Recently, season ticket holders received e-mail from whatever team they support. I won’t go into detail about the specifics of the letter; lets just say it was letting us know that the Lockout has begun!

I shouldn’t have been too shocked when I read it because I’ve been saying from day 1 the lockout was going to happen. Not because I can read the future, but because I could see what was at stake. No, this was not the same situation that the NFL just went through. (Honestly, I think both sides knew from day one they would open their season on time, they just needed time to work a few things out.) As we all found out, that’s exactly what happened. The NBA lockout, not that simple at all. Let me tell you why.

WHO WANTS WHAT?

Is this Lockout based on money? Yeah maybe a little, but its really based on something even bigger. (The players have already given back a lot of money to the owners, but the owners still are not happy.) You know what they want back even more than the money? P.O.W.E.R. aka C.O.N.T.R.O.L. If you don’t know what I mean, these two words might help: MIAMI HEAT! The commissioner and the owners goal is to make sure they never have another version of the “decision” happen again. Not because of the attention it brought because that is always a plus! It’s more about the consequences that came after Lebran James’s decision. (The Cavs went from a championship caliber team, to a YMCA team). The amazing part about the whole thing is that the owners could not do 1 thing to stop it! This is what the owners want to change, before they are willing to let the players come back and play. Their solution is a HARD salary cap. The players are saying, “not going to happen”. The owners are saying “yes it will, or the only dunking some of you will be doing will be dunking French fries in hot grease at Mickey D”s”. So fans, yes, WE HAVE A PROBLEM.

If you’re a fan of the Charlotte Bobcats or just an NBA fan in general, the current lockout situation has to be a little disturbing to you. The two sides seem way too far apart for the season to even have a chance to start on time. Of course, when training camps and preseason games start being cancelled it does not bode well either.

The good thing is we can rest assured that there will be basketball this year.

Sound crazy? Think about it in the context of the recent NFL lockout. With those guys we were talking about a $9 billion pie. Both sides wanted to protect what they had and hoped to get more from the other side. However, if they did not come to an agreement in time and games had to be cancelled then both sides lost.

As much as they might have wanted the other side to lose, they did not want to lose anything themselves. In this case, greed was good.

When it comes to the NBA, it is different, but the same concept essentially applies. Neither side will make a wooden nickel if there are no games played.

Does that mean they’ll get it all figured out in time to save the whole season? Not at all; the 1998-99 season is evidence of that. The good thing is, since the season is 82 games long—it will suck—but we have some breathing room.

If you’ve been fiending to see your Bobcats in action like a junkie looking to score his next fix, then today is your lucky day.

You can view the two newest Cats. Kemba Walker and Bismack Biyombo playing tonight at 7:00pm MT in the Jimmer Fredette charity basketball game.

You’ll be able to view the live stream of the game right here.