Coming off lousy season, Bobcats get right to work

Jordan Hamilton wasn't expecting to be pressured and trapped as he brought the ball up the court for the Denver Nuggets.

After all, this is the NBA Summer League, where defense takes a backseat to spectacular dunks and French pastry passes. But the Nuggets and the other teams that faced Charlotte didn't realize the Bobcats had a different agenda.

Charlotte went 4-1 and was one of the best stories of the 10-day summer league, which ends at 1 p.m. today with three games at Cox Pavilion. Not only were the Bobcats committed to winning, they were the only NBA team to have their regular-season head coach on the bench running their summer squad.

First-year coach Mike Dunlap was trying to get his players, several of whom will be wearing those snazzy new Bobcats uniforms in October, acclimated with himself and his system.

"I coached because it was important that we went into this with a mindset on how we want to play and for me to familiarize myself with the NBA rules," said Dunlap, who has spent 30 of his 32 years as a coach in the collegiate ranks. "It allowed me to show the players firsthand, 'Here's how we're going to play,' and I was very pleased with their effort and the enthusiasm they showed."

No team in Las Vegas played harder. The Bobcats rarely took a possession off. They were unselfish offensively, averaging 14 assists a game. Defensively, they led the summer league in turnovers created with 111.

In Denver's 99-86 loss to Charlotte on Thursday, Hamilton committed four turnovers and the Nuggets had 21. If the Bobcats continue their aggressive stance during the regular season, opponents had better take better care of the ball.

"I thought this was an extremely important week for us, especially with a new coach," general manager Rich Cho said. "We're trying to change the culture of our franchise, and I thought Coach Dunlap did a great job of setting the tone and getting our players to play hard at both ends of the court."

Remember, this was a franchise that made history for the wrong reasons last season, winning only seven of 66 games to break the record for lowest season winning percentage. Charlotte's .106 percentage eclipsed the sorry 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers, who went 9-73 (.110).

Those are not the kind of records team owner Michael Jordan usually is associated with.

So changes were made. Dunlap, who spent two seasons with the Nuggets as an assistant from 2006 to 2008, was hired away from St. John's. The team used the No. 2 overall draft pick on Kentucky guard Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. In his only summer league appearance, Kidd-Gilchrist scored 18 points in the Bobcats' opening win over Sacramento. He had a sore left knee and sat out the four remaining games.

Second-year point guard Kemba Walker, the former Connecticut star, played the entire schedule and excelled. He led the league with 5.8 assists per game and averaged 15.8 points.

"This was a great week for me to get used to Coach Dunlap's system and play with these guys," Walker said. "It was tough going through all the losing we did last year, and I never want to experience that again. So it was important for all of us to come here to Vegas and play well and get some confidence going into training camp."

Center Byron (B.J.) Mullens, who also suffered through last year's 7-59 misery, said the summer league was a great place to form new habits.

"Let's face it, losing sucks," said Mullens, who averaged 15.4 points and 5.8 rebounds in the summer league. "Coach Dunlap, he's making everyone accountable, and he's working hard and we're doing the same.

"For me, this was a great week. I was able to get comfortable with our new system and play with some of the guys who are going to be with us this coming season. I know things are going to be much better this coming season."

The only time these Bobcats looked like last season's Bobcats was Friday when they ran into hot-shooting Josh Selby, who scored 32 points for Memphis in a 97-79 win over Charlotte.

"We don't want to overreact to what we did in the summer league, but it was a first step," Dunlap said. "We want to carry our success from Vegas into training camp, and I have something to bring back to the veterans. I can show them that the way we're going to play can work if everyone is willing to commit to the system."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.