Bobcats In The Sun: The Charlotte Bobcats - IT'S OVER

[rise]

That depends on who decides to re-sign on my team. I've got Raymond Felton and a bunch of bench players on the Bobcats who will become free agents this offseason and on the Suns I've got Amare', Lamar Odom, and Joe Johnson and pretty much my entire bench. How many of those re-sign will make me decide who to pick.

[Murat]

...

[rise]

Sorry Badger you had to win the contest to get a rookie in the draft. I'll use the info next time I do a contest if you win. But for now you don't get it.

[rise]

Bad News For Tyson Chandler and the Bobcats
Charlotte Bobcats' center Tyson Chandler will be out for about 60 days with a severe knee injury - the same injury that plagued Phoenix Suns' power forward Amare' Stoudamire in December, January, and February. It will be mid-April by the time Chandler is ready to play again and when he does he will be quite limited. Luckily, he does not need surgery, but he still needs about two months to recover. This is terrible news for the 7'1 center with 12 rebounds and 4 blocks per game. It is too late for the Bobcats to trade for a new center as the trade deadline passed last week. Bobcats owner Michael Jordan said he wasn't sure whether to start Desagana Diop, a natural center but very slow and turnover prone or Boris Diaw, a 6'8 PF/SF who is capable of playing all 5 positions on the court. Their rising star, Walter Herrmann, may also have to play some time at center while 6'9 shooting guard Stephen Jackson may have to venture into small forward and power forward positions. With the absence of Tyson Chandler, Charlotte will be less of a presence on the boards and will be a very undersized team. This may be a great opportunity for Boris Diaw, who had been overshadowed for several months by Walter Herrmann, but may be starting again for Charlotte at a different position.

[Bucket]

Very bad news for MJ. Diaw to C

[rise]

Boris Diaw Will Play Center
As Boris Diaw plays the center position for the next one to two months, he will be the shortest starter to play the C. (No, Chuck Hayes is not the only center in Dallas right now) Boris Diaw said after agreeing to play center, "I'm ready to step up and take the challenge. I probably won't win many tip-offs, but I'll play the C the best I can. Diop will play behind me and he'll be starting a few games too." Boris Diaw is capable of blocking shots and can be a monster underneath the boards at times. In the light of Charlotte's predicament, swing man Stephen Jackson officially changed his primary position to SF. "I've played the 4 a couple times this season and I don't have a problem doing it again." Dijon Thompson, a 6'8 swing man also agreed to put in a few minutes at the 4 during this time and PF/SF Walter Herrmann will try to play center also, although he is hesitant to do so.

[rise]

More Bad News Hits Charlotte: Shaun Livingston's Knee Is Giving Him Trouble. Again.
Due to his knee injury a few years ago, back-up PG Shaun Livingston needs to take some time off - probably a couple weeks. This gives Charlotte a second injured player. Luckily PG Acie Law is there to take Livingston's place. This makes Charlotte smaller still as they have now lost their tallest center (7'1) and tallest point guard (6'7). Shaun Livingston, the tallest natural PG in the NBA right now, had a serious height advantage over opposing point guards and often other SGs. Michael Jordan said soon after releasing this info: "Now this team lacks size. Walter Herrmann and Boris Diaw are really going to have to play real hard and play like big men. We can't afford to have Desagana Diop on the floor all the time, but he's the only guy over 6'9 here so they're going to have to do their best to fill the void left by Tyson Chandler's injury." After that, he left, discouraged and lost for words.

[bryan_jay23]

that's gotta hurt.. diaw at C he's the player to watch

[rise]

Bobcats Slaughter The Spurs
Despite not having any true player at the 5, the Bobcats were able to pull off a big win in San Antonio. Tim Duncan was held to nine points and nine rebounds and Tony Parker fouled out late in the third quarter, scoring only six points and picking up three fouls in each quarter. Ian Mahinmi was scoreless throughout the match, despite playing the whole thing. This left Charlotte to deal with Manu Ginobili and Richard Jefferson. Jefferson scored 16 points in the first half and 11 in the second half, while Manu took over the entire first half and second half and finished with 43. George Hill was a presence off the bench, as he played more than Tony Parker did in the second half, he scored 12 and dished 9 assists.

