Bobcats put together another win streak

11/20/2007

Fun fact: The Bobcats are off to the best 10 game start in franchise history, at 6-4. I know this because ESPN.com had a headline up saying so today. But did you know: The Bobcats could lose their next 11 straight games and still tie the franchise mark for best 21-game start to the season? It's true - in the inaugural season, the team went 6-15, the best mark the Bobcats have had after 21 games in their brief history. Hopefully, this team will put a bit of distance between itself and that mark.

After looking through the boxscore, I'd like to say - I was right! What was I right about? My prediction...which you, the reader, may not know of since I did not make it on this site. But I did make it, and I have proof. I did a preview of the game for Bobcats Planet (which you can read here) and I outlined some of Portland's weaknesses that the Bobcats should be able to exploit to take the victory. Two main points: Portland does not force turnovers well and they do not keep teams off the offensive glass. Considering the Bobcats struggled early in the season with turnovers, the first was a welcome development to catch a respite from those problems. And the second? Well, it was an open invitation to one of the top offensive rebounding teams in the NBA. Which the Bobcats promptly accepted.

The Bobcats finished last night's game with only 13 turnovers, and a full third of the available offensive rebounds - taking 13 on the offensive glass, to Portland's 26 defensive boards. By winning the turnover battle by 5 and the offensive board battle another 5, the Cats helped themselves to 7 more attempts from the floor and a 27-23 edge in free throw attempts (which they wasted by only hitting 18, but nonetheless). All of those extra chances helped the Bobcats crack the 100 point barrier, with a solid 1.08 ppp scored for the evening. Additionally, they held Portland to a respectable 1.00 ppp scored - not great, but a solid effort.
The Queen City Hoops Greatest Lineup Ever and then I am done: And the award goes to...Emeka Okafor, Gerald Wallace, Jason Richardson, Matt Carroll, and Raymond Felton. Congratulations, guys. They held Portland to a point a possession, but scored 1.72 ppp themselves. How did they do it? Insane shooting, helping by attacking the rim. They made 12 of 14 from the floor, and added 9 free throw attempts for good measure. Oh, and 4 layups and 2 dunks among their makes. You can't stop them you can only hope to contain them. Click here to comment/view comments for this post.

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