The Bobcats entered Tuesday night’s game in Memphis with 12 straight road defeats, while the Grizzlies had 12 straight home victories; nothing had to give. Through three quarters, though, the Bobcats trailed by just 5 points, and Jannero Pargo opened the fourth with a 3-pointer to make it 63-60. But then all normalcy broke loose, as the Grizzlies went on a 15-0 run. The bloodshed lasted just 3.5 minutes of game time, although coach Dunlap frantically called three full timeouts during that span, defibrillator-style. Sadly, the Bobcats couldn’t be revived.

It’s a shame, and a weird shame at that, because all but two of the points during that violent outburst came from Austin Daye, Jon Leuer, and Ed Davis. Prior to that, the Bobcats had done a decent job (at least, defensively) on the Grizzlies stars, who—except for Mike Connelly—all started the fourth quarter on the bench. Marc Gasol went just 4-11 for 8 points and 6 boards, as Bismack Biyombo did a remarkably nice job keeping the fiendish Spaniard in check. I often criticize Biyombo for providing less offense than Johnny in Johnny Got His Gun, so just for the record: good job, Biz. A remarkable job, in fact. I totally remarked on it. Meanwhile, Zach Randolph was pestered all night with double teams and could only fork over 11 points and 13 boards. A frustrated Randolph would eventually retaliate in the only sensible way possible by flipping the ball at an innocent bystander in the crowd (to his credit, Randolph went over and hugged the fan, who probably felt that a simple apology would have been sufficient). Thus when Pargo buried that 3 like drug money to start the fourth, I was psyched.

On the one hand, the Bobcats committed 18 turnovers, shot 38% from the field, missed 9 free throws, snapped their 3-game winning streak, and probably lost Tyrus Thomas for several games with a calf injury.  But on the plus side, if they ever decide to reboot the “Daredevil” franchise, I think we’ve found our next Bullseye.  That would be Memphis’s Jerryd Bayless, part of an entourage of rebounders and turnover-causers that—like a regulation NBA ball—proved to be too much for the Bobcats to handle last night.  Rick Bonnell noted that Kemba Walker and Ben Gordon each had 4 “throwaways,” but two of Gordon’s were really dribble-off-your-own-knee-with-nobody-even-guarding-you-aways.  I also counted at least two separate occasions in which Byron Mullens was genuinely stunned when someone passed him the ball and proceeded to bobble it all over the place.  Considering his 7-21 shooting performance, perhaps he should have been stunned.

There were other positives in this game, though, starting with the crowd.  The previous home game against the Wizards had fewer occupants than a Deadwood brothel.  Against the Grizzlies, though, the crowd was into it for most of the night.  Even after Mike Conley’s 32-footer on a broken play put Memphis up 11 and sucked the air out of the building faster than Cohaagen in Total Recall, the crowd still rallied the Bobcats to get within 5.  It wasn’t enough, though, with Conley controlling the game a la Chris Paul and Zach Randolph attacking the hoop like it was Kendrick Perkins by a bus.

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.

Envy

I commented on this in our forums yesterday, but I typed a sentence that from the beginning of time through about 2 weeks ago has likely never been typed before. Here goes:

I am envious of the Memphis Grizzlies and their organization

There, I said it. It’s out of my system. The Grizzlies have managed to take out one of the two premiere franchises of the last 15 years… And they did it with their best player (Rudy Gay) out of the playoffs with an injury. They were younger, faster and quite a bit more physical than the San Antonio Spurs for the majority of the series. Their win was not a fluke.

They have young talent with Mayo, Conley, Gay, Gasol and defensive stopper Tony Allen ( hmmm, does he remind you of anyone in particular) . They are not in contract Hell, they play with energy and with the return of their best player next season they are certainly a team on the way up.

As a Bobcats fan, it would be an amazing experience to be in the position that the Grizzlies are in right now. But for now, I’ll just have to settle for being envious.

Any other envious people here?

