Larry Brown Showing He Can Coach As Bobcats Try To Turn It Around
Submitted by Cape Fear Sport... on Thu, 01/29/2009 - 9:50am.READ MORE: 
The woeful and pathetic are capable of change. From intolerable to somewhat intriguing. The team I saw at training camp and in the early stages of the 2008-'09 NBA season is dead. I really can't believe I'm saying this based on how things looked early on, but you have to give props to the Charlotte Bobcats.
It hasn't been one thing specifically, rather an accumulation of positive progressions, but there is no denying the mix has propelled the Bobcats from one of the worst teams in the NBA, to a team that is at least respectable.
Amazingly, the Bobcats moved up to #15 in one of the ESPN NBA power rankings. With a couple of roster moves and a change of attitude, Larry Brown has been able to take Charlotte from being amongst the NBA dregs, to a team that can beat any one on a given night.
Jason Richardson is a good player, but the Bobcats have him in Gerald Wallace (although it looks like he may now be sideline for sometime). The additions of Boris Diaw and Raja Bell from the Suns in the J-Rich trade have stabilized the Bobcats, who needed considerable help on the defensive end and on the glass. You have to give credit to the Bobcat brass for making the trade, which clearly has been a positive move.
The Bobcats haven't gotten sexier, just better. They haven't become more marketable by adding a marquee name, but instead by focussing on winning; after all, winning is ultimately what sells tickets, so you can't fault their strategy.
Gerald Wallace, the team leader in scoring, is averaging a paltry 16.4 points per game as we transition into February. That's just 41st in the league. But looking at the Bobcats at this stage in the season, it isn't about one player; it is clearly about a team.
Their starting line-up isn't made up of all-stars, but if you look at Charlotte's roster, it is balanced. The chemistry component is often overlooked in sports, but mostly by those who fail.
Any coincidence also that the Bobcats have looked hungrier since MJ started showing up for a few games? How can you not play harder with the greatest-of-all-time looking on? I guess most guys in the NBA need a little motivation to get up for all 82 games, but with Michael Jordan just showing some interest in the team's success and sitting courtside, you can forget about needing motivation.
Things that don't directly affect the game seep into the subconscious; having Michael cheer you on has to good for the mind. We've also seen Michael get on people... it 'aint where you want to be, ask Bill Cartwright.
So with a re-newed dedication to winning, in an eight day span, January 19-27, the Bobcats played five games. The lost to the Spurs by two points, which is certainly respectable. They then whacked Memphis 101-86 and absolutely destroyed the Phoenix Suns 98-76 in a game that affirmed the J-Rich trade.
Ex-Sun Boris Diaw scored 26 points as hit lit up his former mates. The Bobcats led by 20-something points for most of the second half, and the team's stellar performance prompted head coach Larry Brown to say, "I don't think we can play any better."
They may have had a bit of a let down, losing a tough road game at Indiana 98-93, but then bounced back by beating the Lakers, in Los Angeles, 117-110 in double-overtime.
Not a bad stretch; I'm sure the Bobcats would have been pleased to win three out of five games which started with the Spurs and ended with a road game against the Lakers.
While a playoff birth may be a little pre-mature, the Bobcats do have a difficult second-half schedule as they play 8 of their last 12 on the road, Charlotte is at least in contention for a spot in the post-season after the All-Star Game.
Who would have thunk it?
Photo: Chris Miranda
-- Jesse Jones, CAPE FEAR SPORTS REPORT
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