Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson was deeply perturbed that his team lost to the Bobcats. “We didn’t show up,” Jackson said. “Somehow my guys didn’t come out ready to play.”  C’mon, Mark, your team’s not better than that.  The Warriors have long tried to unburden free market offense by eliminating defensive uncertainty, and on Saturday the Bobcats took full advantage of the deregulation.  As much as I would like to think that coach Silas’s decision to insert Kemba Walker into the starting lineup stimulated our flow, I’ll be much more convinced when it works against a team whose defensive strategy doesn’t revolve around Nate Robinson taking ridiculous dives against DJ Augustin as if he had just tried to tackle Earl Campbell.

Not that I’m complaining!  After the previous night’s disembowelment at the hands of the Pistons, I’ll take what I can get.  Greg Monroe and Jonas Jerebko ate our front court alive on Friday, and for awhile on Saturday it looked like the only thing that had changed were the names—to David Lee and Andris Biedrins.  But Biedrins mysteriously vanished after just 14 minutes of playing time (Did he hurt his ankle?  Was he kidnapped by aliens and returned to his home planet of Ken Doll Hair?), and the Warriors foolishly abandoned going to Lee down low.  Why?  I don’t know, because when you check out his shot chart of makes in the first and second quarters, it looks like someone emptied a Tek-9 a foot away from the rim.

I have to be honest. After reading a bunch of stories about the team during the week I was prepared to sit down Saturday night and write a piece on how Paul Silas might be the first coach to go in this abbreviated NBA season.

Personally, I think that we are too quick to call for someone’s job in this league. Guys need a chance to do their job. Anything less than a full season and training camp is not enough time for anyone to show what they can really do. Yes, I know Paul started last season, but he didn’t really have much of an offseason and training camp to work with.

That being said, having watched and followed this league of ours for a few decades I know the signs, and I know that owners/GMs have no problem canning anyone at any time. Some of the things that Silas said this week made me think the end is near:

“… [The starters have] just kind of given up now. I don’t know what to say.”

When asked what he could do to get an ice cold Boris Diaw going: “I really don’t know.”

“We’ve got to have more toughness and we didn’t (Friday). It’s just not a good sign for us.”

Overall, the stuff he said can be viewed as just him being honest about how he feels. What bothered me is that he sounded like he was/had given up. A coach that wants to stay employed is not going to bad-mouth his team too much. What he said along those lines I can live with, but it’s the frequency that he admits to not knowing that tells me he could be going soon.

Jumping out to an early lead Monday night in Gotham was nothing more than a tease as the lowly Bobcats drop another heartbreaker.  Then again, when your starting center is DeSagana Diop, it’s very difficult from the outset to envision a win.  The ‘Cats came out of the gates with a bang and were very efficient in the early stages of this contest.  Charlotte lead at one point 10-0 before the Knicks collected themselves, and stepped up their game.  Before you could blink your eye, the Knicks were in front of the Bobcats by nine points in the first half and kept their distance.  Charlotte trailed by five at the half and kept nipping at the Knicks’ heels throughout the second half.  Carmelo Anthony had an average night and did most of his damage from the foul line.  Amare Stoudemire (25 points) and Tyson Chandler (20 points) exposed the putrid Bobcats’ frontcourt all evening as they dictated the flow in the paint.  The main player that stuck out for the Knicks though was rookie guard, Iman Shumpert.  Though he didn’t eclipse the Carmelo’s and Chandler’s of the world, the former Georgia Tech standout was a floor general all night.  He directed the New York offense with precision and did a lot of dirty work that you won’t find on the stat sheet.

The Bobcats enter tonight’s game against the Pacers coming off an overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Despite the loss it was a nice effort from a team that’s effort has been questionable at times this season. We finally got to see D.J. Augustin and Kemba Walker play together for an extended period of time and it worked for the most part on the offensive end. Not so much on the defensive end, but that’s to be expected.

As for the Bobcats’ opponent, the Pacers have quietly assembled a pretty solid roster. Darren Collison heads the point for Indiana and Danny Granger, Paul George, Roy Hibbert and Tyler Hansbrough make out the rest of the starting five. It’s clear that Indiana’s a team on the rise but the Pacers are still a piece away from being a legitimate contender. Nevertheless, the Pacers are on a different level than the Bobcats right now.

(AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

Box Score

When considering the Bobcats lottery prospects this loss will likely help in ensuring a higher draft pick. In the here and now however, it raises a few concerns.

Firstly, there are few players on the Bobcats who aren’t defensive liabilities. For as much as Augustin gives on offense (26 points, 9 assists), he gives up as much on the defensive end. DJ White is more or less in the same boat. This isn’t a new issue for either, but it’s too bad considering both are off to the best starts of their careers. The rest of team has trouble defending as well, with the Cavaliers scoring 56 points in the paint, and at other times getting too many open looks. The size disadvantage contributes to this, so the return of Tyrus Thomas is needed quickly if this team wants any chance of defending down low.

This was supposed to be Kemba Walker vs. Kyrie Irving, but Walker had his worst game as a pro. Two points on 1-6 shooting compared to Irving’s 20 points and six assists. When looking back, the absence of Walker made a difference. In both of the Bobcats close games, Walker had stretches of play that kept the Bobcats in the game. He may not be a starter, but if the Cats are going to win any games this year he will need to show up.

Diaw has crashed down to Earth after his good start. He looked tired, unfocused and still out of shape. He was scoreless with five rebounds and five fouls, and it was hard to find any justification for him being in the game in the 2^nd half.

After a scoreless first half Henderson got hot in the 2^nd finishing with 16 points and seven rebounds. These numbers are what you want from him, but not necessarily all in one half. The next step for him is to become more consistent.

So the Bobcats are currently on a three-game losing streak and it hasn’t been pretty the last two games. Both the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat had their way with Charlotte, abusing the Bobcats for four quarters. Now comes a much easier opponent in the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs (2-2) will not challenge the Bobcats like the Heat and Magic did, and this game will be a good indicator of how Charlotte will fare this season.

If the Bobcats are unable to beat the Cavs I think it is safe to say that the opening night win over Milwaukee was a bit of a fluke. As fun as that win was a loss to Cleveland would wipe away any optimism that was felt about this season. Nobody expected the Bobcats to compete with the likes of the Heat and Magic this year but teams like the Cavs Charlotte should be able to hang with.

Let’s take a look at tonight’s contest and some other thoughts that have been roaming around in my brain.