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Friday, December 6, 2013
NBA Tales of Woe from the Age of Mediocrity, Part Two: Dirk Nowitzki
Posted By Jeff Laughlin on Fri, Dec 6, 2013 at 1:51 PM
Being mad at Josh McRoberts might not be the best way to go about talking about the Bobcats-Hornets loss to the Mavs. He certainly did not destroy Charlotte's chances by himself. And he did his best against one of the best scorers in history.
That said, Nowitzki was his man. For that matter, so was Chris Bosh.
So, then, why have the Bobcats-Hornets/Steve Clifford left him all alone against the league's best power forwards in the 4th quarter?
The options at PF read as follows: McRoberts, Jeff Adrien, Cody Zeller, Bismack Biyombo and Al Jefferson.
You can immediately ignore Jefferson playing anyone at power forward that plays close to an elite, or even good level. He cannot guard anyone. I am hesitant to say I could score on him, but it is possible since he likely would not care so long as he got to score on me in droves.
Biyombo looks like an intriguing choice with his shot-blocking ability and his rebounding, but quicker forwards would eat him alive. Plus, he and Al Jeff on the floor at the same time means he would have to roam around the floor on offense. Teams already sag off of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to double Kemba Walker and Jefferson, so this option borders on toxic for an already pathetic 4th quarter offense.
Jeff Adrien seems like a nice guy, but not so much as a player you want to finish the game for you, even with the good effort he gives the team.
Zeller, as a rookie, has been stellar on the effort side, but his game lacks skills that this level needs right now. It's early yet, maybe he can pitch-in by year's end.
That leaves McRoberts. As much as the team would prefer he play minutes against the bench, he plays the important minutes because no one else can.
Against, Nowitzki, he looked hopeless. Time and again, Dallas fed the post and because they had shooters, Coach Clifford elected not to double team. He proceeded to score on approximately 150 straight possessions to murder the Bobcats-Hornets lead and leave Charlotte with yet another blown-lead loss. When Clifford finally OK'd the double team, the damage had been done.
With a glaring need for a power forward to develop into a defensive stopper who does not stop the offense, the Bobcats-Hornets must show progress to gain respect. After Bosh and Nowitzki, this team faces a series of winnable games against teams without dominant big men. Philadelphia, Golden State (admittedly a tough win) and Orlando loom before another game with the dominant Pacers. At 8-11 they need a couple of wins to get a little confidence before playing the best team in the young NBA season.
If they cannot get wins against some lesser teams soon? McRoberts might be the least of their worries.
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