GT: Hornets vs Celtics Wed Dec 23 7PM EST

[bws94]

What would MKG do? Guard IT? How would he positively impact the game? Serious question. I know how Al helps and also where he's lacking. I've watched MKG have strong defensive games against guys but I haven't seen enough to really get how strongly he impacts the game.

[m40]

the offensive side of 2F are too weak for hornets and can't draw space for guards to set plays...

if so why don't you just start by 4 smalls 1 big for the game?
i.e. Walker Lin Batum Lamb and Zeller?

[Liver_Pooty]

the offensive side of 2F are too weak for hornets and can't draw space for guards to set plays...

if so why don't you just start by 4 smalls 1 big for the game?
i.e. Walker Lin Batum Lamb and Zeller?

We're trying to win games not intentionally lose them

[LostInACrowd]

It really bugs me that I am anxiously awaiting Jefferson's return. We really need a plan B right now because we can't just launch 3s and expect to win every night. We just dont have that many good shooters, no matter how we looked early in the season.

Jefferson will destroy our defense again, but overall that might be better than what we have seen the past 5-6 games.

The unit with the most mins. played together is the usual starting line-up + Jefferson. They have a net rtg. of 10.9.
The unit with the second most mins. played together is the usual starting line-up + Cody. They have a net rtg. of negative 9.

There are 18 lineups in the NBA that have played more mins. than the starters+Al, and only 3 have a higher net rtg.
Of those 18 lineups, only 1 team has a worse net rtg. than the starters + Cody.

So far this season Al has been a huge boost for the starters while Cody has been a disaster. So hopefully, Al is what we need to stabilize the team chemistry and we start winning again when he gets back.

http://stats.nba.com/team/#!/1610612766/lineups/advanced/
http://stats.nba.com/league/lineups/#!/advanced/?CF=GROUP_NAME*E*

[thekiller99]

I think Kemba's mins need to be reduce! Don't label me as a Kemba basher/hater etc but the evidence is clear that Kemba can't handle those mins.

He's shooting 0.355 FG% 0.13 3P% 5.6ast but TO 3.6 while playing 41, 41, 41, 44, 27mins for the past 5 games. Kemba's misses are usually in the fourth and it might be due to tired legs.

At this rate I think Clifford is going to injure Kemba and we will be out of the playoff races if it's a serious injury.

[bws94]

I think Kemba's mins need to be reduce! Don't label me as a Kemba basher/hater etc but the evidence is clear that Kemba can't handle those mins.

He's shooting 0.355 FG% 0.13 3P% 5.6ast but TO 3.6 while playing 41, 41, 41, 44, 27mins for the past 5 games. Kemba's misses are usually in the fourth and it might be due to tired legs.

At this rate I think Clifford is going to injure Kemba and we will be out of the playoff races if it's a serious injury.

He's cooled off. He can probably handle them but he's cooled off from the hot pace he was going in November and early in the month. I think Kemba and Batum could get worn out by heavy minutes. It looks like Cliff may have scaled them back for Nic but Kemba is still doing huge minutes. I think the team with Nic and Lin in can handle the load when Kemba gets much-needed rest.

[Braggins]

This game really exemplified some very concerning trends.

We have two guys in our starting lineup that actually want to shoot the ball and one of them is PJ... Either Lamb or Frank might need to start instead of PJ or Marv. Marv is regressing to the mean but he is still infinitely better than PJ and he will start hitting some of his shots again even if he never lives up to the early season pace he was setting.

Even though Frank is more deserving, I think I prefer Lamb in the starting lineup because it removes PJ and keeps our overall balance more in tact. If we can hide Al's defense we can hide Lambs. Things would be a lot easier for everyone if teams couldn't cheat of PJ against our starting unit. Upgrading Marv to Frank would be a positive step, but I don't think it helps as much as removing PJ from the starting unit. Removing PJ for Frank and moving Marv and Batum down a position makes our bench really weird.

Cody is really disappointing me. We have other problems with our starting unit that concern me more, but I was expecting Cody to take advantage of the opportunity he is getting. We have to figure out some way to get something out of Cody offensively. Hes always going to be a great fit for our defensive scheme, but at times it seems like we aren't even trying to utilize him offensively. He seems to have regressed quite a bit from last season. His shot was progressing nicely but now he has gone back to being terrified to shoot. He looked invisible for most of the night and that has been the case for most of the season. He still has some potential there and he has decent size and great athleticism. There is no reason he should seem so utterly useless offensively, despite his obvious shortcomings.

I was super high on Marv for a while, but now I wouldn't be upset at all if we traded him. I'm feeling that way about Cody too, but I would probably keep him over Marv because he still has potential. Trading Cody now would be selling low. Marv's value is probably at an all time high.

