The Bobcat Den: A DDPB Dynasty

[Cap Ologist]

Bobcat fans haven't had much to cheer about in the first 3 years of the team's existence. But with a new owner, Bob Jackson, and a new general manager, Michael Ryan, good times might be just around the corner.

"We are committed to bringing a perpetual winner to this town. Together, Michael and I are going to turn over every stone, look in every corner, do whatever it takes to bring these fans the trophies they deserve," Mr. Jackson said at his first press conference.

When asked about what the season was to bring, Ryan urged fans to have patience. "We've got a lot of evaluating to do. We have several roster moves to make, and it's going to take time to get the kind of players we want and that you'll be proud to root for."

Ryan did say that at the moment he was not expecting to make any coaching changes this season. "I've always been a fan of Sam Vincent, and I'm looking forward to working together this season and hopefully in seasons to come."

Now before we get to talking about the draft, I'd like to announce the details of some trades that we have just finished. These trades are the first step in rebuilding this franchise. They have helped us gain two players to build around, as well as providing us with salary cap room to add to the supporting cast.

First Trade:
Charlotte receives:
SF Luol Deng
SG Ben Gordon
PF Mike Sweetney
2009 1st Round Pick

Chicago receives:
PG Brevin Knight
SF Adam Morrison
PG Raymond Felton
PF Sean May
2009 1st Round Pick

Recap:
We get two guys we really like in Deng and Gordon, who we immediately sign to five year extensions. Sweetney was just thrown into make the salaries work and will either be released or traded in before the season starts, and we're gambling that in 2 years we'll have come out ahead on the draft pick swap. For Chicago, they get 4 quality players who are solid and should be contributors.

Second Trade:
Charlotte receives:
2007 2nd Round Pick
2008 2nd Round Pick
2009 2nd Round Pick

Atlanta receives:
C Ryan Hollins
C Primoz Brezec

Nothing much other than dumping salary.

Third Trade:
Charlotte receives:
2008 2nd Round Pick

Memphis receives:
C Jake Voskuhl

Nothing much other than dumping salary.

Fourth Trade:
Charlotte receives:
2008 2nd Roun Pick

Philadelphia receives:
PF Othella Harrington
SF Walter Herrmann

Nothing much other than dumping salary.

"Now, on to the draft. Right now, we have four players under contract, and we hold the rights to SF Gerald Wallace, who we hope to resign once free agency starts. With the 3rd pick in the draft, we will obviously be out of the running for Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. There will still be some talent available to us, and we'll be looking to add either a point guard or center. We're going to have 15 players in for workouts in the next few days, and hopefully from that we'll have a better idea of where we're going," said Ryan.

"We have held preliminary discussions with several teams, including Toronto and New York, and while right now, we don't anticipate moving up or down in the draft," he continued.

Player Workouts:
PF Brandan Wright
C Spencer Hawes
PF Yi Jianlian
PF Al Horford
C Sean Williams
PF Tiago Splitter
SG Brad Newley
PG Mike Conley
PG Acie Law
PG Javaris Crittendon
PG Jared Jordan
SG JamesOn Curry
PF Josh McRoberts
SF Thaddeus Young
SG Sammy Meija

After the workouts, we really like Jianlian's potential. He's raw, but he looks like he could be really good in a few years. Hawe looks like a safe pick, Horford also impressed us with his talent, but his attitude leaves a lot to be desired. As far as the guards, Law and Crittendon are our frontrunners right now.

We'll work the phones, and see if there is anyway we can trade down and maybe position ourselves to get two our wishlist.

Draft Night:

1. Toronto - C Greg Oden
2. New York - SF Kevin Durant

The phone lines are busy when we get on the clock. We'd really like to get either Hawes or Jianlian and Acie Law, but Portland who is picking behind is rumored to be enamored with Law. I was hoping we could move back, but it looks like we might just have to settle for only one of our wishlist.

Hawe is the safe bet, he'll be a solid presence in the middle for years. Jianlian is risky, he's raw, but has more potential than Hawe. Finally, we make a deal:

Charlotte receives:
1st Round Pick #9 2007
PG Monta Ellis

Golden State receives:
1st Round Pick #3 2007
1st Round Pick 2009 (Chicago)

The only downside to the trade from our perspective is that we don't have an option to extend Ellis. But if he performs well, we will have plenty of cap room to resign him. I'm just always a little worried about letting players reach the open market. All in all, we'll move down to pick up a PF who could be really great if he develops as expected, and a PG better than anything available in this years draft.

3. Golden State - C Spencer Hawes
4. Portland - PF Brandan Wright
5. Atlanta - PG Michael Conley
6. Minnesota - SF Julian Wright
7. Boston - SG Brad Newley
8. Houston - PF Al Horford
9. Charlotte - PF Yi Jianlian
10. Seattle - PG Acie Law
11. Orlando - SF Corey Brewer
12. New Orleans - SG Rodney Stuckey
13. Philadelphia - PF Joakim Noah
14. Utah - C Sean Williams
15. Milwaukee - PG Javaris Crittendon
16. Chicago - SG JamesOn Curry
17. Indiana - SG D.J. Strawberry
18. Washington - SG Morris Almond
19. Sacramento - SF Thaddeus Young
20. Denver - PG Gabe Pruitt
21. Los Angelos Lakers - PF Josh McRoberts
22. Los Angelos Clippers - SF Jeff Green
23. Memphis - C Aaron Gray
24. New Jersey - PF Tiago Splitter
25. Cleveland - SF Al Thornton
26. Miami - SG Nick Young
27. Phoenix - PF Jason Smith
28. Dallas - PF Nick Fazekas
29. San Antonio - C Marc Gasol
30. Detroit - SG Sammy Mejia

I was hoping Mejia would fall to us. I call Joe Dumars, and we hammer out a deal where we send:

2007 2nd Round Pick #33
2008 2nd Round Pick Atlanta
2008 2nd Round Pick Philadelphia

for Mejia. And with that, we are out of picks in this years draft. There really isn't much talent left anyway in the 2nd round, so we're content to end the day with a new PG, SG, and PF.

