Aging Theo Ratliff Has Sparked Bobcats' Playoff Rise
3/14/2010 10:35 PM ET By Tim Povtak
http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/03/14/a...-playoff-rise/
ORLANDO -- The future of the Charlotte Bobcats belongs to guys like Gerald Wallace, Boris Diaw and Raymond Felton.
For now, it's the old war-horse Theo Ratliff who may have become the key to their run toward the first playoff appearance in franchise history.
The Bobcats have younger big men like Tyrus Thomas and Tyson Chandler. They have bigger guys like DeSagna Diop and Nazr Mohammed still on the roster. Yet it's the well-traveled Ratliff, still viewed as an undersized center, who has become their anchor in the late-season drive.
Ratliff, who is playing for the ninth different team in his 14-year NBA career, was obtained from the San Antonio Spurs Feb. 18 in a cup-of-coffee trade (actually, for a 2016 second-round pick) at the insistence of coach Larry Brown, who was looking for someone he could trust.
Ratliff, who turns 37 next month, hardly was playing for the veteran Spurs, but Brown quickly put him into his starting lineup. The Bobcats have won seven of his 11 starts, including the last six consecutive games.
He was especially instrumental in their 96-89 victory Sunday over the Orlando Magic -- a potential first-round playoff opponent -- and particularly down the stretch when he thwarted a potential home-team comeback.
He had 10 points and nine rebounds in 32 minutes, but statistics never have been his forte. In the last six minutes: he blocked a shot by Vince Carter, who tried to drive on him. He changed two driving layups, by Jameer Nelson and Mickael Pietrus, that became misses. He also grabbed an offensive rebound to keep another possession alive.
"Theo looks like when I had him back in Philly,'' said Brown, who coached Ratliff from 1998-2001 with the Sixers. "Only thing, he never got any shots back then. Everyone just told him to rebound the ball.''
Magic center Dwight Howard had another big game, getting 27 points and 16 rebounds, but only five points in the fourth quarter when the Bobcats took control. In those final six minutes, Ratliff was more of a factor than Howard.
"Theo always has done what he does best -- defend, rebound, be incredibly unselfish,'' Brown said. "He's doing things now that we really need. Thank God (San Antonio GM and coach) Gregg Popovich is a good friend of mine. We needed him (Ratliff).''
If the Bobcats (34-31) meet the Magic in the first round of the playoffs, it will be the third consecutive year Ratliff will have faced Howard at playoff time. He was back with Philadelphia last spring for their six-game series, which gave the Magic some surprising problems. He was with Detroit two years ago when the Pistons blanketed Howard and beat the Magic in the second round.
"I'm just enjoying this whole experience because I still love to play, and I try to play the right way,'' Ratliff said. "You can see the hunger here (in the locker room). They all want to be the guys who get this team to the playoffs for the first time.''
Ratliff sounds almost like a Larry Brown disciple. He does the blue-collar work that guys like Chandler, Thomas, and Diop are reluctant to do. It's no coincidence that they are winning now with Ratliff as the starter. He has been around enough teams to know what works. And he has seen the results that Brown always seems to get.
"I could see it when I got here. Larry is constantly pushing guys to get better, constantly demanding perfection from them,'' he said. "You can see the discipline he brought. You can see the mark he put on this team.''
Ratliff might be one of those centers who plays until he is 40. As usual, he has no guarantee beyond the end of the season, working again on a one-year contract with no promises that he will return to Charlotte next season.
"I've been year-to-year for the last three or four years. It's always possible (that I'll be back),'' he said. "But right now I feel real good physically. There's no reason why I can't keep playing at this level.''
Clearly a win-win for everyone involved....
While him being underutilized in San Antonio was probably a mistake, I'm glad to see Theo go somewhere and contribute more. He's also under his old coach, Brown, and starting with a team that is turning itself around. That's a cool situation to be in and definitely a great way to end a career.
What an F'n Waste. We should have used him much more. He would have made a difference for us too.
Why use Ratliff when we have Richard Jefferson to play C..
This thread is bound to stir up some well-deserved criticism for management and ownership for giving away Theo, but I found this part of the article interesting for the commentary about a trade the Spurs did not make.Ratliff sounds almost like a Larry Brown disciple. He does the blue-collar work that guys like Chandler, Thomas, and Diop are reluctant to do.
In less than a month with team, Thomas is being lumped together with Chandler and Diaw as a player who won't do the blue-collar tasks.
The Bobcats gave up a future first rounder for Thomas and will have to tender a $6M qualifying offer to ensure that he remains with team beyond the end of the season. The Bobcats have never paid the luxury tax, but keeping Thomas will mean paying the tax unless they can find a team with cap space or a trade exception to absorb one of their other sizable contracts.
well it's pretty obvious that if Ratliff wasn't playing it's because he must have been terrible during practice.
well it's pretty obvious that if Ratliff wasn't playing it's because he must have been terrible during practice.
Popodownsyndrome! Who gives a if a player is doing poorly in practice. Throw him in the GAMES and let them develop there!!well it's pretty obvious that if Ratliff wasn't playing it's because he must have been terrible during practice.
Ian is a 12th man who only get in at the end of blowouts.
But this Malik character really bothers me. The fact that he gets into the first half of games when he was such a disastrous dog in practice is revolting.
Let's all face it: if Michael Finley hadn't asked for a release, then Malik the No-Good-Practicer-Fraud would still be inactive, or at least at the end of the bench with Ian. Hairston in no way deserves to play right now and it's only the fluke of Finley betraying Pop that he has grifted his way into the rotation.
These terrible players and their bad practices must be exorcised from the Spurs: Ratliff was the beginning, hopefully it ends with Malik.
i was watchin dome of thier games ratliff gets a block all da fuccin time spurs fucced up again
where does the idea of players "not doing well in practices" come from?
Pop got owned. Rat would have been useful vs. Lakers, which looks we will face in the 1st round
If he gets blocks all "da fuccin time" he must have over a 1000 blocks by now.i was watchin dome of thier games ratliff gets a block all da fuccin time spurs fucced up again
they beat orlando yesterday without wallace
jax was just lighting up that magic team
bobcats can cause alot of trouble in the east playoffs if they make it, they got nothing to lose anyway and they match up pretty good with the elite teams....
I'm sure he would've done great guarding Gasol.
That's the "rationality" a lot of homers give for why some players who are clearly better than other players don't see any action while the other player who is inferior gets the minutes.where does the idea of players "not doing well in practices" come from?
The people in this thread are simply mocking that stupid reasoning.
Is this stuff even surprising anymore? All that is left now is too see where Mahinmi and Hairston end up after their Spurs stint and how they perform. It is all too obvious that receiving playing time under Pop has nothing to do with talent levels, but everything to do with corporate knowledge / ass-kissing
Looks like that 50 year old with a broken back () can still block a few shots and be a factor guarding the paint...
I'm glad for Theo he found a place where he's appreciated...
Okay Larry Pop did you a favor, now send us G-Force for RJ plz.
It's always bugged me how cheap the Spurs are. If SA is just going to gift wrap players to the Rockets and Bobcats the FO should at least try to get something in return.
Looks like all the practice is starting to pay off for Malik.
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