Bobcats Quarterly Update: Playing the Young Guys

 As everyone in the Bobcats organization has either implied or just said out loud, this year is less about wins and losses and more about development. 20 or so games in, there are some interesting things that you can already see.

THE BOBCATS ARE LETTING THE YOUNG GUYS PLAY

The six major young players are getting some serious run. Of the possible minutes each player could play, all but Henderson and Biyombo are playing more than 24 minutes in the games they're healthy enough to play. Henderson is still coming back from injury. Biyombo's playing time seems a little more problematic, but he's already trending higher (over 31 minutes per game) in December. If that doesn't seem significant, consider: 5% of possible minutes played is a little over two minutes a game. Over an 82 game season, that's 197 extra minutes, or FOUR full games of extra court time.

 

Other notes on playing the young guys:

• Per 82games.com, 14 of the Bobcats' top 20 lineups feature at least three of the young guys. 6 of those lineups feature at least four. Not only are they getting to play individually, they are playing together.
• Against the Clippers, the Bobcats started Walker, Taylor, MKG, Mullens, and Biyombo. Chris Paul, one of their opponents, had more than double the career starts and minutes played of the Bobcats' entire starting lineup. The lack of experience is real, and will continue to manifest in close games despite the early wins in tight games.
• As much as it may frustrate to watch the late game turnovers and inefficient offense, it doesn't say a lot about what these players will eventually be able to do. Kevin Durant shot 43% from the field (29% from three) as a rookie. Tony Parker started as a rookie, but as a 2nd year player routinely gave way to Speedy Claxton during crunch time in 2003. These guys aren't close to finished products yet.