Charlotte Bobcats: Expect Growing Pains
Growing pains. If the preseason taught us anything about the Charlotte Bobcats, it is expect a lot of them.
The Bobcats got to a horrific offensive start, but their hard work has paid off as we are starting to see some improvement across the board. Al Jefferson has missed most of the preseason with an ankle injury, but all sources indicate that he should be good to go come opening tip off. Ben Gordon has also missed some time, but he should be good to go as well. We have yet to see the Cats at full strength, so it will be interesting to see what dynamic Gordon and Jefferson will add. This is definitely a young, but talented, team. Can the Bobcats duplicate the Thunder model? That is the goal. They need Kemba Walker or Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to break out into an All-Star caliber player–which is no easy task. For the first time in a long time, the Bobcats are a somewhat interesting team! Here is how their last week of preseason ball played out:
Thursday Oct. 24: Charlotte Bobcats 105, Cleveland Cavaliers 92
MVP: Jeffery Taylor– 20 points on 63% shooting in 33 minutes
LVP: Anthony Tolliver– 6 points, 1 rebound in 22 minutes
Key Stat: 3, the Bobcats assist to turnover ratio
Zeller Watch: 12 points, 8 rebounds in 22 minutes
Recap: This was the best the Bobcats have looked in a while. 27 assists to nine turnovers? Are the Cats in midseason form? Earlier in the preseason Charlotte couldn’t buy a bucket. Could they be growing before our eyes? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, it is only the preseason, but there is no denying that Charlotte has improved.
Friday, Oct. 25: Charlotte Bobcats 85, Cleveland Cavaliers 83
MVP: Bismack Biyombo– 5 points, 20 rebounds
LVP: Anthony Tolliver- 0 points, 5 rebounds in 17 minutes
Key Stat: 46.7%- The Bobcats free throw shooting percentage.
Zeller Watch: 9 points, 3 rebounds in 20 minutes
Recap: Bismack Biyombo turned in his second 20-plus rebound performance of the preseason. Can this translate into the regular season? I think it will if, and only if, he improves his offensive game. Biyombo shot a horrific 2-for-10 from the floor. If he doesn’t improve his offense, he could see his minutes cut. Josh McRoberts also had a nice night, scoring 19 points off 13 shots. This was the final preseason game for Charlotte.
Next Week:
Opening week in the NBA! The Cats open up in Houston against the Rockets in Dwight Howard’s debut in red. They then travel back home to face the Cavs Friday night. They wrap up their week with a road game against the New Orleans Pelicans.
[slider_pro id=”4″]