Losing even in the offseason
May
30
Written by:
5/30/2012 10:40 PM
Many people were hoping and thinking that Wednesday May 30th would be the day things turned around for the Charlotte Bobcats. The NBA Draft lottery was taking place and the Bobcats had a 25% chance of getting the #1 overall pick, better odds than any other team. This was going to be the night that the Bobcats would get the #1 pick and use it on Kentucky’s Anthony Davis. Someone forgot to tell the New Orleans Hornets and the NBA that this was the plan. The New Orleans Hornets now have the #1 pick, with the Bobcats picking second.
Twitter and Facebook were relentless Wednesday evening after the draft lottery. People were calling out saying the NBA fixed the draft. A picture surfaced on Twitter of Anthony Davis wearing a Hornets hat that was allegedly taken several weeks ago. Some people were saying that the NBA agreed to make sure New Orleans got the #1 pick when Tom Benson agreed to buy the team from the NBA. How much different was the tone on Facebook & Twitter in New Orleans compared to Charlotte?
There seem to be a lot of people who are only interested in pointing out the negatives issues around this NBA franchise. How many of the people that were complaining on these social media sites actually bought tickets to Bobcats games last season? Would Anthony Davis coming to Charlotte have changed that many people’s outlook on this franchise? Could Anthony Davis have been to the to the Bobcats what Cam Newton was to the Panthers?
Talking to a close friend recently, we discussed what would happen if this situation of the Bobcats not drafting first overall arose. One school of thought was that the Bobcats were better off drafting second or lower. The 2007 Draft with Greg Oden and Kevin Durant came up. People were saying that Portland had to take Oden #1, but many thought Durant would be the better pro, and look at how that has played out. Davis is the clear #1 pick in this draft, but could there be a diamond in the rough that the Bobcats take and proves to be this year’s Durant? If there is that someone in the draft, I think he is also from Kentucky, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. MKG may need a couple of seasons to get to where he can help, but everyone talks about how he was the glue for the Wildcats this season and can get to the rim pretty easily. At 6’7, with a 6’10 wingspan, MKG could help fill in a big hole on that front line. People say he is relentless at working at his game on both ends of the floor. MKG could be the stopper this team needs on defense, and this team desperately needs that leader. Let’s just hope that the pick is more like Kevin Durant than Adam Morrison.
OTHER RANDOM THOUGHTS FROM THE NOGGIN
· Is walking EVER called in the NBA now? Watching the Spurs-Thunder series, the announcers were even joking saying that walking doesn’t exist in the NBA now. Miami has more players take steps than any team I have ever seen.
· The Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 drew the same ratings Sunday, yet the ending to the 500 was so much better. This is the first time I can remember watching more of the 500 than of the 600.
· UFC 146, the Heavyweights, was held Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. I nailed all of my predictions, except for Roy Nelson. Nelson knocked out Herman with one punch! Sorry about disrespecting you Roy! Cain and Dos Santos both won their fights and will meet again once Cain’s hand is healed. I am not sure anyone can beat Dos Santos right now, including Cain. Struve and Nelson have fought already once before, but I think another matchup between the two could be in the works.
· The San Antonio Spurs are really good. Several of the talking heads on TV have made the comment that if this were the Lakers or Heat on this run, the streak would be getting all kinds of National Attention. How can anyone argue with that? The Spurs-Thunder series has been great so far and I really look forward to watching these games.
· The other series, it still feels like the NBA REALLY wants the Heat in the finals….