Gameday Preview Charlotte Bobcats vs. Sacramento Kings
(Much thanks to Julius Coxswain for today's preview. [You might even say this preview has been COXSWAINED.] If you're interested in doing the gameday preview for Wednesday's game against Miami, write it up and send an email to rufusonfireblog@gmail.com following the established format. Music. Big Picture. Keys to Victory. Detail. Include your username for proper credit. Deadline will be roughly 9am the day of the game.)
NOTE: It's a 2pm start time today, due to the MLK holiday.
Pump Up Music: James Brown -- "I Feel Good"
The Big Picture: The Sacramento Kings are coming off a 10-point loss to the Arenas-less Washington Wizards on Saturday, continuing a three game losing streak. Meanwhile, the Bobcats have won a team-best 7 home games in a row.
The Cats’ dismantling of the Spurs and the Suns should put the rest of the league on notice. Charlotte has been playing tenacious defense and keeping their turnovers to a minimum. Boris Diaw, who recently conquered his fear of rebounding and scoring, has once again become a valuable asset.The Kings aren’t a very good squad, but they do have a few back court folk that can score in bunches. The Cats can ill afford to revert back to the Sam Vincent days and lose to a team like Sacramento.
Key to Victory: The Kings get the majority of their points from Tyreke Evans and the Cullowhee Catamount Kevin Martin. Evans is a better playmaker than Martin, but they essentially have the same skill set. The Cats’ backcourt has enough athleticism and bulk to keep Evans and Martin at bay.
(DA -- There's not much chance Felton will be able to contain Evans on his own, given 'Reke Havoc's upper tier athleticism in a 6-6 frame. He's going to need tons of help from the bigs behind him, or he'll have to take his chances with Evans shooting from the outside, because Evans's size and leaping ability are so beyond most point guards' skills that no other point is really equipped to deal with it. At this point in his career, he's not a good three point shooter, nor is he especially good away from the rim, although, interestingly, he's above league average shooting from 16-23 feet. Posting up Felton, though, probably isn't an option, given how solidly Ray is built.)
Spencer Hawes and Jason Thompson are serviceable big men, but they don’t do anything that should keep Diaw or Nazr Mohammed from getting a good night’s rest. Charlotte will win this game handily if they take a businesslike approach, and we have a good chance of seeing more of Acie Law and Gerald Henderson.
Detail That May Interest .08% of You: Larry Brown sort of kind of lobbied to be the Kings coach after they canned Eric Musselman in 2007.
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Comments
working the ball offensively
and not getting 3 pt happy right away would be my biggest fear. The Bobcats rarely have a night like the Suns game where they knock down ALL of their 3’s. Work the ball inside to Diaw and Gerald. Attack the basket with Raymond and Jax. Now that the Bobcats have confidence my biggest fear is OVER confidence.
"ANOTHER Iowa running back down!"-any sports caster
The Nets loss alone should keep them from being over confident...
I hope so at least. The Cats should win this game handily.
"I could never be a thug, they don't dress this well." - Malice
by Julius Coxswain on Jan 18, 2010 11:00 AM EST up reply actions
Detail That May Interest .08% of You:
Sean May’s return to Charlotte…and he’s only played 9 games this season.
That son of a....
That’s about as many games as he was good for in a season with us…and I use the term “good” lightly
by andrewlail76 on Jan 18, 2010 12:47 PM EST up reply actions
Except this time
he’ll be warming a seat on the other side of the scorer’s table
Lemonade was a popular drink and it still is.
by WhatAboutBob_cats on Jan 18, 2010 1:01 PM EST up reply actions
arent you glad he didnt sucker us for another deal
by making us think he was gonna be healthy and good this year?
My two favorite teams are playing...
I have to say I’m a bit torn today. The Bobcats are at .500 and solidly in the east playoff race, and the Kings desparately need a win after struggling since 2 overtime losses to the Lakers and Cavs, and then losing to a Kobe buzzer beater in LA.
If recent trends are any indication, this will be a really good game for about 3 1/2 quarters. The Kings are one of the worst teams in the league at closing out games in the 4th quarter.
The Nets loss should serve the Bobcats well to not sleep on this game. My mind tells me the Bobcats pull away in the 4th and win by 10; my heart tells me the Kings need this game a lot more than the Bobcats.
I feel your mixed emotions man
But I can’t share your opinion. There is no such thing as a game a team needs more than the Bobcats. I was watching the Dallas – Toronto game yesterday and the Bobcats even needed to win THAT one!
by Ourdaywillcome on Jan 18, 2010 3:02 PM EST up reply actions

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