These are the kind of games we can’t drop.

How much have the Bobcats truly changed? How much impact has Coach Brown been able to make?

Those are the questions that we’ll get a good start at answering tonight. Considering how early in the season we are, this is as big as a game can get for hometown fans.

Raja Bell will be on the court, but realistically this is just the start of things for him and I think it would be a very bad idea to base our expectations on what he can give the team tonight. The best thing we can do is look at his numbers and realize they will only go up from here. If he comes out strong tonight it’s going to bode well for us indeed. If he falters or is only able to play 10-15 minutes it really won’t mean anything except the team is that much closer to full strength. I think we all know how many additional options his presence will give Coach Brown and we’ll also be able to get a fix on just how essential or expendable Raymond Felton will be from here on out.

With all that said, I believe the Bobcats are finally going to start to prove that they can win the games against teams they should be able to handle. I’m going to be optimistic and here’s why:

Larry Brown hasn’t EVER failed to deliver for two seasons in a row.

The team seems to be listening to him when it counts in most cases and they are showing signs of the “gelling” we’ve been promised for this season.

With Devin Harris out it should be easy to get the Nets out of their game. A little full court pressure early on will go a long way toward disrupting the flow of the NJ offense.

A full day of rest and home court advantage must seem like Christmas in November to the tired legs of our starters.

Hopefully the fans will come out to the game and be vocal enough to provide some REAL home court presence.

I can’t stress enough how early it is to be making predictions – there are too many things (injuries, trades, etc) that can happen to disrupt a season. HOWEVER…

This is the sort of game the Bobcats have made a career out of losing. Fans are used to being disappointed by the team posting a loss against teams they should manhandle. I think under Larry Brown that those days are over.

My expectation is that the Bobcats will win by 4 after leading most of – if not all of – the game.

My dream (and one that is well within reach tonight in my opinion) is to see the Cats run up a lead similar to the game against the Nicks and then HOLD IT in the second half. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to sit our starters for a chunk of the fourth quarter so they can be fresher for the next game!

The odds are in the Cats favor tonight and if the team will finally show signs of developing the killer instinct instead of allowing a lesser opponent to hang in and scare us to death in the fourth quarter, other teams will start to take us seriously.

C’mon Cats, it’s high time for a rout! Go get ’em!