Empty the Bench

Gerald Wallace Photo Credit: Chris Keane/Icon SMI

- The Charlotte Bobcats earned some respect last week. They first pummeled the Nets at home on Tuesday, enacted revenge the next night for a close loss earlier in the season to the mighty Boston Celtics by beating them, in Boston, by 12 points, took the Cavaliers to double-overtime on Friday, then gave the Detroit Pistons all they could handle on Saturday, pushing them to overtime despite no Raymond Felton, Jeff McInnis, or Derek Anderson. With no active point guards, they rolled with Matt Carroll, Jason Richardson, and Gerald Wallace taking turns running the offense, and really should have won this one on a Nazr Mohammed tip-in with time running out in OT. Instead, Emeka Okafor tried to push in a short fall-away jumper by J-Rich before it was clear of the cylinder (or so said the officials), and was whistled on a questionable basket interference call that ended the game.

Mohammed was a force all night in the paint against his former teammates (19 points, 13 boards, 3 blocks), with Okafor nicely complimenting him even though coach Sam Vincent recently pulled Mohammed from the starting lineup because he feels the two don’t pair well together. Gerald Wallace was everywhere and ran the point very effectively, showing no signs of fatigue despite averaging a whopping 46 minutes/per over the ‘Cats four games last week. Against the Pistons, Wallace was getting to the hole almost at will, finishing with 26 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks; as impressive as those numbers are, his impact was even greater given the guard situation.

This team has caught a lot of flack thus far–and rightfully so, they should be competing for a playoff spot in the middling Eastern Conference given the solid talent base on that roster–but here’s hoping they figure out a way to build on their recent success and work their way back to relevance. After all, they’re only 4.5 games back with 46 to go from the current eighth seed (16-17 Atlanta), a squad I’m also pulling for but one that has struggled lately.

- The rumors about Tracy McGrady being traded to the Chicago Bulls are totally unverified, but such a move might make some sense for both teams. At 14-21 and showing few signs of improvement, the Bulls and GM Jim Paxson need to suck it up and make a move sooner or later, and that probably means Ben Gordon might finally be traded. Would Gordon, Ben Wallace, and Tyrus Thomas be enough compensation for Houston to surrender McGrady and, say, Bonzi Wells? (Such a scenario works according to ESPN’s NBA Trade Machine.) Like I’ve said before, the backcourt of Heinrich and Gordon is just too small, and in T-Mac they’d land a bigger guard, one who brings a better overall offensive game to the table than Gordon does, to pair with the elfish Heinrich. They’d also shed themselves of Big Ben’s albatross of a contract and of Thomas’ youthful petulance and uncertain future. Wallace is a shell of his former self, but would still be an upgrade over Chuck Hayes at starting power forward (though he’d be somewhat out of position). It probably won’t happen, but this is the time of the year when such moves are still possible.

- You could say this about a few teams in the Western Conference, but I think the Sacramento Kings make the playoffs if they’re in the East. Their depth has been tested more than any other NBA team in the first third of the season, with extended injuries to starters Mike Bibby, Kevin Martin, and Ron Artest forcing first-year coach Reggie Theus to improvise considerably. Though their record stands at just 14-21, they’ve proven to be no pushover. About half of their 21 losses have been by 7 points or less, and they’ve beaten a slew of teams likely headed to the playoffs (Pistons, Spurs, Jazz, Rockets, and Magic). They’re going to be pesky all season long, and I have a feeling they’re going to help spoil at least one or two team’s shot at the postseason, or at least hurt their playoff seed. Eight of their last nine games are against teams who figure to be in the hunt.

They’re starting to finally get healthy again, too, with Bibby slated to increase his trade value return on Wednesday and Martin back in the lineup Saturday with near-perfect results: 7-9 FG and 9-9 FT for 25 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals in just under 29 minutes of action. Unfortunately for the Kings, both of his misses came in the game’s last minute or so with the outcome still in question (the Pacers won 111-105). And how about that Brad Miller? He’s rebounded nicely from a down year in 06/07 and has been on an especially torrid tear as of late, averaging 20 points, 10.5 boards, 5.1 assists, and 1 block over his past six. Miller’s 3.4 assists/per make him the NBA’s best at the center position in that category so far.

