As most of you know, I (Scotty) teach Middle School at OLA (Our Lady of the Assumption) in East Charlotte, the very same august institution that Evan and I attended when the Charlotte Hornets became an essential part of our lives.

Today, OLA students were lucky to have the wonderful Diana Rugg(who we have established a relationship with through BBTB) of WCNC-TV, (NBC Charlotte) speak to them about her glamorous and exciting life in TV news. She gave special tips to our 7th grade Broadcast Team on the art of the interview and just what skills are needed to make a good reporter. She also spoke extensively about the importance of contributing to our community – something all of us in the BBTB movement can certainly appreciate. We just want to take a moment to once again thank Diana for sharing her talents and enthusiasm with our grateful students.

Diana – we from the OLA Family look forward to seeing you around Charlotte representing the OLA Phoenix in your new athletic t-shirt!

Evan and I made a promise to ourselves that we would use some of the opportunities BBTB has provided us to better the Charlotte community, because thats what this entire thing was all about. We have chosen to become an official sponsor for the new Athletic Dept OLA has started this year. We will be taking the money we raised from the t-shirts we have sold and put it back into the very school that raised us and made us who we are today.

Al Jefferson working Mr. Gasol.

When the 2014 NBA All-Star rosters came out, fans of the Bobcats immediately noticed a glaring omission: no Al Jefferson on the roster. While it came as a shock to not see Al on the roster, was it our bias towards the Bobcats, or did the coaches make a mistake by not allowing Jefferson to travel to New Orleans? First, let’s make the case for Jefferson. The first thing to notice about Jefferson is the fact that before the season, he was primarily known as an offensive force from the left block. This year, he has still maintained his offensive presence, staying in line with most of the metrics he has posted throughout his career. What is notable about what Al is doing is the fact that he has posted some surprising numbers from the defensive end of the floor as well. He is 8^th in defensive rebounding %, a number that calculates the chances a player will grab a defensive rebound while on the floor. Jefferson is ahead of players such as Dwight Howard and Lamarcus Aldridge, and while this in no way fully embodies a player on that end of the floor, it is a good indicator that his effort and production are very high. The other statistic that jumps out is the fact that he is also in 13^th in overall defensive ratings, a metric that estimates how many points a player allows per 100 possessions. Some examples of players not included in the top 20 include Chris Bosh and Paul Millsap, two of the forwards picked over Jefferson in the East.

With all the defensive effort that Big Al is putting in, you would think that you would see a dip in his offensive production. To be fair, his numbers have dropped slightly from 2013 to 2014. His true field goal % was 49.5% last year and now it sits at 48.7. Also, he has a usage that is 14^th in the league as well. To be honest, we should start expecting a little more out of Jefferson on that end of the floor. The problem about this argument for Charlotte fans is that the guys who were picked above Jefferson (Millsap, Bosh, and Noah) all have better offensive ratings than Al. In short, we all love what he can do in the low block, but unfortunately he has not done enough on that end to warrant one of the players picked to be left off of the team. This is in no way saying that Al isn’t a good player or someone that we can build around. Instead, it shows that he is playing at an All-Star level, but maybe not enough to make the team this year when presented with the numbers that others are putting up.

Overall, Charlotte natives have a legitimate gripe when it comes to the situation involving Al Jefferson. There are very good arguments to be made in favor of including him on the roster, but ultimately I agree with the choices that the coaches made for this year’s team. I think that when you put into context what Jefferson has been doing for this team and the way they have been playing, Al and the rest of us need to be focused on making the playoffs and trying to make an impact as a team rather than All-Star rosters. Everyone knows my feelings about making the playoffs, but now that we have gone down that road to a certain level, it only makes sense to go after it, and Al Jefferson will play a major role, All-Star or not.

The  brand new ” I Brought Back the Buzz” T- Shirt designed by Big Dub will be available in 2 weeks!

Big Dub strikes again and makes New Jersey concepts to go along with the new logo! If this doesn’t get you ready nothing will!

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Buy: Al Jefferson buying into the defense.

Jefferson came into Charlotte during the offseason and one of the main knocks about his game was the fact that he was not a good defender. While no one is going to confuse Big Al with the Roy Hibberts or the Joakim Noahs of the world, it is very evident that Jefferson has really stepped up his play on that end of the floor. His defensive rating per 100 possessions is the highest he has had during his career, and he currently ranks in the top 20 in the league in the category. He is also posting career numbers in defensive rebounding and sits in 13^th in the league in defensive rebounding %. For a team that had such struggles on the glass as the Bobcats did, they needed a presence like Jefferson in the paint. It is refreshing to see a player really dedicate himself like Al has to start the year.

Sell: Ben Gordon. All of him.

How bad has this season been for Gordon? He is shooting a woeful 26.9% from 3-point territory, averaging 5.4 points, and has a PER of 6.9. All these stats are easily the worst in the career of the UConn product. When you combine that with a negative win share it makes it hard to find value in Ben. While some could look to him and his expiring contract (Charlotte is paying him $15 million this year. I wish that was a typo) as a possible trade chip, Gordon has pretty much thrown any notion of that out the window with his attitude and demeanor with this team. I don’t think I’m the only one counting down the minutes until the Bobcats are rid of him.

Buy: Steve Clifford

Clifford is clearly a great decision in the coaching department. Not only was he shrewd enough to surround himself with great assistants, but he also found a way to get across a message of toughness and defense that Mike Dunlap was never able to do. The Bobcats are having their best defensive season since the team that made it to the only playoffs trip in franchise history. The only thing that remains to be seen is whether he can take this young roster and develop the talent therein. I realize 40 games into a coaching stint are not going to produce those kind of results, but if he and the rest of his staff can allow the players to realize their immense potential this team is headed for some really great years.

