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Biz Gilwalker wrote:We are reading into stats in the preseason.


Please.



Make it stop.

fatlever wrote:i think it is safe to say that at the very least we wont finish last in team defense this year. with as many so called "good defenders" on this team, we should have never been worst in defense last year.

how do we stack up in points allowed per possession and FG% allowed? i can only assume we playing at one of the slowest paces in the league in preseason.

JDR720 wrote:“I love Zeller. To me, he’s a connector like (Josh) McRoberts, only more talented. He’ll make teammates better. He’s not flashy in what he does, but he’ll be a really solid player for
us.”

Charlotte Bobcats’ defense shuts down...

The sample is just five preseason games, and you won’t see the Charlotte Bobcats slapping the floor Duke-style, but something is sure working about this team’s defense.
...
For the preseason (3-2), they’re allowing 81.4 points and 39 percent shooting. New coach Steve Clifford is reluctant to pronounce this defense a finished product, but he likes what he sees.

“We’re getting back in transition, we’re not fouling and we’re protecting the paint,” Clifford said.

“It starts with the players wanting to do it. That’s not a coaching thing. We help them with a style of pick-and-roll defense, but it still comes down to them.”

Then Clifford offered a caution: “The toughest part (about NBA defense) is when LeBron (James) has got the ball at the top (of the key), and then what do you do? You don’t get that in the preseason.”

Clifford’s point – that the superstars aren’t breaking you down for long stretches in exhibitions – is valid. But so is the progress this team is making defensively.
...
Clifford mentioned point guard Kemba Walker as a player who’s clearly improved defensively. At 6-foot-1 and 184 pounds, it can be a challenge for Walker to hold up physically defending pick-and-roll. But he’s been effective so far this preseason.

“Maybe I’m just putting more effort into it,” said Walker (13 points and five assists). “(Clifford) has been teaching me ways of not getting hit, of getting around the pick.”

Like Clifford, Walker isn’t pronouncing the defense “fixed” just yet, but he likes the trend line:

“We’re staying disciplined, we’re talking to each other and we’re getting stops.”

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/1 ... mFUTnCkoec

BrotherDave wrote:When two of your best long term guys are Bismack and MKG, you should have the makings for a good defense if the rest of the team isn't garbage.

mrknowitall215 wrote:

BrotherDave wrote:When two of your best long term guys are Bismack and MKG, you should have the makings for a good defense if the rest of the team isn't garbage.

I think Kemba could be a defensive stalwart in his own right as well, emphasis on could, even though I think he's a solid defender already. He did finish last season top 5 in steals & I've seen him making plenty of unbelievable defensive stops against opposing teams during fastbreaks

mrknowitall215 wrote:

JDR720 wrote:“I love Zeller. To me, he’s a connector like (Josh) McRoberts, only more talented. He’ll make teammates better. He’s not flashy in what he does, but he’ll be a really solid player for
us.”

I wonder how personal will McRoberts take that direct comment from MJ about Zeller being more talented

Liver_Pooty wrote:

mrknowitall215 wrote:

JDR720 wrote:“I love Zeller. To me, he’s a connector like (Josh) McRoberts, only more talented. He’ll make teammates better. He’s not flashy in what he does, but he’ll be a really solid player for
us.”

I wonder how personal will McRoberts take that direct comment from MJ about Zeller being more talented

McRoberts has admitted in previous interviews that Zeller is more talented.

mrknowitall215 wrote:

Liver_Pooty wrote:

mrknowitall215 wrote:
I wonder how personal will McRoberts take that direct comment from MJ about Zeller being more talented

McRoberts has admitted in previous interviews that Zeller is more talented.

Thanks. That answers it for me