SC: The Bobcat Beat! - II

About Special Correspondent: "The Bobcat Beat!"

Just before Thanksgiving, the Bobcats were 6-4 and things were looking good. A week and a half later, the Cats have lost in OT to the Wizards, given up a heartbreaker to the Celtics, lost to the Magic, and fallen to the Heat. The games against the Magic and Celtics could have been penciled in as losses, but winning and losing against teams like the Wiz (without Agent Zero) and the Heat is going to be the difference between making the playoffs and not making the playoffs for the Bobcats this season. Failing to inbounds the ball in the last five seconds against the Celtics and dropping two games they should have won put the Cats on a four game losing streak going into tonight’s game versus the disappointing Bulls.

The four game losing streak has caused me some stress and watching the last seconds of the Celtics game made me feel like KG in the middle of a dark Minnesota winter. But that is nothing compared to the full-fledged rage I felt when I read the Charlotte Observer’s article following the loss to the Heat in Miami. Rick Bonnell, the Bobcats beat writer in Charlotte, started his article with the following:

South Beach Syndrome?

It sure seemed like the swaying palms and seductive nightlife bit the Charlotte Bobcats. Their coach kept using terms like "lack of focus" and "poor concentration," and in this town, that sounds like too much fun the night before.

The rest of the article described how horrible the Bobcats had played, but Bonnell never backed up the innuendo in his lead that the players got trashed the night before the game. This is journalism at its complete worst, a venture into the world of complete speculation that makes the players look unprofessional and the team look like it doesn’t give a damn about winning or losing.

Every team in the course of an 82-game schedule manages to play some bad ones. I guess Bonnell thinks the only excuse for the Bobcats to lose is if they get drunk the night before. The truth is Shaq hurt us early, exposing a big problem the Bobcats have in the paint.  Other than Emeka, there is no post presence on the Bobcats squad. Primoz Brezec is not the answer and neither is Ryan Hollins. If Bonnell had written about our lack of the depth in the post, Bobcats fans would have been treated to a rare piece of basketball analysis from their beat writer, who rarely manages such a feat.

But let’s give Bonnell a break. Based on his article, he seems familiar with the pull of the Miami nightlife. Maybe he lost his focus writing a recap of the Miami game because he simply had too much fun the night before, sipping on mojitos and margaritas. Of course, such a suggestion would be nothing but conjecture on my part . . .

Bonus Undercard:
   

Bobcat (-1.5) v. Tree

Comments

[Sean Morrison]

Will the Bobcats win another game before Christmas?