has Cho told coaches to lose games?

[bLACKpANTHER]

seems like we stormed out the gates to 7 wins relatively easy.. then all of a sudden- we get the monkey off our back from last season and we look like the same team as last year.. Cho has said he wants to build through the draft and you need to "lose before you can win" in this league.

So, are we purposely losing games to improve our draft stock for one more year to get 1-2 more players before we let the dogs loose??

[ZB1224]

The Bobcats are just coming back down to earth. We had a super easy schedule and we are playing better teams now. Also, I wouldn't say that we look like last year's bobcats... it took a game winning shot for the Knicks to beat us, the Warriors (if you take out the awful qtr that we had) and Trailblazers game was close, as was the Hawks and 76ers. The Thunder game was obviously awful, as was the Spurs game and the Bucks game. It's not about to get any easier either with the Clippers, Hawks, Lakers, Warriors, Nuggets, Heat, Nets, and Bull all coming up on the schedule this month. Bobcats talent level is still bottom 5 in the NBA so don't let the early 7 wins trick you.

Kemba/Sessions

Taylor/Hendo/Gordon

MKG/Taylor/Williams

Mullens/Warrick

Bismack/Haywood/Dip

^^^^^^^

That isn't a very good team.

[koolkatluke]

We have no post game offensively and defensivley. You are not going to win consistently with that problem.

[ItsPantone278]

I do think we've "gone young" at key times lately when we played with more balance of vet and youth early.

[HeatCheck]

I mentioned this on one of the game threads in late November that we could easily see a slide. I think we haven't been playing very well but also the schedule is brutal in December. I am a bit confused by some of the lineups we use but I think Dunlap is trying to make a statement that he will play whoever is playing the best at the time. That's good for motivation but not good for consistency.

[ZB1224]

I just want to know why Haywood doesn't play anymore, and Diop is playing consistent minutes the last few games.

[HeatCheck]

He used to never play at the end of the games, now he rarely plays. I like Biz and like to use him more often but not at the expense of Haywood. At least, not this much.

Dunlap must have been enamored by those midrange shots Diop hit for his first baskets of the season several games ago.

[bLACKpANTHER]

i disagree with the playing tougher opponents.. the past couples games have not looked good at all.. the Bucks, Spurs & Warriors games all were ugly to watch.. I think we proved that the team has talent early on and now we are pulling back the reigns

i also think we are showcasing Diop for the rest of the league for the trade deadline..

Cho is the puppet master here

[HeatCheck]

The only reason someone would take Diop would be for a salary dump. And I personally wouldn't want to trade him for that reason.

I agree we haven't looked good but plenty of that has to do with the opponent. Some of the early games that we were winning were against worse teams, and even they were close. I think it's definitely a combination of opponents and our play. A lot of times they go hand in hand.

[MrBubba]

I don't think anyone has been told to take a dive this early in the season. However, other teams have realized they can't just show up and get a 'W' against this Bobcat team; plus other teams have had a chance to see our new schemes and how to attack it.

[Herbert The Love Bug]

we hit a really tough stretch on the schedule and our lack of post players is absolutely killing us

[CarolinaNCSU]

Schedule did get harder...a lot of talking heads warned of this.

And as always, the talent level is still poo. I'm actually still amazed they have 7 wins this early, and didn't expect anymore than around 20 for the season. The Bobcats are still a stud draft pick and a couple free agents away from competing consistently with the better teams.

[Keith Moons Liver]

No. They just aren't that good. They had a nice run to open the season but it was fools gold. They were the worst team in league history last year so relevance will take more than a single off season to reach.

[thatlookseasy]

Nah, its way too early to be throwing games. I wouldnt be surprised if Cho tells Dunlap to play the young guys more, but thats the kind of move you make around 50 games into the season, not 20. This is just a young team (and a young coach) adjusting to the grind of the NBA regular season. Dunlap hasnt settled on a rotation yet, probably because we dont have enough guys to fill a legit rotation, or maybe he just wants to give everyone a chance with some playing time.

Also like others said this team isnt THAT talented. Last years team was probably not the least talented team in NBA history, but this years team is not suddenly a .500 team