There are many good ways to spend a Saturday evening. Unfortunately for us Bobcats fans, none of those ways involved anything that happened in last night’s Bobcats game.

For starters, we had Emeka Okafor come back to town. Emeka is a nice guy, and to be honest with you he was one of my favorite players during his time as a Bobcat. With that being said, it was more than a little bit painful watching him put up 16 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocked shots and 1 steal while playing solid D. The guy that we got for him ( Tyson Chandler ) when we traded him away this summer had a nice suit, a great view of the game from the bench while resting his eternally gimpy ankle… again.

Next was the George Shinn factor. When Shinn ripped the NBA out of Charlotte almost a decade ago, he single-handedly managed to sour the fanbase on the NBA to the point where people are still reluctant to come back. So to watch that little goofy assed dwarf’s Mr. Shinn’s team come back and drop an ‘L’ on the Bobcats was unpleasant to say the least.

Next on my list was watching a rookie fill in for CP3 who was out and not miss a beat with 24 points and 4 assists. Seriously guys, Darren friggin Collison????

Next, puzzling rotations. Let me preface this by saying that Larry Brown knows more about basketball than 99.99% of the human population, BUT his rotations baffle me at times.  DJ Augustin was playing really well ( 5-6 from the field, 5 assists but only 18 minutes ). Nazr Mohammed played Emeka well in the first half but we don’t see him on the court in the 4th quarter with the game on the line, Instead we go small?

The final straw to a rotten Saturday night was the 3rd quarter collapse. They entered the 3rd quarter up by 10, they exited the quarter down by 5. They gave up a ridiculous 36 points in that quarter and the defense looked nothing like the devastating D that we were seeing during the month of January.

All of these factors combined to create a pretty rotten Saturday evening.

What were your thoughts on Saturday’s game?

That’s right.  All the hate, and I mean allllll of it, while warranted, is somewhat moot.  The Bobcats need Tyson Chandler back in the line up if they want to be successful and sustain some level of established improvement.  It’s not that he brings so much himself, it’s what he allows the defense to do.  I made fun of the “article” I found via some website, via his website, which was a rehash of an article Rick Bonnell wrote.  And I will give Rick credit here, as much as I give him crap, he was right about this weeks ago.

Never was this more evident than last night against the Phoenix Suns.  The Suns as a team are 2nd in the league in 3 pointers made.  Last night was no exception, shooting 15 of 34.  The % isn’t that far off but the attempts are up from their season average of 22.

While the Bobcats are still tops in the league for opponent points per game, they are 2nd in opponent three point attempts.  While a lower percentage shot a team that has a good night shooting threes can really hurt your winning ways.

It’s not that the ‘Cats are being killed from behind the arc, it’s just one more thing to keep an eye on.  Gerald Wallace isn’t able to swat as many attempts.  Stephen Jackson isn’t getting as many steals.  They have to put a hand in the face of a guy like Jared Dudley or Aaron Afflalo.  You can tell that Gerald is just worn out.  He’s help D for the inside guys, he’s cover D for his guy, he’s fly in put your hand in his face for outside shooters.  It’s no coincidence he was 0 for 6 with no free throw attempts entering the 3rd quarter Saturday versus Orlando.

So, is it bad defense or spread too thin?  You have a guy like Raymond who is among lead leaders in steals per game.  Gerald with his abilities on both ends and Stephen Jackson who is lockdown as well as a ball hawk.  Boris Diaw?  Hmm, never known for defense and as the guy sitting beside me on Saturday said “Has he put on weight?”  Yes, he certainly has and he’s not defending the perimeter the way I’d expect from a guy who ran point in Atlanta.

Nazr Mohammed is only about 2 inches shorter than Tyson Chandler.  He’s far less athletic and less adept at blocking shots and clogging the lane.  Naz has one thing that Ty doesn’t: a presence on the offensive end.  Nazr can hit shots and play with his back to the basket, he can stick with an offensive rebound to find the best way to score it.  However, defensively, he is lacking and not glaringly, it’s the small things.

You won’t see Nazr or Diop, wait did I just mention Ghanna Diop?  Side bar: Diop is the biggest waste of size in the NBA other than Greg Oden.  DeSagana just can’t hack it at this level.  He had strong years on Dallas as that extra body beside Dirk, Nash and Howard but the guy couldn’t play as a legit center in anything but a game with no one above 6’8″.  I’m sorry, he just can’t.

Back on point: Mohammed and Diop don’t roll out on screens, they don’t cover the pick and roll particularly well and they don’t have a commanding prescence on the defensive end.  We need Tyson.

Tyson Chandler has allowed guys like David West or Boris Diaw to freelance on D when the opposing power forward isn’t known for an outside shot.  This frees up everyone else to create turnovers, fast breaks and all manner of chaos for the other team.

