Yeah, I said it. The Charlotte Bobcats (21-19) defeated Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat 104-65 with their most lopsided victory in team history. The Bobcats improved to an NBA-best 9-1 since the start of the New Year with ease. They shot a franchise-best 82 percent in the first quarter, led by 27 at halftime and by as many as 41 in the fourth quarter in their ninth straight home win. They are not only winning games, they are smashing them. They are the NBA’s #1 defensive team with 92.3 points allowed. They scored 125 on PHX on Saturday and they beat the Heat by 39.
They are doing this all without the Tyson Chandler who was traded to Charlotte for Emeka Okafor. Gerald Wallace is FINALLY playing up to his potential. I would credit this to the REAL team leader Stephen Jackson; he has been a straight beast. Jackson averaging almost 20ppg is drawing enough attention to allow Wallace to do what he does. Raymond Felton is really coming into his own. I thought that DJ Augustine was going to compete for the starting point guard position. Nope. Nazr Mohammed might be my favorite player on the team. He has filled in magnificently for Chandler. Derrick Brown who is being mentored by Wallace is working hard. Lastly, Flip Murray is trying to be that shooter that we need. There is a buzz in Charlotte. People are beginning to show up at the arena. I even heard a local radio show Prime Time with the Pac Man actually speak positively about the Bobcats.
The Bobcats have the best record in the NBA 9-1 since the beginning of 2010. Gerald Wallace has been named to the All-Star Weekend Slam Dunk Contest. This will actually draw some more attention to the Bobcats.
Now the next test is the road… The Bobcats are 3-15 on the road. They are @ATL then vs. ORL, @DEN, PHX, GS, SAC, POR, LAL. That is 7 of the next 8 on the road. If they play like they are playing right now they could win 5 of 8. No scratch that, if they play like they are playing right now they can give the Lakers a run.
