Charlotte Bobcats - Mission Improbable?

[ukballer]

Contract Decisions

With a successful draft under our belts, our attention now needed to focus on who we'd renounce, and who we would decide to keep, as well as deciding on our Summer League team.

I sat down with the coaching staff, as well as team owner MJ, and decisions were made surprisingly quickly. It's a nice environment to be in, and everyone seems to have a similar idea of the direction we want to head towards, but at the same time, we all have the patience necessary to not make rash decisions.

Quincy Acy - 2nd round draft pick, signed to a 2 year deal. Think he'll get some playing time this year.

D.J. Augustin - Qualifying offer made. Hoping to bring him back, don't think we should have too much trouble re-signing him, but you never know.

Jamario Moon - Renounced. Unlikely to see any playing time. Probably the 4th string SF on the team if you consider everyone else signed.

Eduardo Najera - Renounced. 35 years old, injury prone. Taking up a roster spot where I could get a much younger, more talented and cheaper player.

D.J. White - Qualifying offer made. Solid backup/3rd string PF.

Derrick Brown - Free Agent. Wouldn't be against bringing back to the team at all. If we can't, so be it.

Reggie Williams - Free Agent. Again, not against bringing him back, but his contract isn't really a match with his talent, and we could get a better player.

Cory Higgins - Renounced. 3rd string PG who would see little to no playing time. Would prefer to get a veteran PG who can give me a little more insurance in case D.J.A or Kemba go down with something.

DeSagana Diop didn't pick up his player option for the final year of his contract with us, making him a free agent. Close the door on your way out.

Matt Carroll did pick up his option. No big deal, he's not a bad guy to have around at all.

Looking at some of the players who have been renounced by their respective teams, there are some big names in the list. The likes of Kevin Garnett, Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry just to name a few. This makes the Free Agency period a lot more interesting than we previously anticipated. While none of the guys named above are realistic targets, it will still be an interesting summer!

Summer League Invites/Roster

PG - Kemba Walker
PG - Jonny Flynn - Renounced by the Portland Trail Blazers
PG - Donald Sloan - NBA journeyman since 2010
SG - Gerald Henderson
SG - Willie Warren - LA Clippers 2010 draft pick
SF - Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
SF - Earl Clark - Renounced by the Orlando Magic
PF - Quincy Acy
PF - Tiny Gallon - Milwaukee Bucks 2010 draft pick
PF - Ryan Richards - San Antonio Spurs 2010 draft pick
C - Byron Mullens
C - Andre Drummond

The temptation to invite Jeremy Lin was high, but I'd rather have picked some guys who are realistic targets. I like who we've picked though, and everyone should get a shot at playing, hopefully.

[ukballer]

Summer League

July 5th

Charlotte Bobcats (SL) @ Minnesota Timberwolves (SL)

Fairly easy start to the Summer League for our guys. No problems offensively anyway, scoring 36 in every quarter except the 3rd one where the offense dried up a bit. Very balanced scoring effort. We ended up going to the free throw line a staggering 43 times compared to Minny's 23. Getting them into early foul trouble seemed surprisingly easy. The fact the team made 40/43 of them made it even more sweet. Everybody who saw court time scored as well, only Donald Sloan did not see time on the floor.

Final score: Bobcats 124-115 Timberwolves

Player Of The Game: Kemba Walker (CHA) - 23 pts, 5 rebs, 7 asts, 14/14 FTs

Notable Mentions: Andre Drummond (CHA) - 20 pts, 6 rebs, 2 stls, 10/12 FG
Byron Mullens (CHA) - 16 pts, 6 rebs, 10/12 FTs
Derrick Williams (MIN) - 20 pts, 5 rebs, 2 asts
Malcolm Lee (MIN) - 19 pts, 4 asts, 2 stls

July 7th

Los Angeles Lakers (SL) @ Charlotte Bobcats (SL)

Another fairly easy game, and another balanced scoring effort. The talent level between the 2 teams wasn't even close, so this game was about giving everyone a reasonable amount of court time. Even Donald Sloan played this one. After a fairly quiet game against the T'Wolves, Quincy Acy exploded offensively in this one, much to our surprise!

