Bobcats: What goes down must come up

I watched the Bobcats dismantle Cleveland in Charlotte Friday night, winning by 17, and here's my column about that.

You'll notice I started almost every paragraph with the phrase "I have never" -- it was a game like that, full of oddities (Antawn Jamison going 0-for 12?! Tyrus Thomas blocking six shots in his first game for Charlotte?!)

The win also was a real boon to Charlotte, which had lost to the 5-50 New Jersey Nets at home Tuesday. That was seriously embarrassing. Two of the Nets' five wins this season came against Charlotte. Yet the Bobcats have a 3-1 record against Cleveland, which still has the best record in the NBA (Current standings can be found here).

If the playoffs started today, the Bobcats would be a No.8 seed and face Cleveland, the No.1 seed, in the Eastern Conference. I still don't think Charlotte could beat Cleveland in a playoff series, despite whipping the Cavs three straight this season, but as I wrote today, I'm at least willing to entertain the possibility now.

One more note: there were close to 1,000 entries in my "2 free Bobcats tickets" contest. The deadline has now passed to enter, but thanks to all who did.

The contest winner will be announced no later than Monday morning on this blog and in The Charlotte Observer.