After the draft, we renounce our rights to:
PG Jeff McInnis
SG Derek Anderson
SG Matt Carroll
SF Alan Anderson

We keep our rights to Gerald Wallace, and remain hopeful that we can resign him to a cap friendly deal. We have just over $28 million in cap room, with another $2 million if we can trade Sweetney, if not he's in the last year of his contract, so releasing him wouldn't be too bitter of a pill to swallow.

Our roster postdraft:
PG Monta Ellis
SG Ben Gordon
SG Sammy Mejia
SF Luol Deng
PF Emeka Okafor
PF Yi Jianlian
PF Mike Sweetney

Our summer league team posts a 3-2 record. The majority of the players we invited didn't pan out, so we'll look elsewhere in FA.

Free Agency:

We target several guys we want to sign to long term, low money deals. These are all guys that we think might develop into solid role players down the line.

C Darko Milicic
PG Gerry McNamara
SF Eric Hicks
PF Eric Williams
C Peter John Ramos

They all sign early, and we turn our attention to Wallace. Surprisingly, nobody else pays him much attention, and we end up signing him for 5 years at $6 million a year. We sign SF Grant Hill to a two year deal.

We're done with free agency, we have $19 million in cap room, which will probably give us around $10 million next year after our extensions kick in.

Our Lineup:
PG Ben Gordon
SG Luol Deng
SF Gerald Wallace
PF Emeka Okafor
C Darko Milicic

Bench:
PG/SG Monta Ellis
PG/SG/SF/PF Grant Hill
PF/C Peter John Ramos
PF/C Yi Jianlian
PG/SG Gerry McNamara
PF/C Eric Williams
SF/PF Eric Hicks

Dev. League
PG/SG Sammy Mejia

We trade Mike Sweetney to Memphis for their 2009 2nd round pick, clearing another $2 million off the books, and hopefully keeping my owner happy.

At the end of November, we find ourselves at 5-8, 2 games back in our division. With such an upheaval on our roster, it is to be expected. Hopefully, we'll start to mesh and make a push.

At the end of December, we are still floundering at 11-16, and have fallen 4.5 games back. If this keeps up, we might look at making a trade before the deadline. Gerald Wallace is our leading scorer at 16.6 points, followed by Gordon's 15.6. Okafor is pulling down almost 9 rebounds, with Darko grabbing 8 per game. Our point guard play is disappointing, I was hoping Ellis would take the job, but he's having difficulty beating Gordon out. Gordon is much better playing off the ball as a scorer.

We make a slight surge in January to pull to 20-22, 2.5 games out of first. We've also had a few injuries, the most serious of which is Okafor's broken leg. Good news is that it will give Jianlian some more playing time, bad news is it's going to be hard to make the playoffs now.

We offer Monta Ellis and Eric Williams to Phoenix for Steve Nash and . At the last moment, they get cold feet and decide that they need Nash to make a run this season. We call around to some other teams, and end up reaching a deal with Philadelphia:

Charlotte receives:
PG Andre Miller
PF Joakim Noah

Philadelphia receives:
PG Monta Ellis
PF Eric Williams

Wow, just wow. I think we really hosed them in this deal. We got a better PG and a better body to throw in the PF rotation with Noah. We picked up another 10 million or so in salary, which will make it a little tighter next season than what I was originally expecting.

Our new lineup:
PG Andre Miller
SG Ben Gordon
SF Gerald Wallace
PF Luol Deng (sore shoulder)
C Darko Milicic

Bench:
6th PG/SG/SF/PF Grant Hill
7th PF/C Joakim Noah
8th PF/C Yi Jianlian
9th SF/PF Eric Hicks
10 PG/SG Gerry McNamara (sprained wrist)
11 PF/C Peter John Ramos
12 PF/C Emeka Okafor (broken leg)

Hopefully, this trade will be just what we need to take control of our division.

In the Dev. League, Mejia has started all 22 games and is averaging just under 10 points, 3.5 boards, and almost 4 assists a game.

February turns out to be dismal, we end the month 26-29, still 2.5 games back. We are within striking distance, and if we had Okafor healthy, I'd like our chances of taking the division. We should get him back in about 3 weeks, hopefully it won't be too little too late.

We somehow manage to sneak into the playoffs with a 39-43 record as the 7th seed. Our first round opponent is Milwaukee. We're relatively healthy going into the series, so there is at least a glimmer of hope that we can pull the upset. We drop the first two in Milwaukee, 96-82 and 105-102. We head home, hoping to make it a series.

We win game three, 91-77 and follow it up with a 100-88 win. We head back to Milwaukee. We steal game five, 105-99, but it comes at a cost as Gordon and Noah are banged up. Game 6 back home sees us coming out redhot, we're up 58-40 at halftime, and fight off a furious rally in the third. Milwaukee has trimmed our lead to 9 going into the fourth. The crowd is loud and gives us the energy we need to pull to a 103-92 victory and on to the 2nd round!

Our next opponent is Chicago, and Deng and Gordon are ready for their old team. Unfortunately, the rest of the team wasn't ready, and we fall into another 2-0 hole. Chicago takes game three from us, and we are facing the end of our season. We fight back to force a game 5 with a 115-98 win. But the season comes to an end in Chicago, as we lose 101-80.

All in all, it was a good season. We've got a good group of guys assembled this season, and can hopefully add another piece or two in the offseason. Minnesota wins the offseason lottery, improving from pick #5 to pick #1.

Gerald Wallace is our only player to receive an award, 2nd team defense. Bob Jackson and I have a pleasant phone call, rehashing our first season in town.

[Izulde]

You totally got ripped off on the original Ellis trade. You were dropping 6 spots -and- had to give up another 1st rounder to get him? I just don't see him as being worth that, even in Year 1.

I do like the very first trade you made, though and I'm surprised Gordon wasn't scoring a lot more. Dumping Ellis and whoever the PF was again for Noah and A. Miller was a brilliant piece of work, I agree.