Final Score: Lakers 99-121 Bobcats

Player Of The Game: Quincy Acy (CHA) - 22 pts, 4 rebs, 1 blk

Notable Mentions: Byron Mullens (CHA) - 18 pts, 7 rebs
Kemba Walker (CHA) - 12 pts, 9 asts, 3 rebs, 2 stls
Steven Hill (LAL) - 17 pts, 10 rebs

July 9th

San Antonio Spurs (SL) @ Charlotte Bobcats (SL)

Same story as the last game, bit of a gulf in class between the two sides. Some excellent performances from some of our guys. MKG has struggled a bit shooting the ball, but we aren't concerned about that right now, especially considering the offense the rest of the team is generating. Andre Drummond, talk about a stat filler!

Final Score: Spurs 85-110 Bobcats

Player Of The Game: Andre Drummond (CHA) - 14 pts, 3 rebs, 3 asts, 6 stls, 4 blks

Notable Mentions: Gerald Henderson (CHA) - 20 pts, 6 rebs
Kemba Walker (CHA) - 16 pts, 5 asts, 2 stls
Ryan Richards (CHA) - 14 pts, 6 rebs, 2 blks
Tiago Splitter (SAS) - 23 pts, 5 rebs

July 11th

Charlotte Bobcats (SL) @ Detroit Pistons (SL)

Coming up against a much stronger team than the previous games, we were just 2 points behind at half-time, but some sloppy play in the final 2 quarters saw us lose by 21, a dismal effort in the 2nd half.

Final Score: Bobcats 76-97 Pistons

Player Of The Game: Brandon Knight (DET) - 26 pts, 2 rebs, 4 asts, 1 stl

Notable Mentions: Jonas Jerebko (DET) - 17 pts, 5 rebs, 2 asts
Meyers Leonard (DET) - 5 pts, 8 rebs, 5 blks
Andre Drummond (CHA) - 11 pts, 7 rebs, 3 blks
Byron Mullens (CHA) - 14 pts, 6 rebs, 2 asts, 2 stls, 1 blk

July 13th

Boston Celtics (SL) @ Charlotte Bobcats (SL)

This was more like it. We actually had a fairly slow start in the 1st quarter, but got things rolling from then on. Another reasonably balanced scoring effort from the young guys. Kemba didn't have one of his better games, but still dished out 8 assists.

Final Score: Celtics 87-97 Bobcats

Player Of The Game: Andre Drummond (CHA) - 19 pts, 3 rebs, 1 ast, 2 blks

Notable Mentions: Byron Mullens (CHA) - 15 pts, 6 rebs
Gerald Henderson (CHA) - 16 pts, 3 ast
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (CHA) - 13 pts, 3 rebs, 2 ast, 3 stls
Danny Green (BOS) - 17 pts, 5 rebs, 4 ast

[IWWROCKS]

Really enjoying this so far. Drummond looks like he can be a beast for you. Good to see a fellow UK fan too! Have you got Euro League on?

[ukballer]

Really enjoying this so far. Drummond looks like he can be a beast for you. Good to see a fellow UK fan too! Have you got Euro League on?

Thanks very much! Yeah I have got Euro League on too, not really looked at it so far.

Yeah was really happy with Drummond. Won't read too much into it as he was against scrubs for the most part, but he seems more developed than I gave him credit for. Mullens is an awesome backup as well. Think he ended up as my joint top scorer or something similar in Summer League, all while coming off the bench.

Didn't really get a bad performance out of anyone. MKG disappointed just a little, but even then he had some good defensive games, which is what he's about anyway. He didn't need to do scoring so I can't be harsh on him at all.