Other than the strong showing, it takes the foul trouble and the subsequent concentration on how the game is being called off the minds of players and coaches.  Tyson may pull down 3 fouls before halfway through the first but the other 4 guys on the court aren’t.

This brings me to a larger point: We need a HEALTHY, CONSCIOUS Tyson Chandler.  The guy who looked lost through the first 10-15 games can stay behind the bench in street clothes.  The athletic jumping, blocking, put-backing, moving anchor or goalie as Bonnell put it, is what is needed.

This is a team of streaky players, passionate guys who have been strenuously coached and worn on since August.  It’s a game of ebb and flow and part of this has to be a shift back to defense first and that means Tyson Chandler in the middle.  Wins will come, have come but they will be easier and more interesting for the guys on the court if things shift back.

Please Tyson, be nice to your foot.  I know we all feel stress but this reaction has worn out it’s welcome.  Come back and show us why we traded our first overall and greatest known player for you.  DO IT!

I don’t want to say I’m devastated, but color me disappointed. With a sellout crowd of over 19,200 on hand for the annual Charlotte Bobcats Nascar night, featuring 4-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and Ladycat Jordan’s boyfriend Denny Hamlin, I would’ve hoped for a big win and settled for just a win. I mean, with a crazy home record of 18-4 coming in, what else should I expect? And at the end of regulation, it seemed that was what was going to happen. But instead, the Bobcats came out totally flat for overtime and were outscored 14-3 in the period to lose by a final of 106-95, after coming back from a 16 point deficit in regulation.

The game started off rather tepidly, with Charlotte losing each of the first three quarters and entering the 4th down by 10. About the only bright spots up to that point were Nazr Mohammed (12 points/9 rebounds) and Raymond Felton (14/5/4 assists) playing solidly on both ends of the floor. Soon to be named All-Star Gerald Wallace was held scoreless for much of the game, although he did finish with 9 points and 10 rebounds. In the fourth, along with Wallace, DJ Augustin (22/2/1) and DeSagana Diop (6/4/2 Blocks) asserted themselves as key players in the comeback. Diop would’ve had 8 points, but a jumper from about 10 feet out was called off for a shot clock violation. Down 92-90 with 6.8 seconds left, the ‘Cats came out of the timeout and Stephen Jackson (15/5/4) hit a floater from under the basket to send the game into OT. After that, well, lets just say it wasn’t pretty.

If you want to find places to put the blame, there are plenty. The Bobcats missed 6 free throws in 22 attempts, shot just 39.8 percent from the field (including a combined 10-38 from Boris Diaw, Stephen Jackson, and Gerald Wallace), and outside of DJ Augustin’s 5-9 3 point shooting, the team was 4 of 18, which comes out at an atrocious 22.2 percent. They had their shots blocked 11 times and were outrebounded by 7. And while it appears that the officials cannot count to three when the Magic have possesion, the Bobcats could have won despite bad officiating – which had Stephen Jackson complaining all night long, including him being assessed with the game’s only technical foul – that allowed Howard the freedom to have dinner and dessert in the lane. They had their chances and let it get away.

Charlotte now starts a six game road trip:
Monday in Denver (facing former Bobcat Malik Allen and G/F Stevie Graham’s brother Joey) – Sportsouth 9:00 ET
Tuesday in Pheonix (facing former Bobcats Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley) -FSCR 9:00 ET
Friday in Golden State (facing former Bobcat Vladi Radmanovic and announcer Dell Curry’s son Stephen) – FSCR 10:30 ET
Saturday in Sacramento (facing former Bobcat and tub of lard Sean May) – Sportsouth 10:00 ET
Monday the first in Portland (facing former Bobcat Juwan Howard) – Sportsouth 10:00 ET
Wednesday the third in Los Angeles against the Lakers (facing former Bobcats Shannon Brown and Adam Morrison) – Sportsouth 10:30 ET

Notes: Tyson Chandler missed the game once again, and while he is supposedly “day-to-day” I don’t think we’ll be seeing him anytime soon….DJ Augustin appeared to regain his confidence for at least the fourth quarter, expecting to make shots instead of hoping….Larry Brown played his centers 46 out of a possible 53 minutes, which is one of the highest amounts in a long time….Brandon Bass, the player many Bobcats fans have been clamoring for in a trade, had a DNP-CD, so don’t expect to see him in a Charlotte uniform….Dwight Howard was the only player with a double-double, collecting 10 points and 20 rebounds….The Bobcats wore special NASCAR themed uniforms, with checkered side panels; Jimmie Johnson recieved a special #4 “Johnson” jersey at halftime in honor of his 4 championships….

