Bobcats Winning Games and Fans in Charlotte

[spectre]

NBA Fanhouse

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- It's got to be the shoes.

Well, that is one reason the NBA is looking better these days in Charlotte.

Since Michael Jordan last month was officially approved as owner of the Bobcats, he's been on a mission to upgrade the Bobcats in many ways. And that includes game operations.

So at a recent game at Time Warner Cable Arena, two fans were selected to come onto the court to see how many free throws each could make in 30 seconds. The winner and the victor's entire row would win a pair of Air Jordans.

That's right, the entire row. At each game now the Bobcats allow for up to 20 pairs of shoes to go to a winning row, and then they're mailed out. At $170 a pair, that's $3,400 if the row is full.

"I'm sure he can afford to give a few pairs away,'' Bobcats general manager Rod Higgins quipped about Jordan.

~snip~

The fans are slowly returning to NBA games in Charlotte, but consistency is still sought. The Bobcats in late March have three home games out of four drawing less than 15,000, but they've followed that with three straight April crowds in excess of 18,000.

"I think the energy in terms of the city is starting to get that feverish pitch as everybody is looking forward to the playoffs right around the corner,'' said Higgins, who often played against the Hornets in Charlotte during a 13-year NBA career that ended in 1995. "Michael has talked about those goals for us to create that buzz they had with the Hornets here. It's been proven (Charlotte can draw fans). So that's our goal to try to put as many fans in this building as we possibly can and playing a winning brand of basketball.''

Of course, while "buzz'' is an appropriate term for the Hornets, perhaps the Bobcats are looking for a growl about town. Regardless of the terminology, Felton, who is a free agent this summer but says he wants to re-sign with Charlotte, is pretty excited about the future.

"We're trying to gain that respect around the league that we can be one of the elite teams in the league and in the East,'' said Felton, who arrived in Charlotte for the Bobcats' second season of 2005-06. "The fans have gotten better. It was a bitter taste when the Hornets left but it was a thing that happened. But the fans have gotten better each year I have been here.''

The Bobcats are doing enough to get Harris to drive to some games from Raleigh, two hours up the road. Harris used to attend Hornets games.

"North Carolina is much more excited now about having an NBA franchise,'' Harris said. "It's reminiscent of the Hornets.''

And this comes from a guy who lost the contest to win Air Jordans. Imagine how excited he would have been had he and his row won shoes.

[LadyCats Rule]

Winning always helps. No matter what city you are in. 4 years ago in Boston they were drawing less than 10,000 on a Tuesday night. They start winning again, and now they are packing them in.

[BRNC]

Well winning certainly helps...MJ buying the team helps...I just want more fans to support the team so I'm happy regardless of their reasons...

[spectre]

Figured I'd just piggy pack on this thread as it's "sort of" about the season (reach, I know).

SI grades for the 2009/2010 season:

B Charlotte Bobcats (43-37)

The trickle-down effect from the early-season Stephen Jackson deal was an All-Star nod for Gerald Wallace and a more efficient season for Raymond Felton (career-high 45.8 percent shooting). The Tyson Chandler-Emeka Okafor swap didn't work out, but midseason deals for Theo Ratliff and Tyrus Thomas made up for it and helped Charlotte make the playoffs for the first time ever.

Of note...Chris Mannix had us listed as 25th in his preseason power rankings, but his last ranking (4/5/10) had us at 15th.

We jump 10 spots over his own prediction and we get a B?

[Muttley]

Mannix mentions that Tyson trade didn't work out. I'm not entirely sure I agree with this. Is Tyson an overwhelmingly dominant and physical center? No, and he's probably not going to be. However, lately he's played a lot better. He's still not worth his salary this year, but in two years he'll be off the books (or maybe re-signed at a much cheaper rate) whereas we would be hamstrung with Emeka's contract. At least the light at the end of Tyson's contract's tunnel is a little closer. Also, did the trade work out well for New Orleans? I know CP3 has been injured, but Collison hasn't exactly played like chopped liver.

It's kind of amazing how Diaw and Tyson have seemingly turned their attitudes around and have been playing with some fire lately. I'm really excited about the games this coming weekend!

[spectre]

All great points Muttley!

I think he's probably basing it off of time played if anything. Given what TC's shown lately I definitely feel we got the player that fits more with our needs...and if he truly has gotten over his injury woes it certainly looks optimistic for the playoffs and for next season.

Boris is another great point. Lately he seems to be more consistent in staying into the game and is showing more and more he's worth that contract.

Crash..Mr. All Star. He's had one of his healthiest seasons so far with us (Please God don't let that be a jinx) and he's taken his game to yet another level.

Jax. No doubt about it; we owe our post season to acquiring that man. He can be frustrating as hell, but all in all he's been much more an asset vs. a liability.

Felton under LB has grown to where we can now say we have a legitimate starting PG.

Nazr showed so much more this year over last...so much so that he has/had the 5th highest PER in the league!

Theo...what a great pickup! Old boy still has some game.

DJ has had a disappointing year, but luckily he's really picked it up at the very best time. I'm looking for him to have a great playoff run...and we're going to need it.

Hulk JR...great pickup. He's become pretty darn steady with his stroke and his contribution in little PT has been huge.

Hughes...lots of people were down on the guy, but his last couple of games have shown he's going to be a great pickup for a vet min deal.

Rooks...started out looking good but their PT has been virtually nonexistent from then on. Hopefully LB has worked on their base knowledge and with another summer they'll make it into the rotation.

I'm very pleased with what we've done this year, and as MJ said another year together and (barring health issues) I think we break 50 wins next season.