Charlotte Bobcats vs. Golden State Warriors
7:30pm - Oracle Arena in Oakland
TV: CSN
Radio: KNBR 680
Blog Buddy: Rufus on Fire
Bobcats vs Warriors preview at TSN
Generating drama when you're on pace to lose 55 to 60 games is tough.
And it's not that drama in itself is good. Often when people talk about "drama" in the context of competitive sports, it's the sort of off the court variety of back stabbing and grousing drama that proves to be a distraction. You know the kind where overrated guys who were gifted contracts that pay them too much for too long, who hadn't ever shown an ability to stay in one place for more than 2 years without wearing out their welcome, who sabotage their own attempts to try to be the good guy by doing something like shooting a gun at a night club or charging into the stands to go after fans -- when guys like that spit on their unmerited contract and demand trades. That sort of drama? Well it can lead to 20something win seasons.
And we've had enough of that drama.
But when that sort of drama has already put you well on track for that 20something win season, where every win just seems like it raises the already remote probability of landing John Wall (or whichever savior-apparent the season brings), you need something just to get up for the games, to make it entertaining, to dare I say *care*.
Tonight, I fully expect that reason to walk into Oracle wearing a Bobcat Jersey to a chorus of boos, a result of his own self sabotage. And I fully expect Stephen Jackson to try with all his might to silence the boos (or elevate them -- it's tough to gauge his state of mind) by scoring early and often. And I fully expect Monta Ellis, in a show of "I'm still here and I'm not going to be upstaged" might to go toe-to-toe, at least in the sense of shooting the ball whenever he touches it, limited only by the fact that one cannot shoot *more often* than one touches the ball. The outcome? Tough to tell, because both men have shown the ability to light it up at times and both have shown the ability to shoot their team into oblivion.
If it's the former, the spectacle at the Oracle will bring about reason to care, at least tonight.
And if the latter? More. Boos.
At least Jax knows what's coming.
From the USA Today:
Jackson said he fully expects to be booed Friday night when he hits the Oracle Arena floor, the place where in 2007 he helped the Warriors break a 12-season drought without a playoff berth.
"I know I've done a lot for this city," Jackson said. "I've got a lot of respect and love for (Warriors coach) Don Nelson, and I've got to say I've got a lot of fans here. So the booing is not going to bother me."
Other stories? Gerald Wallace owns the glass and probably won't be challenged there by a collection of D-leaguers. Nah. Tonight it's about Jax.
Predictions:
- Monta shoots a bunch!
- Jackson shoots a bunch!
- the hot hand wins the game.