Bobcats Stop Playing at the Half, Lose 99-78
If you tuned in to the first half of tonight’s game, you would have definitely thought that the Bobcats were going to put a beat down on the Brooklyn Nets. I will be the first to admit that I believed it. I was looking forward to shaving my beard off and everything. (I told Byron Mullens on Twitter that I wasn’t shaving my beard off until they won another game). Will I be shaving? Take the jump to find out.
As I was saying, I fully believed that the Charlotte Bobcats were going to beat the Brooklyn Nets tonight. They Nets looked lifeless in the first half. They had tons of turnovers, and couldn’t make a basket…unless it was a 3-pointer. No shock there because we are just horrible when it comes to defending those. Even with the 3-pointers, we went into the half with a 10-point lead, shooting 50% from the field, and our heads held fairly high. The Nets are definitely going to the playoffs and are actually playing to get a record good enough to have a home court advantage. I’m actually shocked that we are playing the Nets so well, and Gerald Wallace looks so bad.
Unfortunately, they must show Schindler’s List…Leaving Las Vegas…Million Dollar Baby…or something like that during halftime for the players to watch in the locker room while the coaches discuss strategy for the seconds half of the game.
You may be asking why I believe this is true…
Let me enlighten you. A team that shoots 50% in the first half against a 5th seed team in the east should be beyond pumped and ready to just completely dismantle their opponents in the second half. Not our Tame Tabbycats. Instead of the Ferocious Fighting Felines that we watched in the first half, we get this depressing, dejected team coming out of the locker room, bodies slouched over, and zero energy. We finish the 3rd with 16% shooting and 9 points. That would be twice in the past week or so that we have reported a single digit quarter. Totally unacceptable for a pro team to do so. Now, I can accept it to a certain extent. The defense that was being played had gone from great to acceptable, and with our youth, I can still handle it. Unfortunately, as we ventured into the 4th, the flatness of the team didn’t improve. With 3:11 left in the game, the Bobcats stopped playing. I’m not even making this up. They were moving with the in bounded ball like there was 15 seconds left in the game and they were running the clock down. The entire purpose this season, if we can’t win, is to see effort. Effort was somehow killed at the half, and with 3 minutes left, it was buried. I actually quit watching and started writing this recap. The team I watched in the first half earned this recap. The team I watched in the second half just flat out disgusted me. Those last 3 minutes…I would have booed you guys off the court if I had been there. There’s still a couple months left in the season Bobcats…let’s actually finish strong. Gilchrist and Biyombo are really starting to pick it up and the rest of the team has fallen off. If you want to continue to keep fans remotely interested in this team, you better wake up the players that aren’t putting forth effort and have them contribute.
Note to Kemba; you, Gillie, and Bis are the future. We really, REALLY need you guys to finish strong. That crap tonight for the last 3 minutes…unacceptable.
Gilchrist gets my Trade Street Post Gamebreaker award. This stretch of games you have put together as of late have been a thing of beauty. You’re gaining confidence in your overall game and it is showing on the floor. Continue to play beyond our record states and you’ll be just fine. 17 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals on the night was a pretty good stat line considering your counterpart, and former Bobcats hero, Gerald Wallace, turned in 8 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 5 blocks. You did your job tonight Mike, and I thank you for that. Our Next game is Friday night against the Thunder…
WELP…that will be an interesting one.
On a happier note...Happy 14th Wedding Anniversary to my awesome and beautiful wife. I love you Misty!
