Blazing Bobcats Getting Crash Back
Jason Richardson, right, earned Eastern Conference Player of the Week honours for his recent heroics. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
The Charlotte Bobcats, riding a franchise-record five-game winning streak, are expected to get their best player back tonight when Gerald Wallace returns from an eight-game absence thanks to a concussion.
While he’s been out, the ‘Cats really turned things around, winning every game this month after struggling through a 1-11 February.
The team spent some big bucks this summer but, so far, the moves haven’t paid off. After a strong finish last season that allowed the Bobcats to reach 33 wins, and a good start this year (6-4), it’s been pretty well downhill since until this recent streak.
Jason Richardson, a big trade acquisition on draft night last year, has been a huge part of this roll, averaging 28.8 PPG and 6.6 RPG during the winning streak. His 42-point explosion against his ex-team, Golden State, was the highlight of a week in week J-Rich walked away with Eastern Conference Player of the Week honours. Richardson has been given a big role in the Charlotte offense, and he’s been given free reign to go absolutely crazy from the perimeter, and both moves have paid off handsomely as he’s enjoyed a fine comeback season.
Matt Carroll, re-signed by the team this offseason, has suddenly become a valuable commodity again with Wallace out. Moved into the starting lineup, he’s been lighting it up of late, especially from downtown, and has proved to be among the most popular waiver wire pickups in recent days. Carroll’s overall value has diminished greatly after last year’s breakout, but he looks like he’s going to finish strong, although probably not at this current level.
Rookie Jared Dudley has also put himself on the map since Wallace has been out, scoring in double digits in four straight games before getting shut out on Saturday. Given starter-type minutes, Dudley has responded with some decent scoring, some solid rebounding and good steal totals. Unfortunately, with Wallace expected to play plenty of small forward as the team tries to keep him away from the more physically demanding minutes of the four spot, it will have a direct impact on Dudley’s PT and value. So it looks like the rook’s run is over for the time being. (With Wallace moving to SF, J-Rich will go back to SG, sending Carroll back to the bench.)
Raymond Felton, a disappointment for a good chunk of the season, is really coming around of late. Given extra responsibility with Wallace out, the former Tar Heel has responded in a big way, averaging 18 PPG with 9.4 APG in March. He’s even showing a better touch from outside, an area of his game that has continually diminished since his rookie year. While Felton’s rebounding is also down, we’ve seen enough progress from him this year to think he can still develop into a solid fantasy point guard. Staying healthy has definitely helped.
In the midst of a six-game road trip, the first of which is in the books, now the ‘Cats have to find a way to integrate Wallace back into the mix without upsetting the vastly improved play of Richardson, Carroll and Dudley. Obviously, PT is going to be a big factor here, but Crash isn’t expected to immediately go back to playing 40 minutes per night.
This team’s other challenge will be to keep this roll going. Currently 12th in the East, Charlotte is just two games out of the final playoff spot, and with Indiana, Chicago, New Jersey and Atlanta all struggling, it wouldn’t take much of a hot streak to take control of the eighth spot in the East.
However, the schedule is about to get very tough. The next three games on this road trip are stops in Dallas, playing better of late, and basically unbeatable at home; Houston, unbeatable anywhere with 19 straight wins; and Cleveland, among the top teams in the NBA since the New Year. A 6-22 road record for Charlotte doesn’t exactly lead to optimism, either.
It’s going to be a tough road to better last year’s club. If Charlotte can go 10-9 from here on out, it will finish with 34 wins, and the way things are going, that may be good enough to get in the playoffs, unless one of the four teams ahead of them suddenly gets hot.
Even if the Bobcats fail to overtake the pack and again miss the playoffs, we’ve seen something from this team recently, stepping up without Wallace the way they did. It’s been an impressive run, suggesting that this team is very, very close to being a playoff caliber club.
[...] RotoRob wrote a fantastic post today on “Blazing Bobcats Getting Crash Back”Here’s ONLY a quick extractThe Charlotte Bobcats, riding a franchise-record five-game winning streak, are expected to get their best player back tonight when Gerald Wallace returns from an eight-game absence thanks to a concussion. While he’s been out, … [...]
