Curse You, New Jersey

My Bobcats were one pick away from pulling off the draft that I've been hoping to see. Too bad the New Jersey Nets had to go and screw it up. The Nets drafted Louisville forward Terrence Williams at #11, one spot before the Cats scooped up Duke G Gerald Henderson as a consolation prize. Henderson should be a good player (and shut up all the Duke fans who constantly gripe about Charlotte's Tar Heel-centric nature), but after watching T-Will here in Louisville I was very excited about what he would bring to the team. Charlotte rounded out their draft with Xavier power forward Derrick Brown in the second round. I don't know much of anything about him, but hopefully he can provide us with the backup power forward that Sean May never became. How was your team's draft? Weigh in in the comments.

Pulling For the Trifecta

I've dubbed it "The Trifecta." It's never happened before - all 3 Carolina pro sports teams making the playoffs in the same season. There's an outside chance it could happen this year, and the prospect has me pumped with anticipation. The Carolina Panthers already did their part, smashing through the regular season with a 12-4 record, winning the NFC South division, and heading into the playoffs (unfortunately with very forgettable results). Next on tap, the Carolina Hurricanes, who at present are arguably the hottest team in the entire NHL coming off a 10-1-2 March. After beginning the month as an inconsistent team with fringe playoff hopes, the renaissance of goalie Cam Ward and the reaquisition of forward Erik Cole (who was just traded away to Edmonton last summer) has them sitting smack dab in the middle of the Eastern Conference race as the team that nobody wants to play in the first round. After last season's final week collapse that left the Canes a point out of the playoffs I don't want to assume anything right now, but they look like a pretty sure bet for postseason play this year. Then you've got the Charlotte Bobcats, a bit of a long shot for the NBA playoffs right now but all the more exciting because nobody ever expected them to even be where they are now. With new coach (but Hall-of-Famer) Larry Brown at the helm, the team struggled out of the gate to adjust to his demanding system and style of play. However, a midseason makeover (and an extreme one at that) of the roster has them playing great basketball right now, culminating in a win over the Lakers Tuesday night. A double-overtime heartbreaking loss to defending-champ Boston last night hurt, and it's likely that the early season hole they dug is just a hair too deep for their late surge to overcome, but they're only a game and a half out of the final spot with 7 to go, so anything's possible. At any rate, expectations should be high next year with the current roster coming into training camp rather than learning to play together on the fly. Will the Cats sneak past Chicago or Detroit and into the playoffs? Will the Canes repeat their magical 2006 Stanley Cup run? Will I ever get over that Arizona playoff game? I don't know, but it's sure a great time to be a Carolina sports fan.

The Humble Star

Any NBA fans, or even sports fans in general, ought to check out this great post from The Blazing Center's Stephen Altrogge on a picture of humility from L.A. Lakers star Lamar Odom.

Long Way to Go

Last night, my Charlotte Bobcats played their first game under new coach Larry Brown. Brown is a basketball mastermind, and his hiring has many Bobcats fans (all 17 of us) hoping that this will be the year the team finally puts the pieces together and pulls off a winning season. That may still happen, but last night's 96-79 loss to the Cavs showed that there's still a lot of work to be done. This team has a lot of young talent, but they've got a ways to go to put it together as a team. Here's hoping that they find a way to do it.

Any NBA fans out there? I'd love to hear your predictions and thoughts on the new season.

Bobcats Add a Few Pieces

While one could argue that a team that finished 32-50 last year has a whole lot of needs, my Charlotte Bobcats really had two big ones: a point guard to compete with Raymond Felton and a big presence down low to complement Emeka Okafor. Time will ultimately be the judge, but at least on paper the ‘Cats addressed both needs in last night’s NBA Draft.

With the ninth pick, team president Michael Jordan and new coach Larry Brown made the difficult decision to pass on Stanford 7-footer Brook Lopez (who unexpectedly was still available) and pulled the trigger on Texas PG D.J. Augustin. Augustin is small (6-foot even), but he’s a great passer and floor-leader who will provide stiff competition to Felton, who is more of a scorer at the point. Coach Brown is notoriously tough on his point guards, and he apparently couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take the guy widely considered to be the second-best PG in the draft behind #1 overall pick Derrick Rose. The Bobcats followed that pick by using next year’s first-rounder to trade back into the bottom of the first round (a bit of a trend among Charlotte pro teams this year) and select 7-foot French center Alexis Ajinca. Ajinca is lean and very raw, but Brown and Jordan were very impressed by his workout earlier this month and decided that he was worth the investment. Having not really seen Ajinca in action here in the U.S., I don’t really know what to think of the pick, but I trust that a championship-winning coach like Brown knows what he’s doing.

The ‘Cats added a tough defender in Washington State guard Kyle Weaver in the second round to round out an encouraging, but not blockbuster, night at the draft. At least Gerald Wallace is still on the roster. Jordan confirmed that a trade of Wallace for Toronto PG T.J. Ford was being considered at the start of the night, but eventually fell through and saw Ford instead dealt to Indiana. Ford’s a good player, but I’ll take Augustin and Wallace together over him any day. Perhaps this is the year the Bobcats finally crack the playoffs for the first time. Any other NBA fans out there? What do you think of your team’s draft last night?

You Know You've Thought the Same Thing...

Hilarious quote from ESPN columnist Bill Simmons (if you're not an NBA fan and don't get it, click on the included link)...

"By the way, we're going to have our hands full with lump-in-the-throat ABC halftime pieces during the Finals, between Fisher's daughter bravely battling cancer, Doc Rivers losing his father a few months ago, Bill Russell remembering the late Red Auerbach, P.J. Brown helping a post-Katrina New Orleans, and the 25th anniversary of Sam Cassell's spaceship landing on Earth."

