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Week In Review
This past week wasn't really that bad, in Bobcats terms.
Charlotte's week started a little late with their first game on Wednesday, a win at Time Warner Cable Arena over Orlando, 114-108. On Friday, they traveled to the Big Apple to face off against the New York Knicks. Despite a second half run, the Bobcats were defeated 111-102. The Cats stayed on the East coast the next night when they went to Philly to face the 76ers where they were yet again defeated by the score of 100-92.
It's fairly remarkable that the team had the week they did because they mostly played with an eight man lineup for most of the week. Recent injuries to Ramon Sessions, Brendan Haywood and Byron Mullens have significantly cut into the Bobcats' already-limited depth.
Best Storyline
The secnd half: The norm for the Bobcats since the All-Star break has been to get off to a good start in the first quarter only to just deteriorate as the game progresses. That changed this week as it seemed that the team struggled in the 1st half to only start the 2nd half with a vengeance. Charlotte outscored their opponents 164 to 143 in those second halves which helped them come back to beat Orlando and stay competitive with the Knicks.
Worst Storyline
Honestly, there wasn't a moment or sequence this week that really stood out to me. Despite the losing record, the team played to the level of their opponent which stands out in a season filled with disappointing and embarrassing performances.
Best Performance
This was a tough decision to make because I was debating between Gerald Henderson and Kemba Walker, who both fantastic performances against the Magic. Both scored 35 points and gathered 7 rebounds but Kemba takes the cake in my mind because he was definitely the better distributor with 9 assists. Kemba can still be an inconsistent player because he's young but this game and his overall performance this week gives us a glimpse of the type of player he could be with Charlotte.
Worst Performance
I previously discussed how inconsistent Kemba Walker has been and he proved that in Friday's game against the Knicks. It may be weird that I have Kemba in both categories but he had that Jekyll and Hyde effect after looking like a terrific player on Wednesday but then going into New York and putting up a statline of 16 points on 6-for-19 shooting with eight assists and five turnovers. Those eight assists definitely helped the Bobcats come back in the second half but his bad shooting night was enough that I had to put him in here.
Best Player
Gerald Henderson finished off a fantastic month of March with an unforgettable week when he averaged 20 points on 47.2 percent shooting. Of course, Henderson was red hot through those 3 games but it also helped that the opposing defenses are still focusing a majority of their attention on Kemba Walker, which allowed Henderson to have some uncontested looks. Henderson is going into the offseason as a restricted free agent so it's still a huge question mark whether he'll be in Charlotte next year.
Look Ahead
Monday: @ Milwaukee, 8 PM ET
Wednesday: vs. Philadelphia, 7 PM ET
Friday: vs. Miami, 8 PM ET (On ESPN)
Saturday: @ Brooklyn, 7:30 PM ET
Charlotte has a tough upcoming week where they face off against three playoffs-bound teams. The game in Milwaukee should be interesting because Milwaukee has been struggling as of late after basically sealing that 8th seed. The Bobcats are going to look to get their revenge on Philadelphia after losing that closely contested game on Saturday. Honestly, the last two games against Brooklyn and Miami are going to be near impossible games for Charlotte to win but it would be nice to see a competitive game on Friday when they're on national TV.