So you may have seen the post on the forum about a question and answer session with me and Christian “Norway” Bobcats. We got a bunch of questions, so we decided to do it in two parts. If you have any questions reading it please post them on the forum

Part 1

1) SJackson1: Has MKG got the ability to be an All-Star?

James Plowright: Ability is an interesting word to choose here, has he got the drive? Definitely, but players need more than drive to be an all star. Many compared MKG to Gerald Wallace due to his athleticism, motor and inconsistent jump shot! Now, Gerald Wallace as we all know did become an all star and remains the only Bobcat in history to do so. However, I would argue that MKG has a higher ceiling than GW due to where he is in his development in relative terms to GW. MKG is just 18 and is way ahead of where Gerald Wallace was at that stage in his career and like I said before has the a similar if not even better work ethic than GW. So overall yes, MKG does have the ability to be an all star, but not right now. If MKG does have all star potential, I can assure you with his drive he will fill it to the max.

Christian “Norway” Bodin: It’s hard to tell whether or not MKG’s game transitions well into the NBA. A lot of times players struggle to do the things they did so easily in college, in the NBA. Also there is something to consider, which is the fact that most of his style of play doesn’t show up on the scoreboard. He was drafted out of college as a utility guy, the player who did a little bit of everything. He reminds me a little of a young Shawn Marion who never really did one thing in particular, but was decent at pretty much every aspect of the game, and he is a four time all-star. Another all-star is our very own Gerald Wallace, who did pretty much exactly what MKG was brought in to do. MKG has similar size; similar playing style, is hard on defense, a decent scorer, a good rebounder and a reckless hustler. Not to mention that MKG is better at his craft now, than both Marion and Wallace were at the same age. He also played on a stacked team in Kentucky, where he pretty much only did what the rest of the team didn’t, he was never asked to be the leading scorer, but was asked to help the team in every aspect of the game, which he did, and it led him to an NCAA championship.

So to answer your question; Yes, he has the POTENTIAL to be an all-star. I think one day he could be, if he is ready to take every aspect of his game with him to the next level. “Hard work beats talent, when talent fails to work hard”. He is crafty and with the right attitude, a good coach and hard work he should be.

If you look back in NBA history, we can recall many hmmm moments in the NBA Lottery. Remember when Patrick Ewing became the saviour of the Big Apple? I’m also sure you remember Tim Duncan going to San Antonio to be one of the Twin Towers when the Admiral was near the end of his career. How about Lebron James going home to Cleveland, then Derrick Rose going home to Chicago? Then we have the most recent, when Lebron James took his talents to South Beach and the next thing you know, the #1 Pick goes to Cleveland?

Maybe these Cinderella stories are just coincidences, or maybe there is a little more to them than we will ever know. Either way, they happened and there is no turning back now. So let’s just focus on tonight and hope that we get the #1 pick.

If a hmmm moment happens tonight and goes in the Bobcats favor, I can give you 5 reasons why I think it might have happened.

Last week, the Bobcats decided not to bring back Coach Paul Silas for the 2012-2013 season.  Though it should be noted that they’re keeping him on as a consultant, which—given this team—is arguably a crueler thing to do than simply firing him.  Anyway, the search is now on for his replacement.  Besides the qualities mentioned in the headline, GM Rod Higgins told the Charlotte Observer’s Rick Bonnell that the Bobcats are looking for someone who views the job as an “opportunity” and stresses that he doesn’t necessarily have to be an ex-NBA coach.  Bonnell somehow found this gibberish insightful enough to produce several articles’ worth of analysis, including one with an elaborate 3-legged stool metaphor.  Poor Rick.

And speaking of “stools,” let’s talk about last season.  Now that we’re a week removed from harmful exposure to the carcinogenic 2012 Bobcats, yet still comfortably far off from the lottery, it’s time to reflect on what has happened…before the slowly-but-steadily increasing anxiety at the thought of losing the lottery completely devours my brain like Kahn’s ear worms in Star Trek 2.  Like my midseason recap/toxicology report, I’m going to go through each player in descending order of playing time (which also means I’ll be going through each player in descending order of my mental sanity).  We’ll see how far I can get, but chances are we’ll have to break this column up into a few parts; otherwise I’ll just collapse to the floor and start laughing hysterically like Tom Hanks in The Money Pit.  Here we go…

Coach Paul Silas – Okay, he technically didn’t play, but that’s okay, because he often technically didn’t coach either.  Still, a few words are in order for our dearly departed coach.  In his defense, he had a lineup that was intentionally terrible (thanks to management), and he lost the 6^th most man-games to injury (side note: hey, look at that, we were among the league leaders in something!).  But in his “offense” (?), what’s Paul Silas known for?  Okay, other then looking more confused on the sidelines than Katie Couric after a Sarah Palin response?  He’s known for rebounding and toughness.  So at the very least, he should have instilled those characteristics in his team.  And in this endeavor he completely failed; the Bobcats were 28^th in overall rebounding rate and allowed the most shots at the rim of any team.  The frontcourt couldn’t have been less intimidating if they had decided to start every game off with a reenactment of the video for “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It).”  So for this reason alone, I have no problem with letting Silas go.  Also, his contract was up.  Also, with a potential superstar rookie coming on board and some big name coaches available, it’s probably better to start fresh…Oh yeah, and also, this was the worst team of all time.