Bitterness, Nostalgia, and NBA Basketball

I hate the New Orleans Hornets. It seems kind of petty and sad to actually see it in print, but it’s true. I came to this realization last night as I watched the San Antonio Spurs knock the Hornets out of the playoffs. Now, I have no animosity toward any of the Hornets’ players or coaches. I have nothing against the city of New Orleans. I hate the New Orleans Hornets because they used to be the Charlotte Hornets. I grew up as a die-hard Hornets fan. My dad would take me and my brothers to 5 or so games a year, and when I was in high school and could drive, I’d buy cheap playoff tickets every year that the team made it. I sat in the Charlotte Coliseum (affectionately known as “The Hive”) and watched the team play against Michael Jordan’s Bulls, Shaq and Kobe’s Lakers, and Grant Hill’s Pistons. I watched Alonzo Mourning block shots, Glen Rice rain down threes, and Baron Davis weave through defenders to dunk over guys a foot taller than him. I enjoyed fun times with family, nights out with friends, and several dates with a cute girl from school who would end up becoming my wife. I’ve got many great memories from my teenage years that the Hornets are a part of. So, when owner George Shinn (restraining myself) alienated fans with his behavior and demands and moved the team to New Orleans after my freshman year of college, I was pretty upset, and didn’t watch an NBA game for about 3 years.

Then, in 2005, a new NBA era began in Charlotte with the Bobcats – our expansion team awarded by the NBA after they recognized the raw deal the city got from the Hornets. I’ve become a fan again over the past 4 seasons. I’ve adjusted to the new colors and name, been excited by the young, scrappy players, and even attended a couple games while visiting family back in Carolina. As I’ve started watching NBA ball again, I knew I didn’t much care for the Hornets, but I really didn’t realize that I hated them until last night. I flipped over to the game to see what promised to be (and was) a good and exciting contest, but as soon as I saw that familiar logo, it’s like the anger came surging back all at once. Suddenly, I wanted to see the Spurs destroy the Hornets. I wanted to see all those fans in their matching white T-shirts go home sad. I wanted to know that the team had still never made it farther in the playoffs in New Orleans then they had in Charlotte. I remarked to Heather how much I hated that stupid yellow that had been added to the Hornets’ teal and purple. When I saw a friend at work today who I enjoy talking basketball with, I burst into a demented laugh while remarking that the Hornets were done for the year. Another friend accurately remarked that I sounded possessed.

As the day went by, I started asking myself the question – why does that team bother me so much? Why did simply watching a basketball game incite so much bitterness in me? I honestly think that it’s because watching the Hornets brings up all the memories I talked about before, with a stinging reminder that they’re done and gone, and I can’t add to them or relive them. I have lots of similar memories surrounding Carolina Panthers football, and those memories are relived in a way with every game I watch. I’m adding to them. I can look forward to watching a game with my little girl, to sharing that excitement and joy that sports can bring with her. We’ve got her a little baby Panthers cheerleader outfit to wear this fall. I can’t buy her a Hornets shirt, though. That chapter of my memories is closed. The night that I spent with Heather wearing white headbands and waving white towels with 22,000 other screaming people while the Hornets swept the Miami Heat out of the playoffs in 2001 is not one that I can have jogged to my memory with every new Hornets game I watch. It’s over. Watching the Hornets play last night jogged those feelings to my memory, but it did so along with the feeling that I’ve been robbed from getting to add to those memories. Because of my sinful human heart, my reaction was anger and hatred, pointed dead center at 12 basketball players that had nothing to do with the whole mess. The far better reaction, and the one I’m focusing on today, is to remember those memories, remember the joy they brought, and look forward to the new and different ones to come. Just because that team’s no longer there doesn’t mean my memories are cheapened in any way. Plus, I’ve got a new team to pull for, and a brand new slate of memories to make with them. In some strange way, God has used the experience to remind me of my propensity to lash out with (or hold in) anger when I feel wronged, and to remind me of his goodness that knows no end. Don’t get me wrong – I won’t be cheering on the Hornets anytime soon. In fact, if the Bobcats win only one game next year I hope it’s against them. But I don’t think I hate them anymore. Maybe.

Bobcats Find their Man

I’m one of the few and the proud. No, I’m not a marine - I’m a Charlotte Bobcats fan. I grew up going to Hornets games in Charlotte with my dad, but when The Owner Who Shall Not Be Named moved my beloved Hornets to New Orleans after the 2002 season, I quit watching NBA ball. In 2004, the NBA returned to Charlotte with the Bobcats, and while I was initially apathetic, I’ve gotten used to the idea of a new team with a new name and new colors. For the first three years of their existence, under coach Bernie Bickerstaff (who resigned to take a front office position), they were not very good, but they were scrappy. I like that in a team. This year, under new rookie coach Sam Vincent, one could make a decent argument that they were good, but not that scrappy. This earned Vincent his walking papers after just one season. After yesterday’s announcement of our third head coach, I’m sure the team will be scrappy next season, and the odds aren’t bad that they’ll be good as well.

The ‘Cats hired hall-of-famer Larry Brown, a journeyman coach who has won championships at both the college (Kansas) and pro (Detroit) levels. Brown rarely stays in one place for too long, and his strong ideas of how the game should be played often create friction with players or management, but before they do that they have another effect – they make the team really good.

The Bobcats have the tools. Jason Richardson had a breakout season this year, Gerald Wallace is, in my opinion, the most underrated player in the NBA, and Emeka Okafor is a solid low-post defender. Couple them with Raymond Felton’s potential at point guard, Adam Morrison and Sean May returning from season-long injuries, and a lottery pick in the upcoming draft and the pieces are in place. Now, the Bobcats have the chessmaster to play with them, and the potential to make their debut as a legitimate NBA force.