Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Bobcats v. Nets: a Battle for Mediocrity


Spoiler: Bobcats win after closing out with a 24-0 run to take the lead and game.

It was looking pretty grim for a bit. Thought I'd see a new low (in points) tonight. Were the Charlotte Bobcats regressing to a pre-shot clock era? 1947 Providence Steamrollers sightings -- who went on to earn a 6-42 record. Maybe there was a Fort Wayne Pistons v. Minneapolis Lakers sighting, even.

But that was before the advent of the shot clock. Wasn't too long ago during the lock out years when a true crown prince of mediocrity rose to the occasion.

Miami Heat at Chicago Bulls: April 10, 1999

Thank God Tim Floyd isn't our coach. Then again, maybe we'd get a scoring talent like O.J. Mayo begging to join our team. Toni Kukoc would also be a welcome addition (I'd take him any day over Vladimir Radmanovic and his 0-7 outing). Hell, I'd take Kornel David. Shit, Kornel's only 38, bring him on. He can't be any worse than Stevie Graham.

Maybe, then, we wouldn't have to pine for behemoth, Dennis Rodman-like stat lines from Gerald Wallace night in and night out just to save our pathetic 1-out playoff position hopes.


Boxscore gems and other notes:

1. Vladimir Radmanovic with a stellar night.

First quarter.
Vladimir Radmanovic bad pass
Vladimir Radmanovic shooting foul
Vladimir Radmanovic misses 24-foot three point jumper
Vladimir Radmanovic misses two point shot (layup)
Vladimir Radmanovic misses 24-foot three point jumper
Vladimir Radmanovic misses 10-foot jumper
Second.
Vladimir Radmanovic misses 24-foot three point jumper
Vladimir Radmanovic misses two point shot (layup blocked by Bobby Simmons)
Vladimir Radmanovic bad pass
Vladimir Radmanovic personal foul
Third.
Vladimir Radmanovic loose ball foul
Vladimir Radmanovic misses 17-foot jumper

I think Larry Brown caught on to his ineptitude -- or maybe he realized his flaws as a player and begged someone, anyone, not to put him in.

2. Gerald Wallace responds to the sluggish start (10 points in the first quarter) by enlisting as a Fantasy Basketball warrior. It's too bad I drafted Troy Murphy over him -- 24 points, 20 rebounds, 4 steals and a block.

3. Larry Brown called a time out in the 4th quarter when Chris Douglas-Roberts tripped over and injured himself (leading to Wallace's fourth steal). Apparently Lawrence Frank is short-sighted enough to blow through all of his team's timeouts with 9 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter. This was the second injury during the game for the Nets as Yi Jianlian, similarly, blew his knee out earlier in the night.

4. Some dude on ESPN's conversation/comments section claims the game was fixed 'cause teams don't ever go on 24-0 runs. I'm tempted to agree with him, but, then again, this is the fucking Nets without Devin Harris -- leaving Brook Lopez as the only player on the team with an ounce of ability to create their own shot.

1 comment:

  1. Wallace brought the goods home to my Fantasy team last night!

    Love the idea for this blog, btw

    ReplyDelete