I spent Wednesday night watching the Bobcats get pummeled by the Bulls, and then I had to spend the following morning on the subway watching this guy get pummeled by what smelled like Old Gran Dad.  Both visual experiences were equally depressing.  It’s just no fun watching people futilely attempt something at which they’re pathetically overmatched—whether it’s being competitive against the probable NBA Eastern Conference finalists or soberly transporting a bag of plastic recyclables.

The totality of the Bulls’ onslaught was impressive: they shot 48%, outrebounded Charlotte by 19, and they passed the ball around like it was gonorrhea, putting up 29 assists against just 9 turnovers.  Just as remarkably, they spread the playing time like lard at a Cracker Barrel, with 9 guys getting 20+ minutes.  They won by 32 without their reigning MVP, thanks mostly to John Lucas III, the most inspiring “Lucas” since Corey Feldman.  Meanwhile, their defense, #1 in efficiency, completely sucked the life out of Charlotte, limiting them to 30% shooting—only if you round up—and clamping down on the few remaining Bobcats scoring threats.  Gerald Henderson was held to just 13 points because Ronnie Brewer and Richard Hamilton were in his shorts like a catheter, and the Bulls accelerated Byron Mullens’ steady dissolution as a useful player (3-of-11 from the field and an incredible -38 +/-).  All in all, it was an overwhelming display by a dominant team, flexing its championship-contending muscles.

In a whipsaw three-day period, the Bobcats got a taste of arguably the NBA’s best and worst teams.  The results were predictable: against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Bobcats had fewer answers than a Sarah Palin interview and were blown out in a disaster that left fans drooling and cross-eyed.  Then against the Hornets on Monday, the Bobcats won by failing less than their even more wretched opponents (they also did the impossible by making me pity somebody else’s team).

The Thunder are (is?) the class of the league, in my opinion.  Analyzing why the Bobcats lost to them is like understanding why a meth addict gets burned when he sticks his face in a blowtorch.  The Bobcats were completely overpowered.  In fact, I don’t think a single member of the Bobcats could start for this team, unless MAYBE you take Gerald Henderson over Daequon Cook.  But then again, the only reason Cook starts is so that super-sub James Harden can come in off the bench and do things like score 33 points in 16 shots while your team tries to cover him with everyone from Kemba Walker to DJ Brown to oil slick to smoke screen.  Harden is not only an easy 6^th man of the year, he also tops my list of Players with Names That Sound Like Past Presidents:

1. James Harden
2. Roger Mason
3. Richard Hamilton
4. Stephen Jackson
5. Richard Jefferson

At least that would explain the barrage of inaccurate shit-balls this team keeps smearing in the general vicinity of the backboards this year.  Occasionally one will plop into the net, but mostly they splatter every which way, before being hauled in by Kris Humphries, Al Jefferson, and various other non-Bobcats—because the team can’t rebound, either (28^th in rebound rate).  The Bobcats are shooting 41.4% this season, which is not only last in the NBA, it would be last in the National Monkeys Hurling Their Own Feces At Each Other League if there were such a thing (to my knowledge, there isn’t).  In fact, in every conceivable sub-metric of shooting, the Bobcats are soiling the record books.

And that 41.4 percentage is falling fast.  Against, the Nets on Friday, Charlotte couldn’t even crack the 35% barrier.  Worse, we can’t even blame this on Boris Diaw, because his playing status—which was often questionable even when he was on the court—is now official: he’s going to sit until he’s bought out or traded.  This, by the way, is one of the most comical trade demands of all time.  I mean, if a team really wanted a large fat Frenchman, why not just take Gérard Depardieu?  I bet he’d be a lot cheaper and you could probably get free copies of Green Card.  But never mind, my point is, even when Diaw did play, he really only played-ish, taking just 8 shots a game.  Unfortunately, this scatological shooting performance is one of the few things in life that isn’t all Diaw’s fault.  It’s the fault of the 3-headed monster DJ Augustin, Kemba Walker, and Corey Maggette, which collectively shoots 35.3 times per game and collectively makes just 37.7% of them.  Statisticians don’t need a calculator to add all this up, they need a ream of toilet paper.