2011 Draft Position Watch

[ohara]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/standings ... =standings

OK, we need this Thread here. Time to take notice we are currently in the 7th spot. And also we are in the + side on point differential. We never quite got there during our run in the 2nd half of the season last year. Now, we just have to build upon it. We can handle the Celtics, and the game is at home.

[BigSlam]

It's great that we have won a couple in a row, but I think it's way too early to be talking playoffs just yet.

Let's see where we are come Jan.

It was only a couple of days ago that many posters were demanding we blow up the team and that we should start by trading Crash.

[Battery]

Unfortunately the playoffs do not start today because the chemistry on our team is really good right now. We're playing playoff type defense and our ball movement has been much improved leading to so many open shots. I also love how we're at least competing on every play, something we've never seen with the Bobcats.


Staying healthy will be the key. If we can remain relatively healthy throughout the season, the chemistry and our overall team play looks like it will only get better, thanks to Larry Brown. That man is a great coach. Hopefully he's done with breaking us down and now we're in the building us back up phase...

[Raptor/LakerFan]

I love the makeup of your team, Every single starter is a better than average defender at his position. With the addition of Sjax you have a pretty good offense, and now you have 2 guys that can make it hard for guys like kobe/lebron and your last line of defense is one of the best defensive C's.
I think the way it is now you'll be in the playoffs fighting for the 2nd round, and if you get a proven scorer off the bench (like the hawks got in crawford) then you'll be a force.

[ohara]

I dont think it's too early to think about our prospects of making the Playoffs. We are already 20% thru the season. Time flies by, especially around the Holidays. Before you know it, it will be Jan. 2010. Besides, scoreboard watching is fun when you have a vested interest.

[BobCatsFoLife]

Unfortunately the playoffs do not start today because the chemistry on our team is really good right now. We're playing playoff type defense and our ball movement has been much improved leading to so many open shots. I also love how we're at least competing on every play, something we've never seen with the Bobcats.


Staying healthy will be the key. If we can remain relatively healthy throughout the season, the chemistry and our overall team play looks like it will only get better, thanks to Larry Brown. That man is a great coach. Hopefully he's done with breaking us down and now we're in the building us back up phase...

Battery hit it right on the nose. I agree 100%. Basketball is a game of runs and momentum. In the past we would have an 6 or 8 point lead, but we could never push it up to 10 or 15. Now we are "weathering the storm." We are playing hard every possesion. Even when the opposing team makes there run we are fighting back to maintain our lead. I'm very excited with the directon of the team right now. I guess it's easy to get excited when your winning!

[fatlever]

panthers are getting ready to go 4-7. time for all the local fans to jump off that bandwagon and get on board the bobcats bandwagon. no need to bother calling radio shows to complain about jake. spend your time talking about crash and his insane rebounding.

[Mezotarkus]

Guys, we were talking about blowing up the team 4 games ago and now we are talking about the playoffs and how Brown is a great coach, etc.

I want us to be playoff caliber as much as anyone but we need to show more consistency first. We have shot 47+% the last 4 games after shooting ~40% the first 12 games. How long we keep shooting like this? If you think we can maintain it for the rest of the season then we can talk about playoffs. If not then don't start counting your chickens.

[amcoolio]

Generally speaking, teams with a defense as good as ours have always made the playoffs. I'd rather we try our best to keep up the defensive intensity than worry about the offense.

#1 overall defense, despite playing some pretty good offensive clubs... Portland has played a lot of bottom feeders, they are the only team close to us at the moment....

[Walt Cronkite]

I'm back on the optimism train. Wallace has taken the lid off of the basket and Cheese adds a dynamic to the offense that we've never had before. Add in the simplified playbook that our pgs and Chandler are capable of understanding and I think LB's leet defensive scheme is good enough to finish in the middle of the pack. In the NBA that means playoffs, baby!

[Bassman]

I agree the team is much closer to a playoff caliber squad than at the first of the season, but it's still early. That can be good, as some of our players need to get better and step up their game to reach their equivalent of last season's productivity (Diaw, DJ). It also means our rookies will hopefully get even better with more minutes. Lastly, Chandler and Felton must continue improving their game and play their roles well. Nazr is truly our Most Improved Player so far, Crash is our MVP, and Jax is instantly a force to be reconed with.

Teams, however, will adjust their defensive approach to this squad, and we must be prepared to counter. Our greatest weakness on offense is our post-up game. Defensively we are strong and it will keep us competing as long as we stay healthy. The Cav's win was a big confidence booster. Let's see how we play other leading teams. Hopefully we find out we can keep playing with the big boys.

[W_HAMILTON]

I've been happy with the defense lately. Earlier in the year, I think our good defense could have been explained away by our horrible offense. By lately, we haven't had problems scoring -- at least not for entire games, for stretches, sure -- and our defense is still holding up. This makes me more confident that it is our defense, and not so much our horrible, eating-time-up offense.

Still, I have guarded optimism. This could just be another honeymoon phase. We'll just have to wait and see.

[therebirth]

I think this team is ready for the next step. It is not that we are winning games but how we are doing it. They are doing it with defense first. I would have been worried if our offense was the reason. Also Larry's offense doesn't need a post up player. Remember Detroit and even Philadelphia to some extend. That's why Emeka was addition by subtraction.

[thruthefire]

I was never on the "blow up the team" bandwagon so, yes, I'm all for a "If the Playoffs started today" thread!

[Paydro70]

Well, this was the upshot of the SJax trade... we were all-in to make the playoffs, which it looks like we might since our defense is still elite and our offense is not all-time level bad anymore. Obviously everyone feels great after several consecutive wins, and we'll be losing games later, but this does seem like a .500 ballclub, which is what we need.

Granted, we probably still lose in 5 in the first round, but just making the postseason would be awesome.

[Rich4114]

I still think we need to make a move for a Boozer type of guy, but 4 wins in a row including one against the Cavs has me pretty pumped. If we beat Boston on Tuesday then this team is serious.

[Bassman]

I still think we need to make a move for a Boozer type of guy, but 4 wins in a row including one against the Cavs has me pretty pumped. If we beat Boston on Tuesday then this team is serious.

Agreed. Before the season started few people wanted to consider trading Diaw and were more inclined to make a deal with Wallace. Also few were interested in Boozer and nobody wanted Brand. Both those guys are really producing so far, and would be nearly impossible to get with Diiaw and filler now.

Still, I can imagine what that dimension would do for our team. WOW!!

[thruthefire]

I don't ever recall more people wanting to trade Wallace than Diaw. I'm still on board for some combination of Diaw, Chandler, and Diop for Brand.

[doc.end]

Waht I hoped for since our affiliation to brand new Maine Red Claws was announced that they could foresee Lexy being send there and count on that when building the new team. So in best scenario Lexy could benefit from that by getting a major role there.

So far they have one 6-11 F (certain Mike Williams, fun fact - played in France shortly) and beside that they have two 6-9 (or 6-8 respectively) guys, besides that nopbody on their team is taller than 6-6. Lexy should get a lot of burn unless refs there will be whistle happy like those replacement ones this preseason.

[doc.end]

Wrong thread, sorry.