So over the course of this lockout-shortened NBA season, we have seen a lot of things that we don't normally see. We've seen a condensed schedule with teams playing much more frequently than normal. This has caused coaches to rest their top players more often than normal, so there have been a lot of games without guys like Dwayne Wade, Tim Duncan, and Kobe Bryant. We have seen the Los Angeles Clippers, a team that for as long as I can remember has been absolutely terrible, actually play like one of the best teams in the Western Conference. However, the one thing that stands out the most is the Charlotte Bobcats.
Less than an hour ago, the Bobcats lost by 28 points to the lowly Washington Wizards. However, as has been the case all season long, no one has been anywhere close to as lowly as the Bobcats. With tonight's loss, Charlotte's record dropped to 7-57. The loss was the 21st in a row for the Bobcats, and they have won 10.9% of their games this season. With two games left, the Bobcats need to win one in order to avoid setting the record for the worst winning percentage in the history of the league. The last time they won a game was March 17th. The highest point of their season was when they started the year with a win to go 1-0. It has been downhill ever since. And downhill is a compliment in this case, because it has been more like going down Mt. Kilimanjaro as opposed to going down a hill.
If there is one thing "impressive" about all of this losing though, it is the fact that the Bobcats players actually get out of bed and continue to play each game. I cannot imagine what it must be like to take the court for a team with such a historically bad record. I know these guys are all professionals, and it is their job to play, but how can they have any motivation whatsoever to actually play four quarters of basketball? The only thing they have to play for at this point is to literally avoid having the worst season in the history of the league.
Playing for the 2012 Charlotte Bobcats has to be the toughest job in all of sports. Questions have arisen as to whether or not the Bobcats could actually beat the defending NCAA champion Kentucky Wildcats. While I believe that they could because the jump from college basketball to NBA basketball is too large for even the most talented college team to overcome, with each loss the Bobcats suffer, the question is getting harder and harder to answer.
Charlotte previously was home to the Hornets from 1988 until 2002, when the team moved from Charlotte to New Orleans. Despite that, Charlotte was granted a new franchise in 2004 when the Bobcats played their first season. In their eight seasons in the league, the Bobcats have finished with a winning record only once, and that was in the 2009-2010 season. That was also the only time they ever made the playoffs, and they were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Orlando Magic.
With the Nets on their way from New Jersey to Brooklyn, and rumblings of other teams possibly on the move as well, the best way for the NBA to solve this problem might be to start contracting teams. And if that happened, Charlotte should be the first team to go. I don't think it's fair to the players on the team, but more importantly, the fans of the Bobcats. Going to a Bobcats game and cheering for a win this season has been pretty much like leaving a $100 bill on the floor of a public restroom and coming back the next day hoping to find the bill in the same place that you left it. Watching the team on television is bad enough, but spending money to go and watch them in person is simply an investment not worth making. The NBA has always been a league of extremes. The best teams are great, and the worst teams are terrible, but the Bobcats have brought this extreme to a new low. Anthony Davis is expected to be the #1 pick in the upcoming NBA draft. Imagine what he must be thinking with the Bobcats the most likely team to get that pick (thanks to the horrible rule the NBA has of deciding their draft order through a lottery and not based upon the records of the teams in the previous season).
So for the sake of Davis, and guys like Kemba Walker, Boris Diaw, and the rest of the Bobcats roster that have had to endure such a historically bad season, I think it is in the best interest of all parties involved to dissolve the franchise. They are not only poorly representing the city of Charlotte, but they are drawing attention to the NBA for all the wrong reasons. The playoffs should be great this year with a seemingly large field of teams that have a legitimate chance to win a title, but 20 years from now, no matter what team wins the title, the 2012 might be most known for how the Charlotte Bobcats played the worst basketball in the history of the NBA.
Daily Rangers Update: Game 6 ended not long ago, and the series will be coming back to Madison Square Garden for a Game 7! It took until the second period, but the offense finally was able to get the puck past Craig Anderson. A very questionable call made the score 3-2 in the waning moments of the third period, but the Rangers were able to stave off a frantic final minute to hold on for the one goal win. The season will end for either the Senators or the Rangers on Thursday night, and hopefully it will not be the Rangers.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: After a win yesterday that ended a shaky strecth of baseball, things are looking great tonight. Justin Upton finally got his first RBI of the season in his first at bat, and followed that up with his first home run of the year in his second at bat. The bases have been full of Diamondbacks all night and it's only the fourth inning. Diamondbacks 8, Phillies 0 with plenty of baseball left to play.
Daily Giants Update: No news is still good news for the defending champions, as the draft is now only three days away.
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