MEMPHIS, Tenn. This was an odd experience, like someone in bed with the measles not noticing all those itchy, red spots.
Friday morning I asked Charlotte Bobcats center Emeka Okafor why so many of his shots were blocked last season. The question mystified him.
“You think I get my shot blocked a lot?'' he replied.
Why, yes, I told him, about once a game. Then I passed along a statistic published on espn.com: That 12 percent of Okafor's shots were rejected last season, the highest such percentage in the NBA.
It never occurred to him how susceptible he was to shot blockers, and apparently no one from the previous coaching staff raised the issue with him last season.
“It's a fluke,” Okafor said with a shrug. “That's all I can say about it.”
I don't know about that. Last season, the Bobcats had more shots rejected than any other team in the league – 5.8 per game.
Okafor, Gerald Wallace, Nazr Mohammed and Matt Carroll all were vulnerable to shot blockers hunting down their attempts.
Seeing as how Okafor is one of the league's better shot blockers, I asked if certain players as more vulnerable to rejections than others.
Not really, he said, but then he gave it a second thought:
“It's about how they present the ball (going up for a shot). If they expose the ball early, then of course it's easier. But then it's different situation-to-situation: How a guard approaches the basket or how (big men) face the basket at a certain time.''
Obviously there's something Okafor does that invites blocks. It doesn't help that he's a poor foul-shooter (57 percent last season) because that encourages defenders to risk sending him to the line.
Last season he got run down physically, so over the summer he focused on improving his agility.
But I'm guessing this is as much about technique as anything, so perhaps what Okafor did the 20 minutes before we talked was key:
Following a 90-minute shootaround, Okafor and new coach Larry Brown went off by themselves to fine-tune post moves. Everything was scrutinized – how he moved his feet, when he moved his feet, where he released a jump hook, how he released a jump hook.
“Perfect!'' Brown finally yelled out, as Okafor lofted a hook straight through the net.
Perfect, as in no chance that shot would have been returned to sender.
Around The League
Remember last December when the Cleveland Cavaliers matched that Bobcats offer sheet for power forward Anderson Varejao? The Bobcats were barred for a year from trading for Varejao. I wonder if Cleveland general manager Danny Ferry would be receptive to such a deal once that anniversary passes Dec. 5?
Varejao would be a fine complement to Okafor, since he's so athletic and mobile. The Cavs risk losing Varejao without compensation, since he has the option to become an unrestricted free agent after this season.
I ran all this past a friend in player personnel for another team, and he raised this point: Why would the Cavs move their most athletic big man at a time when they're so clearly in win-now mode and looking to convince LeBron James to stay? He said he'd rather have Varejao the rest of the season, even if Varejao leaves over the summer, than swap him for whatever the Bobcats would round up to match Varejao's $5.8 million salary…
It looks like ex-Bobcat Walter Herrmann is in Detroit's rotation as the backup small forward, behind Tayshaun Prince. Of all the odd things Sam Vincent did as Charlotte coach, writing off Herrmann so quickly – after he played so well the last month of the previous season – was just bizarre.
Writers in other NBA cities provided some of this material.
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