Augustin better watch his back

[77-74]

Dont know about the other cable companies but directtv has provided a free demo of NBA Full Court until Jan 8th. That means I get to watch KEMBA whenever he steps on the floor.

D.J. Augustin (staring pg for the bobcats) is a very good point guard but when Kemba does get in for the few minutes they give him, he seems to be making a good impression (atleast to me but im very very biased). Hes on right now playing the hawks; splitting 2 defenders, popping 3s when given an inch, and crossing NBA players (not mcgee) up.

I dont know about the contracts for either Kemba or D.J. but even from an unbiased opinion I would think they would view it as a waste of money that the two are sharing so many minutes.

D.J. traded by end of year to free up some money for a post player?

Definitely being wayy to optimistic for the little guy but common!

 

[Peacefrog]

I'm at the game and can say that the offense is much more dynamic and is moving much quicker when Kenna is running the show. Very sluggish with Augustin in there. Kemba can get by his man at will off the bounce. He has had a little bit of quick trigger this game though.

 

[UConn990411]

I don't think he has anything to worry about this year - he's definitely the better player right now.

But Kemba is likely Charlotte's guy for the future (he already looks pretty good), so I wouldn't be surprised to see Augustin get shipped at the end of the season.

 

[ford82]

I don't think Augustine is definitely the better player right now. His defense sucks.

 

[61cygni]

He looks good right now. I like that he's getting to the FT line in this game, his last two games he had zero FT attempts, when really, it should be a great strength for him.

Having depth is nice, but when the guys are similar enough that they don't help cover mismatch holes, it's not as necessary as plugging up the other weak positions the Bobcats have, barring injury.

 

[61cygni]

Whoaaaaa beautiful lay up by Walker!

 

[3rdbass]

Whoah his shot looks smooth now and he is playing off the ball with Augustine now. Just like he did when SN was playing point last year. 15 pts and 3-4 on 3's. He is good on offense and better than Augustine on defense.

 

[61cygni]

Definitely looks a lot better when he's on the floor at the same time as Augustin.

 

[UCDaveD]

Augustine has nothing to worry about for a little while.

 

[3rdbass]

Augustine has nothing to worry about for a little while.

Maybe but I think you will see alot more of them both playing together at the same time. KW is just too good of a scorer to just play some backup PG minutes. He does seem more comfortable playing off the ball like he did at UCONN also.

 

[61cygni]

Making some spectacular plays on offense, it's a shame they can't get a stop.

 

[3rdbass]

Making some spectacular plays on offense, it's a shame they can't get a stop.

2 point game. ATL sucks and I live here. Haha. If they had someone like KW they would be good as they are just a bunch of average jump shooters.

 

[3rdbass]

1 pt. game. KW's defense is tenacious and it is running off on his teammates.

 

[UConn990411]

Maybe but I think you will see alot more of them both playing together at the same time. KW is just too good of a scorer to just play some backup PG minutes. He does seem more comfortable playing off the ball like he did at UCONN also.

This.

It's a lot tougher to play the tiny lineups in the NBA, but Charlotte is clearly at its best when Augustin, Kemba, and Henderson are on the floor together.

 

[61cygni]

Hah, right on cue, they get a steal and convert on the fastbreak.

 

[61cygni]

Gotta love goal tending on a shot that doesn't even make it halfway over the rim!

 

[3rdbass]

Tie game going OT. Why not KW taking the last shot?

 

[61cygni]

Kemba's D has not been good in OT, c'mon Kemba!

 

[aceboon]

Kemba will eventually get his chance to be the main guy @ PG jus like Augustin had to wait for Felton to move on but you guys are bugging if you think Kemba is better than him right now.

 

[61cygni]

Bobcats need a lot more practice with the zone. Poor, poor rotations, spacing, and too much ball-watching.

 

[champs99and04]

Augustine is better than I thought, but I still think the Bobcats are better off trading him, even if it hurts them in the short term. You can get away with playing two point guards, but not if they're both six feet. The zone they were playing at the end of the game was attrocious. You can't get away with playing a zone for extended minutes in the NBA. I don't mind Kemba learning from DJ for a while. Part of being a rookie is paying your dues.

Anyway, Kemba was excellent tonight, probably his best game as a pro. He didn't play that well in OT, but in regulation he was the best player on the court imo..

 

[tykurez]

I also don't think Augustin has much to worry about ... yet. Kemba, other than tonight, still hasn't found his shot. I do like the pace at which they play when he's in ... but he's also not racking up the assists yet.

Augustin is averaging 16ppg and over 7apg.

I was also surprised by the +/- tonight. Kemba has usually had a pretty good +/- but tonight he was -11 while DJ was +10. Although that stat isn't great.

I do think Kemba is going to be a star ... but he still has some adjustments to make.

 

[Gurleyman]

Diaw is too slow to play on the outside of the zone - they were asking him to get out on shooters and that's not going to happen. Kemba had a very good day - he's starting to get settled in nicely and getting his game to translate better at the NBA level. I've always said that with rookies (or freshmen) you just want to see flashes of what they are capable of, and allow the consistency to develop -- and he's definitely showing what he's capable of. Would like to see him inside the three-point line more, but if he develops that sort of range, he's that much tougher to keep from driving.

He's probably still going to be the back-up this year, because he can be the energy/scorer off the bench and just play, while Augustin can be the game managing point guard. If they flip-flopped roles, it'd make both less effective.

 

[3rdbass]

KW I think tired out in the OT. That is the most minutes he played though I think in crunch time that is the best lineup for the Bobcats now. KW will be fine and I know I'm not surprised. Actually kind of funny Jordan picked him up with his horrible record as a GM(Kwame Brown).

 

[Peacefrog]

Being there in person I actually thought Kemba's defense wasn't very good. He seemed to lose his guy several times giving up some very open looks from three. He got out of control a few times with the dribble leading to turnovers but he also had a couple good steals and picked up a loose ball or two. No matter who defended him, they could not stay in front of him. Very nice game. The 0-2 from the free throw line in OT came at a very inopportune time though.

Some fan hit a 3-pointer during a break so everybody at the game with a paid ticket won free tickets to next Friday's game against Ben Gordon and Detroit so I'll be at that one as well. We only paid $5 for tonight's tickets on a fan appreciation special. They were up pretty high but the ones we got for next week are 5 rows behind the visitor's bench. Nice. It appears they are having a hard time getting people in the building but the team has actually been more competitive than I expected.