Bob DeChiara – USA Today Sports Images
If you’re a young player or a beginning coach wanting to learn how to play quality defense, stay as far away from Saturday night’s matchup between the Charlotte Bobcats and Sacramento Kings.
Charlotte and Sacramento are two of the most atrocious defensive teams. The two teams are tied for 29th in the NBA in defensive deficiency, which calculates the number of points allowed per 100 possessions, at 108.3. They are also both in the cellar of the league in points allowed per game, the Bobcats allowing 103.4 points per game, 29th in the league, and the Kings allowing 102.9 points per game, tied for 27th in the NBA.
So it’s pretty safe to say that the matchup between these two teams tonight has the opportunity to be a bit of a barn-burner. Both teams like to push the ball and play at a relatively high-pace and both teams like to take a lot of shots. That sounds like a recipe for a high-scoring affair.
Just don’t expect it to be a pretty offensive game. Sure, there will be the opportunity for both teams to put on a show and deliver some highlight-worthy plays of the offensive end. But both teams have a tendency to take a ton of ugly and ill-advised shots.
But given the defensive shortcomings of both teams, you can expect the stars of both teams to have big games. Kemba Walker should be able to repeat his 25 points and six assists from Friday night against the offensive-minded backcourt of Sacramento.
Likewise, DeMarcus Cousins and his dominating interior presence should have a field day on Charlotte’s questionable (to put it nicely) frontcourt. This could be one of the easiest double-doubles he will ever have a chance to notch.
No matter how you slice it though, this game is going to have a ton of scoring for the simple fact that both teams don’t know how to play pro-level defense. Legitimately, the team that plays the least incompetently on defense will have the chance to win.
So, expect a lot of offense. But even with that, don’t expect this game to be pleasing to the eye.
