The C’s gave their 26-year-old rookie a vote of confidence before Tuesday’s game. By not waiving the seven-footer, Stiemsma’s contract will become fully guaranteed on Friday, allowing the shot blocker to breath a little bit and perhaps unpack some boxes for good in Beantown. Here’s Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston with some reaction from Stiemsma and [...]
I had a chance to talk with Bobcats rookie Kemba Walker prior to the Celtics game against Charlotte on Tuesday night. Here is what the UConn star, who is averaging 12.3 points, 4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game had to say. 1. How much communication have you had with Michael Jordan this year? Walker: [...]
Yes. This is a “pat myself on the back” post because a) I’m a jackass and b) I predicted something correctly. Back on January 8th, I predicted that the next ten games will tell us everything we need to know about this Celtics’ team. If they struggled, it was time to blow it up. If [...]
One day before he’s scheduled to pass Larry Bird for second on the Celtics’ all-time scoring list, Paul Pierce won the Eastern Conference Player of the Week award. Pierce averaged 22 points, 6.3 assists and 5.8 rebounds in four Boston wins, playing point forward in Rajon Rondo’s absence. Pierce is only 9 points behind Bird [...]
Via ESPN Boston’s Chris Forsberg, who knows a great, playful rant when he hears one, here’s Kevin Garnett discussing his not-so-newfound aptitude for three-point shooting after the C’s took down the Grizzlies. “When I walk around the streets, y’all stop acting like y’all shocked that I can shoot 3’s. Everybody in Boston, everybody in the [...]
I talked with Memphis guard O.J. Mayo prior to the Celtics-Grizzlies, Super Bowl Sunday game at the Garden. Here is what the 4th year man out of USC, who is averaging 12.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2 assists per game had to say. 1. You started every game your first two years in the league, [...]
Probable Charlotte starters: Stephen Jackson, Gerald Wallace, Boris Diaw, Raymond Felton, Tyson Chandler
WHAT THE BOBCATS DO WELL
Say it with me now. DEFENSE (CLAP, CLAP) DEFENSE
If I told you the Charlotte Bobcats were the best defensive team in the league right now, you’d probably say I was crazy. Well I haven’t seen this team live since their opening night beating in Beantown last month, but the numbers indicate that the Bobcats may be the best defensive team in the league right now.
Larry Brown also has his teams play tough D but he has this young athletic squad harassing their opponents to no end when they have the ball. I’ll simply let the numbers do the talking for me here.
Opponents 3 point shooting percentage: 43.4 (2nd in league)
Opponents FG Percentage: 30.7 (3rd in league)
PPG Allowed: 87.9 (1st in league)
Defensive Rating: 1st in league
Who knew right? This didn’t quite come out of nowhere with the Bobcats having the 7th best defensive rating in the league last year, but I can say I was surprised to see how impressive these numbers were while researching this preview. The Bobcats also rank in the top 6 of the league in all four defensive factors.
Getting to the line
This is more of a recent development with the addition of Stephen Jackson 7 games ago, but the team has vastly improved in getting to the line lately with the addition of the former Warrior to the starting lineup. Luckily, that’s really the only thing they do well offensively which brings us to…
Giving the Celtics tough games
It may seem foolish to think about, especially after the C’s massacred them in their home opener last month, but the Bobcats have been a thorn in the C’s side winning 2 of the 8 matchups against the Green since start of The Big Three era. Those 2 wins really should be 4 as the Bobcats gave away two of those games in the closing moments. All in all the Bobcats have had a penchant to give Boston tough fights, especially down in Charlotte. Be forewarned.
WHAT THE BOBCATS DO POORLY
Shooting the basketball
That’s a pretty big generalization there Brian, don’t you think? There are a lot of ways to shoot the ball in basketball. Well yes there is, and the Bobcats are terrible at each one of them. Once again, I will step aside and let the numbers do the talking here, since they are just as impressive as the defensive ones…except for the opposite reasons.
FG Percentage: 42.8% (29th)
3 Point Percentage: 28.7% (28th)
FT Shooting Percentage: 70% (30th)
Those are some deplorable numbers right there. We knew this all ready though after their 59 point performance back in Boston.
Handle The Basketball
Luckily for the C’s, the Bobcats are well rounded in their dreadfulness at the offensive end as they maintain the worst turnover rate in the league. To give them credit, this has improved during their recent 4 game winning streak but their overall ballhandling is still a major weakness.
PLAYERS WHO MAKES ME WORRY
Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson
Wallace is the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week coming off a terrific stretch during the team’s 4 game winning streak. With the arrival of Stephen Jackson from Golden State, the Bobcats have inserted him into the lineup as a big 2 guard, to go along with a large swingman in the 6’7’’ Wallace who can play a lot of PF as well.
This big lineup will be a tough matchup for Paul Pierce and Ray Allen to guard these taller players as Charlotte has tended to post Jackson a lot in the post. Wallace has also been an animal on the boards, ranking 3rd in the league with 10.9 rebounds per game so the Celtics will have to keep a body on him down low all night.
PLAYER/S WHO DO NOT WORRY ME
Tyson Chandler
I look forward to seeing the more athletic Kendrick Perkins eat Chandler up down low on both ends of the floor.
WHAT WE WANT TO SEE FROM THE C’S
Get out and run, early and often
What do you do against a great defensive team? Don’t let them get set. The Bobcats love to take the air out of the ball and get tangled up in a half court game (28th pace in league), where they can shut you down. It will be crucial for the team’s spark plug Rajon Rondo to get out and running against these guys and force the tempo to get the C’s some good looks in transition. We saw a lot of this from Rondo in Miami on Sunday, hopefully he can keep it up tonight.
* Prediction: Like I mentioned earlier, the Bobcats always give the C’s a close game and I expect no different tonight with their 4 game winning streak on the line. Luckily for the C’s they are riding a hot streak themselves and have the offensive pieces in place to give Charlotte’s defense problems. Talent wins out here. Celtics 93, Bobcats 89 A nice stroll down memory lane for everyone before we head out here. Enjoy.
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