MVN - Most Valuable Network

2007-08 Season Review: The Bobcat Bench

The remainder of the season in review for players will be in this post, as no other bench player contributed enough to generate a full post, or only had a partial season with the team under their belt. Nazr Mohammed may have earned a bit more than that, but this is his lot in life.

Derek Anderson

Image details: Sacramento Kings v Charlotte Bobcats served by picapp.com

Anderson was brought back to Charlotte after a pretty decent 2006-07 season with the team, where in limited minutes, he served as a decent backup at the 1,2, and three. Though after this season, it looks as if that was the best he had left. He was hurt for much of the season with knee ailments, only appearing in 28 games and hitting the double figure mark only 3 times. Maybe, MAYBE Larry Brown keeps him around as a veteran presence, but I find it unlikely since he seems physically unable to help on the court, unless he can get someone called for a flagrant 2 by flying appart at the joints on a hard foul. Can’t you see the injury report? “Derek Anderson: DNP- Dislocated everything.”

Earl Boykins

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Boykins was brought in in February to serve as a backup point guard and a sparkplug in the offense. And though he was able to play the backup point position, his role as offensive jumpstarter never really materialized. Perhaps it was because of the scheme or his long layoff from the previous season, but Boykins’ play and performance were uneven and uninspiring, as his 5.1 points and 2.7 assists per game averages attest. Will he be back? It’s a toss up, but his defensive liabilities make me lean toward no. Besides, if he ends up on the floor with Felton again, I think every guard in the league will have dreams of post up heaven, where all the other guards are 6′ or less, and have no help on the block. Gary Payton would come out of retirement for that.

Jermareo Davidson

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Davidson came at part of the trade that brought Jason Richardson, and his played just as his rep indicated; a thin big man with a jumper and an aversion to contact in the lane. He does have potential; he was sent down to the Sioux Falls Skyforce a couple of times where he averaged 20 and 10, and ultimately could fulfill the role of a perimeter shooting big who can draw the defense out a la Memeht Okur. If he does, it will be a long time from now, and probably in an alternate reality, so don’t hold your breath. He’ll probably be back on potential alone.

Othella Harrington

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“Oldfella” looks as done as Anderson. It took a very long time to get him back on the floor after his knee injury, and he was unproductive when he returned. He’s done in Charlotte, and perhaps for his career.

A minor digression: I recall from years ago the story in Sports illustrated that had Jason Kidd and Harrington together as they entered college, Kidd a freshman at Cal, and Harrington the next in line of great big men at Georgetown, and a lefty at that. Clearly, their careers diverged quite a bit, which is why when I saw the eighth grader commit to Kentucky, I threw up a little in the back of my mouth.

Ryan Hollins

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Hollins is a bundle of nervous, anxious energy bouncing around out of control on the court. He got T’ed up more than once this season for screaming at opponents after dunks (does that get called on KG? LeBron? Just asking…) He has the proverbial “tremendous upside potential” on athleticism alone, but he’s not going anywhere as of now. And once LB is in charge, don’t expect much to change; young guys like Hollins give him kidney stones. Remember at the beginning of the season when he came in as the starter at center? No, I don’t either.

Jeff McInnis

(There is some justice; PicApp has no photos of McInnis as a Bobcat. The sooner that history is erased, the better)
Let me say this now; when the Bobcats came into the season, they had no backup oint guard to speak of. Matt Carroll can’t do that for long stretches, and Raymond Felton can’t play all the minutes. So I was…<audible swallow>…glad when McInnis was brought back into the fold. “He’ll play minimal minutes” I thought, “just enough to spell Ray-Ray. We’ll be fine.”

If at this point you would like to revoke my Bonfire license, you may do so. There was no player in the league worse than McInnis that played as many minutes. He couldn’t shoot. He couldn’t defend. He passed…OK. But somehow, he earned the starting position for 26 out of the 54 games he played here.

Ultimately the best thing that can be said is that our long national nightmare was over at the end of February when he was released, and he won’t be back.

Nazr Mohammed

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Mohammed inspired my favorite comment of the season. And you know…Josh was right. Queen City Hoops did a great breakdown of Nazr back in March, and the results were not pretty. He got worse as the season went on, and his impact was encapsulated in the late season game against the Timberwolves. He started off the game red hot, and did major damage to Al Jefferson on the inside. He then promptly disappeared into the fog, allowing Jefferson to erupt for 40 points and nearly giving the Wolves a win in the brand newly named TWC Arena.

Mohammed is a decent back up center. That’s it. When the previous coaching staff began manuvering him to be Emeka Okafor’s replacement, it was obvious and ineffective at best. He’ll be around unless they can find a trade that works, but I gurantee he won’t see starter’s minutes unless the need is dire.

The Injured Guys

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Image details: The 2007 Adidas Superstar Camp In Shanghai served by picapp.com

Sean May and Adam Morrison. Well…they looked OK when they dressed up. And Adam Morrison is etched forever in my daughter’s mind as “the dude that I met that hurt his knee.”

The Dearly Departed

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Image details: Charlotte Bobcats v Indiana Pacers served by picapp.com

Walter Herrmann disappeared like a stone in a pond after being traded to Detroit. Remember when we though he should be starting? And Primoz Brezec. Um…yeah.

Season Grade: D

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 10th, 2008 at 10:09 pm and is filed under Jermareo Davidson, Nazr Mohammed, Earl Boykins, Sean May, Jeff McInnis, Adam Morrison, Othella Harrington, Ryan Hollins, Derek Anderson. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.