The Charlotte Bobcats might be a classic case of buyer's remorse.
New coach Larry Brown wants to reshape this team toward defending and driving the ball. But in this age of guaranteed contracts, the roster is full of long-term commitments to players who don't defend so well and live off jump shots. Classic case: Matt Carroll. He played well enough for the team's first coach, Bernie Bickerstaff, to earn a contract that has four seasons and over $12 million remaining. Plenty of teams would like Carroll, but not under that deal and certainly not without sending a similarly unattractive contract the Bobcats' way.
Carroll has been on the fringes of the rotation of late, with Jason Richardson returning from injury and Brown committed to minutes for rookie D.J. Augustin. Three wing players -- Carroll, Adam Morrison and Shannon Brown -- compete for whatever minutes are left, and it's hard for Brown to find minutes or roster spots for defenders to play more in the style Brown prefers.
CELTICS 89, BOBCATS 84: Foul-shooting -- a trouble spot throughout the franchise's history -- bit the Bobcats on Saturday, with Gerald Wallace missing four of seven attempts from the line. That wasted a night in which the Bobcats shot 48 percent from the field and held Boston superstar Kevin Garnett to four-of-12 shooting from the field.
