MVN: Most Valuable Network

Friday was a full day of NBA improbables.

• The Knicks actually did some good things, trading Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford
• Toronto Raptors F/C/wasted draft pick Andrea Bargnani (I say it with love; I have him on one of my fantasy teams) broke out for a season high 25 points.
• Nets G/F Vince Carter won a game. No, really. He won on a reverse dunk in the last second of overtime.
• Stephon Marbury actually put on a uniform for the Knicks. Not that he opted to play or anything...they had to dress him due to the trade.
• And the Charlotte Bobcats got a glimpse of the future.

Yeah, it came in the form of an 88-83 loss to the now playoff tested and more confident Atlanta Hawks. And it didn't prevent them from dropping to 3-8 in the Larry Brown Era. But the major change was shifting rookie D.J. Augustin into the starting lineup with Raymond Felton.

Augustin responded with the best game of his young career, scoring 26, dishing 7 assists, and hitting 7-11 from three with only 1 turnover, his first in 2 games. In essence, Augustin played the way Felton would if he could shoot.

It nearly offset the 3-15 Felton put up, the paucity of free throws (10-15, six attmepts by Matt Carroll off the bench) and the overall putrid shooting (42% from the field). And it did come at the expense of what may be the worst defender at point in the league in Mike Bibby, and he only went to the line twice. But Augustin was determined to score, and virtually put the team on his back since only one other Bobcat, Gerald Wallace, even cracked double figures (17 points, 10 boards - his second double double of the season).

The other day I spoke of malaise. Today, even in the loss, there was something to look forward to for all the Bobcats players and fans.

Well, for everyone but Raymond Felton. The transition to Augustin may be faster than any of us may have thought.

Other notable items:

• If anyone doubts that Joe Johnson is a star, games like this should clear that up. the "M-V-P, M-V-P" chants were strong in Philips Arena
• A-Mo has shifted back to the low bench, with only six minutes and 2 points
• Who was worse? Sean May: 3 minutes one turnover, one foul.
  

So we few, proud Bobcats bloggers keep churning away (some moreso than others, as I think of the recent games I have let go by), even though there is really a pall over the franchise right now. I look around at the other fellas, and I find they seem to feel the same way I do about the team; nothing good is happening to speak of, and they can be downright ugly to watch.About the loss to the Mavericks, here's Bigcat Bobcat over at the Planet:Yikes, has the first quarter ended yet? If the NBA decided for some reason that the first quarter of all games tonight didn't count, the Bobcats would have won.  By one.Deesdale at Bobcats Baseline was even more direct:My observation is that the Bobcats are sucking hard.With zero points half way through the first quarter primarily due to missed jumpers, the Cats made me want to cry.... Read more

So Jason Richardson had his knee scoped to take a look-see, and they didn't find any damage. He's down for about a week, though.As the best offensive player on the team, his absence does leave a gaping hole. And before I sat down to get to this post I considered poring over the roster, giving a lot of consideration to how they replace his 17 points a game.But as I get to writing, I thought of another thing: does it really matter?The Bobcats are already in trouble. There is little continuity between good performances. The frontcourt is already super thin, and this starting lineup is small, and getting smaller.Surely the replacements will be some mix of Gerald Wallace, Matt Carroll, Shannon Brown, and Adam Morrison. And clearly, this team will be measurably worse for the loss. But the problems this team faces are greater than the loss of its leading... Read more

The day after the Bobcats drew a measure of respect in beating the New Orleans Prodigals 92-89 with a thrilling fourth quarter run, the Observer ran a little sidebar story discussing the possibility of trading Gerald Wallace.This in and of itself is no crime. Indeed, I have also discussed the possibility (and the relative inevitablity) of Crash being out of the Queen City by the All Star break. SO I read with interest until I hit this little gem:One rumor circulating the country would have Wallace heading to Golden State, Warriors forward Al Harrington joining the New York Knicks and Eddy Curry leaving New York for the Bobcats.Let me give you that again, in case you missed it.One rumor circulating the country would have Wallace heading to Golden State, Warriors forward Al Harrington joining the New York Knicks and Eddy Curry leaving New York for the Bobcats.To paraphrase a failed... Read more

Mike D'Antoni has a system (I can haz system?) that has worked very well.You know it; crank a shot up in seven seconds or less. He successfully worked the system in Phoenix, riding it all the way to the Western Conference finals a couple of times. Of course it didn't hurt that he had Steve Nash running the point, and Amare Stoudamire and Shawn Marion on the wings.Now he has a New York Knicks team that may have half the talent of his best Suns squads. One thing he does have going for him; these Knicks have plenty of unconcsionable gunners willing to go all "ready to shoot Jack!" And lo and behold, they all seemed to find their range against the Bobcats.Exhibit A: Nate RobinsonThe diminutive Robinson repeatedly found himself open on the perimeter off weak Bobcat rotations. Playing the Leandro Barbosa role to the hilt, he scored all... Read more

