As I watched the Charlotte Bobcats in person for the first time in awhile Saturday night while they lost to the Atlanta Hawks by 20 points, I was struck by how far, far, far away the Bobcats are from being a legitimately good NBA team.
I know that is no news to you, if you follow the Bobcats even casually. But the carnage looks even worse in person. The Bobcats (7-47) are the NBA's worst team by a long three-point shot, and there's a realistic chance they won't win another game in this abbreviated, 66-game NBA regular season. That would mean the current losing streak of 11 would end up at a season-ending 23.
Now granted, there's not much of a chance of that.
The Bobcats have an even dozen games left, and Washington (the NBA's second-worst team, ahead of only Charlotte in the current NBA standings) is on the schedule twice, including Monday at home. The Bobcats are probably going to go 1-11 or 2-10 in that final 12-game stretch, maybe even 3-9, which will mean their final record will wind up around 9-57, give or take a game or two.
Awful, isn't it? The team's problems are so numerous that I won't go into them all here, but suffice it to say they aren't very good on offense or defense, they don't have nearly enough strong players and they also aren't entertaining. When the biggest cheer of the night from the "attendance" of 14,715 (there appeared to be about half that actually in the stands) is for the acrobatic dunkers who use a mini-trampoline during a timeout to entertain the crowd, you're in trouble.
Bobcats owner Michael Jordan wasn't in his customary courtside seat Saturday night, but he's got a lot of work to do here. Anthony Davis won't solve this problem if the Bobcats are able to win him in the NBA lottery. No single player will. The Bobcats are about three very good players short of being as good as, say, Atlanta, which is around a No.5 seed in the Eastern Conference.
It's saying something that this is the worst Bobcats' team in franchise history -- the Bobcats, after all, have never won a playoff game and have only made the playoffs once -- but there's no doubt that it is. This season absolutely can't end fast enough.
We're moving!
9 years ago
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17 comments:
I said before the season this team might win only 10 games...wow...what an utterly disgusting and lame product....shame on the front office....this team is painful to watch....this is the worst team in the history of North carolina's professional sports franchises....MJ how can you stand it...have you no pride???? How soon before you bail on this mess?
A Charlotte Observer sports writer who says he hardly goes to games. Wow.
Go figure.
Guess Scott will do his customary bandwagon jumping in a few seasons when we are in the playoffs.
reminds me of the 2001 Carolina Panthers
'customary seat?'
I think Mike has been to maybe 5 games at most this season. And at least two of those he left at halftime.
If he doesn't support the team why should we?
3 good players, a supporting cast, a bench, a coach, a system, a new team name,
anything else?
I go to Bobcat games and sit as close to the action as I can.
The dancer action that is. Those chicks are hot and the only thing about the games that get me worked up
The 'Cats will NOT win 10 games so long as Kemba Walker thinks he Jordan taking 26 shots, and is consistently 1 dimensional with NO jumpshot. At this rate Kemba Walker will NOT last in the league as a point guard: he CAN'T set up other players, CAN'T pass to the open man, CAN'T make a jumpshot, and CAN'T shoot near 50%. The reason why coaching won't help is because there's TOO MUCH Kemba Walker needs to recognize and learn for HIMSELF first! I hope Kemba proves us wrong, but it's becoming clear, this draft choice (probably by Jordan,himself) was a BUST. Go 'Cats!
Does anyone CARE if they win another game this season? I mean, seriously? This team is about as insignificant as they come. I live near Charlotte and I could care less about them. When the ownership becomes committed - so will I.
Before the season got underway I did a youtube video where I pick the Bobcats to win between 8 to 10 games. At the time Bobcats fans who watched the video thought that I was crazy and the Bobcats were going to win close to 25 games.I guess I was not crazy after-all. The main reason why the Bobcats are soo bad is not because they luck talent so much but it more to do with the fact that they don't play with effort. this Bobcats team in a way remind of the 2001 Panthers team .A team where team simply did not try to win any game.
@ Anon 12:49am
Do you blame Scott Fowler for not going to these games? I mean seriously? He's not the Bobcats beat writer, that's Rick Bonnell. So he doesn't have to go to every game. Hell, I feel sorry for poor Rick, having to watch this garbage 66 times this year.
There is a bit of a silver lining here though...imagine if this was a full 82 game season? At least the miserty this team spreads is abbreviated. Keep your fingers crossed during the draft lottery...and the draft lottery the year after that...annnnd probably the year after that as well. Yipee.
you are stretching it to say Michael Jordan's "Customary" courtside seats. Would be interested to actually see how many games he sat there this season, but as a season ticket holder who notices, I assure you it isn't more than 10.
Nobody cares about the Bobcats outside of Charlotte. The Hornets had a following all over North Carolina.
lets not get into the hornets again. what a tired discussion. shinn sucked and we all wanted him and his team gone. yes the bobcats are weak but with a little lottery luck things can change in a couple of seasons. i would be for a name change but not to hornets - Flight would do nicely
If you win they will come, and Cho knows how to win with a small market team. Just everybody slow down and enjoy the trials and tribulations the team is/will go through. We will be much improved next year, playoff team in 2-3 years.
I think Jordan is doing exactly what he should be doing with 12 games left in the season...NOTHING. However, expect some good things to happen after the season is over. During the meantime, these games will be used to evaluate our current players to help determine who will stay and who will go.
I agree that this season should have been used to evaluate the talent of our players and with the remaining 12 games, continue to do so, but there is NO WAY that has or will happen so long as Silas is running the show.
Seriously, this coaching staff is SO INEPT that they can't even get a consistent starting lineup together. They've been pinning it on injuries, but quite honestly, that can't be used as an excuse anymore. Silas is NOT a good fit for these guys...he's way too laid back and doesn't FIGHT. These players have no passion in the game, and it all starts with the top. If your coach is constantly sitting, shaking his head and plopping himself on his seat looking like he's half asleep, do you really expect your players to give you effort?
The telling sign was when the Bobcats beat the Orlando Magic about a month ago, when Paul Silas got thrown out in the beginning of the 2nd quarter after we were already down 20. Then, we managed to scrap, fight and clawed our way back to win the game.
Had NOTHING to do with coaching, but the players basically saying, OK, coach is fighting for us today, let's try to pay homage to him.
This team has some talent...players like Mullens, Kemba/Biyombo (have the ability to be good NBA players but need to work hard in the offseason), Hendo, and D. Brown are worth keeping. Augustin is going to be trade bait, and if we can shop Tyrus Thomas...do it!
Bring in a coach who demands respect and can coach these young players, and watch what they can do. I guarantee we will win more than 7 games, even with this squad on the court. You think Phil Jackson would put up with the effort this team brings?
Okay. As a sports writer for the CHARLOTTE observer it seems as though you would want to support CHARLOTTE sport teams regardless of how good or bad they may be. Obviously the Bobcats aren't the best but you can still show support for the team by going to their games and cheering them on. I hate fair weather fans. And sports writers.
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