No Guts, No Glory

No Guts, No Glory

Published Dec. 16, 2009 10:25 a.m. ET


 
Big win for the Bobcats last night against New York. Dead in the water at 12 points down late in the third quarter, the Bobcats rallied to outscore New York 15-2 in a furious fourth quarter rally to win their 9th home game of the season and the 6th win in the last 7 at home.  The 10th win of the season comes earlier than at any other time in Bobcats history.  The Bobcats are three games ahead of their record breaking pace of last year, when they won 35 games.
 
That win makes tonight's game against Indiana huge. The Bobcats have to show some road backbone if they are going to crack the playoff chase in the East. Tonight they'll take on an Indiana team that is reeling without their star, Danny Granger, out for an extended period after a torn right plantar fascia.  
 
There's a formula that's pretty safe to use to get to the playoffs. Win 75% of your home games and then try to get 50% of your road games. In an 82-game schedule, that should get you 50-51 wins, more than enough to claim a playoff berth in either conference this season.
 
The Bobcats have the home half of the formula right on the money with 9 wins in 12 games at 75%. But the road has left them wandering in the woods. They are 1-10 on the road with 30 more games remaining away from home. At their current rate of success, the Bobcats can only see 3 more road wins coming their way. If you're going to keep winning at 75% at home, that will get you 30 wins, but only 4 wins more from the road column will leave the Bobcats even behind last year's win record and out of the playoffs.
 
Over the last ten years, the 8th place team in the East has had an average record of 40-42 at the end of the regular season. Given the fact that there are only 5 teams playing better than .500 ball in the East right now, it's a good guess to think that 40 gets you into the East playoff race. Obviously theBobcats have their work cut out for them.
 
The Big Three of Wallace-Jackson-Felton did it again for the Cats last night. Boris Diaw shook off foul trouble to add to the mix in the fourth and how big was Flip Murray's three to tie the game at 85?  Tyson Chandler has quietly put together a couple of strong games by staying out of foul trouble.
 
Mike Dunleavy has returned from his long road to a knee injury recovery. He's put up 24 and 26 points in his last two games for Indiana.
 
Bobcats LIve with Stephanie Ready gets us rolling from Conseco at 6:30 on Fox Sports Carolinas. Time Warner Cable customers in Mecklenburg County can catch the game on Channel 40. Dish Network location is Channel 449 and Direct TV viewers can see it on Channel 645.
 

ADVERTISEMENT
share