If you had told me beforehand that the Bobcats would win a game without Raymond Felton, Sean May, Brevin Knight, and Primoz Brezec in the lineup, I would have said, “So what, we’ve got Ryan Hollins.” No, of course not, I would have said you’re crazy. I would have recommended you get on some serious medication, and then I would have asked you for some. But that’s exactly what happened last night—er, Charlotte winning, not my drug addiction (which simply continued)—as the Bobcats went on the road and blew out the Atlanta Hawks in front of a packed audience.
Actually, with a pair of 13-win teams squaring off, it was less a “packed audience” and more a “group of innocent bystanders.” The Hawks have Joe Johnson, budding force of nature Josh Smith, and not much else. Royal Ivey (whose first name sounds the same way Samuel L. Jackson pronounces “Royale with Cheese”) actually started at guard for them with Tyronn Lue out. This is a predicament that has to grate Atlanta fans, although I’m not sure why—c’mon, it’s not like there have been any good point guards in the last few drafts. (side note: Isn’t it interesting that in the past two years, New Orleans has drafted two great college players, Reggie Bush and Chris Paul, who were both inexplicably passed over by other teams? If only their flawed levee system hadn't been passed over by the government...)
The Bobcats, meanwhile, got Gerald Wallace back (!). After missing seven games with a dislocated shoulder, G-Dub appears to have re-located it, going for 18 points, 15 rebounds, and 3 steals. Gerald looked like he was still in a little pain (and was wearing some sort of special protective black t-shirt with ripped sleeves that made him look a little like he was a contestant on You're The One That I Want), but he put in 30 minutes. Down low, Emeka Okafor was unguardable (or perhaps simply “unguarded”), notching 22 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots.
The icing on the cake, however, was the rookie Hollins, who didn’t just put up four points—well, okay, with just a rebound and a blocked shot, I guess he did pretty much just put up four points—he also showed some great post-up moves and threw down a slam that was positively Shaq-tastic. I have to admit I didn’t know much about Hollins prior to his debut a few nights ago (especially if you define “not knowing much” as “only vaguely aware he was even on the team”), but he’s showing incredible potential. Imagine if we could turn him into a 10-point/10-rebound guy by the season’s end, how awesome a surprise would that be!? It would be like answering the door, thinking it’s the mailman, and then finding out it’s a strip-o-gram. Do we have anyone working specifically with this kid? We’ve seen what Kareem has done for Andrew Bynum with the Lakers, so we need some sort of special outside consultants over here, stat. Does McKinsey Group have a division that can design winning strategies for 7’ low-post specialists? You know the PowerPoints would at least be pretty cool.
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The Bobcat’s are a better team today than you may think. The lack of the starting lineup has given us a glimpse into the real depth of this team.
Gerald Wallace is a Lebron James-like player and he showed us what can happen when you give him a supporting cast.
Emeka Okafor needs no parallels. This guys brings everything needed be a low-post tour-de-force against any team in the NBA – bar none.
But here’s the problem as I see it. NBA basketball is a 5 man team process. If a team has a single player weakness, other NBA teams will exploit it. And that’s what the Bobcat’ s have “a weakness in the low-post” – and that’s Primo. Primo can score in double figures. Primo can block out. However, in the high-paced NBA world, Primo is an anchor. And to make matters worst, Primo can not stop other players from scoring on him. He’s just too slow. The fact that he scores 10-12 points means little if other teams are scoring 20-30 points due to his lack of defense. And this is leading to an answer for your question “how did the Bobcat’s win against the Hawks without there starters?”
Answer: The Bobcat’s coach’s finally replaced Primo with the agile Ryan Hollins
Real Defense – Ryan Hollins brings significant and real defensive pressure to the Bobcat’s when he’s on the court; un-like Primo which is a real anchor and can not move to his man; and more importantly, move with his man. Defense is not static, it’s a fluid process and happens at lighting NBA speed. Big, slow players can block-out; but don’t move well with fast players; big, slow players don’t set screens well; While he may lack the block-out capacity of Primo, Hollins can set screens, block shots, and bring far more defense than Primo. This is disrupting other teams in ways they have not seen in prior games.
Agility & Speed v/s Being a Post Anchor Weight – In the NBA world you can’t substitute agility & speed for a slow-moving target. That’s a no-brainer. The NBA has moved to a high-paced game that requires players to be very fast and elevate at will. The “new” NBA player (and specifically team) is a fast moving, highly agile entity that can fast-break at will. Every team needs Lebron James-like players; or at least a mix of this type of player across their roster. A slow-moving player is a legacy-type player that went away in the ‘80’s.
Adding to the Bobcat’s Transition Game – Big, slow players don’t transition well down court. This leaves the Bobcat’s a man down in their transition game – and that is how other teams take the Bobcat’s down. In that critical transition moment, other teams launch their strikes; that’s the way of the NBA; fast, fast, fast. Take advantage of the imbalance. Ryan Hollins changed that. Primo does not get up and down the court well. However, Ryan Hollins is very agile and moves well up and down the court. This allows him to have a “presence” on both ends of the court – v/s the Bobcat’s being that “man-down” in the lightening-fast NBA transition game.
Minute-by-Minute Comparison with Primo – try doing a minute-by-minute comparison for “how many points did the other team score when Primo was on the court v/s when Ryan Hollins was on the court. I think you’ll find that the other teams are scoring less when Ryan Hollins is on the court. That’s his “defense” having an impact on the other team’s ability to score. Additionally, players seem less willing to go to the hoop on Hollins due to his shot blocking and ability to elevate. Hollins can go vertical like on other Bobcat.
Double-Double Potential of Ryan Hollins – Have a look at the stats of Ryan Hollins while he was in the D’League. Virtually every game he played when in the D’League resulted in a double-double. This guy can get it done. However, it will take more, real-time play, to get him where he needs to be to produce double-double’s in the NBA. But he has all the needed skills to get there.
The Un-Quantifiable – Ryan Hollins has added an un-quantifiable elements to the Bobcat’s that just did not exist prior to him being on the court. For now, it may be subtle; but it’s changing the way other teams are playing the Bobcat’s – and that’s a good thing. In the last two games that Ryan Hollins has played, his presence has had a positive, higher points yield for the Bobcat’s; and more importantly, a lower score factor for the other teams.
Ryan Hollins Stats – For now, the stats for Ryan Hollins are less important than the Bobcat’s ability to win; or at least to have a fighting chance at winning. While Hollins may well produce double-double’s soon, he’ll need playing time to develop these skills. And this will not come at the expense of the Bobcat’s win-lost record. They will do just fine playing him. These last two game have shown that. He’s an asset today and as long as he stay’s healthy that should continue. Play Hollins and let him become a force – and allow the Bobcat’s to become a contender for the playoffs.
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