The lockout is behind us... see what I did there

When most of us were sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner there was one thing that was likely not on our minds—basketball. That was not just because there was a full slate of NFL action and some quality college games on, but because with the way that the negotiations had gone there was little hope or reason to think that something good was going to happen anytime soon.

Maybe that’s what Billy Hunter and David Stern were waiting for. They wanted us to be at our lowest moment; thinking that there was going to be no NBA season this year. Right when we were prepared to make due with nothing but college hoops and charity games—BAM!!!—a tentative agreement is reached!

Assuming all continues to go well, the league even announced that it will be giving fans one heck of a Christmas present with three solid match-ups on opening day of the season (which happens to be Christmas Day): Boston Celtics vs. New York Knicks; Miami Heat vs. Dallas Mavericks; Chicago Bulls vs. Los Angeles Lakers.

The suddenness of the agreement really should not be that surprising to fans. Throughout the whole 149/150 day ordeal the two sides seemed to take turns making big, dramatic exits, cancelling talks and making it appear as if the sky was falling (yes, a chicken little reference; I went there).

Discussion of “mixed feelings”
This is a difficult article for me since I have mixed feelings, some concerning the draft and some concerning the recent behavior of some of our members. I’ll talk about member behavior first.
BobcatsPlanet (BCP) is the only web site on which I’m an active member. I’ve always been pleased to be a member and contribute in any way that I could since the ‘Cats are one of my passions. The thing that I really like and enjoy about BCP is that the members are considerate, within the passions of a discussion, and keep those discussions pertinent -refraining from personal attacks (flames) against other members. This is never an easy task for internet sites since they don’t know if a poster is a “nine-year-old-in-a-dysfunctional-family” or a “ninety-year-old-in-a-dysfunctional-family” who feel it is their job to be rude to everyone on the web, and all those dysfuntionals in between. But for those who do not know having a passion about anything does not make the rest of society “fair game” for our rude behavior, I think that our administrator and moderators do an exceptional job of trying to help us stay on task (our passion for the ‘Cats). I’d like for us all to help them by doing a better job of moderating our own behavior towards fellow members.
My concern about member behavior also comes up as I write my post mortem on the draft.  Please note: just because a team, any team, drafts players that I (the Universal I) don’t agree with does not make me a “hater”. It means that’s not the way I would have drafted and that’s all that it means. I’m an adult and what I think is my opinion, not a fact. I understand that the adults working for the Bobcats’ front office do not on many occasions share my opinion, but that does not make me a hater. The thing I always strive for when I send an article to Ziggy to post is clarity about my opinions. I’m never going to try and convince you that my opinion is the “correct one” and your opinion is not correct, but I’ll always try and let you know why I have it.
I did not expect this to be this long so I’m separating it from my opinions on the draft. The point I’ve hoped to convey is that the camaraderie and passion we at BCP share is for the Bobcats. Let’s always keep that in perspective in our posts, threads, and the way we approach our points in any discussion with other members. It is just as easy to be courteous as it is to be rude.

BobcatsPlanet Radio #204

Steven and TJ discuss all the latest happenings since the last show, including the dismissal of Larry Brown and subsequent hiring of Paul Silas, the trade of Gerald Wallace, and the playoff push. Taped 3/13/11.

Apparently getting embarrassed in Orlando, Denver and Los Angeles wasn’t enough. The Charlotte Bobcats, missing captain Stephen Jackson, made it a perfect 4-for-4 of disgrace on their road trip, being trampled by the Portland Trail Blazers 93-69. Gerald Henderson led the Bobcats with 16 points, and that’s all you need to say to know it was a bad night.

If there was a worse way for this game to have gone, I’m not sure what it is. Star player is injured, your team loses, and opposing team’s star sits the entire fourth quarter. In a rivalry that your team has dominated. Yup, that’s about all I can say for tonight’s Charlotte Bobcats loss in Los Angeles.

After the trades of co-captain Gerald Wallace and Nazr Mohammed yesterday, and the requisite waiving of Sherron Collins, Dominic McGuire and Derrick Brown, the Charlotte Bobcats entered tonight’s game against the Sacramento Kings with eight players in uniform. Stephen Jackson, DJ Augustin and Gerald Henderson made sure that wasn’t a problem.