[...] Re: NBA News/NBA Fantasy News 2007/2008 Rocket Roll Well, someone finally put up a fight against them, but in the end the Houston Rockets walked away with their 20th consecutive victory on Wednesday night. Houston only managed 32 points in the first half – its lowest total of the season – and failed to beat a team by double-digits for the first time in 10 tries, but a 21-point second half by Tracy McGrady led the way as the Rockets prevailed, 83-75, over a pesky Hawks’ squad. The Rockets are just the third team in NBA history to win as many as 20 straight games, matching the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks for the second-longest streak ever. Just the 1971-72 Lakers, with 33, have ever had more consecutive victories. Ironically, after Houston takes on a hot Bobcats’ team Friday, the Lakers stand in its way on Sunday, in a game in which first place in the West will likely be on the line. If the streak is still going, Boston, New Orleans and Golden State also await next week, so no one can accuse the Rockets of piling on against the league’s weak sisters. T-Mac scored 28 in total to lead the way, adding nine boards and a couple of steals, to continue his recent roll that resulted in being named Western Conference Player of the Week for the second time this season. No, this wasn’t McGrady’s finest hour, sinking just 10-of-28 from the floor (including just 2-for-10 in the opening half), but he’s now averaging 27.7 points, 5.7 boards and 1.8 three-pointers per game in March, rounding into form after an injury-plagued season. With Houston clinging to a one-point lead with five minutes to play, it was McGrady who took control, scoring five points to spur a 10-0 run that made things academic. Okay, so the Rockets couldn’t set a new NBA record by winning an 11th straight game by 10 or more points. So what? Who doesn’t love a little drama? Defense has been driving this streak, as Houston had been giving up just 89.3 PPG over the past 19 games. That’s definitely something to consider when you’re assessing whether to roster your fringe players who have a date against the Rockets on their schedules. Anyways, so much for those predictions of doom for Houston once Yao Ming suffered his foot injury on February 26. The Rockets are 7-0 since losing their big man. While we ponder for a moment that you’ve got to go back to January 27 to find the last time the Rockets lost a game and that they are on a 28-3 run, let’s take a quick tour around the rest of the association… Allen Iverson is starting to get a bit beat up. He was already dealing with a busted digit before banging his knee last night. Limited to 31 minutes, small wonder he struggled from the floor (2-for-12) and failed to reach double digits in scoring for the first time all year. At least the Answer dropped eight dimes against just one turnover. He’s been on a scoring roll, with four straight games of at least 28 points, so we’ll cut him some slack and hope he’s good to go Friday against Toronto. It’s not like A.I. isn’t used to playing through aches and pains. I’ve never seen anyone who takes a pounding like he does.While his latest big night wasn’t good enough to get the Cavs past a struggling Nets’ team that had lost six straight, LeBron James is just playing out of his head since the break. He seems to have that MVP award directly in his sights judging by his recent play (33.5 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 8.0 APG and 2.2 treys per game since the break). Last night, King James nailed 12-of-23 from the floor and got the line a season-high 23 times en route to 42 points. He hit a pair of treys, added two blocks and pulled down 11 boards for his third straight double-digit rebounding game and career-best 27th double-double of the season. LBJ has taken an even bigger role in the Cleveland offense this year, leading to 31 PPG – the second-highest scoring average of his career. If he continues his current pace (38.3 PPG in March), he’ll easily eclipse the 31.4 PPG he averaged two years ago.Rudy Gay, enjoying a breakout year since becoming the Grizzlies’ go-to guy (especially since the Pau Gasol trade), was limited to 18 minutes Wednesday because he aggravated a hamstring injury originally suffered on Tuesday. The super soph is listed as day-to-day, but his owners better pray he’s good to go Saturday against the Warriors in what it always a wide-open game that lends itself to huge fantasy lines. Anyone remember Memphis’ 144-135 win over Golden State last January? That game resulted in some of the most incredible fantasy nights of the year. Injury Report I’ve never owned him, so I have to ask: just how frustrating is it to have Darko Milicic on your fantasy squad? The dude was being written off as useless a couple of weeks ago, and then suddenly he discovers an offensive touch, reaching double digits in scoring for five straight games, leading to plenty of waiver wire interest. Sure, his blocks and rebounding have been a bit inconsistent lately, but this kind of scoring consistency is something we’ve never seen from Darko. Of course, as luck would have it, just as we began