Charlotte Bobcats Are Clearly Still a Work in Progress

I like these guys. I really do, and not just because I've done some work for a Charlotte Bobcats site (Bobcats Planet--feel free to visit as often as you'd like). I do believe that they have some talent on the squad in guys like Kemba Walker, Bismack Biyombo (one of my favorite players and a class act that all pro athletes should try to emulate; check Bobcats Planet for a past article and I'll tell you why), and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Hats off to His Airness, Michael Jordan the owner, for backing away and letting the GM do his job.

The new coach, Mike Dunlap, has had a heck of a task ahead  of himself with this young group and has done a pretty good job getting them as together as they are. Heck, even with last night's epic loss the team is still above .500 and has matched last season's win total.

Does that mean the team is on the move and ready to become a mover and shaker? Not necessarily. The team is still very young and has not been together for a long time. They still need to get accustomed to each other and Coach Dunlap's system.

That being said--and with the specter of last seasons still hanging over them as everyone waits for them to tank it once again--there are going to be some serious growing pains.

Like there was last night.

I couldn't believe it during the Monday Night Football game when the commentators mentioned that the Bobcats were down to the Oklahoma City Thunder 83-25 (I could be a little off on the exact score, but you get the idea).

Wow was about all I could say.

In the end the Thunder sat their starters minutes into the second half (but not until after Russell Westbrook was able to throw down the jam you see below) and played the last guys on the bench for much of the fourth. The score was still  114-69, the fifth largest margin of victory in NBA history.



Ouch.

That  is okay though. I know it sounds strange to say, but it is. We knew going into this season that the team was going to have its back against the wall pretty much from day one. Expectations were low, and with seven wins already you could almost say that they have been met.

However, being the competitor that he is you know Jordan expects better. I think he'll still get better. Dunlap has these guys focusing on fundamantals, an art that most teams overlook for flash and talent these days. Get talented players like they have to play fundamentally sound basketball and these guys will win games.

At the least they will be competitive and that's a start.