Share
New Charlotte Bobcats coach Mike Dunlap said he isn’t penciling anyone in as a starter, entering his first training camp. He’ll mix-and-match throughout the preseason, to determine who is first five should be.
“Over the next month we’re going to have an open competition for all spots,” Dunlap said Monday. “ There’s nobody who has their spot locked down going into training camp. We’ll try a lot of different (combinations).”
Monday was Bobcats media day at Time Warner Cable Arena. Tuesday morning they start five days of training camp at UNC Asheville before the team’s first exhibition Sunday at TWC (1 p.m.)
Dunlap made numerous observations during a 30-minute news conference with Charlotte media.
• On new Bobcats guard Ben Gordon: “He’s an absolute killer when it comes to that last shot to get you a win.”
• On the Bobcats’ tendency last season to take numerous mid-range jump shots: “We really want to play off the rim, the paint and the open 3. I’m not big on middle jumpers. The Bobcats took more of them last year than anybody in the NBA. They’re the least valuable shot you can get, where the most valuable is the free throw.”
• On the players’ conditioning, with Dunlap planning to run and press: “We have a couple of guys we have to work on in terms of fitness, but the majority is at a high-high level.”
• On his intended style of play: “I hope that we pressure the heck out of the ball. And I hope that when we get deflections or steals, we run. But we have to run smart. We can’t turn over the ball after working that hard to get it.”
• On whether the Bobcats, 7-59 last season, now have sufficient talent: “Absolutely we have the talent to be competitive. But we have to be competitive in a way that we’re a hard (team to) scout.
“We have to go into the pick-and-roll game on the move – keep the defense moving. A lot of times older players in the NBA don’t like (guarding) a cutting offense. …Our talent is good enough to be competitive offensively and defensively. But we have to bring a different package to the NBA because we don’t have (such) talent that we can just sit them on their spots and allow our opponent to rest. We have to go after them in a fitness way.”