There are a few different rotation I would be open to us trying at this point, but I think I like these two the best.

Kemba, Lamb, Batum, Marv, Cody
Lin, PJ, Frank, Al

Kemba, PJ, Batum, Frank, Cody
Lin, Lamb, Marv, Al

[RevolDas]

A very disappointing game. I hate to say this but from what we can see we are just not a talented enough team, that's all. The success we had earlier are primally due to a few players play out of their mind (Kemba, Batum, Lamb, Marvin) and now they seem to have revert back to norm, and unfortunitly at the same time. That is not to say it's hopeless though. This is a team sport and we can still have a shot with our mid tier players if we can play team ball. And that's on everyone. I don't want to name any players here since everyone of them need to work on that.

The most crusial part might be Cliff. With our players there is little room for error, being rotation switching, match up counters, late game shot up plan, etc. If we can't beat them with our B team, then maybe we can beat them with a A coach.

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[wincan459]

How big of a bust is Cody Zeller?

He can't shoot from range, can't finish through contact, can't finish period, gets pushed around on rebounds and has zero touch inside.

Does he have one single NBA skill? Imagine you drafted this guy and not only that but you argued with your boss and talked him off another guy if rumors are true. This coming shortly after you traded up and took Bismack Biyombo SEVENTH overall, only to let him expire and recoup no value for him. Down the road you get one year of Batum for another lottery pick project in Vonleh.

I can't wait for the trade deadline. I expect some aggression from our GM because his ass is on the line.

I only watched one complete game, he was kind of soft. Nice, easy going guy though.

[cw3k]

The problem of this team is shooting too many 3s and it is not falling. With that being said, I think this is by design when you have Batum as the primary ball handler, who cannot penetrate the paint. You really cannot expect there will be an inside game without a dominion big or some strong mid range shooter, so everyone just at the perimeter waiting for the ball to launch.

There is also a lot less ball movement with Batum being ball handler. Basically he pass the ball and if the receiver did not launch the ball, he asked the ball back. There is no inside game. No penetration. No ball movement. Yes, it is predictable.

[TinmanZBoy]

I'd rather Kemba/Nic/Lin play some two men game with bigs than running the motion strong every single time since it has been too predictable. Kemba and Nic did create some open shots, but all open threes or long jumpers, nothing around the rim, it is not going to work.... I have not seen enough Kemba's game to know how good he is at running the top screen PnRs....but Nic and Lin are pretty good at it....Lin is a master to run it, he can make zeller more effective, Cody actually knows how to roll and when to roll....the fact that Nic can run it itself is a big advantage, I've seen tons of Parson PnR in Mav., arguably their most efficient play... Nic should run it better than Parsons, he has a better vision and passing ability...

[bws94]

The problem of this team is shooting too many 3s and it is not falling. With that being said, I think this is by design when you have Batum as the primary ball handler, who cannot penetrate the paint. You really cannot expect there will be an inside game without a dominion big or some strong mid range shooter, so everyone just at the perimeter waiting for the ball to launch.

There is also a lot less ball movement with Batum being ball handler. Basically he pass the ball and if the receiver did not launch the ball, he asked the ball back. There is no inside game. No penetration. No ball movement. Yes, it is predictable.

Batum doesn't need to penetrate, Kemba does or Lin does. When Batum was going well he had a solid chemistry with Cody and he finds Frank as well. In fact anyone moving towards the basket or having a decent look Batum tends to find. So, I don't see a problem with Batum. Only problem is TOs and he only had 1 last game.

Lack of inside game is lack of Al, primarily. You have two penetrating guards but they get loaded up on in the game plan, forced to dribble too much. I think we have to get back to ball movement and having some type of mid-range game. Leave some guys to put up 3s, Lamb, Kaminsky, sometimes Hawes, but PJ and Marv aren't reliable.

[13th Man]

There are a few different rotation I would be open to us trying at this point, but I think I like these two the best.

Kemba, Lamb, Batum, Marv, Cody
Lin, PJ, Frank, Al

Kemba, PJ, Batum, Frank, Cody
Lin, Lamb, Marv, Al

Good post, except I'd be inclined to keep Al with Kemba as they seem to have good chemistry together. Lin could work with Cody.

[Homerclease]

Good game Charlotte! Your team bears a lot of resemblance to the celtics squad, I was impressed with how your team fought and battled back from the dead several times. Celtics were certainly the beneficiary of the whistle tonight which is a welcome change on our end but I still feel it was anyone's ballgame in the end. Charlotte is certainly going to be a large part of the future of the eastern conference IMO along with Orlando, Boston and Detroit. All 4 squads have a solid foundation of young improving talent and should push the Miamis and Torontos of the east down the ladder within the next few seasons. Frank is the real deal, perhaps still not worth 4 first rounders but he's a heck of a player nonetheless. Good luck the rest of the season and merry Christmas to all!