[MizzouRah]

I'm reading.. same team I started off with.

[ukballer]

Won't be updating this for a few days, I'm at Silverstone for the Formula One this weekend, but I have played through Free Agency and will have some updates for next week.

[ukballer]

Free Agency

As I'm looking to heavily invest in the young guys I've just drafted and hope to see them get ample playing time, this particular free agency period wasn't going to be a terribly busy one. Our main objective was to get D.J. re-signed. I'll just list a run-down of some of the main events that occurred during this period. I won't post every signing as that is just way too much.

July 17th

Charlotte Bobcats re-sign D.J. Augustin to a 3-year contract worth $25,168,500

Reasonable deal I think. D.J. had every intention to stay with us, even with the continued competition for minutes with Kemba, and we're happy to have him still. While he did outline his desire to stay, he did let it be known there were plenty of offers from around the league, and that it would have to be a fair deal. Perhaps we overpaid a little, but he's our guy, simple as.

July 20th

New York Knicks sign Jason Kidd to a 1-year contract worth $5,000,000

Charlotte Bobcats sign Maurice Evans to a 2-year contract worth $2,409,808

Far from an impact player, but cheap as chips, and any veteran leadership is welcomed on this team. I read stories about his time with the immature Wizards team a season or 2 ago, and how he took it upon himself to call team meetings to try and sort everything out. Just the kind of guy we need on a young team.

July 22nd

Charlotte Bobcats sign Nazr Mohammed to a 2-year contract worth $2,524,550

July 22nd was a very busy day of signings, but we kept fairly quiet, but am extremely happy to sign another veteran to the team, and improve our frontcourt depth. Nazr was a popular member of the Bobcats team before he left, and is a welcome face in Charlotte always.

July 23rd

Los Angeles Clippers sign Grant Hill to a 1-year contract worth $3,000,000

Orlando Magic sign Ray Allen to a 1-year contract worth $5,000,000

Charlotte Bobcats sign Cory Higgins to a 2-year contract worth $1,509,098

Portland Trail Blazers sign D.J. White to an offer sheet for a 3-year contract worth $16,929,000

Went against our previous judgement and decided to bring Cory back for a couple more seasons as our 3rd point guard. Think I slightly underrated the kid, and he's certainly cheaper than a lot of the guys we had our eyes on. We wanted to keep DJ White, but what Portland offered him simply doesn't meet our valuation of him. Sorry to him go but wish him the best.

July 24th

Cleveland Cavaliers re-sign Alonzo Gee to a 3-year contract worth $15,000,000

Phoenix Suns sign Courtney Lee to an offer sheet for a 3-year contract worth $17,305,200

Indiana Pacers re-sign Roy Hibbert to a 5-year contract worth $60,375,000

Dallas Mavericks sign Kevin Garnett to a 1-year contract worth $12,867,615

Portland Trail Blazers sign D.J. White to a 3-year contract worth $16,929,000

Charlotte Bobcats sign Leon Powe to a 2-year contract worth $1,925,076

DJ White to Portland is confirmed, while one of our FA targets Alonzo Gee unsurprisingly re-signs with Cleveland. KG joining Dirk in Dallas is a scary prospect. Back to us, and we're delighted to sign Leon Powe, again for a cheap deal. Hasn't had much burn anywhere since leaving Boston, but will see some minutes for us.

