Remember last year? We were about the 3rd worst team in the NBA going into the last month. then, when other teams started "tanking", we stood proud, fought hard, maintained our dignity, and ended up passing several teams and ended up the the 8th pick, not the 3rd or 4th.
Here we are again. From the ways things stood just a couple weeks ago, it appeared we were destined for approx the #6 pick, just ahead of the Clippers and Bucks. But we have fought, chose not to "tank", and have just won back to back road games vs the Lakers and Sonics. We are now solidly in the #8 hole Lottery pick, but that may not hold. We are only 1 game behind Chicago, 2.5 from the Pacers, 3.5 from the Nets and 5 behind the Playoff bound Hawks. We are pulling away from the Clippers and Bucks.
Do I expect the Playoffs? No. We lost that chance the last month when we were within 1 game and started sucking eggs during games. Nonetheless, I'll be very interested how the last 10 games play out. You see certain teams who are "shelving" some good players and in essence are "tanking". They have these severe finger injuries which prevent them from playing - unlike Kobe who played through it. I expect more of the same over this coming week. What will happen with the Pacers and Bulls? Will they do that or stand tall? We have to wait and see.
I don't want to see us "tank". I dont care if we pass the Bulls and Pacers and have the #10 pick vs the #8 pick. It is about character. I want to win as many games as possible. If the karma of the basketball world is on our side, we may just get lucky with the ping pong balls. Or, perhaps the "right" player will fall to us when others have missed out on him. I have to have faith that playing with honor, integrity and passion will be rewarded by the Basketball Gods. So play on my Bobcats. Play hard, play to win, and let the ping pong balls fall where they may!
