Pardon me for being redundant, but the Charlotte Bobcats are going to have a very uncomfortable season if D.J. Augustin remains their starting point guard. It’s not that the Bobcats’ roster has any superior alternatives, but this team is hurting badly for a true replacement for Raymond Felton, and Augustin isn’t the man.
Only for now, he has to be. Shaun Livingston is injured, Sherron Collins is Sherron Collins, and handing over control of the offense to Stephen Jackson on a full-time basis is a recipe for failure. Augustin is Charlotte’s great hope at point guard, and at best, he’s a sweet shooter, a decent playmaker, and a defensive sieve. More realistically, he’s still a bad defender while shooting well from outside (where Augustin has shot 42% for his career) and displaying questionable decision-making. Raymond Felton wasn’t some idyllic point guard, but his defense and steady play helped turn the Bobcats into a legitimate playoff team, and Augustin’s promotion rocks the boat. Charlotte still seems due for a repeat playoff appearance, but with such uncertainty at the point, nothing seems safe.
The Bobcats, for their part, are predictably singing Augustin’s praises, and Augustin, for his, is playing confident. From Tim Povtak of NBA FanHouse:With his safety net gone, Augustin has become the quiet key to the upstart Charlotte Bobcats, prepared to show now he belongs in the NBA, and they belong back in the playoffs. “Nacho Libre (Augustin), he’s the head to this monster,’' [Stephen] Jackson said. “And as he goes, we’ll go this season. We need him to succeed. We need him to run things the proper way. And I think will. He’s going to surprise all those people who already counted him out.’'
...The Bobcats reached the playoffs for the first time in franchise history last season, winning 44 games, but the prospects of improving, or even repeating, clearly rests with Augustin. “There’s no pressure, it’s just basketball,’' Augustin said. “I can’t tell you about the future, but I hope to make us better. I’ve got to be ready.’'
First and foremost: it cannot be ignored that D.J. Augustin’s nickname is apparently “Nacho Libre.” Alrighty then.
Augustin doesn’t see running the Bobcats as a high-pressure situation (or if he does, is smart enough not to express that concern publicly), and this is a good thing. No one wants to see Augustin caught like a deer in the headlights of Larry Brown’s 18-wheeler, and he needs to believe he can do the job even if those of us on the outside suppose that he can’t. There’s nothing wrong with what Augustin said, with the exception that it’s wrong. There is pressure. The Bobcats aren’t a team shooting for the title, they’re aiming for the back end of the playoffs and the sweet, sweet revenue they provide. There is pressure to perform. There is pressure to appease LB. There is pressure to keep Stephen Jackson, Gerald Wallace, and all of Augustin’s Bobcats teammates happy while still running the show efficiently.
Pretending otherwise is foolish, and yet that’s exactly what we demand Augustin do as a part of the media game.