Good luck with building up the Bobcats.

[Cap Ologist]

Gordon's scoring started to climb after the trade for Miller. I think running the point was dragging his scoring down. At the time I traded for Ellis, I really thought I was getting a steal, Jianlian wasn't supposed to go until around pick 12, so I was pretty sure he would be there. I didn't have any players to throw in, so all I had was picks. It turns out to be not as good as I originally thought, but I think I more than made up for it with getting Miller and Noah for a scrub and Ellis. Course there are rumors that I only traded for Noah to keep Jestor's interest.

[Cap Ologist]

There's a sense of anticipation as we regroup at team headquarters and prepare for the upcoming season. Bob Jackson asks me for my honest assessment, and I tell him the division is ours to lose, and that we should keep our payroll right about at the cap for this season. Obviously adding Andre Miller late last season has limited our flexibility, but we should have enough room to bring in one more quality player.

Our coaching staff is going to remain the same, hard to justify firing them after they led us to the 2nd round. And so, we prepare for the draft. Tops on our wishlist is a PG that can take over for Miller when his contract runs out. I don't think Miller is good enough for what he's making, and I'm not sure if we could resign him to less money.

We have the 15th pick in the draft, and there doesn't seem to be much help in the PG market. The top point guards appear to be Marquette Smith, Damon Brinson and Chris Edward. They are slated to go between 5 and 20, so we might be able to trade up/sit tight and snag one of them depending on how their workouts go.

Elsewhere on the team, we like our SG/SF rotation of Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Gerald Wallace and Grant Hill. We could look to pick up Hill's replacement if we can't get a good enough PG out of the draft.

We're also pretty satisfied with Emeka Okafor, Joakim Noah, Yi Jianlian and Darko Milicic in the post. A pick here would be a luxury, so we could potentially take a really raw player and let him play in the Dev. league for a season or two.

Workouts:
PG Marquette Smith
PG Damon Brinson
PG Chris Edward
SF David Clark
PF Luo-han Yei
SF Andy Marquardt
SG Ryan Thunell
SF Russell Dumas
SF Troy Yeaton
SF Travann Dye
PG Gerald Williams
C John Erickson
PF Chris Thompson
SF Gamal Wilson
SG Freddie Walker

After the workouts, our coaching staff is very enamored with PG Damon Brinson, who is currently predicted to go #18 Utah. The good news is this draft seems pretty deep, we probably will sit at 15 and take the best available.

1. Minnesota - SF Calvis Milsap
2. Orlando - PF Eric Green
3. Indiana - SG Ryan Thunell
4. Memphis - C John Erickson
5. Portland - C Victor Gunn
6. Toronto - PG Damon Brinson
7. LA Clippers - SF David Clark
8. Golden State - SF Zviad Zoidze
9. New Jersey - PF Chris Thompson
10. Atlanta - PF Cory Friel
11. New York - PF Luo-han Yei
12. Philadelphia -PG Marquette Smith (guess they aren't enamored with Ellis either)
13. LA Lakers - PF Kevin Temple
14. New Orleans - SG Greg Banta

We're on the clock. With Brinson gone, we turn our attention to the last remaining PGs and SG/SFs. Gerald Williams is the lone remaining PG we worked out, and we're not terribly impressed. However, there is a SF from Duke that will be more than an adequate replacement for Dukie Grant Hill. And so with the 15th pick, we turn in our card with the name Russell Dumas on it. Dumas averaged 30 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists in college. He's got a great work ethic and great attitude, and we look forward to bringing a local hero in to build our fan base.

15. Charlotte - SF Russell Dumas

16. Washington - PF Patrick Arnold
17. Dallas - C Thomas King
18. Utah - PG Chris Edward
19. New York -SG Freddie Walker
20. Chicago - SG Chris Rice
21. Cleveland - PG John Pettway
22. Boston - SG Lars Austin
23. Seattle - SF Travann Dye
24. Miami - SF Troy Yeaton
25. Milwaukee - SF J.P. Green
26. Detroit - SF Andy Marquardt
27. Sacramento - PG Gerald Williams
28. Houston -SF Brian Moss
29. Golden State - SF Teremun Durham
30. Phoenix - PF Javon Buckmaster

We have the first two picks in the 2nd round, and there are some definite project players available. PG Ricardo Richardson is intriguing, he averaged 13 assists a game in college. SF Gamal Wilson was one of the players we invited in for a workout, and at 6'10", he poses matchup problems, plus he showed great defensive ability at our workout. We decide to take flyers on those two and see what we can develop.

[Cap Ologist]

We don't have any contracts to renounce, and after bringing in our 2nd round picks, we like Robinson's potential, and will sign him and ship him to the Dev. League with Mejia. Wilson didn't turn out to be as good as originally thought, so we might package his rights in a trade. Right now, we don't have a 1st round pick next season, and I'd like to see if I can work out a deal for some of our non-essential parts to get one.

We'll look for a veteran to back up Miller because I'm not sure I want to take our chances with McNamara backing up Andre Miller at the point while Robinson is in the DL. At SG/SF, the addition of Dumas makes Grant Hill expendable, and I'd like to get his $6.5 million salary off the books. I'm happy with Okafor, Noah and Jianlian. Darko might be traded to give Noah and Jianlian more playing time. We'll still have Ramos, a massive yet unimpressive C for our 4th big.

The only team that has cap room is our old pals, Philly. We offer them SF Grant Hill, C Darko Milicic and the rights to SF Gamal Wilson for their 2009 1st and 2nd round picks. They accept, and we clear the way for more of our young guys to play while picking up a much needed 1st next year. Philly gets 2 solid contributors plus a flyer on a SF.

Our roster now looks like this:
PG Andre Miller
SG Ben Gordon
SF Gerald Wallace
PF Emeka Okafor
C Joakim Noah

6th SF/PF Russell Dumas
7th SG/SF/PF Luol Deng
8th PF/C Yi Jianlian
9th PG/SG Gerry McNamara
10th PF/C Peter John Ramos
11th SF/PF Eric Hicks

D-League
SG Sammy Mejias
PG Ricardo Robinson

So, we're in relatively good shape heading into the summer/free agency. Last year at this time, we only had four guys under contract. We go ahead and pick up the 3rd season options for Noah, Jianlian and Mejia. We like what we've seen so far.

