Thursday, February 2, 2012

Charlotte Bobcats: Right Intentions, Wrong Execution, but also likely Wrong Intentions

After last night's 44 point loss to the Portland Trailblazers the Charlotte Bobcats have now lost ten straight games two of which were to America's Team, the Washington Wizards. (If the Cowboys can continually not make the playoffs and when making them go and Cincinnati Bengal it and appropriate the cognomen, 'America's Team' then why can't DBSF apply it to the Wizards?). Likely because of some inherent misanthropic tendencies DBSF has been following the Bobcats over the last few weeks. (It is also likely the case because anytime a team loses to the Wizards, especially twice, it peaks DBSF's interest as losing to the Wizards is like getting a DWI on a Razor scooter.)

Consider the following statistics. In last night's loss, first round pick Kemba Walker went 1-11, was a minus-36, and had his shot blocked  four times all while Portland guards Wesley Matthews and Raymond Felton combined for 8-14 and a plus-78 in just over 60 minutes of basketball. While DBSF admires Kemba's mental fortitude to take shots 9, 10, and 11, that average of a plus-39 for the opposing two starting guards suggests that he saved enough energy on the defensive end of the court to get a little more legs into those jump shots.

Another statistic that DBSF often references is PER, which is basically a combination of offensive and defensive measures with a standard score to allow one to determine if a player is in fact an above or below average player. The standard is 15. Players like Kevin Durant and LeBron James have a PER close to 30. The Charlotte Bobcats? The entire roster with the exception of DJ Augistine (who is injured) and Byron "BJ" Mullens (who is like a fair-skinned more urban Shrek) falls below 15. (And Augustin and Mullens are just above at 16.) This means the Bobcats field a below average team. No surprise. But players like Desagana Diop, Matt Carroll, and Corey Maggette have PERs in the single-digits, which translates to being a dependable 7 or 8 man off Wichita State's bench. Amazingly Reggie Williams (in just 2 games, grant it) has a -0.7 PER, which DBSF is having trouble confirming with statisticians but he thinks means Williams basically gets on the court and commits a homicide. Literally is of no basketball value.

One last interesting statistic to acknowledge is W/S, which is the shares per win a player has contributed this season. Two-fifths of the Bobcats roster--five of which have been starters--have negative W/S. In layman's terms, almost half of the team individually contributes to losing. Below is a picture of Bobcat's coach Paul Silas that pretty much says it all. If you're having trouble interpreting the picture it's saying, "I know the effort you guys are putting in. I recognize how much you want to turn this team and organization around. And in the deepest, deepest depths of my heart I want you all to know that truly, honestly I hate every single one of you. Genuine hatred. The same hatred one harbors for terrorism and diabetes. Alright, Maggette go in there and throw the ball at the rim for 15 minutes. I can't look at any of you."


1 comment:

  1. +1 wizards "america's team." bobcats close except for coaching/personnel

    ReplyDelete