DJ Tet - Hollinger dissects the Bobcats, truly painful to read. Can't imagine how bad it was to watch
spoiler (click to show/hide)
Sam Sharpe/US Presswire
Kemba Walker and the Bobcats have won just seven games this season.
Worst. Team. Ever.
With three games left, the Charlotte Bobcats are careening toward infamy. Losers of 20 straight, they stand at 7-56, and if they don't win one of their final three contests, their 7-59 mark would be the worst winning percentage in NBA history. Although it would not be the fewest wins in pro basketball history -- the Providence Steamrollers of the old BAA, featuring jump shot inventor Kenny Sailors, went 6-42 in 1947-48 -- by virtually any other standard this team has a strong claim on the title of worst ever.
Consider Sunday night, for instance, when the Bobcats lost to Sacramento … at home … by 26. Do you know how bad you have to be to get blown out at home by the Kings? Sacramento hadn't won a game by 26 points all season, had won one road game since the All-Star break and had only four double-digit wins in its previous 63 outings. My Power Rankings rate the Kings the league's fourth worst team, and they still completely outclassed the Cats.
Charlotte has three more chances to get a win, with the best hope seeming to be Monday's road game in Washington. Emphasis on "seeming" -- the Wizards have actually been a real basketball team for the past month or so, winning five of their past seven (including a 28-point romp in Charlotte) and all but eliminating Milwaukee with an upset win on Wednesday.
The other two games are in Orlando on Wednesday and the finale at home against the Knicks on Thursday. If Charlotte loses on Wednesday it'll probably play the Knicks' backups on Thursday -- an Orlando win eliminates New York's shot at the No. 6 seed -- and its best shot at the elusive eighth win may come against Jerome Jordan, Toney Douglas and the rest of the Knicks' bench.
In the meantime, let's look a little closer at the many levels of Charlotte's awfulness, starting with its staggeringly awful scoring margin.
The Bobcats have been outscored by 13.70 points per game this season; that's more than double the margin of the next worst team, Cleveland (-6.73). Of late they've redoubled their efforts; during the current 20-game losing streak, 14 of the defeats have been by double figures and an astounding nine have been by 20 points or more.
Amazingly, this isn't the worst scoring margin in NBA history, and it represents Charlotte's best argument for not being the worst team ever. The 1992-93 Mavericks went 11-71 and were outscored by 14.68 points per game; the only way the Bobcats can equal that is if they lose by a combined 106 points over the final three games. While I wouldn't put this past them, this is a tall order even for lowly Charlotte.
Charlotte is set to join that Mavs team in another category of awfulness: The Bobcats are on pace to finish last in both offensive and defensive efficiency. (The 1986-87 Clippers also managed this; in any debate about bad teams, you must never overlook the Clippers). Charlotte is virtually assured of finishing last in offense, with a mouth-dropping 92.4 mark that is five points worse than the next worst team. (Comparison point: five points is what separates No. 3 Denver from No. 20 Dallas). If you're looking for further lowlights, consider their appalling 48.5 team true shooting percentage -- basically, everybody shoots like Rajon Rondo, Terrence Williams or Sebastian Telfair.
On defense, however, they have some competition. Sacramento and New Jersey both stand just one point ahead of them; while it would require some pretty severe results to pass them over the course of just three Charlotte games and two apiece for the Kings and Nets, it's not beyond the realm of possibility.
And finally, there's this: at least Dallas had Derek Harper. Harper finished with a respectable 15.9 PER. And at least the 1972-73 Sixers had Fred Carter, as well as two other players who finished with a PER above the league average.
The Bobcats? You can make a credible argument that not one player on their roster would start for most teams.
Most notably, they're threatening to not have a single player with a PER above the league average of 15.00. Thanks to a late charge, rookie Kemba Walker has pushed his mark up to 15.28, which for the moment has him dangling over the precipice of respectability. He has three games not to screw it up.
The next closest Bobcat is Derrick Brown at 14.41. (If you're reading this, you're probably a big fan. But probably not so big that you know who Derrick Brown is, or what he looks like, or where he went to school. NBA players do not come more obscure than Derrick Brown).
Surprisingly, the Bobcats actually have a lot of halfway-decent, rotation-caliber players. Walker, Brown, D.J. Augustin, Corey Maggette, Byron Mullens, Gerald Henderson and Bismack Biyombo all are good enough to crack virtually any team's top nine. So was Boris Diaw, as he's proven in San Antonio. And D.J. White and Reggie Williams aren't terrible, either.