We go 4-1 in the summer league. Dumas looks good, Robinson plays some solid minutes for us. So, it's on to free agency where we need to address our PG position. Miller is in his last year of his contract, and while Robinson looks good so far, he might just be a solid backup for us.

Philly and Orlando are the only other teams with significant cap room. However, the free agent PG crop leaves much to be desired. Our old friend, Monta Ellis is the best available, and we've been down that road before. It doesn't look like we'll find a heir apparent, so we look for someone that could be a solid backup this season. I am slightly tempted to try to resign Ellis in the hopes of being able to trade him down the road.

We offer Sebastian Telfair a five year deal at $1.1 million a season which he accepts. Now we have to decide what to do at starter. We've got about $10 million to spend.

Our options are:
1. Stick out the season with Miller and Telfair and try to resign Miller next offseason, but at 32, he's not the long term answer.

2. Sign Monta Ellis, probably about $9 million a season, and try to package him down the road to get a young point guard such as Toronto's T.J. Ford.

3. Trade Miller and McNamara to Chicago for Kirk Hinrich, who is only 27 and signed for four more seasons, strangely enough each year his salary decreases.

With those options in our heads, we call it a night, and will sleep on it.

[Izulde]

You know I vote for the Hinrich option.

But if you don't go for Hinirch, I'd just sit tight most likely. It's going to cost you a lot more than Ellis to get Ford, I think.

[Cap Ologist]

After considering the options, we decide to stay put for now. If we struggle out of the gate, we'll look at making a move, but for now I like the team we've got. We make one more addition in free agency, signing PF/C Kwame Brown to a 2 year, min-sal deal.

We send Sammy Mejias and Ricardo Robinson to the Dev. League to gain experience. Our opening lineup looks like this:

PG Andre Miller
SG Ben Gordon
SF Gerald Wallace
PF Russell Dumas
C Emeka Okafor

6th SG/SF/PF Luol Deng
7th SF/PF/C Joakim Noah
8th PF/C Kwame Brown
9th PF/C Yi Jianlian
10th PG/SG Gerry McNamara
11th PG Sebastian Telfair
12th PF/C Peter John Ramos

Inactive:
SF Eric Hicks

D. League
SG Sammy Mejias
PG Ricardo Robinson

I'd much prefer Gordon coming off the bench, but for now Coach Vincent thinks he's our best option at SG. We'll see how that works out.

[Cap Ologist]

Game 1: Washington

We start off at home against the Wizards. Gerald Wallace leads us in scoring with 26, Okafor adds 19 and Gordon puts in 13 to help us to a 96-85 victory that sees us pull away late.

Game 2: Orlando

We continue our homestand with a 102-79 victory behind a balanced team effort. McNamara scores 15 off the bench to lead the team in scoring as we have four players score 13 and two more add 12. Balanced all around.

Game 3: Milwaukee

We go on the road, and play poorly. Gordon leads us with 19 points and 8 assists, Noah adds 14 and Wallace puts in 11, but we lose 111-84.

Game 4: Boston

We travel to Boston, and try to get that taste out of our mouths. Gordon again leads with 25 points and 7 assists, Wallace adds 19, Deng scores 18 and Noah chips in with 14. We cruise to a 120-103 win.

Game 5: Golden State

We return home to host the Warriors. It's a defensive struggle, and we only have three players in double digits. Wallace scores 16, Deng adds 17 and Gordon manages 13. But we'll take the 84-71 win.

Game 6: Utah

Gordon bounces back from his lackluster 13 by hanging 38 on the Jazz. Deng pitches in 13 and Jianlian scores 10 more and we take care of business with a 94-83 win.

Game 7: Cleveland

Lebron is out with an injury, and so we're confident, too confident. Gordon puts in 28, Okafor and Noah post double digit rebounds, but it's not enough and Cleveland steals a 97-93 win.

Game 8: Cleveland

Weird scheduling quirk has us playing at their place next. This time, we show up to play. Gordon lights them up for 34 points, Okafor scores 14 and grabs 9 boards, and we take the 103-92 win.

Game 9: Detroit

We travel to Mo-Town, and watch Gordon duel Richard Hamilton. Gordon scores 29, Hamilton answers with 37, and those 8 points provide the margin of victory for Detroit, 110-102.

Game 10: Detroit

Now they come to our place, and Gordon vs Hamilton is once again the show. Gordon gets 28 and 7 assists, Hamilton can only muster 22, and this time we get the win, 90-80.

Game 11: Indiana

This time we witness a battle between 2 big men, Okafor and O'Neal. Okafor scores 19 and grabs 10 boards, and O'Neal matches with 25 and 12. Once again, those 6 points are the difference as Indiana takes the 104-98 win.

Game 12: Atlanta

Gordon leads us once again with 29, and Peter John Ramos breaks out with 12 points and 7 boards. We blow the game open in the 2nd, and hang on for a 113-107 win.

Game 13: New Jersey

Gordon scores 20, Okafor gets a lucky double 13, with 13 points and 13 boards. Ramos adds another 10 points, but we can't get the win. The Nets take a 96-85 win.

First Month Summary:

We end the month with an 8-5 record, good enough for a .5 game lead in our division. We've been atrocious on the road, going 2-4. We have four players averaging in double figures, Gordon with 23, Wallace with 14, Deng with 12, and Okafor with 11. Okafor is also our leading rebounder with just under 9 a game, joined by Noah at just under 8.

Vincent has reshuffled the lineup and now we have:
PG Ben Gordon
SG Luol Deng
SF Gerald Wallace
PF Emeka Okafor
C Joakim Noah

6th Andre Miller
7th Russell Dumas
8th Sebastian Telfair
9th Yi Jianlian
10th Eric Hicks
11th Gerry McNamara
12th Peter John Ramos

Inactive
Kwame Brown

This lineup is kind of puzzling. I'd much prefer Hicks to be inactive than Brown, and I'd much prefer Miller starting at the point.