July 25th

Boston Celtics sign Brook Lopez to an offer sheet for a 4-year contract worth $42,593,250

Houston Rockets re-sign Goran Dragic to a 4-year contract with a team option worth $32,040,000

Detroit Pistons sign O.J. Mayo to a 4-year contract with a team option worth $33,733,000

Indiana Pacers sign J.J. Hickson to a 3-year contract worth $17,186,850

July 26th

Brooklyn Nets sign Brandon Bass to a 4-year contract worth $35,868,000

Sacramento Kings sign Nicolas Batum to an offer sheet for a 4-year contract worth $40,799,850

Boston Celtics sign Eric Gordon to an offer sheet for a 4-year contract worth $38,430,000

Indiana Pacers sign Allen Iverson to a 1-year contract worth $1,262,275

July 27th

New Orleans Hornets sign Gerald Green to a 3-year contract worth $21,741,225

Philadelphia 76ers re-sign Spencer Hawes to a 5-year contract with a team option worth $49,450,000

Phoenix Suns sign Courtney Lee to a 3-year contract worth $17,305,200

Golden State Warriors sign J.R. Smith to a 4-year contract with a player option worth $20,000,000

July 28th

Toronto Raptors sign Jeremy Lin to a 4-year contract worth $25,233,812

Boston Celtics sign Brook Lopez to a 4-year contract worth $42,593,250

Charlotte Bobcats re-sign Derrick Brown to a 2-year contract worth $5,000,000

Derrick initially wanted a deal closer to $6 million a year, but finally saw sense as Free Agency passed by, and the interest in him for that price just wasn't there. Nice deal for us methinks.

July 29th

Brooklyn Nets sign Brandon Roy to a 2-year contract worth $5,000,000

Boston Celtics sign Eric Gordon to a 4-year contract worth $38,430,000

Sacramento Kings sign Reggie Williams to a 2-year contract worth $5,000,000

Re-signing Derrick Brown made Williams expendable, especially now we have MKG. Good luck in Sacramento Reggie.

July 30th

San Antonio Spurs sign Lamar Odom to a 2-year contract worth $2,581,352

Los Angeles Lakers sign Steve Nash to a 1-year contract worth $3,000,000

New York Knicks sign Rashard Lewis to a 2-year contract worth $2,581,352

San Antonio Spurs sign Jason Terry to a 3-year contract with a player option worth $9,000,000

July 31st

Oklahoma City Thunder sign Vince Carter to a 1-year contract worth $1,262,275

Boston Celtics sign Tracy McGrady to a 2-year contract worth $2,581,352

Indiana Pacers sign Jamal Crawford to a 2-year contract worth $5,000,000

August 1st

Milwaukee Bucks sign Andrei Kirilenko to a 3-year contract worth $9,000,000

Miami Heat sign Kris Humphries to a 3-year contract worth $9,000,000

August 2nd

New York Knicks sign Mo Williams to a 2-year contract worth $2,346,704

Detroit Pistons sign Chris Kaman to a 4-year contract worth $18,397,132

Final Charlotte Bobcats Roster

1 PG Kemba Walker 6-1 184 lbs 22 1 Connecticut $2,532,960
14 PG D.J. Augustin 6-0 180 lbs 24 4 Texas $8,225,000
11 PG Cory Higgins 6-4 180 lbs 23 1 Colorado $711,517
8 SG Ben Gordon 6-3 200 lbs 29 8 Connecticut $12,400,000
33 SG Matt Carroll 6-6 212 lbs 31 9 Notre Dame $3,500,000
15 SG Gerald Henderson 6-5 215 lbs 24 3 Duke $3,101,326
39 SF Michael Kidd-Gilchrist 6-7 233 lbs 19 0 Kentucky $3,955,400
6 SF Maurice Evans 6-5 220 lbs 33 9 Texas $1,147,533
4 SF Derrick Brown 6-7 225 lbs 24 3 Xavier $2,500,000
12 PF Tyrus Thomas 6-9 215 lbs 25 6 LSU $8,000,000
50 PF Quincy Acy 6-8 224 lbs 22 0 Baylor $442,114
7 PF Leon Powe 6-8 240 lbs 28 5 California $926,678
22 C Byron Mullens 7-0 260 lbs 23 3 Ohio State $2,253,061
49 C Andre Drummond 6-11 279 lbs 19 0 Connecticut $2,634,000
43 C Nazr Mohammed 6-10 250 lbs 34 14 Kentucky $1,262,275

[ukballer]

Finally, what we've all been waiting for. The beginning of the regular season. Training camp was reasonably good for us. I spent some time on the sideline watching, and we can't fault the enthusiasm of the players. Everyone knows last year has made this franchise an embarrassment, and they seem to have the hunger to want to improve and get this team some more wins on the board.