Wow. What a game. Every time I see this team play, they have more and more chemistry, and that is helping them smother teams on the defensive side of the ball. Last night, your Charlotte Bobcats took on the San Antonio Spurs, who coming into this game were 5-0 in Charlotte and 10-1 all time against the ‘Cats. But, by the end of the night, that would change.

Depsite the spectacular performance, the first half was boring, slow, and featured under 40% shooting for the ‘Cats, giving the Spurs the halftime lead, 42-38, and no player for either team was in double digits. But my, was that second half impressive. From the end of he third quarter to the beginning of the fourth, the ‘Cats went on a 19-2 run, and the Spurs went 1-14 in that stretch. Gerald Wallace (21 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 blocks, and 4 steals) had several huge defensive plays, including one where he got the steal on the defensive end, and took it coast to coast for the posterization of Manu Ginobili. That was far and away the play of the game (and Wallace’s skying blocks may have been 2-5) but the player of the game was, believe it or not, Boris Diaw (26 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks). Yes, that guy that everyone has wanted benched or traded for the last month (including me). But for tonight, and quite possibly the future (more on that in a minute) the Frenchman was the best player. He kept Spurs star Tim Duncan to just 10 points without any help defense, and was the game’s high scorer and the best ‘Cats rebounder. If this keeps up, and I think it will, then the ‘Cats are going to coast into the playoffs.

Now, as for why this should keep up. According to Bobcats.com writer Matt Rochinski, Boris sat down with Stephen Jackson (16 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals) before this homestand to talk about Boris’ role and how he could help the team by being more aggresive. Not only was Boris fine with that, but he’s taken it to heart, on both ends of the floor. His defense was just as impressive as those 26 points, and Diaw was finally taking those wide open threes he’s been passing up since he got here. If Diaw is in line, the next target should be Tyson Chandler, and if all 5 are living up to, or even close to their potential, the 5 seed might be a bit low. After the game, Jackson talked again with Diaw: “I told him after the game that we’re going to be hard to beat if he’s aggressive,” Jackson said. “There are not too many 4-men in this league that can handle the ball, shoot, pass at that size. I think he frees up a lot of stuff on the offensive end for me and Gerald [Wallace] when he can pick and pop or make plays for us.” Meanwhile Co-Captain Raymond Felton (4 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 block) was shouting Diaw’s praises across the locker room.

Notes: Chandler missed his 10th game in a row, though he says that he doesn’t feel pain, just slight discomfort from the stress reaction in his left foot. Rookie Gerald Henderson played 1 minute and 40 seconds after not playing since Dec. 28th against Milwaukee, racking up 7 DNP-CD’s. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said “It’s a typical Larry Brown team, just tenacious, physical, pressure defense. Creating turnovers, creating offense out of turnovers. You knew it coming in. But we reacted poorly to it.” The Bobcats have won 3 in a row, and 6 straight at home.

Tonight, the ‘Cats take on the Phoenix Suns at Time Warner Cable Arena. The game starts at 7 p.m., and though there is no local tv, it will be broadcast nationally on NBATV. Since there’s no local tv, even those in the FSCR blackout zone should be able to watch the game there. The radio broadcast is on WFNZ tonight.

Video recap here: Bobcats beat Spurs 92-76

Sup everybody, BETCATS checking back in. If you are reading this, i would like to wish you a happy holiday season. At the time i wrote my last piece for the site, the Bobcats were struggling. A lot of us were panicking and we were all starting to think maybe the playoffs are out of reach. The faith in our team to get the job done was questionable. We then went on a little win streak, and everyone was satisfied temporarily. But that was then.

Fast forward to today, the Bobcats are struggling again.  Once again, some of my fellow Bobcat fans have gone into panic mode. Talks that the season is already over and a total meltdown is in site are in full swing. I feel it is needed to give a reminder we are only 26 games into the season. However, from those 26 games we can start to see some trends.

1) Boris Diaw has issues.  I am not sure where they spawned from, but he has them. Diaw has been underachieving this entire season. At first i was willing to contribute it to injuries. But the more i watch him play, the more obvious it is that he does not want to be playing basketball. Maybe it was Bell leaving. Maybe it was the fact the Suns are good this year. Maybe something was said to him by somebody in the organization after he hurt himself over the summer. But whatever the problem is, it has turned Diaw into a shadow of what he was for us last season. The only way i see the Diaw issue being resolved is Diaw ‘snapping out of it’ or being traded. Either way, it is going to be painful until it ends.

2) Tyson Chandler is trying, and it will pay off. I know he has pissed us all off with his recent quote, but lets just move on. Tyson said what he said, and the team will deal with it. As fans, lets not keep on crucifiying him.  When watching Tyson play, you can tell he is putting effort in, unlike Diaw.  He might have a bad case of the “i miss CP3 blues” , but he will adapt to our team soon enough. We are requiring him to work on offense, something that is foreign to him. But he is shooting free throws well and he is attacking the basket. I expect  to pick up the pace by mid-season aka mid-season form.