What ails the Cats more than anything, it seems, is their complete and total lack of star power, particularly on offense. The hope was that Tyrus Thomas could be something of a go-to guy, but he's been shockingly awful and frequently miscast as a small forward.
You can go through the roster with similar disappointments. The hope was that Augustin could build on his strong finish to last season, but he's proven to be no more than a decent backup. The hope was that Maggette could provide offense, but he's been injured half the year (not a surprise) and his effectiveness has declined markedly when he's played (a bit more of a surprise). The hope was that Diaw would lay off the brie and arrive in shape … actually, that was hopeless from the start.
Unfortunately, most of what can go wrong has. But even if everything went right, this team was doomed to be terrible because of the moves of the past five seasons. From Larry Brown's arrival up until the middle of last season, virtually every Charlotte move ended up torching the 2011-12 roster.
While trading Tyson Chandler for Erick Dampier remains the piece de resistance (in a "salary dump," mind you, that saved no money), they've also had multiple draft tragedies highlighted by Alexis Ajinca and Adam Morrison, dealt a lottery pick in 2007 and had no first-rounders in 2009 or 2010.
And, of course, they've had no luck with stars. Gerald Wallace was the closest thing they've had to one, and the Bobcats rightly cashed in his stock at the trade deadline a year ago.
In other words, it isn't easy being this bad, which explains why only a couple of teams in the past seven decades can rival Charlotte's awfulness. And it may get worse before it gets better -- thanks to the "let's be average now rather than good later" mindset of the Brown era, the Bobcats still owe the Bulls a future first that becomes completely unprotected in 2016.
In the meantime, they still have three games to avoid the history books. As you might imagine, they'll be heavy underdogs in all three.
Recommend13Comments19EmailPrint
John Hollinger | email
ESPN Insider contributor
FollowArchive
NBA Insider for ESPN.com since 2005
Developed PER, Pace Factor and other key metrics
Former author of "Pro Basketball Forecast"
ESPN Conversations
19
comments
+ Add your comment
View all comments
bigbaddave15
It's going to be a sad day if the Bobcats don't even get the 1st overall pick after all this, and that has been happening more often than not the past few years (the worst team doesn't end up drawing the 1st pick)
1 fan likes this.
5 Hours Ago
· Like
Welcome, Cormac | Sign Out
EDITIONS:
USA
DEPORTES
More
Asia
Australia
Brazil
United Kingdom
CITIES:
BOSTON
CHICAGO
DALLAS
LOS ANGELES
NEW YORK
ESPNNBA
Shop
COMMENTARY
Just how bad are the Bobcats?
Charlotte needs a win to avoid the history books (PER Diem: April 23, 2012)
Updated: April 23, 2012, 11:44 AM ET
By John Hollinger | ESPN.com
13
19
EMAIL
PRINT
Sam Sharpe/US Presswire
Kemba Walker and the Bobcats have won just seven games this season.
Worst. Team. Ever.
With three games left, the Charlotte Bobcats are careening toward infamy. Losers of 20 straight, they stand at 7-56, and if they don't win one of their final three contests, their 7-59 mark would be the worst winning percentage in NBA history. Although it would not be the fewest wins in pro basketball history -- the Providence Steamrollers of the old BAA, featuring jump shot inventor Kenny Sailors, went 6-42 in 1947-48 -- by virtually any other standard this team has a strong claim on the title of worst ever.
Consider Sunday night, for instance, when the Bobcats lost to Sacramento … at home … by 26. Do you know how bad you have to be to get blown out at home by the Kings? Sacramento hadn't won a game by 26 points all season, had won one road game since the All-Star break and had only four double-digit wins in its previous 63 outings. My Power Rankings rate the Kings the league's fourth worst team, and they still completely outclassed the Cats.
Charlotte has three more chances to get a win, with the best hope seeming to be Monday's road game in Washington. Emphasis on "seeming" -- the Wizards have actually been a real basketball team for the past month or so, winning five of their past seven (including a 28-point romp in Charlotte) and all but eliminating Milwaukee with an upset win on Wednesday.
The other two games are in Orlando on Wednesday and the finale at home against the Knicks on Thursday. If Charlotte loses on Wednesday it'll probably play the Knicks' backups on Thursday -- an Orlando win eliminates New York's shot at the No. 6 seed -- and its best shot at the elusive eighth win may come against Jerome Jordan, Toney Douglas and the rest of the Knicks' bench.