We're not expecting much, if anything from this season. This is a very young, raw team. We're anticipating a tough year, but hopefully a productive one regardless of our record.

Having spoken to Coach Dunlap, he presented me with his idea for our starting line-up. Despite locking up D.J. Augustin for a few more years, he likes the idea of Kemba Walker becoming our full-time starting PG to let him develop, and I'm all for the idea. We'll have Gerald Henderson starting over Ben Gordon, and we hope Ben can be a nice scoring presence for us off the bench. Our #2 draft pick Michael Kidd-Gilchrist will of course start at small forward. There was some debate as to who should start between Derrick Brown and Tyrus Thomas, but I trusted Coach Dunlap's faith in Derrick Brown to get the job done, and will start at the 4 spot. Andre Drummond completes our young and fairly inexperienced starting 5.

(For the purposes of getting games done, I will not be coaching out, or even watching each game.).

Charlotte Bobcats (0-0) @ Boston Celtics (0-0) - Nov 1st 2012

We kept it reasonably competitive all game against a new look Boston Celtics team, with only Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo left from last year's starting line-up. Lots of big name free agents have ended up in Beantown such as Eric Gordon, Antawn Jamison and Brook Lopez. They just had too much firepower for us in the end, but we can be happy with the effort the guys put in. Gerald Henderson was our top scorer with 18 points. Solid debuts for both MKG and Drummond too, with Andre getting 4 blocks.

Final Score: Bobcats 94-103 Celtics

POTG: Brook Lopez (BOS) - 21 pts, 11 rebs, 3 blks, 3 stls

Notable Mentions: Gerald Henderson (CHA) - 18 pts, 4 rebs, 2 blk
Paul Pierce (BOS) - 17 pts, 5 rebs, 2 blks
Eric Gordon (BOS) - 12 pts, 11 rebs, 6 ast, 4 stls, 1 blk

Los Angeles Clippers (1-0) @ Charlotte Bobcats (0-1) - Nov 3rd 2012

This one got circus ugly quickly. Blake Griffin and more surprisingly DeAndre Jordan just went ham against our frontcourt, who couldn't handle them. Andre Drummond in particular had a very tough first game in front of our home crowd. Henderson was our one real bright spot, though MKG did have a solid game too. The rest of the team struggled mightily. Kemba Walker shot 1-12 from the field, brutal.

Final Score: Clippers 99-76 Bobcats

POTG: Blake Griffin (LAC) - 23 pts, 13 rebs, 3 ast, 3 stl, 2 blk

Notable Mentions: Gerald Henderson (CHA) - 24 pts, 7 rebs
DeAndre Jordan (LAC) - 21 pts, 12 rebs, 2 blk
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (CHA) - 15 pts, 6 rebs, 3 ast, 3 blk, 1 stl
Chris Paul (LAC) - 13 pts, 7 rebs, 8 ast

Charlotte Bobcats (0-2) @ Atlanta Hawks (0-1) - Nov 4th 2012

We showed a lot more fight in this game after the beatdown from the Clippers. We came out of the gates slow though, and Atlanta already had a double digit lead going into the 2nd quarter. From then on, we matched them bucket for bucket pretty much, but our slow start saw us drop our 3rd game in a row.