to get excited about his play, he had to leave last night’s game after just nine minutes thanks to a sore right foot. We have yet to hear if this is serious, but are monitoring the situation, so check the site for an update soon. Tip-ins: Shane Battier hasn’t exactly been earning his fantasy keep lately, but last night he contributed 15 points and two blocks, while continuing his recent strong perimeter play with a pair of treys…Foul trouble has helped limit Marvin Williams to just 9 PPG in his last three games. He really hasn’t been the same player since the All-Star break…Joe Johnson, on the other hand, is scorching, with over 31 PPG in his last three. He poured in 28 Wednesday and added eight boards and a pair of steals…But for the Hawks, no one was topping Josh Smith on this night. While his recent less-than-inspiring offensive totals continued with just 16 points, J Smoov was the chairman of the boards, pulling down a career-best 22 rebounds – nine of them off the offensive glass. Sick. He added a pair of steals, and now has back-to-back double-doubles…Teammate Al Horford, who’s been losing steam lately, just missed a double-double of his own with 11 points and nine boards. He pitched in with a steal, but even better, it was great to see him record a pair of blocks, the rook’s first multi-block effort in a week and a half…Please tell me you’re not the one in 200 people who is still holding onto Zaza Pachulia. His last double-digit scoring game was on February 25 and his last game of at least 10 boards was almost a week before that…Chuck Hayes put himself back on the radar last night and impressed coach Rick Adelman in the process. He saw 33 minutes of action off the bench, scoring eight points with 12 rebounds and a steal. Many of those minutes came at the expense of Luis Scola, and while the rook only managed seven points, he still pulled down a dozen boards. As long as Carl Landry (sore knee) remains out, the hustling Hayes could be worth a look…Rafer Alston has been a stud during the Rockets’ streak, making him a must-own fantasy player, but last night he sunk just 3-of-18 for eight points. Luckily, two of his baskets were 3-pointers and he added a game-high seven assists against just one turnover, plus had four rebounds and two steals, so all was not lost…Atlanta has dropped six of its past seven to drop into a tie for ninth place in the East. The Hawks are trying to end the NBA’s longest streak without a playoff appearance…Acie Law (sprained wrist) was back in action after missing the past 11 games. He no longer has much of a role, of course, so don’t get excited. Hopefully the rook can finish strong, but with the Hawks battling for a playoff spot, don’t expect him to see much PT…Then again, Mike Bibby better improve upon his Wednesday performance. He sunk just 3-of-12 for eight points with just four boards. He has not shot well since arriving in Atlanta (40 percent)…While LBJ blazes, Chris Paul has been making his own MVP statement. He scored 26 points and added 17 assists last night to lead the Hornets to a major pasting of the San Antonio Spurs. CP3 is on a massive scoring roll, and has chalked up four straight double-doubles. The Hornets deserve a little love today, so see below in my team report for more…Memphis has dropped 16 straight games on the road. What? The Grizz can’t find a decent BBQ place away from home or something?…Baron Davis continued his excellent scoring season, sinking 10-of-17 for 23 points while dropping 15 dimes and even adding a block to lead Golden State past the Raptors. The Warriors let a 20-point lead disappear, but rallied for the win thanks to B. Diddy…Dwight Howard suffered a bruised quad and had to come out early last night. He may not practice Thursday, but don’t panic – he said after the game that he should be fine to play Friday against the Heat. Of course, before he departed, Howard racked up his 11th straight double-double…Gerald Wallace (concussion) was back in action for the Bobcats Wednesday, but as expected, he didn’t play much (22 minutes) and was coming off the bench. Yesterday, we discussed how Crash’s return may affect Charlotte…Boston keeps rolling, winning its 10th straight game Wednesday. With the Pistons losing, the Celts’ lead is up to 5.5 games…Mehmet Okur had 19 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and a steal last night for his fourth straight double-double. He was joined by struggling teammate Carlos Boozer, who put up 20 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals. Thanks mostly to some awesome shooting (58.2 percent from the field in March) Boozer’s scoring is starting to come around somewhat after a couple of down months, but his rebounding remains a bit sub par of late…Okay, okay, so it was only against Miami, but still, New York won to snap a seven-game losing skid. Break up the Knicks! The Heat has now dropped six straight. Winning games, especially without Flash, looks like a lost cause, but let’s hope Miami can at least win the lottery…Devin Harris had slipped a bit in the past couple of games, perhaps opening the door slightly for Marcus Williams. But Harris