The Bobcats were a different story. Jason Richardson took Jordan's advice ("Play hard") to extremes and scored 64 points, his highest ever in his career, to go along nicely with his six assists, six rebounds, four steals, and four blocks. Anthony Morrow was connecting on three's from all over the place (including one from the opposite 3-point line when I accidentally pressed the 'shoot' button.) and finished with his highest yet: 33 points on 11-19 shooting. Stephen Jackson played terrifically at PF: Walter Herrmann called him "A smallish Dwight Howard with 3 point range" from off the bench after Jax blocked Tim Duncan's shots twice in one play and then stole the ball from him. Not that Herrmann was just a spectator: he put in 16 points and registered five steals and he also scored the Bobcats' last shot: a buzzer-beating outside shot that put Charlotte up by 30 for the first time in nearly two months.

SAS: 27 | 60 | 81 | 113
CHA: 24 | 58 | 98 | 143

Top Performers:
Manu Ginobili: 43 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks
Jason Richardson (career high): 64 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals, 4 blocks

[rise]

Bobcats Fall To Houston
Life's not fair. That was pretty much the theme and moral of this game. Houston had a true center in Yao Ming (7'6) and Charlotte had Boris Diaw (6'8). See the problem? DeSagana Diop couldn't do much either, to stop Yao from dunking and shooting the ball 27 times throughout the match. Yao was incredibly efficient, making 21 of those and finishing with 44 points. Jason Richardson, Gerald Wallace, Anthony Morrow, and Stephen Jackson all tried outscoring him, but none of them could really find their range, except for J-Rich. The other three combined for a miserable 16 points, including 11 from Jackson, that didn't stop Richardson from trying and failing. He scored 11-37 for a total of 26 points. Yao Ming alone scored two more than all four of Charlotte's four leading scorers combined. That's all you need to know.

HOU: 31 | 59 | 76 | 109
CHA: 22 | 46 | 73 | 98

Top Performers:
Yao Ming: 44
Jason Richardson: 26

[rise]

Bobcats Lose 3 Straight After Winning 1
The Bobcats are still the third seed in the East after Boston (1) and Cleveland (2), but the fourth seed isn't far away. The Cats beat Boston in overtime (132-127), but lost their next three games (all at home) to the Pistons (97-87), the Heat (111-99), and the Wizards (123-122 2OT). Boris Diaw has made it clear he does not want to start at the 5, but he knows he has little choice as DeSagana Diop is not much of an option. However, Diop seems to be stepping up to the challenge nicely. In the Heat game, he scored 11 points and got 6 rebounds, much better than Boris Diaw who scored only one outside shot and grabbed only 3 rebounds. A few more games like that and Diop might become a starter. Stephen Jackson has played tremendously at PF, averaging 17 ppg and 4 blocks from the bench in the last four games. One major problem we saw with this team against the Pistons: Detroit had no Center either, as Kwame Brown had a minor neck injury a week before. The Bobcats excuse for losing? None.

[rise]

Cats Squeeze Out A Win In New Jersey
Devin Harris put up a fight, scoring ten times the points Raymond Felton scored and quadrupled his assist output. In spite of this Walter Herrmann led the Bobcats with 29 points, J-Rich trailed closely behind him with 27, and Desagana Diop, a starter this time, put up a season-high 14. Brook Lopez warred away at the boards pulling down 23 rebounds and saving none for anybody else. Anthony Morrow came through in the first quarter and then his game pretty much collapsed in the rest of it, but in that quarter, he nailed 5 3's and 6 free throws for 21 points in the first quarter. He finished with 21. Courtney Lee was stealing passes left and right and finished with 6 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds, and 6 steals. Devin Harris was clearly the player of the game, even though his team lost by two. Desagana Diop was the man who won it for Charlotte and will celebrate this victory more than most others. He told a reporter after the game, "I felt that this was really something special to me. I haven't won many games for my team because of just one shot and today I did and I'm happy about it. We're partying later: wanna come?"

NJN: 28 | 56 | 83 | 119
CHA: 36 | 67 | 90 | 121

TOP PERFORMERS:
CHA: Walter Herrmann: 29 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
NJN: Devin Harris: 40 points, 2 rebounds, 16 assists, 4 steals, 0 blocks

[Bucket]

Three quarters?

[rise]

Three quarters?

NJN: 28 | 56 | 83 | 119
CHA: 36 | 67 | 90 | 121

why do you say that?

[Bucket]

Yes

[Keef]

That's points at the end of each quarter not points scored in each quarter. So he is showing 4 quarters

[rise]

Three quarters?

