Today's Tunes:
"Dollaz & Sense" - Blakroc ft. RZA & Pharoahe Monch
Game Overview: Finally the Bobcats arrive at the end of their back-to-back-to-back. So far, they've lost to an Atlanta Hawks squad sans Al Horford, Kirk Hinrich and Tracy McGrady; and a quite bad Pistons team. In the five past games (all losses), the Bobcats have scored a whopping 79.2 points per game. And here's some more stats to chew on: the Bobcats are taking the most 16-23 foot field goal attempts in the NBA and are giving up the most shots at the rim (via hoopdata.com). That is a recipe for disaster.
Looking at Golden State, their roster is a bit of a mess. Mark Jackson wants to be more defensive-minded, but he's still got mostly remnants of the Don Nelson era. As such, there is a slight improvement on defense (Defensive efficiency of 102.2, compared to 107.6 in 2010-11), but they're still in the bottom five defenses. And then there's the mess resulting from injuries. Stephen Curry's sprained his ankle only a billion times, so he'll be out tonight (that'll hurt sales). Joining him is Kwame Brown, who was playing pretty well before a pectoral tear.
Monta Ellis leads the Warriors with his incredible speed and finishing ability. David Lee mans the paint as the power forward with Andris Biedrins at center. The rest of the team is basically rookies and young fellers at all positions.
Key Matchup: Gerald Henderson vs. Monta Ellis -- Teams are currently eating the Bobcats alive in the paint. Charlotte needs Henderson to keep Ellis out of where he is best. David Lee is also a very real threat with the Bobcats' weakness in the interior.
Links Around The NBA
Just one today because it's that good. Bethlehem Shoals (formerly of Free Darko) on LeBron's burden that he carries.