[Cap Ologist]

So, after trying to figure out the logic in Vincent's depth chart, I call down to his office. He's surprised that I'm taking an interest, but he quickly gathers himself. We discuss the options, and I suggest that he give Miller more playing time at the point. He's a little miffed, and fires back asking me how long I want to try this experiment.

I'm shoot back, "A month."

"Fine, just don't blame me if it backfires."

Whatever, I think as I hang up. If he wants an extension, he'd better get used to feedback from me.

So, our lineup for the next month will be:

PG Andre Miller
SG Ben Gordon
SF Gerald Wallace
PF Emeka Okafor
C Yoakim Noah

6th Luol Deng
7th Russell Dumas
8th Sebastian Telfair
9th Eric Hicks
10th Yi Jianlian
11th Gerry McNamara
12th Peter John Ramos

Inactive:
Kwame Brown

I'm tempted to call Vincent back and bitch about Kwame Brown being inactive.

Game 14: New York

Not exactly sure how good a test this will be for our new lineup. We get a balanced team effort again, with 7 guys in double digits. Miller gets 16 points and 11 assists back in the starting lineup, and we take a 102-94 victory.

Game 15: Los Angelos

On the road, we get five guys in double digits, with Miller and Wallace chipping in 19 each and Gordon adding 18. Miller gets another double double with 10 assists, and we hold on late for a 100-95 win over the Clippers.

Game 16: Sacramento

We continue our west coast trip, Miller gets 14 points and 8 assists, Deng leads us with 23, and we escape with a 94-90 road win.

Game 17: Phoenix

Perhaps our first true test with the new lineup. Gordon finds his scoring touch again with 24, Miller contributes 14 points and 12 assists, and Noah grabs 11 boards. We again escape with a 95-91 road win.

Game 18: Golden State

The last game of our road trip takes us to Oakland to face the Warriors. After our struggles on the road in the first month, I'm happy with the success we've had on this trip. It would be really nice to finish the road sweep, and head home with some momentum. Gordon breaks out for 31 points and 8 assists, Wallace adds 17 and Jianlian puts in 12 more. Miller collects 10 assists, and we cruise to a 100-81 victory.

Game 19: New Orleans

It's nice to be home again, and I'm hoping we can keep the momentum. New Orleans jumps out to the early lead, but we outscore them by 13 points in the 2nd and another 13 in the third and cruise to an 88-73 victory. Wallace leads all scorers with 26, Miller scores 8 and has 11 assists, and we get another double digit production from Jianlian with 11.

Game 20: Houston

It's another tough game, and one I'd really like to win since we're at home. Gordon puts up 24, and Deng goes for 25, Miller gets another 10 assists to go with 8 points, but nobody else can get to double digits for us, and we lose by 3, 102-99.

Game 21: New Jersey

We'd like to get a little revenge for the beating they gave us in November. Wallace shakes free for 34 points, rookie Russell Dumas adds 14, Miller adds 10 points to go with his 16 assists, and we never trail as we roll to a convincing 109-89 victory.

Game 22: Houston

This time we're at their place, and I'm still a little fearful of the road. Houston jumps out on us early, and we never challenge down the stretch. Okafor scores 18 and grabs 14 boards, Gordon scores 17, Miller adds 12 points with his 8 assists, but it's a pretty ugly loss, 104-89.

Game 23: New York

We travel to the Big Apple, glad for a chance to get back on the winning side after dropping 2 of our last 3. Gordon breaks out with 26, Miller adds 19 points to go with his 10 assists, Wallace adds 19 points and we take our frustration out on the Knicks with a 108-86 beating.

Game 24: Washington

Okafor scores 21 and collects 10 boards, Gordon goes for 19, Miller gets his 14 and 8, and we dominate defensively on the road, 84-59.

Game 25: Indiana

Back home, we hope to continue our winning ways. We get another balanced team effort with 6 guys in double figures led by Gordon with 21, Miller goes for another 15 and 8 performance, and we crush the Pacers 121-86.

Game 26: Seattle

The Sonics come to town, and it's a grinding game. Miller leads us with 20 points and 7 assists, Gordon and Wallace go for 17 each, and we'll take the 89-79 win.

Game 27: Miami

Nothing like a division game to end the month. Gordon breaks out for 28, Miller goes for 23 and 11. Dwayne Wade won't go down without a fight as he matches Gordon with 35, but this time we get the four point win, 99-95.

Month Summary:

We go 12-2 in December for an overall record of 20-7, and have stretched our lead in the division to 3.5 games. I'm very impressed with our performances on the road, we are now 11-2 at home and 9-5 on the road. I'm also pleased with the performance of Miller in the starting lineup. I think he has been very solid for us.

Gordon's scoring is down a little bit to 21.5 a game. We now have five players averaging double figures, up from four last month. I'm pretty happy with our progress this month. Guess ol' Vincent won't argue as much next time I call with a suggestion.

[Cap Ologist]

Game 28: Cleveland

This time we have to play Lebron. He makes his presence felt with 28 points. We counter with 24 from Gordon, Miller gives us 12 and 11, and Wallace adds 17. Noah is in foul trouble the entire game, and only plays 11 minutes before fouling out. Cleveland manages to hold on for a 99-97 win.

Game 29: Memphis

Once again Gordon paces us with 30 points. Miller once again plays the type of game we've come to expect, 15 points and 9 assists. We shoot over 54% from the field and run away with it in the 2nd half, 106-90.

Game 30: Atlanta

On the road again, we head south. Joe Johnson comes out on fire for Atlanta with 39 points. But we counter with 28 from Gordon, 18 from Miller, and 13 each from Wallace and Okafor. It's more than enough to give us the 103-86 win.

Game 31: Milwaukee

It's the Deng and Wallace show as they post 30 and 24 points respectively. Smush Parker tries to keep the Bucks in the game, but in the end, we pull away to a 100-80 victory.