NJN: 28 | 56 | 83 | 119
CHA: 36 | 67 | 90 | 121

why do you say that?

Yes

I asked why you said that and yes, Keef is right. I didn't score 90 points in the 3rd.

[rise]

Bobcats Beat LeBron and the Cavaliers in Cleveland

LeBron couldn't believe it. He scored 53 points, registered a monstrous triple-double, and he wasn't even the highest scorer in the game. Jason Richardson, who scored all of the Bobcats points in the third quarter (21), beat LeBron by seven to put up his second 60-point performance of the season. But these scores eclipsed something more serious to the Cavaliers. Mo Williams came down hard on his elbow after a layup and may miss anywhere from a week to a month for the Cavaliers. While the Cavaliers are the second seed in the East, they are unlikely to drop to third as the third seed is none other than the Bobcats. The Cavs are nearly ten wins ahead of the Bobcats, but this may hinder chances of moving ahead of Boston for the first seed.

Apart from Williams' injury late in the third quarter, it was a typical game. The lead swung back and forth throughout the game, the lead never moving past ten on either side. Neither side had the advantage until the injury. J-Rich had dominated the third quarter, but the Cavs had had their share of baskets and led by nine when the injury occurred. This was when Raymond Felton took off. Fatigue didn't deter him from dishing nine assists and putting in eleven points in the fourth quarter. By the time it was over, Charlotte had a four point lead, due in part, to Desagana Diop's lucky three. He randomly launched a half-court shot and found himself with only his third 3 point FG of the season. The Cats overcame the Cavs 120-116.

CLE: 28 | 49 | 84 | 116
CHA: 28 | 54 | 75 | 120

TOP PERFORMERS:
Jason Richardson: 60 points, 4 assists, 1 rebound, 4 blocks, 0 steals.
LeBron James: 53 points, 13 assists, 14 rebounds, 1 block, 4 steals.

[Axel The Great]

At least it wasn't another spanking. Hopefully this will help you get closer to Cleveland.

[rise]

FINAL ROSTERS and CURRENT STANDINGS as of April 3, 2010 (in the game).
Note: for a strange reason, it is an 86-game season
WEST
1. LAL 55-16
2. DAL 53-18
3. SAS 53-21
4. NOH 49-21
5. UTAH 50-26
6. PHX 48-25
7. GSW 39-25
8. POR 37-35
9. HOU 34-39
10. DEN 33-40
11. LAC 32-42
12. SAC 27-44
13. MEM 21-48
14. MIN 16-55
15. OKC 16-58
EAST
1. BOS 65-12
2. CLE 63-14
3. CHA 55-19
4. WAS 45-27
5. CHI 43-22
6. TOR 39-32
7. ORL 39-31
8. NYK 30-42
9. MIA 30-45
10. DET 27-43
11. NJN 24-46
12. ATL 23-50
13. PHI 18-54
14. IND 14-57
15. MIL 11-60

[Bucket]

OKC last?

[rise]

Yeah, KD's rating is only 83. If it doesn't go up by at least five in the off-season, I'll raise it myself with dbf editing.

EDIT: I raised it myself. He is now a 90 overall. He averages approx. 20-30 ppg now.

[rise]

Bobcats Beat The Heat in South Beach
Losing isn't what Dwayne Wade expects when he scores more than double of everyone who plays in a game. He expects his team to step up their games to try to match his. But his team didn't step up to that challenge and the Heat lost to the Bobcats by five. Flash scored 45 points - his third highest of the season (he scored 54 in a game against the Pistons and 47 against Houston on opening night). Mario Chalmers was also big for Miami, scoring 20 and dishing 19 assists in just 1/2 the game. He fouled out midway through the 3rd quarter.

Desagana Diop was named the Bobcats' new starting big man after Boris Diaw played another lousy game, with 2 points, 1 block, and 4 rebounds. Diop tripled his output in half the playing time. Surprisingly Jason Richardson was held to only 21, due to poor shooting (3-16 from outside) and D-Wade's strong D. Walter Herrmann, Gerald Wallace, and Stephen Jackson had 16 points each and they pulled down a total of 32 rebounds.


MIA: 24 | 59 | 79 | 99
CHA: 29 | 54 | 83 | 116

[Murat]

How was Beasley?

[rise]

I don't recall Beasley even playing. In fact, I'm not even sure if Beasley still plays for Miami in this franchise. I'll look to see if he's there.