“We kind of know that OKC is a test for us, we failed it miserably,” coach Dunlap said after the Bobcats were beaten by a number so huge that it needed to be written in scientific notation.  He’s right about Charlotte failing miserably.  This was their first test against a traditional powerhouse, and it went about as well as the first test of Ed 209 in Robocop.  In a 114-69 obliteration, the Oklahoma City Thunder played the role of Ndamukong Suh and the Bobcats played the role of Matt Schaub’s groin.  Other than OKC fans, the only people happier after this experience have to be the Baha Men, thanks to OKC’s relentless playing of “Who Let the Dogs Out” after every big play by the Thunder.

Of course, going into the game I wasn’t hoping for much; my Low Expectations Oven had been pre-heated to 400°.  I knew Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were going to be completely overwhelming, but I expected the Cats to be no more than “whelmed” by the rest of the Thunder.  Instead, Thabo Sefolosha dropped bombs on your moms, going 4-8 on 3-pointers.  And there’s no way on earth that the Thunder had only 7 blocks, I don’t care what the stat sheet says.  Serge Ibaka had to have had that many swats alone, and trying to finish off a drive in the Thunder’s paint was like playing a carnival game; it was damned near impossible to finish anything.  Hasheem Thabeet, looking like he’d just gotten out of bed/electrocuted, finished 5-6 and had a double-double.  The Thunder were off and rolling to an easy victory nearly immediately, and not even Haruki Nakamura could have interfered.

First I’ll admit, I was wrong. I knew we would be better than last season, of course, but in no way did I think we would come out of the gate like Seabiscuit aiming for the triple crown. I’m surprised, but in a good way and that’s always a good thing.

I agree that anyone in their right mind that watches sports would ask, how can the worst team in their sport one season, be seen as a playoff contender the very next? If that person is you, I am here to answer that very question.

First remember, last season is over and today is a new day. With a new Coach, that seems to have his players full attention and cooperation, we are surely heading in a new direction. Yes, we just had a season we all want to forget, but that’s part of the business. We drafted well, we also traded and signed good free agents during the off season, and now we have some new quality pieces to add to our rebuilding puzzle. (We are still trading players after the season has started and I can’t remember the last time that has happened.) Is the puzzle complete yet? No it’s not, but I don’t think we have as many key pieces missing as some of you might. If I had to give a #, I’d say we are only about 2 pieces away from being a team that could possibly make the playoffs and get out of the first round. Here’s some key reasons why…

The Charlotte Bobcats at 4-3. I repeat: the Charlotte Bobcats are 4-3. A team that was a laughing stock in 2011 and really for the majority of their existence, is above .500 and playing some pretty inspired basketball.

Head coach Mike Dunlap is better than advertised, and second year point guard Kemba Walker is looking the part, and then some. A game-winning shot over the Minnesota Timberwolves is the cherry on top of this short season.

But 4-3 isn’t the playoffs, so we have to taper our expectations and start analyzing what this 4-3 start means. More importantly, after a more typical 1-3 start, what does this current three-game winning streak mean for the Bobcats?

Are they suddenly a real playoff contender? Is this a sign of things to come?

While I don’t think this locks in the Bobcats as playoff contenders just yet, I may be in the minority in saying that I do actually believe they’re on their way out of the cellar.

Believe it or not, this is no longer a terrible team.

“I think everybody that has been watching all of our games,” said coach Mike Dunlap, obviously addressing me personally and a handful of others, “say that MKG gets a little bit better and then all of a sudden he had what you would call a breakout game.”  I definitely would call it a breakout game, coach, and thanks for the shout-out.  Michael Kidd-Gilchrist spearheaded the Bobcats’ first ever win over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night in 17 tries, in a game that featured so much crazy crap at the end that I can’t even describe it all; it’s like trying to describe the ending of The Departed.  For example, Brendan Haywood missed separate free throw attempts—one at the end of regulation and one in OT—and both times it ended up being a good thing.

That’s because on both occasions the Bobcats got the rebound.  I was thinking that it was MKG who grabbed both of them, but I forgot that it was Kemba Walker who did it the first time (the Bobcats were trailing by 2 with 22 seconds left).  It’s seriously like trying to remember who was who between Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, and Leonardo DiCaprio.  Anyway, Walker got it to Ramon Sessions, who missed, and then MKG grabbed that one, and made a great feed back to Sessions for the tie, which sent it into overtime.  Then in overtime, it was indeed MKG who boarded Haywood Misses Critical Goddamned Free Throw, Part II and found Byron Mullens, who flushed the ball like a toilet and gave the Bobcats the lead for good.

Tyrus Thomas left in the second half of the Dallas Mavericks game because he became ill.  So did most Bobcats fans.  A fairly competitive back-and-forth first half turned rancid with a 36-point Dallas 3^rd quarter.  As the defense folded like origami in the second half, Charlotte fans were treated to all sorts of indignities—Mark Cuban trash-talk, OJ Mayo taunts, and most humiliating of all, Vince Carter revitalization.  The latter actually started in the first quarter, when Bismack Biyombo became the first player to get posterized on a thunderous dunk by Vinsanity since Fred Hoiberg.  Then in the second quarter, the game actually came to a standstill when Carter blocked—blocked!—a Kemba Walker jumper; the crowd was so overwhelmed with shock and affection that for a half-second I honestly thought Vince was going to retire on the spot.

But the game really belonged to PG Darren Collison (8-12 with 10 assists).  The Bobcats had no answer for him.  Well, they did, but unfortunately the answer was, “Do whatever you want, because we’re powerless to stop you.”  Because of Collison’s mastery, Chris Kaman (8-9 FG), Carter (4-8 3-pointers) and especially Mayo (7-10 3-pointers) had more open looks than the shower scene in Porky’s.   Brendan Haywood incorrectly diagnosed the Bobcats’ handling of the transition as their fatal flaw.  But the Bobcats only had 10 turnovers, only allowed 16 fast break points, and only gave up 50 points in the paint.  Nobody’s going to write a sonnet about that kind of performance for sure, but Haywood was undervaluing Collison’s level of craftsmanship.

Shawty had them Apple Bottom jeans, boots with the furrrr!!  What an opening night to the season!  The last time the Bobcats won an opening night game so thrillingly was last year, so this is clearly a sign of great things to come.  What can you say about this effort?  If you’re David West, you can say that the Bobcats “junked up” the game with their zone defense.  If you’re coach Mike Dunlap, you can say that you just slaughtered an elephant.  But if you’re just a simple fan, like me, you can say farewell to a losing streak that’s longer than Morgan Freeman’s IMDB profile.

Of course the big hero was Kemba Walker, who hit 10-of-21 from the field and 9-out-of-10 free throws.  He style of play wasn’t much different than what he did last year, and in fact he almost submarined the whole thing by tossing up a horrid, Nate Robinsonian 20-footer with 16 seconds to play.  But the big difference was that this time his attempts in the key were either on target or drew fouls—or, at the very least, didn’t lead to turnovers.  Full credit goes to him and his mentor, coach Dunlap.  I have to admit that I was not feeling encouraged about this relationship, especially when just last week, Dunlap called Walker “an unusual player who can do some things very special.”  It honestly sounded like a parent awkwardly describing a child with severe autism.  But perhaps there has been real improvement.