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 120,000 times in 2013. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 5 days for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

I don’t like to write assumptive articles before the All-Star break. Basketball is a game where the chemistry of the roster makes a huge difference, and for a team that has as much youth/roster movement as the Bobcats have had, it just doesn’t make sense. However, there are some very clear observations that have come to pass that I feel like need to be addressed before we make our true predictions for this team. Before this article really starts, I think I need to tell everyone that I am a fan of this team. I have had season tickets for some time now, and I want only the best for the franchise. However, I feel like the team has done some things that are a disservice to this city that cannot be overlooked. With that being said, they have also made some moves that make a lot of sense if they are viewed in the long-term. Let’s start by saying what this team has done right. Steve Clifford will be a successful coach in this league. He motivates his team to play the right way, and seems to have a firm grip on his players without being overbearing like his predecessor was. There is absolutely no indication that this team doesn’t believe in him, and his past record of success as an assistant speaks for itself. In the future, the only thing that might hold back Coach Clifford is player development, but no one can say he hasn’t put together a staff that should clear up the ailments of the Charlotte franchise. Patrick Ewing is a future NBA coach in his own right, and there are few assistants that have the experience necessary to develop big men like Bismack, Al, and Cody like he has. The same could be said for Mark Price. Players like MKG need to develop their technique and make the new form routine, and there are few better shooters than Price in NBA history. From a coaching perspective, this team is definitely headed in the right direction.

The next positive for the Bobcats are the players. If you were in the stands during the year that will not be named (let’s just say there was a strike there to limit which ones I’m talking about) you knew that the team pretty much did not care. This team is different. Every night, they come out and lay 100% on the court, and should be commended for doing so. The city deserves that type of effort, and this team has not disappointed is making every fan of the Bobcats proud with the poise and leadership this group has displayed on a night-to-night basis. There are very few players as clutch as Kemba, few with better post moves as Al, and few who play with the heart of an MKG, Cody, or Sessions. No one who watches this team would argue this. The will to fight is back for the Bobcats, and I for one am proud of all these players.

With that being said, management and the scouting department has absolutely ruined this team. Before people say I am being dramatic, let me illustrate this in a few ways. Take this list of players: Rajon Rondo, Rudy Gay, Joakim Noah, Tiago Splitter, Marc Gasol, Roy Hibbert, Brook Lopez, Jrue Holliday, Kawhi Leonard, Kenneth Faried, Chandler Parsons, Bradley Beal, and Andre Drummond. This is a list of players who were drafted after a Bobcats’ pick since 2006. While I understand that any draft has outliers and players who play above their projections (see: Faried, Kenneth) the amount of players that this team has passed on is a model that teams could use as a cautionary tale.

This brings me to my main point. 2014 holds what could be the strongest draft that we have seen in 13 years. The team is playing their hearts out, but also playing the way that doesn’t make sense when you look at things from a larger perspective. Let’s just say the Bobcats don’t sign Al Jefferson this past offseason and truly try to bottom out. Right now on NBADraft.net, the #5 pick in the draft is Julius Randle. Ask yourself the honest question: would you deal with one more season of losing to get Randle? I know I would. At the Bobcats’ current pace, they are giving up their 1^st round draft pick to the Bulls as a result of the Tyrus Thomas trade. That trade in itself could be a column with 3000 words, but I wont do that to anyone. All I know is that I for one feel betrayed by this management team, and I think that they have botched draft after draft only to not be involved in the only one that could truly take this team to the next level. Does anyone think this team is going to be anything other than mediocre having Kemba be their best player when he shoots less than 42% from the floor? The good thing is that this team has a lot of players who care about what is going on here and are willing to fight every night for the entire game. That is something to be extremely proud of, and that is something that the team needs to do, even if it is one year early in my opinion.

I realized in my youth that there is obviously something wrong with Scotty and I. We are addicted to the idea of having dynasty franchises in Charlotte for both the NFL & NBA. We don’t just mean Championships. We want visiting fans to have to wear sweatshirts over their jerseys when they come to games out of fear of being jeered at if they brandish them proudly. This leads us to our main point.

I don’t know if we forgot what playoffs are like or people are afraid of getting their hopes up but I’m seeing more “Panthers Fans” saying the Panthers aren’t going to win then all other teams fans combined. WHAT IS THIS?

I understand being critical of your team during the season and if your team didn’t make the playoffs. What I don’t understand is when your team has finished 12-4 and has a first round bye in the Playoffs and someone says “we won’t win the SuperBowl because Cam is not consistent enough. I’m just being realistic!”

To Hell with “realistic”! I’m gonna be unrealistic! I’m gonna let the blind ambition of a fanatic carry me as deep into the playoffs as these Cardiac Cats will take me!

Fanatic- A person marked or motivated by an extreme, unreasoning enthusiasm, as for a cause.

Now is not the time for criticizing but for unyielding support! Now is the time to wear your Panthers jersey everyday of the week! Now is the time to look at the guy next to you in the Eagles hat and tell him “hey bud, you’re in the wrong state.” Now is the time to look at that Falcon fan with a smile and say “better luck next year!” Now is the time to pound your chest with pride and Keep Pounding!

No one pictured Jake Delhomme taking us to the SuperBowl the first time he stepped into the huddle in that season of hope! We have witnessed miracles before Panther Nation and we have never deserved one more than right now! So put down the cheese and wine, pick up a Prowl Towel and support your team because damn it we are only two games away from the SuperBowl!

GO PANTHERS!