Game 32: Philadelphia

Not to be outdone, Gordon and Miller take their turn in the spotlight. Gordon lights up the 76ers for 35 while Miller goes for 26 and 8. Once again, we get a decisive victory, 102-80.

Game 33: Dallas

We welcome the Mavericks to town, Gordon scores 20, Wallace adds 16 and Miller gets another double double with 13 and 11. We post a solid 94-80 victory.

Game 34: Toronto

We make a quick trip north of the border. Gordon goes for 26, Miller and Wallace score 12 each, and Deng and Okafor add 10 apiece. We get another double digit margin of victory, 97-82.

Game 35: Boston

Back home to face the Celtics. Gordon scores 26 again, Wallace adds 17, and Miller gives us 16 and 11. We get another big win, 107-85.

Game 36: Chicago

We travel to the Windy City full of confidence. Gordon hangs 30 on his old team, but Chicago is more balanced this night than we are. They have 6 guys in double figures, and they get the big 106-86 win.

Game 37: Toronto

This time we're at home, and are expecting the big bounce back win. Gordon scores 23, Deng scores 20, but the big three of Oden, Bosh and Bargnani go for 25, 28 and 24 respectively. Toronto avenges their earlier loss with a 111-87 spanking.

Game 38: Los Angelos Lakers

We come out humbled and more balanced. Six players score in double figures and that usually is the recipe for success for us. Bryant does his best to keep his team in the game with 38, but in the end, our balance is the difference and we get the 105-98 win.

Game 39: Utah

We continue our road trip and face a tough Jazz team. Gordon gets 26, Miller narrowly misses a double double with 15 and 9. In the end, we hold off a late Utah rally for the 92-88 victory.

Month Summary:

We go 10-5 for the month to improve to 30-12, increasing our lead in the division to 5.5 games. Miami is in 2nd in our division, and I'm not terribly worried about them catching us barring major injury on our part. They've just got too much money tied up in Shaq and D-Wade to put together a solid team.

On paper, we're looking good. I'd like for us to have more consistency in where we get points. Ideally I'd prefer Gordon to be our second option, not our first. With the trade deadline approaching, we'll make a few calls and see what we can shake lose. The 1st round pick we got from Philly last year is looking promising, Philly is currently 10-35, 2nd worst record in the league.

[Cap Ologist]

We have a few days off before our next game, and we work the phones. We come close to completing several trades. Our roster is made up of several very good players, but we don't have a great player. I'd really like to move some of our parts to land a great inside player to team with Gordon.

We've been negotiating with Memphis, and have several possible deals that we could make.

1. Trade Deng and Okafor for Pau Gasol and Rudy Gay.

2. Trade Dumas, Brown and Okafor for Gasol and Memphis 1st round pick (right now they are in competition with Philly for worst record)

3. Trade Deng, Brown and Okafor for Gasol and Memphis 1st round pick.

Option 1: We're getting a better offensive player in the post, but Gasol is a worse defender than Okafor. Gay and Deng would be a pretty comparable swap. Deng is more polished right now though.

Option 2: Dumas is the worst defender we have in our collection of 3s. Brown has been a nonfactor for us this season, but this trade would take away some of our depth at the 4, a position they both play. However, it would give us another lottery pick for this upcoming season. We would also lose a lot of our financial flexibility by taking on quite a bit more salary than we're giving up.

Option 3: We'd be giving up more depth at our 2/3 position since Deng can play both of those positions. We'd also be giving up a player that could probably help Memphis sooner, thus possibly costing us in a slightly lower pick. We'd also keep some financial flexibility in the future since we'd only be taking in another $1 million in contract.

Both option 2 & 3 would cause us to make a secondary trade to bring either another 2/3 or 4/5 guy on board. Otherwise, I'm afraid we'd be too thin to withstand the normal injuries that occur throughout a season. We could probably trade for Kurt Thomas or Desmond Mason. Neither is terribly exciting, but they could probably fill in for a game or two without hurting us too badly.

So, lots to think about.

I'll be in my office if anyone is looking for me.

[Cap Ologist]

In the end, the thought of having two top lottery picks is too enticing to pass up. So, we fax the papers into the league office and send:

PF Emeka Okafor
SF Russell Dumas
PF Kwame Brown

for
PF Pau Gasol
Memphis 1st round pick

With Miller's contract expiring, we'll have an extra $10 million that will help offset the extra salary Gasol is getting paid. I'm really hoping that we'll be able to get a stud PG in the draft. If not, I'm sure that with 2 top picks, we should be able to have enough ammo to trade for one.

We also make another minor trade, sending our 2009 2nd round pick to Detroit for Kurt Thomas. He'll be the 4th big man into the game for us.

So on to the next month.

Game 40: Portland

Our trade pays early dividends as we get 21 from Gasol, Gordon adds 23. Noah clears 11 rebounds, Miller goes for 11 and 8, and we handle the Blazers easily, 96-74.

Game 41: Seattle

Our west coast road trip continues, and we're pleased with Gasol's 22 points and 11 boards, but Gordon is in foul trouble most of the game and can only manage 2 points, and we lose big, 84-65.

Game 42: San Antonio

It's always nice to be home after an ugly loss. A chance to regroup. Gasol outduels Duncan, 25 to 11, Wallace shakes free for 20 points, we get 12 points and 9 boards from Noah, and we win big, 108-85.

Game 43: Indiana

Back on the road, we get a balanced team effort with 22 points from Miller, 17 from Gasol and 15 from Wallace. It's enough to hold off a late rally, and we head back home with a 99-96 win.

Game 44: Miami

We have three players go for over 20, Wallace with 25, Gasol and Gordon both get 21. Gasol also pulls down 13 boards, and Miller gets another double double with 10 and 11. We pull away in the fourth quarter and take a 103-96 win over the 2nd place team in our division.