sure slammed it tight last night, putting up a fantastic all-around fantasy line: 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting, five rebounds, five assists, four steals, two 3-pointers and a block. Williams, meanwhile, had five assists, four rebounds and a steal, but was 0-for-5 from the field. Given Harris’ propensity to disappear from time to time, it wouldn’t surprise me if Williams had some value down the stretch, but he can’t be recommended now…Josh Howard snapped a mini slump with a big all-around game last night, sinking 9-of-15 for 24 points, with seven boards, six dimes and two 3-pointers….We’re still waiting to hear if Eddy Curry (knee) is officially done for the year, but Isiah Thomas says that the team still hasn’t decided whether to put Curry under the knife. Either way, if you haven’t already done so, you should probably get out your Ginsu and cut Curry from your team…Don’t cut Kenyon Martin just yet. The oft-injured Nugget is showing signs of life lately, and with A.I. hurting, K-Mart went off for 23 points with seven rebounds and three assists last night…Elton Brand (Achilles’) has begun working out with his teammates again, and keeps saying he’d like to return this year. Don’t hold your breath…Monta Ellis’ excellent roll continued last night as he sunk 14-of-19 for 33 points while adding six boards and four assists. The last time Ellis was held to single digits in scoring? Try January 4. His shooting touch just seems to keep getting better and better, too. He’s now draining 54 percent of his shots from the field – unbelievable for a guard…Marcus Camby, dealing with a hip injury, managed just eight points and ten boards in 28 minutes. On the plus side, he had six blocks and a pair of steals. Of course, anytime the word “injury” is associated with the Cambyman, it is usually preceded by “lingering,” so beware. bostonceltics.ws Team Report The New Orleans Hornets bounced back from a tough loss against untouchable Houston to hammer the Spurs 100-75 last night for their fourth win in five games. New Orleans is now just a half a game behind San Antonio and Houston for the division lead in the highly competitive Southwest Division. We already discussed Paul’s latest masterpiece above, but how about David West? He sure didn’t show any rust in his return after missing three games with an ankle sprain, knocking down 14-of-22 for 29 points with ten rebounds, three assists, a steal and a rare 3-pointer, just his sixth of the season. He now has 24 double-doubles and has parlayed a bigger role in the Hornet offense into a career year. Okay, back to Paul, because no talk of the Hornets can veer far from the NBA’s fantasy king. How about this gem from the Elias Sports Bureau? CP3 has either sunk or assisted on 48.3 percent of New Orleans’ field goals this year. That’s the highest percentage for any one player since John Stockton was involved in 51.6 percent of Utah’s field goals in 1990-91. Just think about that for a moment. Reaching the century mark against the Spurs, by the way, is some rare footage. Heading in, San Antonio had held 26 of its previous 30 opponents under 100 points. Okay, more Paul talk: the dude took only 20 minutes to reach a double-double, his 39th of the season. He had 48 double-doubles in first two seasons combined. Eight times this year, he’s had at least 20 points and 15 assists. The Hornets beat the Spurs despite an off game by Tyson Chandler, who managed just four points and ten rebounds. Still, that’s five straight double-digit rebounding games for him, and he added three assists and a pair of blocks last night. Peja Stojakovic’s struggles continued as he managed just nine points, three boards, one 3-pointer and no assists or steals last night. Peja looked like he was turning things around the past couple of months, but he’s shot the ball very poorly (39 percent) in March. With West back in action, rookie Julian Wright’s 15 minutes of fame are over. He played just five minutes Wednesday, although give the kid credit – he somehow still had four boards and a steal. It was nice to see some flashes of the talent in the past week that made him the 13th overall pick last season, but Wright will go back to being an afterthought as long as West is healthy. Still more to marvel at about Paul: he has at least one steal in all 61 games he’s played this year, currently the longest such streak in the NBA and a new franchise record for the Hornets. Sure, injuries haven’t helped (he was back yesterday after missing the past four games with a bruised Achilles’), but Bonzi Wells has been completely useless since arriving from the Rockets. He showed some signs of life yesterday with eight points in 15 minutes, but clearly he’s nowhere near being worthy of fantasy consideration. [...]
[...] Blazing Bobcats Getting Crash Back A 6-22 road record for Charlotte doesn’t exactly lead to optimism, either. It’s going to be a tough road to better last year’s club. If Charlotte can go 10-9 from here on out, it will finish with 34 wins, and the way things are going, … credit : http://www.rotorob.com/basketball/blazing-bobcats-getting-crash-back/ [...]