the urge. Not to keep the team out of the record books, but with the hope that the collective future of the younger players making up this 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats roster don’t mirror that of the 1992-93 Dallas Mavericks.

For fans of the worst team in the NBA (sorry Washington, Sacramento and New Jersey; the ‘Cats play at such a low level that your die-hards can only have nightmares about it), a common theme of “what the hell is Paul Silas thinking” binds them together.

There is a rookie who was selected in the lottery of this past year’s draft trapped on the confines of Charlotte’s rotting bench. He’s 6’9″ but has the wingspan of a true center. At just 19 years old, he has the potential to blossom into a star, or at the very least, become nothing short of a solid piece in the Bobcats’ future front-court.

His name is Bismack Biyombo, and, for some godforsaken reason, he plays just 12.6 minutes per game.

Biyombo wears the number zero, which might as well be a black hole attached to his jersey, sucking more and more potential out of him with every minute he wastes away on the bench.

How, in this lockout shortened season, what with it’s lack of practice time and poorly scheduled back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-backs, is a rookie supposed to get better without playing? (The question is rhetorical, Mr. Silas).

I knew Biyombo could ball when I first found out about the physical specimen from Lubumbashi, Congo. Anyone could see that after watching this:

Biyombo at the \’11 Hoops Summit

“He’s pretty good,” I told my roommate, Scott, who showed me the video.

“He’s 18,” Scott said.

“…………..,” I responded. My mind was but dust from a just-set-off explosion.

I came-to after Scott sprinkled some water on my face, and immediately searched the web for everything I could find on this “Biyombo Character” as I then referred to him.

It was true (EVERYTHING ON THE INTERNET IS TRUE), the kid really was just 18. Scott and I developed a mutual affection that bordered on obsession for Biyombo.

As a diehard Knicks fan, I knew my team needed this guy. We were weak in every aspect of the game that Biyombo thrives on. Then I found out he was sure to be a lottery selection.

My heart was shattered. Until, that is, I remembered something about an organization resembling an NBA franchise that called Charlotte home.

“My God!” I thought, “Charlotte isn’t too far away from Columbia, SC (where I live), maybe Michael Jordan can snag this guy and I’ll be able to watch him play in person!”

When draft night came my hopes were momentarily dashed once more; The Kings had selected Biyombo with the seventh overall pick.

I turned off the TV and headed for my bedroom, but was stopped dead in my tracks by a primordial scream that burst from the second floor of my home.

“We got him!” Scott bellowed. “WE GOT HIM!”

I dove at the couch, flipped the TV back on and learned that Charlotte had acquired Biyombo from Sacramento. All was right once more.

Then came the debate about his Spanish contract buy-out. Would he pay it? Would the Bobcats? Would he stay another year in Spain?

Well, Biyombo paid 1.5 million dollars to get out of Europe and into The Tar Heel State and I was all kinds of ready to see him in action.

The lockout extended my wait, and now it seems that Silas is either determined to slow Biyombo’s development or waging war with me for something I did to him in a previous life.

What other reason can there be not to play the only person on his team with a defensive rating less than 104?

Biyombo might be “raw”, as the experts like to say, but dammit, he plays hard every time he’s on the floor.

For a rookie, his per 36 numbers of 8.8 points, 4.3 blocks and 9.6 rebounds  are more than solid. He doesn’t actually need to play that much, but those stats show just how well he could do if given more time.

The Bobcats are going nowhere this year. Any group of players that loses twice to this season’s Washington Wizards might as well get that through their heads. So, why not give Biyombo 20 minutes a game. The ‘Cats are already horrible on offense, and he certainly wouldn’t hurt them defensively.

Kemba Walker, Charlotte’s other lottery pick, is learning on the fly this year; Because of injuries and a thin Bobcats’ backcourt, the former UConn star has played 27 minutes per game in which he’s averaged 12 points, 3.5 assists, 1.1 steal and four rebounds. Because of the increase in time, Walker has been able to work on his weaknesses like shot selection and decision making.

With such limited minutes, Biyombo won’t have the same luxury of working on his game’s deficiencies.

For a fan base in desperate need of something to cheer for, the teenager might be Charlotte’s last viable option. It would be nice to watch the Queen City’s two rookies hustling, running and gunning and giving it their all together. At the very least it would give some people hope.

Walker has already shown that he’ll give 100 percent night in and night out. In his limited minutes, Biyombo looks like he’d give the same effort.

So, without further adieu, Mr. Silas, I’m sorry for whatever I did to you in some former level of my existence that makes you want me to have the worst possible experience watching Charlotte basketball. Perhaps I led a Roman legion against your quaint, helpless, Greek village. Maybe, as a 14th century English judge, I sentenced you to a harsh flogging for harboring a Catholic in your home. Either way, you shouldn’t take it out on Biyombo.

Let him play. Free him from the sticky grip of your ever adhesive bench. Help him develop. Let Bobcats fans see why the team took a chance on a three-way trade to land him.

#FreeBismack.