- Mark Blount has taken over for Shaquille O’Neal at center for the lowly Miami Heat and is worth adding on fantasy teams strapped at center. O’Neal is likely to pack it in at some point soon, so Blount should be a steady source of points and high field-goal percentage, but not much else. As a starter last season in Minnesota, Blount averaged 12.4 points, 51% FG, and 6 boards in 81 games.

Kevin McHale Photo Credit: Minneapolis Star Tribune/ZUMA Press/Icon SMI

- Speaking of the TimberWolves, can I get an “amen” for a call to fire coach Randy Wittman? It makes no difference that this franchise is rebuilding–a 5-31 record is simply inexcusable, and to make things worse Wittman isn’t even playing his cards correctly when it comes to developing his team’s young talent. Newsflash: confidence is not built by yanking players on a whim or after they miss an assignment or shot (see Corey Brewer, Craig Smith, Gerald Green, etc). And rotations are not best settled upon by picking names out of a hat 10 minutes before game time. How is Antoine Walker averaging almost 20 minutes a night, and how could Green and Ryan Gomes possibly have less fantasy value–and be playing less minutes–than they did last year in Boston? He boggles the mind, that Randy Wittman, and given the Boy’s Club atmosphere Kevin McHale has created in Minneapolis, it’s unlikely Wittman will be shown the door anytime soon.

- Atlanta Hawks’ Josh Smith averages over his past five games: 25.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, 1.4 steals, and perhaps most impressive for this box-score monter, 55% FG on about 18 shots a night. Fantasy owners who took a small gamble by drafting him late in the first or anywhere in the second round have to patting themselves on the back right about now; J-Smoove is currently ranked 28th overall in Yahoo! and 16th amongst forwards. His SG/SF/PF eligibility is a major bonus.

- The Utah Jazz have underwhelmed for most of the season, but I still think they’re going to be a bitch to deal with in the playoffs (assuming they make it in the ultra-competitive West). Memo Okur is bound to turn his game around soon, Carlos Boozer is one of the best all-around power forwards, period, in the NBA, and Jerry Sloan is wisely developing enough players on his bench to give him multiple options when they need them down the road. I am consistently impressed with Boozer’s strong game whenever I catch the Jazz: he’s poised, always hustles, (mostly) keeps his mouth shut, and has one of the sweetest jumpers of any big man around. Cleveland fans will probably never forgive him for that contract charade back in the summer of ‘04, but on the flipside Jazz fans will probably always applaud his change of heart, and that’s all he has to concern himself with nowadays. In case you haven’t been keeping score at home, Boozer is having another All-Star caliber campaign, averaging 23.1 points, 10.8 boards, 1.3 steals, and 54.7% FG.

- Early last week, Nellie reportedly asked Baron Davis to focus on becoming more of a facilitator on offense, and the likeable point guard responded with a career-high 19 assists (along with 20 points and 6 boards) on Friday night against the Grizzlies. The 29-year-old hasn’t played a full season since the 2001/02 season, but has yet to miss one this year (knock on wood).

- Finally, you’re not going to read much about the New Jersey Nets here on Empty the Bench, but second-year F/C Josh Boone deserves mention for his production lately. Recently inserted into the starting lineup, the team’s first-round pick in ‘06 is still experiencing some ups and downs–his free-throw shooting is absolutely atrocious at 30.5% –but he’s a major upgrade over Jason “Blackhole” Collins and, together with rookie Sean Williams, has finally given this team a respectable presence on the blocks. Over his last five, Boone has put up 12 points, 10.2 boards, and 1.6 blocks a night. To dig once more at Collins, he’s never averaged more than 6.4 points and 6.1 rebounds during his seven-year career.