Memphis is the greatest team ever assembled.  That’s a fact.  I only watch the Bobcats, you see, and I hear Boston is good, but they only beat the Bobcats by 31, so Memphis is 2 points better.  That’s how it works.

I had to let that one marinade for a day, I couldn’t sit down to write a wrap-up.  I wasn’t pissed, I just don’t really know how to put it into words.  I feel like, well as a Christmas treat, I feel like Clarke W. Griswold Jr. when he opens his Christmas Bonus.

So excited, expecting so much, then OJ Mayo, Rudy Gay and Darrell Arthur go on a dunk fest, sorta like a pre-game lay-up line.  The Bobcats are the jelly of the month club and Larry Brown is Cousin Eddie telling you “That’s the gift that keeps on giving” all season long.  There is a promo currently airing on ESPN that’s a mashup of an A-Team trailer and promo for their basketball coverage.  When they mention coaches, Larry is one of the 4 or so that they show.  Phil Jackson, Stan VanGundy, Popovich are the others.  Larry is supposed to be up there, he’s supposed to be one of those guys that keep their team in it.  Instead he mopes post-game into comments like this:

What an eventful 24 hours for Bobcats fans. First, Captain Jack and crew won an exciting, hard fought game over a young Memphis Grizzlies squad 93-89. Then, in the early morning hours we found out that UNC and NBA legend and current co-owner Michael Jordan will become the next controlling owner of the Bobcats, succeeding Robert Johnson.

Let’s start with the big news. According to many sources, MJ worked up until minutes before his deadline of midnight Friday, finally putting together a group of investors satisfactory to Bob Johnson and what meets NBA requirements. NBA commisioner David Stern said he expects the sale to go through by the end of next month, and even though the sale needs the approval of the other 29 owners, Mr. Stern doesn’t see that as a problem. For those who follow the team closely, this is an excellent move. Not only does it mean Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown will most likely stay on, but that team stars Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson are safe, and that the continuing development of Raymond Felton and Tyrus Thomas won’t be hindered. General Manager Rod Higgins, who was instrumental in bringing in Stephen Jackson, Jason Richardson (now in Phoenix), Boris Diaw, and Raja Bell (now in Golden State), will be able to continue building a veteran team and asserting himself as a solid front office man, and assistant coach Dave Hanners can be groomed to take over when Coach Brown decides to retire. But more than the current state of affairs, having one of the greatest players ever in any sport as your owner creates many opportunities. For a team lacking both corporate sponsors and star power, the pitchman Jordan is fills a much needed gap. As long as he continues to increase his prescence at games and in the community, the community will continue to warm to the Bobcats. For someone with a competitive spirit like Mike, putting a winning product on the court shouldn’t be a problem, and making sure the team wins over his home will likely be equally easy. Just remember, if you tell MJ he can’t, he’ll do it and then some. Just ask Bryon Russell.

Now back to the on-court action. Last night, Stephen Jackson was channeling his inner MJ in Memphis against the Grizzlies, putting up 32 points on 13-26 shooting and 3-7 from three. But the numbers don’t nearly tell the story. He put up 19 of the 32 in the second half, 10 in the fourth quarter. Also, he hit a 3 at the buzzer to put the ‘Cats up 84-82, then another 3 after faking out Sam Young to give Charlotte the lead for good. Captain Jack also had a game-high 11 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. Boris Diaw had an impressive game, going 7-12 (3-6 from distance) for 18 points and grabbed 5 boards. Tyrus Thomas continued to impress in his sixth man role since coming over from Chicago, playing 22 minutes and shooting 6-7 for 13 points with 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks. Unfortunately, DJ Augustin can’t seem to get it together, once again going 1-5 for 2 points with 2 turnovers and no assists, marking the 33rd time this season he has made 1 or 0 field goals in a game. Rudy Gay and Zach Randolph led Memphis with lines of 20/5/3 and 24/10/1, respectively.