Last time the Bobcats played the Hawks, Charlotte lost by 30. This time around they lost by 27. Last time they gave up 52 points in the paint. This time they gave up 60. Last time, Josh Smith had 30 points. This time, 24.

A lot of similar things from the last go-round -- which, incidentally, are similar to their problems against every team -- but also some new things. The Hawks' bench had 42 points, which is 18 points more than last time. The Bobcats' starting lineup scored 43 points tonight, as opposed to 54 last time.

But the end result was the same. Nearly a 30-point loss.

The first quarter was misleading based on the score. It looked close, but in reality, you could tell the game would get out of hand. Atlanta was getting everything in the paint, and with ease. Josh Smith got great positioning deep in the post and is talented enough there to beat Biyombo more often than not. It also doesn't help that there's a lack of good help defense. Not a whole lot of communication. Augustin looked more aggressive in the early goings than the last time I saw him, but it was short-lived. Byron Mullens took a gazillion shots but only made a few.

From there it was alllllllll downhill. Charlotte's shots stopped landing and Atlanta kept attacking the paint unabashedly. By my count, the Hawks had 38 points in the paint by halftime. After the half, the Bobcats' starters got run off the court. Though it seemed like they gave some decent effort out there, they executed really poorly.

Honestly, I feel bad if you stuck with this game after halftime. I did, and I really wish I had just slept through it. Kemba Walker's play was really the only thing worth watching, and that was heavily outweighed by how much the Bobcats were sucking. Walker had 21 points on 15 shots with three treys, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, but also five turnovers. The defense was pungent all around, making for a generally unwatchable game. Other props go out to Henderson and Derrick Brown, who played pretty well.

Anyway, let's get this water under the bridge. It's definitely not something I want to remember.

Curse Of Cardboard Gerald: 22 straight losses, -16.2 average point differential