Final Score: Bobcats 96-104 Hawks

POTG: Josh Smith (ATL) - 26 pts, 17 rebs, 4 ast, 3 blk, 2 stl

Notable Mentions: Al Horford (ATL) - 22 pts, 12 rebs, 3 blk
Joe Johnson (ATL) - 22 pts, 3 ast
Kemba Walker (CHA) - 20 pts, 5 rebs, 4 ast, 2 stl

Philadelphia 76ers (2-2) @ Charlotte Bobcats (0-3) - Nov 8th 2012

The fact we scored just 13 points in the 1st quarter compared to their 30 points says it all really. Again, we staged something which resembled a fightback, but all the energy we exerted scrapping to stay in the game left us with no wind left for the final quarter, and they pulled away again.

Final Score: 76ers 107-90 Bobcats

POTG: Louis Williams (PHI) - 31 pts, 4 rebs, 3 ast

Notable Mentions: Spencer Hawes (PHI) - 20 pts, 11 rebs, 7 blk (Damn..)
Thaddeus Young (PHI) - 21 pts, 11 rebs
Kemba Walker (CHA) - 16 pts, 5 ast

Charlotte Bobcats (0-4) @ New Orleans Hornets (2-2) - Nov 10th 2012

What a game! For the neutral fan before the game, a matchup between the Bobcats and the Hornets wouldn't normally present the most intrigue, but both teams put on a show, with the lead changing back and forth throughout the game. Not a lot of defence was being played, but plenty of offence. In the end our young guys just didn't have enough to get over the hump and get the win, but we still put in a hell of a shift. Gustavo Ayon came off the bench for the Hornets and did real damage in limited minutes, while #1 pick Anthony Davis seemed largely ineffective, odd.

Final Score: Bobcats 104-109 Hornets

POTG: Gustavo Ayon (NOH) - 17 pts, 5 rebs, 3 stl, 2 blk in 18 minutes off the bench.

Notable Mentions: Gerald Henderson (CHA) - 25 pts, 5 rebs, 2 stl
Kemba Walker (CHA) - 20 pts, 5 rebs, 5 ast
Derrick Brown (CHA) - 17 pts, 6 rebs, 2 stl
Grevis Vasquez (NOH) - 16 pts, 4 rebs, 3 ast

So, 5 games in, and 5 losses. Some games we have shown the fight necessary to at least be competitive in this league, others not so much. It's clear this team is still very much a project, and we've understood that quickly. All of our young guys have shown some flashes of good, even great play at times, but not anywhere near consistently enough to make us a truly competitive team. I don't want to make rash decisions and trade away different pieces though. It's a young season, a very young team, and we need to at least give these kids a chance to get game experience. It's going to be a long, tough season, but I trust in what we are doing. People are going to say what they will about our team, but internally, things are ok. We'll be ok, but the process is going to be a long one.

Charlotte Bobcats Top Statistics 2012/13 Season Per Game(After 5 games)

PPG: Gerald Henderson - 18.6, Kemba Walker - 14.4, Derrick Brown - 12.6
REB: Andre Drummond - 5.8, Byron Mullens - 5.6, Derrick Brown - 5.4
AST: Kemba Walker - 4.6, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist - 4.4, D.J. Augustin - 3.8
STL: Derrick Brown - 1.4, Kemba Walker - 1.2, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist - 1.2
BLK: Andre Drummond - 2.0, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist - 1.0, Tyrus Thomas - 1.0
TO: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist - 2.2, Gerald Henderson - 2.0, Byron Mullens - 1.8

[ukballer]

Charlotte Bobcats (0-5) @ Dallas Mavericks (1-4) - Nov 11th 2012

With a number of key players leaving Dallas in the off-season, and Dirk unavailable to play due to a broken foot, it's fair to say we fancied our chances for this one, despite being away from home. Dallas had picked up Kevin Garnett though, so they wouldn't be slouches. But of course, our abysmal start to games continued, and we were always left playing catchup. This is becoming a real area of concern now. We need to figure out how to get these kids in the pedal to the metal mentality straight away. Lack of experience or not, it isn't good enough. We can only make excuses for so long.