[Braggins]

There are a few different rotation I would be open to us trying at this point, but I think I like these two the best.

Kemba, Lamb, Batum, Marv, Cody
Lin, PJ, Frank, Al

Kemba, PJ, Batum, Frank, Cody
Lin, Lamb, Marv, Al

Good post, except I'd be inclined to keep Al with Kemba as they seem to have good chemistry together. Lin could work with Cody.

Lamb and Al in the starting lineup could be a disaster defensively.

[bigbob]

Something is off. You usually have a little drop off after winning four or five in a row but we have hit rock bottom and fast.


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its not something..the reason is extremely obvious when you look at game by game stats of kemba walker. http://espn.go.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/6479/kemba-walker

whenever he shoots under 40% fg, we LOSE. Every single game this season has been the case. That means we live and die with kemba walker. Unfortunately for cliff, even though he knows this, he doesn't do anything about it. When kemba is having these types of games, sit him on the bench!

Your behavior in this thread tonight is exactly what we are hoping to avoid. Consider this a friendly warning. You need to change your posting habits ASAP.

sorry about that, got carried away lol. Next time a game like yesterday happens, i will just log off and try to cool down lol

[amcoolio]

Once again I am defending Kemba when usually I slam the guy. When Kemba has these types of games, it seems to me a majority of the time it is because his teammates are ultra passive and look lost on offense. Marvin and Cody have been so bad lately, and then we are starting a D-league talent as well, so he has a crapload on his shoulders and the other teams know it when they defend us.

Cody has to be injured because he looks worse than we he first came into the league. Either way, we are getting destroyed in the 1st and 3rd because we can't generate one iota of offense. I support just starting Frank at this point, or a trade to shake things up.

[Eoghan]

Really not much positive to take away from this game other than Frank playing well. Speaking of Frank, how would you guys compare his game to Olynyk? Which player is better in which areas of the game?

I think Frank is more of a pure shooter, especially from deep whereas Olynyk is a better all-round scorer. KO is definitely a better finisher than Frank, he has some tricks up his sleeve whereas Frank basically just has that floater. KO is kind of a hobbledehoy whereas Frank is smoother, more fluid. Both are good passers but I think KO edges Frank out in terms of creative, higher degree of difficulty passes.

I like Frank's game a lot, especially his awareness. I wish he would go up stronger on drives just to get to the line instead of deferring to the floater so much.

Good game Charlotte! Your team bears a lot of resemblance to the celtics squad, I was impressed with how your team fought and battled back from the dead several times. Celtics were certainly the beneficiary of the whistle tonight which is a welcome change on our end but I still feel it was anyone's ballgame in the end. Charlotte is certainly going to be a large part of the future of the eastern conference IMO along with Orlando, Boston and Detroit. All 4 squads have a solid foundation of young improving talent and should push the Miamis and Torontos of the east down the ladder within the next few seasons. Frank is the real deal, perhaps still not worth 4 first rounders but he's a heck of a player nonetheless. Good luck the rest of the season and merry Christmas to all!

Yeah, Charlotte's fans are freaking out a little bit much but it's more of a culmination than this one game. Kudos for mentioning the friendly whistles, I thought that as well.

Speaking of ref bias, anybody else noticed that Cody having a good game is almost wholly dependent on the refs mistaking his awkward flailing for being fouled?

What would MKG do? Guard IT? How would he positively impact the game? Serious question. I know how Al helps and also where he's lacking. I've watched MKG have strong defensive games against guys but I haven't seen enough to really get how strongly he impacts the game.

MKG can guard everybody. I'm not sure how he does it, but he does. He defends so hard that he can cool down hot players and his hustle is infectious. Refs give him some respect, more often than not, too which helps a bit.

[fatlever]

BD how would you compare frank to Kelly in terms of defense and rebounding? Who do you like better for 3 years down the road?

[AustinPowers]

I think Kemba's mins need to be reduce! Don't label me as a Kemba basher/hater etc but the evidence is clear that Kemba can't handle those mins.

He's shooting 0.355 FG% 0.13 3P% 5.6ast but TO 3.6 while playing 41, 41, 41, 44, 27mins for the past 5 games. Kemba's misses are usually in the fourth and it might be due to tired legs.

At this rate I think Clifford is going to injure Kemba and we will be out of the playoff races if it's a serious injury.

It's not just you, the Kemba-kriticism posts are getting rec'd on At the Hive too (the better fan site). It's not just the minutes that probably need reduction but also the usage. Quoting aggregate stats of 18/4/5 in this day & age of efficiency doesn't mean much, unless of course you bought Kemba for $7200 on DraftKings.

*I'm neither asian nor a Lin fan. I am a spread offense Kerr/Pop fan.