Game 45: New York

The Big Apple is waiting, and we get 24 from Miller to go with 9 assists, 19 points and 9 boards from Wallace, 19 points from Deng and 14 points from Gordon is enough to offset Gasol's miserable 6 points. The game has 14 lead changes and 8 ties before we pull away late for a 105-95 win.

Game 46: Portland

We get two games at home before the All-Star break. Gordon scores 24 on 10-16 shooting, Deng adds 22 and Gasol gives us 14 points to go with 11 rebounds, and we grind out a 97-94 win.

Game 47: Denver

Gasol bounces back from his average performances of late with 29 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks and 3 steals. Gordon chips in with 20 points, Miller gets another double double with 13 points and 11 assists. We head into the All-Star break with a 107-100 win.

All Star Weekend

Rookies vs Sophomores

Yi Jianlian makes the Sophomore team, but doesn't see any action, which is fine with me.

East vs West

Gasol is our lone representative, and he scores 7 points and grabs 5 boards. The East wins 105-86.

Game 48: Milwaukee

The Bucks come to town and we get a balanced team effort. Gasol leads us with 21, Gordon with 13, McNamara and Wallace score 12, Deng adds 10, and Miller 9. However, we fall behind by 12 in the 2nd quarter, and can only watch as the Bucks steal one, 97-95.

Game 49: New Jersey

We head to the Garden State for our next game. Gasol takes out his frustration after the narrow loss to the Bucks with 31 points. Wallace gets 20. We're up 65-43 at halftime, and we let our bench bring us home with a 110-76 victory.

Game 50: Chicago

I'm beginning to hate them, they knocked us out of the playoffs last year, and beat us this seaon. Gordon scores 27 on his old team, Wallace adds 22, Gasol gives us 15, McNamara and Deng score 12 and 11 off the bench. We fell behind early, but made a furious rally in the 4th quarter when we scored 41 points, but Chicago hangs on for a 111-110 win. Now I really hate them.

Game 51: Sacramento

That last game hurt, and we're spoiling for a fight. Gasol scores 28 points while collecting 8 boards, Gordon adds 18, Miller and Deng both score 15, and we score 40 points in the first quarter en route to a 110-82 win.

Game 52: New Orleans

A trip to the Big Easy is next. Wallace is our leading scorer with 21, Noah surprises with 15, Gordon, Miller and Deng score 13, 10, and 11 respectively. But New Orleans gets 26 points and 11 assists from Chris Paul as he leads them to a 104-95 win.

Monthly Summary:
We go 9-3 for the month, which brings us to 39-16 for the season. We are 22-6 at home, 17-10 on the road. We now have a commanding 10.5 game lead with 27 games to play in the division, and a 2.5 game lead for homecourt. All in all, I'm happy with our performance after the trade. We have also won as many games as we did all last season, plus Memphis has the worst record and Philly has the second worse record, so our prospects for the lottery look great.

[Cap Ologist]

Game 53: @ Boston

Gordon scores 31, Gasol adds 21, Noah clears 14 rebounds and we survive Miller's foul trouble and Boston shooting over 70% from 3 point range to take a 107-99 victory.

Game 54: Washington

After getting lit up by Boston, it's time to reassert ourselves on the defensive end. Deng leads the way with 31 points and Gasol adds 25. We hold the Wizards to 38% from the field and only 22% from 3 to runaway with a 110-73 victory.

Game 55: @ Minnesota

Back on the road, we handle them easily despite giving up 21 to Garnett. We get 21 from Gordon, 17 from Gasol, Noah gets 12 points and 21 rebounds and we win comfortably 88-71.

Game 56: @ Philadelphia

Gordon scores 23, Gasol 16, Noah continues to clean the boards with another 15 to go with 8 points, and we roll to a 96-82 win, while helping to improve our first round pick.

Game 57: Los Angelos Lakers

Kobe gets 33, but we counter with 21 from Gasol, 16 from Gordon, 15 a piece from Miller and Deng which is good enough to pace us to a 92-81 win.

Game 58: Boston

They lit us up from last time, so I'm a little nervous. The good news is we hold them to only 42% from 3 point range. The bad news is that despite getting 35 from Gordon, we lose 100-87.

Game 59: @ Denver

Another road trip to the west. We get 25 from Gordon and Gasol and survive giving up 31 to Carmelo to escape with a 94-90 win.

Game 60: @ San Antonio

We get another big game from Gordon who goes for 34, Miller scores 20, and Gasol and Wallace each go for 15. San Antonio counters with 25 from Parker and 32 from Duncan, and they narrowly edge us 112-111. Tough loss.

Game 61: @ Dallas

We try to bounce back in Big D, and have 7 players score in double figures. Dirk counters with 48 for the Mavericks and the rest of the team does just enough to give Dallas a 118-112 win.

Game 62: Orlando

We return home to regroup after 2 tough losses. We only score 11 points in the 2nd quarter and Orlando builds a lead they never relinquish and we lose again, 92-74.

Game 63: Phoenix

Talk radio is buzzing in Charlotte. We do nothing to quell the talk, scoring 13 points in the first quarter, and we have another nightmare game, losing 111-90. Deng scores 20 and Gasol 17, but that's obviously not enough.

Game 64: @ Orlando

We're reeling after 4 straight losses. Wallace and Gasol get 19, Miller gets 23. We fight to the end, but the final score shows Orlando 97 Charlotte 95. Five Straight Losses.

Game 65: Miami

Surely this madness has to end at some point. Gordon does his best to carry the team with 25. Gasol scores 19, Deng adds 16. We hold Miami to 15 points in the fourth quarter, and get the 99-87 win.

Game 66: New Jersey

Gerald Wallace leads us in scoring with 23, Gordon puts up 19. Gasol adds 15 points and 10 rebounds, and we hold New Jersey to 16 points in the 1st and 15 points in the 2nd on our way to a 98-82 win.

Game 67: Chicago

Our nemesis comes to town. We get 20 from Wallace, 18 from Gasol to go with 11 boards. Despite scoring only 12 points in the 3rd quarter, we still manage to get a 93-83 win.

