First things first: congrats to the Dallas Mavericks (and our sister SB Nation blog, Mavs Moneyball. You should definitely read their writer's account of the game and afterparty with the team)! I picked Miami to win, and much to my surprise, Dallas handily took care of the Heat with much more ease than most expected.
Now on to Bobcats things.
Now that the 2010-11 season is finished, now is obviously a great time to look at Vegas' odds for the 2011-12 NBA Champion because no one's rosters are going to change after the draft or the free agency. The Bobcats clock in at 20th overall with odds of 75:1, while the leaders are Miami (5:2) and the Los Angeles Lakers (11:2).
Alec Burks has rescheduled his workout for the Bobcats within the next couple days, as his unverified Twitter account implies: "Wheels up to Charlotte". Though it's an unverified Twitter account, most NCAA players don't have verification, so I wouldn't worry about it being fake. Marshon Brooks is also in town this week for a workout, so we may get the Brooks-Burks workout we thought we'd get a few Sundays ago. Of course, that depends if they're scheduled for the same workout.
More after the jump.
Meanwhile, the Bobcats are also getting offseason community events underway. On Monday, the Bobcats donated $10,000 in cooperation with Jordan Brand to the Special Olympics Camp SOAR, a week-long camp for Special Olympic athletes. The money helps ensure that the 300+ campers can continue to attend for free. One of Michael Jordan's goals was to make the Bobcats a bigger part of the surrounding community, and they are undoubtedly doing this so far. Stephen Jackson and D.J. Augustin were also on hand to help kick off the first day of camp, speaking for a short while at the camp's commencement and helping coach the campers. The thing that wowed me the most (outside of the fantastic campers and volunteers and organizers) was Stephen Jackson's effervescent personality. He was bubbly the whole time, with a smile that never left his face. Great with kids, joking with everyone, you name it.
Another puzzle piece is unveiled in the Kwame Brown mystical improvement movement. In addition to the great coaching he's received from Bobcats Head Coach Paul Silas and Charles Oakley, Kwame's being mentored by Ty Randolph, a former Harlem Globetrotter. Yes, you read that right. A former Harlem Globetrotter is helping coach Kwame Brown. I don't mean to repeat that to make fun; it's just amazing. I keep reading it and it gets better every time I read it. It repeats what Charles Oakley has told me and what many say - that much of Kwame's drastic improvement was mostly due to his boost in confidence.
But Randolph said Brown needed to be reintroduced to some of the basketball basics like footwork and shot selection. More importantly, the 29-year-old Brown needed a shot of confidence.
"We just started him back in the basics," said Randolph, who has been working with Brown for two years. "It was such a roller-coaster ride. I think he forgot how to play basketball like he knew how and basketball wasn't fun for him."
Less than ten days to the NBA Draft! Are you excited like I am?