It got my attention, though, and I decided to grab a little data around it, first around the league and then around the Bobcats.  This first chart shows each team in the league, the number of combined dunks and layups per 100 possessions, and then their defensive efficiency.  I thought it was interesting that although there does appear to be a trend that as the easy ones go up, so does defensive efficiency, but there are exceptions – most notably:  Boston, who allows the 26th most layups and dunks, but has a top ten defensive efficiency mark.  That’s where things like turnovers forced and foul rate start come into play, but for this look, here’s the data:

And here’s the accompanying scatter plot:

You’ll note that the Bobcats fit pretty closely to the projected relationship.  They give up a lot of easy ones – and it results in the opposition scoring quite efficiently.

And the last bit of data to present – on/off numbers for each Bobcat.  This chart shows how many easy ones the Bobcats allow while a player is on the court and the team’s defensive efficiency, and then those numbers when they’re on the bench.

The first three entries provide a pretty interesting look – with Bismack on the court, the Bobcats give up fewer easy ones, but little difference in efficiency.

But, then you look at Boris and Byron – and the expected impact does occur – 2 fewer layups with Boris, a 3.4 point drop in efficiency.  3.3 more layups with Byron – nearly 3 points added to the efficiency.  Considering Byron’s tendency to stay glued to his man’s hip when an opposing guard drives, it’s not difficult to see the Bobcats giving up more easy points with him on the floor.

With that said, there are certainly exceptions to this general rule of thumb on the roster, but interesting to look at nonetheless.

Unlike Boston, Charlotte does not force a high rate of turnovers from the opposition, so the Bobcats cannot get away with acting as a layup line for the other team.  While that’s a team effort, and starts with the guards/wings staying between their man and the basket, there does appear to be an area of improvement for the sweet shooting big man from The Ohio State.

Mullens past 5 games- 23.4 MPG, 7.6 PPG, 37.2 FG%, 3.4 RPG.

Mullens can be a good change of pace center in this league with his ability to stretch defenses and knock down the mid-range jumper. He also does a decent job in running the floor in transition, offensively. What Mullens lacks is the ability to do just about anything good on the defensive end. Not only is Mullens an extremely low IQ player on the defensive end, but he also regularly lacks the effort.

Let’s take a look Mullens lack of defensive concepts.

Mullens must understand that an undersized team such as CHA must hedge hard and high on PnR situations, not allowing guards any space to penetrate deeper towards basket. He clearly plays off Fields way too much on the PnR allowing him to get into second level of Bobcats shell defensively.

Here, we see Mullens fail to communicate with Henderson that a screen is coming (he’s clearly surprised to see Chandler), allow the switch on the screen, and then attempt (?) a pitiful reach around steal on Fields as he attacks the rim basically without contest. The worst part about all of this is the Bobcats, as a team, do a good job rotating down defensively, but Mullens is so out of position by the time this video ends that it’s simply comical.

You may watch this next clip and proclaim that Mullens stayed with his man and it’s actually Kemba that was beat, and you’re half right. But this is as much Mullens fault as it is Kemba’s because Kemba is inviting Shumpert baseline, knowing he has Mullens cutting it off and someone rotating down (Tyrus) to pick up Chandler. Since Mullens chooses to retreat back to his man, it throws off the whole defensive shift and Shumpert gets a free layup that he somehow missed.

Now that you’ve seen Mullens lack of recognition on the PnR, let’s have a glance at a clip that shows how much of a defensive liability Mullens is around the block. Here, Carlos Boozer, who is technically a PF, just bullies Mullens as he backs him down extremely easily and flips up a simple hook shot. As you watch Boozer back Mullens down, watch how Mullens body just cannot absorb any of the contact.

Mentioned earlier was Mullens ability to knock down the mid-range jumper- everyone knows this by now because it seems to be the only shot he’ll take. This clip shows Mullens start to attempt an offensive move with his back to the basket, but then become extremely uncomfortable, flip his body to face up and settle for a low percentage fadeaway jumper.

I saved the worst for last. Let me say that every Bobcat is certainly guilty of this during the unbearable struggle on the court this season, but Mullens happens to be the caught in spotlight here. Watch as the Bobcats get into their set and Mullens walking to the elbow. Just calmly taking his time- no sense of urgency whatsoever. Last time I checked, this team was consistently getting blown out on a nightly basis, and therefore they have to play twice as hard as their opponent to compete. The simple act of Mullens walking to his spot here is a complete lack of energy and head scratcher for a guy you would think has something to prove. It’s the little things.

Okay, now that I’ve probably seriously upset ‘Mullens Mafia’ with what seems to be a roast of the guy’s overall game, let me just say that I’m not anti-Byron Mullens. I simply decided to watch him closely in the past few weeks and evaluate him as a player because of all the hype that has come to surround him as an up and coming player in this league (only 22 years old).

The ultimate goal with this post is to point out that Byron Mullens should not be a starting center in this league, because of the deficiencies listed above. You don’t hear of ‘change of pace’ centers too much in this league, but I believe that’s exactly what Mullens is. He’s a nice compliment off the bench and I think his time in Charlotte has merely just begun, but let’s all except the reality check here- not the starting center for the Bobcats in the future.