The True Turning Point Of The Season

[BigSlam]

A lot as been said that about Jax coming in and that being the turning point of the season. A lot has been said about Felton's new found ability to contribute and not be a liability being the turning point of the season. A lot has been said about Boris playing more aggressively being the turning point of the season. A lot has been said about Chandler missing all this time being the turning point of the season.

While there is no doubt all of these things have been contributing factors, for me, the BIGGEST factor was LB trimming his play book from 1,575,314 plays to a handful.

It's like the moment he did that we started executing better, played with more confidence, didn't look as lost and started winning!!

Thoughts?

[fatlever]

when we traded okafor i kid i kid. it was obviously when chandler got hurt. i kid again.

i vote jax. he was exactly what our offense needed.

[fatlever]

great point about the playbook. we know he trimmed it when jax came in, but who is to say he hasnt been adding a few plays back in every day. this is lb we are talking about.

[BigSlam]

great point about the playbook. we know he trimmed it when jax came in, but who is to say he hasnt been adding a few plays back in every day. this is lb we are talking about.

I'm pretty sure he trimmed it after Jax had been here for a little while. Didn't Jax and Crash approach him together and make the suggestion?

To his credit, LB took the suggestion on board, adapted, and here we are!

[arh1109]

You don't need as many plays with a scorer like Jack. So I guess it's just that the team is meshing well.

[Rich4114]

I wanna say it was when we came back against Miami on the road in an early afternoon game to win the game and then followed it up with a win AT Cleveland. I don't think we go on this run without that to start the momentum/confidence.

[Paydro70]

The team wasn't playing that well when we first got SJax. The answer pretty much has to be the Chandler injury. We were 11-16 after his last game, and are now 21-19. What else do you need to say?

[Felton for Pres]

I think the turning point was the Grizz game. I think there are a lot of parts that were coming together prior to that. As everyone mentioned, SJax (huge), the simplification of the playbook (good point Slam), Nazr stepping up but I think that game and winning the way they did is what got them to believe they can win any game thus turning the corner from being a young team learning to win to a team that believes they can win any game.

[spectre_]

The NBA's Hottest Team

Good breakdown there. Tho he does somewhat side with Paydro the author puts a little more emphasis on us going small more:

In Chandler's absence, Charlotte has gotten good minutes from Nazr Mohammed, his replacement in the starting lineup who is playing the best basketball of his career and shooting 57.6 percent from the field while using possessions at an above-average rate (22.6 percent). Another factor is the time the Bobcats have spent with small lineups on the floor. When Chandler was healthy, the team played true centers (Chandler, Mohammed, DeSagana Diop and a handful of minutes for Alexis Ajinca) about 39 minutes per game. Since Chandler went out, Diop and Mohammed have combined for just under 30 minutes, meaning Charlotte is spending nearly a third of games playing with a forward--usually Boris Diaw--in the middle. These lineups, which often move Stephen Jackson and Gerald Wallace down a position to make room for Flip Murray, offer improved floor spacing and shooting.

The monkey in the room:

The downside of that strategy, and part of what makes the way Charlotte has played this month unsustainable, is that it has meant a lot of minutes for the Bobcats' starters. Wallace has averaged 43.4 minutes per game since Chandler went out, Jackson 40.0 and Diaw 37.3. Larry Brown has been relying heavily on that trio of players all year long, and an injury to any of them would be painful.

[fatlever]

i also fear that eventually going small is going to catch up with us in a few games. we got destroyed on the glass in the second half of that kings game. were were outrebounded by at least 13 boards in that second half. luckily we hung on, but in that particular game, we needed another big to help on the boards in the second half.

what about when we play orlando? are we really going to try boris vs howard for 20 mins in that game?

[Paydro70]

i also fear that eventually going small is going to catch up with us in a few games. we got destroyed on the glass in the second half of that kings game. were were outrebounded by at least 13 boards in that second half. luckily we hung on, but in that particular game, we needed another big to help on the boards in the second half.

what about when we play orlando? are we really going to try boris vs howard for 20 mins in that game?

I don't see why Mohammed and Diop couldn't play, say, 40 minutes in that game. If Chandler's back, he can play a couple minutes too.

[fatlever]

nazr never plays more than 15-20 mins. and diop for anything more that 10 mins is a bit scary.

hopefully nazr can give us a good 30 on sat.

[Rich4114]

I'm not the biggest fan of the small ball. If there's another big man on the court, like Howard - it just doesn't work. He dominated Okafor, I can't imagine what he could do to Boris or Wallace. Diop can stand in there and make it difficult for him to score - I think Diop needs a lot of burn that game.

[Paydro70]

Nazr's playing 19mpg in January... I don't think he'd spontaneously combust if asked to play 25-30 when we are up against Howard.

But really, if we get completely annihilated by Howard, it won't be the first time. We played him OK in November with Chandler playing 11 minutes, and then the rest of the team nearly fouled him out the other game. I'm really not that worried about putting together some good D on him.

[Dexmor]

Ive been saying since day 1 they need a star. They got Jack and now look at them.
Now they just need a real PF and maybe a different look at C.