For a fleeting moment today, I though the Bobcats might have an opportunity to steal a win against a slightly depleted Detroit Pistons team that had earlier in the day sent its floor general Chauncey Billups to the Denver Nuggets in a blockbuster trade that will eventually bring them Allen Iverson. Also heading west were Antonio McDyess (who is likely to be waived) and little used Chiekh Samb. This kind of franchise-shaking change could cause a less experienced team to be rocked back on its heels, making it vulnerable to a team looking to make a name for itself.Err...no.I finally turned on the game just as the Bobcats had crawledout of their hole and tied the game at 50. Shortly thereafter, Rasheed Wallace got a technical for...well, being 'Sheed, and the Pistons ripped off a 26-16 run, ending the third leading by 10, and cruised to victory 101-83.Perhaps this is... Read more

It was one night. Against a bad team. In a sold out home opener with emotions (at least from the players) high, and the owner and principal basketball director of operations on the bench.And for that one night, Gerald Wallace channeled the best of his game, and put up numbers to nearly match that of the man whose name is on his shoes.In a nearly wire to wire win over the rebuilding Miami Heat, Wallace delivered a line all Bobcats fans could stand to see virtually every night: 34 points on 11-16 shooting from the field, 2-2 from three point range, 10-16 from the line, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 3 blocks.Larry Brown in postgame remarks praised Wallace as "phenomenal...the first game in which he was relaxed." And there was nothing to disagree with in his assessment. Wallace scored from inside and out, on the drive and with... Read more

My relatively strong pessimism regarding the Bobcats season has frustrated me. I think back to last season, when with this same lineup (yes, there has been some tinkering around the edges, but the core remains the same)before I started writing about them, I was feeling pretty good. I thought they had a chance in a weak Eastern Conference to sneak into that eighth spot. The self immolation of the 'Cats in February made that virtually impossible. So in the offseason, they bring in a new coach, the optimism comes back, and hey, they've got a chance again.Then there was the 0-8 preseason. The obviously out of shape Sean May huffing up and down the court...a couple of times. The ringing clang of shots bouncing off the rim. And LB's pronouncement that the team "wasn't ready."And after last night's game, opening the season against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Q, we... Read more

Last night the NBA kicked off the season with three games, showcasing young up and comers like Derrick Rose and Greg Oden (who's night ended early with a sprained foot), and the established stars of LeBron James and the Celtics' Big Three. Tomorrow night, the new season gets going for the Bobcats as they head to Cleveland to meet up with the Cavs.There is no reason to judge the Bobcats on what happens tomorrow night. In fact, we should be pretty much assured that they are going to drop that game to the LeBrons. The question is will they be any better over the long haul of the season than last year, in which they had a franchise long 5 game winning streak and a one win February. Let's take a look at the outlook for the Bobcats from a few different angles.CoachingAs the preseason showed, this is an entirely... Read more

Well, that didn't take long:After watching an unfit May lumber through eight exhibition games collecting more fouls (22) than rebounds (21), coach Larry Brown believes they have a problem."Right now I don't think he's ready to play at all," Brown said Saturday. "I think he's trying, but I don't think he's in the kind of shape to be able to compete on this level and do all the things he's capable of doing.""It's going to be a committee right now," Brown said when asked who would play power forward. "That's what I've been talking to Michael and Rod about."You knew this was coming.Sean May, since becoming a pro, has struggled with staying fit while dealing with repeated knee injuries. He knew before this season that he was going to be part of the plan to get bigger and more skilled in the frontcourt.May was always the critical piece in the... Read more

Five preseason games.Five straight losses.And not looking good in any of them.The Bobcats went down to defeat at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks in the latest chapter of "Learning to Play the Right Way," by Larry Brown. His charges were plagued by turnovers, fouls, and poor shooting. Which, all in all, doesn't look that different from last season's edition, even with the addition of Sean May. They are still clearly adjusting to the new systems, and thinking about every move.Brown says he sees progress. He says that they are trying to play "the right way," and driving to the basket, attempting to draw fouls, looking for open shooters. They are giving effort on defense, not gambling as much and trying to dig in and defend man on man. But for all the trying and effort, they still are winless in five straight tilts.It is preseason. Brown is trying to... Read more