National Basketball Association

Bobcats' success fueled by well-rounded defense

Published Mar. 25, 2010 8:19 p.m. ET

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No team in the NBA allows fewer points per game than the Bobcats. An opponent hasn't reached the century mark against Charlotte in 12 straight games, and seven times this season a team has failed to crack 80 points.

With an offense that can bog down at times, stifling opponents at the other end is fueling coach Larry Brown's latest reclamation project as the Bobcats (37-34) near the franchise's first playoff berth.

``Our defense has saved us,'' Brown said Thursday.

How Charlotte got to giving up just 93.5 points a game starts with the demanding Hall of Fame coach, who constantly preaches defensive principles and has stocked his roster with long, athletic players through seven trades since the start of last season.

It's left a club with an underrated defensive point guard in Raymond Felton, an athletic small forward in Gerald Wallace who's been dubbed ``Dennis Rodman'' by his teammates for his rebounding prowess, and a trio of shot-blocking big men who allow for more trapping and gambling for steals on the perimeter.

``We have two great point guards that pressure the ball well and pick up full-court,'' guard Stephen Jackson said. ``I think me and Gerald and Larry (Hughes) are good on-the-ball defenders and get in the passing lanes to get steals. And we have great shot blockers with Tyson (Chandler), Theo (Ratliff) and Tyrus (Thomas). So I think we have a little of everything, and when it comes together we're really good.''

The stout defense is needed, because Charlotte averages just 94.8 points a game, third fewest in the NBA.

``I don't think we're defending good because we slow the ball up,'' Brown insisted. ``I always look at college and you'll have a team that's maybe the No. 1 defensive team in the nation. Well, you look at their number of possessions, you're going to be pretty good because you don't have a lot of possessions. But we're trying to run.''

Much of Charlotte's offensive success has come through fastbreak buckets, fueled by forcing 15.4 turnovers a game, fourth best in the NBA. Minnesota coughed it up six times while struggling to deal with traps in Charlotte's 20-0 second-quarter spurt Wednesday that left the Bobcats 26-8 at home.

``We can gamble more because we know we have those big guys back there that can challenge shots,'' Jackson said. ``And if they come over and challenge we know that Dennis Rodman is going to grab the rebound.''

Despite being 6-foot-7, Wallace ranks seventh in the NBA at 10.5 rebounds a game and grabbed 19 in Tuesday's overtime in Washington. A night later the Bobcats blocked 11 shots against Minnesota. They had 12 blocks in a win over Oklahoma City earlier this month, helping them move into the top 10 at 5.25 per game.

Much of that is due to Ratliff and Thomas, acquired just before the trade deadline last month. The Bobcats were missing an intimidating presence in the paint for the first half of the season after trading Emeka Okafor for Chandler, who until recently has been slowed by foot pain.

``That's what Emeka used to give us when he was here,'' Wallace said of Ratliff and Thomas. ``To have both of them in the game at the same time, it's amazing because it gives us an opportunity to pressure and get up in guys knowing that they're going to contest the shot.''

Brown made Wallace one of his projects when he took his record ninth NBA head coaching job at the beginning of last season, turning him into a well-rounded defender who ranks 13th in the league in steals. Jackson ranks sixth and Felton 14th.

Jack, when he wants to, can be terrific at it,'' Brown said. ``Gerald's gotten so much better, and he can still get better. He doesn't gamble as much. He plays the ball better.

Brown also credited power forward Boris Diaw for his basketball IQ and reading offenses to be in the right position defensively.

``Some of the deficiencies we might have as a team, we've got a pretty good understanding of how to help each other,'' Brown said.

Charlotte remains erratic on offense, however. It held Miami to 77 points on Saturday and still lost by six. The Bobcats commit 15.8 turnovers a game, second most to only woeful Minnesota.

But by allowing teams to shoot 44.6 percent from the field and 33.8 percent from 3-point range, the six-year-old Bobcats have set a franchise high for wins in a season.

``We still can improve,'' Brown said. ``And we have to, because sometimes we don't get easy shots.''