In the meantime, let's look a little closer at the many levels of Charlotte's awfulness, starting with its staggeringly awful scoring margin.
The Bobcats have been outscored by 13.70 points per game this season; that's more than double the margin of the next worst team, Cleveland (-6.73). Of late they've redoubled their efforts; during the current 20-game losing streak, 14 of the defeats have been by double figures and an astounding nine have been by 20 points or more.
Amazingly, this isn't the worst scoring margin in NBA history, and it represents Charlotte's best argument for not being the worst team ever. The 1992-93 Mavericks went 11-71 and were outscored by 14.68 points per game; the only way the Bobcats can equal that is if they lose by a combined 106 points over the final three games. While I wouldn't put this past them, this is a tall order even for lowly Charlotte.
Charlotte is set to join that Mavs team in another category of awfulness: The Bobcats are on pace to finish last in both offensive and defensive efficiency. (The 1986-87 Clippers also managed this; in any debate about bad teams, you must never overlook the Clippers). Charlotte is virtually assured of finishing last in offense, with a mouth-dropping 92.4 mark that is five points worse than the next worst team. (Comparison point: five points is what separates No. 3 Denver from No. 20 Dallas). If you're looking for further lowlights, consider their appalling 48.5 team true shooting percentage -- basically, everybody shoots like Rajon Rondo, Terrence Williams or Sebastian Telfair.
On defense, however, they have some competition. Sacramento and New Jersey both stand just one point ahead of them; while it would require some pretty severe results to pass them over the course of just three Charlotte games and two apiece for the Kings and Nets, it's not beyond the realm of possibility.
And finally, there's this: at least Dallas had Derek Harper. Harper finished with a respectable 15.9 PER. And at least the 1972-73 Sixers had Fred Carter, as well as two other players who finished with a PER above the league average.
The Bobcats? You can make a credible argument that not one player on their roster would start for most teams.
Most notably, they're threatening to not have a single player with a PER above the league average of 15.00. Thanks to a late charge, rookie Kemba Walker has pushed his mark up to 15.28, which for the moment has him dangling over the precipice of respectability. He has three games not to screw it up.
The next closest Bobcat is Derrick Brown at 14.41. (If you're reading this, you're probably a big fan. But probably not so big that you know who Derrick Brown is, or what he looks like, or where he went to school. NBA players do not come more obscure than Derrick Brown).
Surprisingly, the Bobcats actually have a lot of halfway-decent, rotation-caliber players. Walker, Brown, D.J. Augustin, Corey Maggette, Byron Mullens, Gerald Henderson and Bismack Biyombo all are good enough to crack virtually any team's top nine. So was Boris Diaw, as he's proven in San Antonio. And D.J. White and Reggie Williams aren't terrible, either.
What ails the Cats more than anything, it seems, is their complete and total lack of star power, particularly on offense. The hope was that Tyrus Thomas could be something of a go-to guy, but he's been shockingly awful and frequently miscast as a small forward.
You can go through the roster with similar disappointments. The hope was that Augustin could build on his strong finish to last season, but he's proven to be no more than a decent backup. The hope was that Maggette could provide offense, but he's been injured half the year (not a surprise) and his effectiveness has declined markedly when he's played (a bit more of a surprise). The hope was that Diaw would lay off the brie and arrive in shape … actually, that was hopeless from the start.
Unfortunately, most of what can go wrong has. But even if everything went right, this team was doomed to be terrible because of the moves of the past five seasons. From Larry Brown's arrival up until the middle of last season, virtually every Charlotte move ended up torching the 2011-12 roster.
While trading Tyson Chandler for Erick Dampier remains the piece de resistance (in a "salary dump," mind you, that saved no money), they've also had multiple draft tragedies highlighted by Alexis Ajinca and Adam Morrison, dealt a lottery pick in 2007 and had no first-rounders in 2009 or 2010.
And, of course, they've had no luck with stars. Gerald Wallace was the closest thing they've had to one, and the Bobcats rightly cashed in his stock at the trade deadline a year ago.
In other words, it isn't easy being this bad, which explains why only a couple of teams in the past seven decades can rival Charlotte's awfulness. And it may get worse before it gets better -- thanks to the "let's be average now rather than good later" mindset of the Brown era, the Bobcats still owe the Bulls a future first that becomes completely unprotected in 2016.
In the meantime, they still have three games to avoid the history books. As you might imagine, they'll be heavy underdogs in all three.
RECOMMEND13COMMENTS19EMAILPRINT
John Hollinger | email
ESPN Insider contributor