3) Larry Brown is making some very questionable decisions. Not playing DJ. Not playing Henderson enough. Not playing Nazr when it counts. Not playing Derrick Brown when we need him the most. Putting too much pressure on Flip to make big plays. Not giving Stephen Jackson the ball in clutch situations and letting him finish out the game….I could go on and on and on and on. But these are just some of the perks that you get when LB is your coach.  I think Larry is still experimenting with the rotations, and i hope he figures them out by the ASG break. Last year, Larry also did a lot of things i can only describe as ‘strange’ and it is re-occurring this year. But hey, I.L.B.I.T.

Now comes the part of this when i make my plea to my Bobcat brethren that are in panic mode. I ask that you all just wait before throwing in the towel on the season. Yes, all the 3 things i outlined are concerning. Yes, there is more than what I said to be concerned about. But please, we are 26 games into the season. Lets not pass judgement until all 82 games have been played.

I WANT THE TRUTH!  You can’t handle the truth.

Thanks Jack.  BigCat here, I was just mulling all this “Gerald Wallace calls out Tyson Chandler and Boris Diaw, Tyson Chandler plays well and tells Gerald where to stick it” stuff.  I’m not impressed.  All I want to know is, who is showing up every night?  Who is going to make the plays to put this team ahead or bring this team up from behind and steal a victory.  Neither has happened of late.  One win against 6 losses in the last…..umm, carry the, seven games.

It’s frustration.  It’s anger.  It’s answering a question while you’re sitting in your locker trying to get dressed and go home or catch a flight right after you lost again.  This time at home, again.

I figure there are 2 ways of looking at most things: big picture and picking it apart down to the bare bones of it.  To pick this apart, I’d have to do a little play for you:

Charlotte, NC Saturday Dec 19 approx 9:45 PM

Random Reporter:  ”So Gerald, tough game tonight…what do you think the major issue was”

Gerald Wallace:  ”Well, down the stretch we couldn’t close the gap and whenever you’re getting 8 rebounds from your 4 and 5, you aren’t going to be successful.  However we all have our own crosses to bear, for example my 2 missed free throws in the final 3 minutes.”

(SCENE)

New York, NY Sunday Dec 20 approx 10 PM

Random Reporter:  ”So, Tyson, tough game tonight but you did have a season high in points and rebounds.  Did your improved play have anything to do with Gerald Wallace calling you out after last night’s loss?”

Tyson Chandler:  ”Thanks for noticing.  No, my high totals at the end of the game had a bit more to do with Gerald not being in tonight’s game and I wish him well in his recovery from a headache.   I think it’s bull personally.  You guys are making much to big a deal about this.”

Random Reporter:  ”Would you have any words for Gerald going into the next game?”

TC:  ”When you lose and play like we do, you can’t say that someone else is the problem. I don’t feel like we’re good enough to point fingers.”

ahhhhhh and (SCENE)

This is a bit of a trumped up fairy tale version that I happened to make up.  The larger point is Gerald and Tyson are not going toe to hurt toe in the locker room.  No one in the league can be that sensitive.  I’ve had people say “What Gerald had to say was true but you don’t go whining to the media about it.”  My answer is, if not him, if not something, who and what can they say?

Some people would say leave it up to the coach to say stuff like that.  That’s fine but a 6th year starter and the best player on the team and the captain can say what he wants about the other players.  Was he wrong?

I don’t like that this has become Gerald vs Tyson because the least troublesome to me is Tyson’s production.  Boris Diaw however bothers me immensely.  Boris is a player of promise and skill except when he doesn’t feel like it or he’s hurt or any of a million other things that we all let get in the way.  Boris let’s other things get in the way more than any player on the team.  I want to know when he will become consistent one way or another because you can do something about good or bad but you can’t do anything when you’re all of these at the same time.

My big picture is, no one is doing all they can, not even Gerald Wallace or Stephen Jackson.  I want to see leadership out of Stephen.  I want to see dedication and concentration out of Raymond Felton.  I want to see concentration and control out of Gerald Wallace.  I want more fight and tenacity out of all the “bigs” Tyson, Nazr and Ganna especially.

More than anything I want to know when?  I know what I want, I know how they can do it, if you don’t see the “why” then you wouldn’t be reading this, and we’re fully aware of the “who” but when?  When will these guys build on what they know and execute the way they know they can?  It wasn’t Saturday, it wasn’t Sunday and it certainly wasn’t when they were sitting there in their lockers getting dressed and answering questions about how other people are playing.

This is the year they have to do it.  They have to start really rolling after the Christmas break.  Larry, the coaches, all the players have to do what we all know they can do and have done on individual account and in the past.  The time is now and I don’t want to hear anything until they do.