What's Wrong With Crash?
12/01/2007
Well, not much, I guess...but enough that it is worth looking at. Mainly, Gerald Wallace is being less Crash-like this season. He is shooting the ball more, making fewer, turning the ball over more, and rebounding less. Put it all together, and it is not a good mix.
First thing I want to look at it Gerald's shooting: He is not doing it well...and he's doing it too much. Now, he has not regressed to Iversonian shooting percentages, but he is down to 45.1% from the floor this year, after making 50.2% last year. On the 3's the drop is less, 32.5% to 30.6%, but the effect is magnified as he is taking an extra 3 a game, 2.8 per game after 1.7 per last year. Put it together, and this year Gerald gets 1.53 points per shot, after putting up 1.57 last year. Not a huge difference, but when he is account for more of the team's attempts, it matters - the offense is scoring at a rate of 0.998 points per possession this year with Crash on the floor.
The second thing that Gerald is struggling with is turnovers - 3.6 turnovers per 40 minutes this after 2.2 in 2006-07. When considering that he is also taking more jump shots this year, this is a very surprising number - and very detrimental to the team - particularly when combined with this number: 2.0 assists per 40 minutes in 07-08, but 2.8 a year prior. Gerald seems to have forgotten that he got his new contract this past off-season - no need to gun for his own numbers now (and that is factorial, as Stephon Marbury would say).
The numbers that really jump out me and make me wonder what is going on with Gerald are his rebounding numbers: Only 5.5 rebounds per 40 minutes this year, after grabbing 7.8 per 40 last year. His offense rebounding has dropped by 50%, from 2.2 per 40 to 1.4. Crash, why aren't you crashing?
All of these changes have been for the worst, for Gerald and the team. All are contributing to poorer offensive production, as his shots are less efficient, he is giving the ball away more, keeping it less (offensive rebounds), and creating less for his teammates. I know Sam wanted him to be more careful so the team would not lose him to injury...but playing like he has is not what they need: They need him to play like the Crash of the second half of last season, if there is any hope of making the playoffs. Gerald - it is time to start earning your nickname again.
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| Erick Says: | |
He feels threatened by Jason Richardson. There was no question who this team 'belonged to' last year, or rather, no question who was the best player on the team. Now that we brought in J-Rich, Gerald feels his status as team leader/clutch scorer threatened (and very rightfully so). What I'm saying is, he is trying to play LIKE Jason Richardson, and that's simply not his game. I see them, in a way, competing on the floor, rather than complementing each others' games. |
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| Sat Dec 01, 2007 10:08 pm |
| Bobcat Johnson Says: | |
I couldn't agree with you more! He's not being utilized on offense the way he should be. Coach seems to use him out on the wings, shooting jumpers way too often. He is at his best when he's able to post on the wings and low blocks...or pick up garbage points off offensive rebounds, etc.
I don't agree with Erick that he's trying to compete with JRich and prove he's the best player though. I point to the Coach b/c he's been unable to install a decent offensive gameplan to fit the strengths of this team. They rarely run a successful offensive set. It seems like they just dribble and pass the ball around for a while until someone decides to shoot before the shot clock runs out. It's really frustrating and hard to watch at times.
I'm already questioning the hire of Sam Vincent. In the long run he might turn out okay. But his growing pains as a new head coach are severely hampering this team's playoff hopes this season. I wonder how this team would look if Bernie was still coaching this year??? (not that he should still be our coach or anything) |
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| Mon Dec 03, 2007 4:05 am |
| Chris Says: | |
Leading scorer (19) last night, but on 4 of 13 from the field. Ouch.
Sadly, if he really is competing with J-Rich, he won. J-Rich was even worse from the field (3-17). |
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| Tue Dec 04, 2007 3:01 pm |
| Pruf Says: | |
I can't really back this up with numbers, but based on watching the games I worry that Wallace is a much more effective player in the post and is just not suited to a more perimeter-oriented game. But he still seems to have some decent all-around skills, and should be capable of playing an effective small-forward role. I agree with BJ's assessment and am starting to question Vincent's coaching chops. We have good players with differing strengths and weaknesses, but none so glaring that we shouldn't be able to get a few more wins occasionally, even considering the lack of post-play. GWallace can post up smallers or slower perimeter defenders and Okafor, while inconsistent, has a decent offensive game down low. Why aren't we utilizing this more? Our offense is awful to watch right now. I hope we can improve our chemistry because right now we play AAU-style basketball 80% of the time. |
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| Tue Dec 04, 2007 3:38 pm |
| Erick Says: | |
It's like, everything that was pointed out in this post was amplified x20 in that last game. 26 three-point attempts? After I specifically remember the broadcast team mentioning that Sam Vincent encouraged the team to make sure and shoot more FT than 3-pt? He clearly has no control over the team, and yes, the offense makes me want to scream. At least those quotes from Okafor in the paper are encouraging...he needs to get mean. |
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| Fri Dec 07, 2007 9:40 pm |
| QUINCY Says: | |
oh btw this is a sweet website,....yes when i first heard the news of the bobcats acquiring Jrich i thought for sure the bobcats would be atleast a 6 seed in the playoffs. if you look at our roster carefully, there is nothing you can say that wee NEED right now. at first i thaught we needed a big man other than MEK. than we got Mohammed. that we needed a better backup PG, so we got boykins. the bobcats have an amazing roster: a good pointguard, a great scorer (jrich),a great shooter (carroll),and 2 reliable bigmen, and a great defensive player (wallace)...the bobcats hve a nearly flawless lineup. it is everything you need and more than what you need to get into the playoffs every year. but why cant we win???? i think MJ is even confused on that one...... |
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| Sat Mar 22, 2008 1:33 pm |
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