Gameday Preview Charlotte Bobcats vs. New Jersey Nets

We’ve had some surprising successes in the first half of the season and I don’t think many Bobcats fans could have asked for a more pleasant shock than being above .500 this late in the proceedings. But none of it matters now.

This is the moment in the season that the true contenders begin their playoff drive in earnest. As surprising as it may be that the Bobcats are listed among that group, here we sit. There is a lot to celebrate but if the team is wise, it will realize that it can’t rest now.

The last 3 games leading up to the break revealed an exhausted and battered Bobcats squad. The team played without energy and the spring and swagger we’d grown accustomed to had been stolen by multiple sore and twisted ankles. We’ve just had the longest break we’re going to see between now and the playoffs. The one player that saw action during that period looked nothing at all like his normal, healthy self.

We need this game. We’re playing the worst team in the league and this is the only game we have until Friday. From here on out there are no more games we can “afford to lose.” Tonight sets the foundation for the rest of our season and the cards are heavily stacked in our favor. It isn’t enough for us to eke out a win by 2 or 3 points. We need to come out and absolutely crush the Nets tonight in order to build momentum and restore lost confidence. David correctly points out that we don’t exactly match up well against the Nets front court and that presents a challenge. REAL playoff contenders rise to such challenges and the Felines are in bad need of a show of strength. We finish up the week with a Friday/Saturday home and away back to back. We should be able to win both of those games as well if we play the way we did in January.

But standing in the way of that optimistic appraisal are the New Jersey Nets. This is where the remainder of our dream season begins to get determined. By Friday, we’ll have had over a week to rest with just one game stuck in the middle. From a psychological perspective, winning tonight’s game isn’t enough. Ass must be kicked. The future Brooklyn Nets must be crushed. Our defense must be punishing and our offense needs to run like a finely tuned machine.

Tonight we see if the rest recharged the batteries and was enough for RayRay and Jax’s ankles to have healed. Gerald Wallace is trying to recover from his first ever hamstring injury and is discovering that they are notoriously slow and stubborn to heal. He and Chandler are the least likely players to be at 100%. But we’ve never once had to rely on Chandler’s efficiency to bring us a win this season and we should be able to put together several scoring runs against the Nets even if the Predator can only play like a mere mortal at present.

We need to play even better from here on out than we did in the months leading up to this point. It’s time to make our playoff drive. It’s time to bring the “A” game to the court. Every single one of us can close our eyes and see that little “x” indicating a clinched playoff berth next to the Charlotte Bobcats name in the standings. This year it isn’t just a pipe dream. It’s close. So… very… close. The dream is within reach of becoming reality. So close your eyes for a moment and take a deep breath because

It starts TONIGHT.

Hats off for picking an Aussie band! Although I prefer Silverchair’s new stuff where they’re filled with less teen angst.