Sixers vs. Bobcats Game Preview (3/30/13)

On Allen Iverson bobblehead night, the Answer himself will be in attendance to do his iconic ‘Let me hear you’ gesture and remind Sixers fans of better times for the franchise.  Although it’s a lost cause at this point, it has been better times recently for the current Sixers team, who have won three of four, and six of their last ten.  This recent run of success has a portion of the Sixers community bemoaning the fact that Philadelphia should be tanking for a better draft pick since the playoffs are out of the picture.  However, at this point, the Sixers are almost assured of getting the 11th pick, so they should try to put those thoughts behind them and enjoy the fact that the team is playing better ball.

Tonight’s opponent, the Charlotte Bobcats have also been playing better of late (for them), going 4-6 in their last 10 contests.  The biggest reason has been the improved play of Gerald Henderson, who has taken on a larger role in the offense in the wake of an injury to Bobcats’ sixth man Ramon Sessions, who remains out with a strained MCL.  Henderson has averaged 24.0 points on 51.0% shooting over those 10 games, including scoring 34 and 35 in the team’s two most recent contests.  Charlotte’s offense over that period has been at an average 103.1 rating, much improved from their usual mark as the third worst offense in the league at 98.1 (one spot below Philadelphia).  However, Charlotte has been playing the same horrendous defense that ranks dead last in the NBA with a 109.3 rating.  To put that figure in perspective, the Bobcats are as far apart from the Sixers on defense, as the Sixers are from the best defensive team in the league.

The Bobcats’ biggest need remains their search for a serviceable big man, as lottery pick Bismack Biyombo has yet to develop any offensive game and still looks lost much of the time on a basketball court.  As a result, the team relies heavily on offensive production from its guards, especially former UConn star, Kemba Walker.  Walker takes the most shots on the team, while shooting a below average 42.0% from the field and 33.0% from three.  Despite his below average numbers, Walker has actually improved in nearly every category in his second season, averaging 17.5 ppg, 5.6 apg, and 2.0 spg.  Walker as gone from actively hurting his team, to putting up the numbers of an inefficient gunner; the team is hopeful he can continue to improve going into next season.

With so much emphasis on the perimeter game, Charlotte is the worst shooting team in the league with an eFG% of 45.6%.  One thing they do excel at, which the Sixers could take some notes on, is getting to the charity stripe.  The Bobcats are the third-best team in the league at getting to the foul line.  Walker and Henderson both do a great job getting to the line, ranking among the top 30 players in free throws attempts per game.

Keys to the Game:

• Attack, attack, attack.  Going against the worst defense in the league, Philadelphia just needs to play sound fundamental basketball and the points will come.  Work the ball around to force the Bobcats into poor defensive rotations.  Get into the lane against their poor perimeter defenders for some drive-and-kick action and finishes in the lane.  Settling for long jumpers early in the shot clock is the best way to let Charlotte hang around.
• Double Walker and Henderson on their drives into the lane.  If those guys want to stay outside and shoot low percentage shots, that’s fine, but they both do a good job in getting to the rim.  Offer help to their defenders and force them to get rid of the ball when they enter the painted area.  Make other players other than those two beat you on the offensive end, which is very unlikely to happen.

Prediction:

Each team travels to Philadelphia after a game Friday night, the Bobcats having fallen to the Knicks in a a game that wasn’t as close as the 111-102 final score indicated.  Like the Sixers, the Bobcats struggle mightily on the road, where they’ve gone 6-30 this season.  So, much as the Sixers have taken care of other poor defensive teams like Sacramento and Cleveland within the past week, they should handle the Bobcats.  Charlotte literally has zero offensive threats from their front court, eliminating Philadelphia’s biggest area of weakness.  The Sixers’ perimeter players should be able to limit Walker and Henderson and cruise to an easy victory at home.