Well this game was pretty much the Byron Mullens show.  You can’t really have a coming out party during the summer league, as there have been plenty of other high scoring games by summer scrubs you never hear from again.  But in this instance, we started to see many different looks from Mullens that aren’t too familiar to us, outside of when he gets into “Pop-A-Shot” mode from the 3-point line.

I think this was a perfect example of seeing Mike Dunlap’s coaching influence on the players.  Whereas the previous games may have been less structured in order for the team to get their feet wet, this game seemed to rein in Mullens deep-heaving propensity, and started to reveal a more versatile repertoire that we’ve all been begging for since the Bobcats acquired him.

Mullens started out shooting from deep a couple times, but was able to hit early on.  But instead of being satisfied and settling to keep shooting outside, he started to become more aggressive.  After faking a pass on the perimeter, he drove hard to the basket, drew a foul, and hit a 15 foot floater.  Then he started to post up on the block, where he showed nice footwork and the ability to get a couple hook shots off.  He also received the ball at the medium post, and was able to maneuver his way into scoring position for another and 1 basket.

Another aspect of Mullens’ aggressiveness was his work on the offensive boards.  He was able to beat his man to position several times, and used some strength and athleticism to gather the boards and finish through contact for a couple buckets.   He also was able to tip the ball a couple times when he couldn’t corral it himself, keeping some plays alive for others to finish.  This shows that he wasn’t just lazily standing around the perimeter waiting for the chance to launch another three, but that he was actually aware of what was happening on offense and figured out how to get the right spots.  Very promising.

Another criticism of Mullens’ game in the past was him not running the floor hard in transition.  He often was seen just trotting down the court, or trailing the ball handler and spotting up at the top of the key for a three.  But tonight, I saw several times where he made it a point just to get down the floor into the lane, and on one such occasion, he was rewarded with a nice bounce pass from Jeff Taylor for a slam.

Wow! It’s been a long time coming.  That’s probably the most excited I’ve been watching a Bobcat’s game in like 2-3 years.  And to think it was for a late night, Friday the 13th summer league game.

Wait, we don't cut the nets for Summer League?

First, I do realize its just summer league, and any great performances you see here by either a player or team don’t normally translate to the regular season.  Who knows, maybe next game they get throttled by 30 and we go back to our nice warm spot as the league’s laughingstock.  But I do believe there are bits and pieces, signs and symptoms here which definitely are cause for hope.

Here’s what I took from the main cast of characters tonight.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist – What a start!! I loved how he had that slight injury/tweak to his knee at the beginning of the game and didn’t require a wheelchair, he just brushed it off like nothing happened. As advertised, he relentlessly attacked on offense and defense. I noticed on a couple of his power drives that he jumped off the wrong foot, to maybe throw off the defender’s timing and avoid the block. Definitely a veteran move. As for his handle, while it seemed a little loose at times, you could obviously tell he knows how to make a move off the dribble to beat his man.  Natural instincts are good to see more than technique right now.  Just tighten that up, and nobody will be able to stay in front of him with his incredible first step.

Also showed good court vision and passing. Defensively, he is afraid of nothing, even taking on big burly Thomas Robinson head-to-head a couple times – and winning! He played free safety perfectly in the middle, collecting any and every loose ball that traversed his path.  And maybe most impressive, besides scoring 18 points, grabbing 8 boards, dishing 5 assists, and gathering 4 steals in about 20 minutes, was that none of his offense was forced, as most rookies do when trying to make an impression. Everything came within the flow of the game, and yet he still had a tremendous impact on both sides of the ball. Can’t wait to see more.

After the season the Charlotte Bobcats had last year there really is only one direction for the team to go—up. Assuming that new head coach Mike Dunlap is able to work with young guys at the pro level like he was in college (since the age range is pretty similar I don’t see why not) the team could very well be on the right path to success.

Now I wasn’t a fan of the Dunlap hire when it was announced, but what’s done is done. Like most of you, I’m just going to hope for the best going forward. Should he be able to mold this collection of raw, young talent into a team the Bobcats will be fun to watch if nothing else next season.

Dunlap can’t do it alone. A coach can cover the X’s and O’s in practice and make adjustments from the sideline, but a team needs a guy that can help make those adjustments on the court rather than waiting for a time out. It needs someone who can be a leader and in the case of the Bobcats a teacher on the court.

The team needs a solid veteran presence.

The one they had was traded away; Corey Maggette for Ben Gordon and a future first round draft pick (solid trade in my opinion). Gordon is a good player, and unlike Maggette not injured a lot, but I don’t know if he has what it takes to lead this young team.

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 think Jerry Maguire said it best in the pivotal scene at the end of the 1996 movie when he said:

“We live in a cynical world. A cynical world. And we work in a business of tough competitors. I love you. You… complete me. “

Unlike Dorothy, the Bobcats do not have us at hello anymore (nor do they complete me).

I get more and more of a feeling that if I am going to look for a silver lining with these guys I’m going to have to turn into a cynical little blogger that has to be sarcastic and poke fun at the team’s failures in order to find something I can claim is positive to write about.

Then the guys give us a game like they did Sunday night against the New Jersey Nets. Now I am fully aware that the Nets are not exactly challenging, but for the Bobcats to have been competitive, and actually lead—for a moment I thought they were really playing good basketball.

Of course that Deron Williams guy had to screw everything up with his franchise record 57 points (darn him). Then again, Deron Williams is an elite player and was on the court with a bunch of guys that are far from elite. He should have been able to do something like that.