Final Score: Bobcats 83-99 Mavericks

POTG: Kelenna Azubuike (DAL) - 21 pts, 8 rebs, 2 stl

Notable Mentions: Kevin Garnett (DAL) - 17 pts, 8 rebs, 4 ast
Kemba Walker (CHA) - 18 pts, 3 rebs, 3 ast, 2 blk
Andre Drummond (CHA) - 17 pts, 3 rebs

Brooklyn Nets (3-2) @ Charlotte Bobcats (0-6) - Nov 13th 2012

We're just not good enough right now. We kept close every quarter this time, but we lost every one of them. Deron Williams tore us to shreds, but we did have a few bright spots this time.

Final Score: Nets 107-94 Bobcats

POTG: Deron Williams (BRO) - 31 pts, 2 rebs, 11 ast

Notable Mentions: Kemba Walker (CHA) - 21 pts, 6 rebs, 4 ast
Carlos Delfino (BRO) - 19 pts, 4 rebs, 2 ast, 4 stl
Gerald Henderson (CHA) - 18 pts, 4 rebs, 3 ast
Andre Drummond (CHA) - 16 pts, 9 rebs

Minnesota Timberwolves (3-4) @ Charlotte Bobcats (0-7) - Nov 15th 2012

We kept so so close to the Timberwolves for most of the game, but it seemed in the 4th quarter there was a lid on the rim for both teams, but moreso for us sadly. We're getting pretty desperate for a win now. Gerald Henderson went off for us, but nobody else really picked up the slack.

Final Score: Timberwolves 111-102 Bobcats

POTG: Kevin Love (MIN) - 28 pts, 13 rebs, 2 ast

Notable Mentions: Gerald Henderson (CHA) - 31 pts, 2 rebs, 2 ast
Ricky Rubio (MIN) - 14 pts, 6 rebs, 10 ast

Miami Heat (6-0) @ Charlotte Bobcats (0-8) - Nov 17th 2012

Just the team we wanted to face when we are still looking for our first win. It was clear our guys were extremely motivated to be playing against the defending champs though, and definitely played our best game so far of this young season. At one point during the 3rd quarter, we were playing out of our minds, and had built up a 9 point lead heading into the final quarter. We were still scoring here and there in the fourth, but LeBron James was in no mood for messing about, and took over the game at the end, including the bucket with 5 seconds left to send the game into overtime. From there on, Miami stamped their authority and we had no answer for them. Heartbreaking loss, but still proud of our guys for the effort and really taking it to them. I just hope we can see this same type of intensity against opposition not at the stature of the Heat.

Final Score: Heat 111-106 Bobcats (OT)

POTG: LeBron James (MIA) - 47 pts, 6 rebs, 5 ast

Notable Mentions: Gerald Henderson (CHA) - 23 pts, 5 rebs
Kemba Walker (CHA) - 21 pts, 2 rebs, 7 ast
Dwyane Wade (MIA) - 19 pts, 4 rebs, 5 ast, 4 stl, 2 blk

Charlotte Bobcats (0-9) @ New York Knicks (4-4) - Nov 19th 2012

Simply put, it was the Carmelo Anthony show. We actually came out of the gates very strong, building up a nice early lead. However, things levelled out again, and New York caught fire. Well, more 'Melo caught fire and everyone else stood and watched. We had no answer for him. Only himself and Amar'e Stoudemire scored in double digits for the Knicks, while six of our guys hit double digits, but we still lost.

Final Score: Bobcats 88-98 Knicks

POTG: Carmelo Anthony (NYK) - 40 pts, 11 rebs

Notable Mentions: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (CHA) - 18 pts, 4 rebs, 2 stl
Amar'e Stoudemire (NYK) - 17 pts, 8 rebs
Andre Drummond (CHA) - 14 pts, 12 rebs, 4 blk

[Myles Nelson]

Rough start man. Good work against the Heat though, but definitely a rough start.