The Bobcats are suddenly a veteran team making a run for the playoffs. That has caused Gerald Henderson and Derrick Brown to get a lot of bench time this year. SG/SF Gerald Henderson has played in 29 games (0 starts) for the Bobcats this season and he is averaging 7.7 minutes, 2.4 points, 1.0 rebound and 0.3 assists per game. He is only shooting 33.8% from the floor and that’s not good enough to get him off the bench. Brown has been better than Henderson so far this season. The forward has played in 41 games (0 starts) for the Bobcats this season and he is averaging 11.3 minutes, 4.1 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. Brown will also likely be buried on the bench with the addition of Tyrus Thomas last week.

Power forward Tyrus Thomas and center Theo Ratliff are both making good first impressions with the Bobcats. Thomas has played in 2 games off the bench for the Bobcats so far and he is averaging 28 minutes, 10.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 5.0 blocked shots per game. Larry Brown wants to start giving Thomas even more minutes but he hasn’t learned the whole offense yet which makes his numbers even more impressive so far. Theo Ratliff has played in 2 games off the bench for the Bobcats so far and he is averaging 15.0 minutes, 1.0 point, 2.5 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game. The Bobcats wanted to improve the defense and rebounding in these two trades and they look to have been successful so far.

The Bobcats could decide to move Gerald Wallace to small forward and start Tyrus Thomas at power forward. That would improve the defense and rebounding of the team. If they decide to go that route then Boris Diaw will be the sixth man which was a role he filled so well with the Suns as he played all five positions on the court. Diaw has played in 52 games (all starts) for the Bobcats this season and he is averaging 35.4 minutes, 10.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. The Bobcats might decide to bring Diaw off the bench because they traded Flip Murray to the Bulls. Murray was instant offense off the bench and Diaw is a better player than him. Or the Bobcats could just bring Tyrus Thomas off the bench and leave Diaw in the starting lineup. Time will tell what the Bobcats decide to do.

The Bobcats have acquired 36-year old center Theo Ratliff from the Spurs. The Spurs wanted to just get rid of his salary so they pretty much gave him away for nothing. Ratliff played in 21 games (3 starts) for the Spurs this season and he was averaging 8.7 minutes, 1.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. He has now played in 772 games (507 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 25.7 minutes, 7.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 2.5 blocked shots per game. The Bobcats wanted to improve at rebounding the ball and playing defense and I believe they did with the two trades they made today.

The Bobcats have acquired 23-year old power forward Tyrus Thomas from the Bulls for 30-year old shooting guard Flip Murray, 25-year old point guard Acie Law and a future first round pick. Thomas has played in 29 games (3 starts) for the Bulls this season and he is averaging 23.4 minutes, 8.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.7 blocked shots per game. Thomas has now played in 254 games (95 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 20.3 minutes, 7.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.4 blocked shots per game. Thomas will likely start at power forward for the Bobcats which would make Boris Diaw the sixth man. Flip Murray played in 46 games (1 start) for the Bobcats this season and he averaged 21.6 minutes, 9.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Acie Law has played in 14 games (0 starts) for the Warriors and Bobcats and he has averaged 7.1 minutes, 3.4 points, 0.2 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. I love this trade for the Bobcats who might just pass up the Bulls in the Eastern Conference Standings thanks to Tyrus Thomas.