Game 68: Toronto

Gordon returns from hibernation to score 35, Gasol gets 21 points, and after holding Toronto to 12 points in the first quarter, we are never challenged again, and get the 103-87 victory.

Game 69: @ Chicago

Fresh off our home win against the Bulls, we go to their place. Gordon puts in 28, Miller contributes 24 points and 13 assists. We lead by 3 after the first, tied at halftime, tied after the third, and pull away late for a 109-102 win.

Monthly Summary:

Tough month at times as we go 11-6, to bring our record to 50-22, with a home record of 28-9 and a road record of 22-13. We had a 6 game winning streak, a five game losing streak and a five game winning streak. Up and down month. We are relatively healthy, Gasol is dinged up with a sore back. But he should be good to go by the playoffs. We have also clinched our division with 10 games to go, and we hold a 2 game lead over Chicago for homecourt in the east.

[Cap Ologist]

With 13 games to go, it's time to build momentum for the playoffs and lock up the number 1 seed in our conference. We also recall Mejias and Robinson from the Dev League as we hit the backstretch.

Game 70: Los Angelos Clippers

Wallace gets 25, Gordon 26, Gasol's back limits him to 8 points, but we don't need much to handle the Clips, we cruise to a 106-87 victory.

Game 71: @ Philadelphia

Another chance to cement a high draft pick is wasted. We play poorly and only get 18 from Gordon and Miller. Philly holds on for a 98-90 win.

Game 72: @ Milwaukee

We get a balanced team effort with 6 guys in double figures, Milwaukee shoots 36% from the field and it's never close as we roll to a 98-73 win.

Game 73: @ Memphis

Another chance to cement a high draft pick is.... almost wasted after only scoring 13 points in the 2nd quarter. But Gordon scores 34 points to bring us back to win 92-89.

Game 74: @ Atlanta

Gasol is finally back to full strength, and scores 27 points while grabbing 10 boards. Gordon and Wallace score 21 and 19 respectively, and we pull away for a 123-108 victory.

Game 75: Atlanta

This time we play at our place. Gasol is in foul trouble most of the game and only manages 7 points, but Gordon picks up the slack with 28. Deng goes for 27, and we lead the entire game enroute to a 106-90 win.

Game 76: New York

Gordon scores 27, Wallace scores 23, Deng scores 19 and well, it's the Knicks, we win easily 118-81.

Game 77/80: @ Washington

I must have misnumbered somewhere because we only have 3 games left. We play badly, we shoot badly, we lose by 4, 91-87. Not much else to say about it.

Game 81: @ Miami

Eager to redeem ourselves after that last performance, Miami walks into a buzzsaw. Gordon scores 30, Gasol 23 and we win 113-98.

Game 82: Detroit

Neither team is excited about this one, and it shows on the court. Both teams shoot 38% from the field and 27% from 3. 19 turnovers for Detroit means an 83-73 win for us as we close the season.

We went 8-2 down the stretch to claim the top seed in the east. Much to our delight, Philly and Memphis finish with the worse two records, and so we should do pretty well in the lottery.

We open the playoffs with Boston. We went 3-1 against them during the regular season. Boston is led by Wally Szcerbiak and Paul Pierce with 24 points each and Al Jefferson with just under 15 points a game. They have the fifth best field goal average in the league and and the second best 3 point average in the league. As good as they are offensively, they stink defensively.

Game 1:

Gasol has one of his best games since joining us with 30 points and 9 boards. Gordon scores 21. Pierce does his best to keep the Celtics in the game with 27 points, but we lock everyone else down defensively and cruise to a 113-72 win.

Game 2:

Gasol tops his Game 1 performance with 36 points and 12 rebounds. We hold the Celtics to under 40% from the field and under 20% from 3 point range, and get another convincing win, 108-88.

Game 3:

The Celtics have been embarassed on the road, and now they return to their rabid fans. Gasol only manages to score 16 points, but Gordon scores 25. Deng adds another 21 off the bench. Pierce scores 25 and Wally scores 20, but they don't get much more help, and we win 103-89.

Game 4:

The hardest game to win is always the closeout game. We'd love to get the win since every other series is going to go at least five games. Gordon does his best to put the Celtics away with 40 points, Gasol gets 15, and Wallace and Noah each get 14. But Jefferson explodes for 26 points, Wally puts in 18, however the rest of the team is held in check, and we get the sweep with a 104-95 win.

We will play the winner of Toronto & Milwaukee which is currently 2-2. We can use the extra days to let a few of our bumps and bruises heal. In the East, #2 Chicago beats #7 Cleveland in 7 games, #6 Miami upsets #3 Detroit in 7, #4 Toronto closes out the Bucks in 6. In the West, #1 Phoenix needs five to take care of #8 Denver, #2 Houston needs 6 games to take care of #7 Portland, #6 Utah upsets #3 San Antonio in 7 games, and #4 Seattle bounces the Lakers in 6 games.

[Cap Ologist]

Conference Semi-Finals vs Toronto

Toronto boasts one of the most imposing frontlines in the league with Chris Bosh, Greg Oden and Andrea Bargnani who score 21, 17 and 16 a game respectively. T.J. Ford is a player we really wanted, but could never get a trade worked out, he's averaged 16 points a game and 9 assists. The rest of the team is not as talented, fortunately for us. On the season, Toronto has averaged 95 points a game while allowing 93.

They'll be tougher than Boston, but I still think we'll advance easily.

Game 1:

Toronto's big 3 comes out firing with 27 from Bosh, 22 from Oden and 12 from Bargnani. They lead by 1 after the first quarter, by three at halftime, and by 5 going into the fourth quarter. But the fourth quarter sees our defensive intensity surge, and Toronto can only manage 13 points. We pull away for a 108-99 win behind 30 from Wallace, 28 from Gordon and 18 points and 20 assists from Miller.

Game 2:

Perhaps it was our extended layoff and rust that almost cost us Game 1. Game 2 sees Bargnani score 18, Bosh 17 and Oden 15. Yes, we held each of their Big 3 below 20. Surely that means a win for us. Gordon scores 28, Gasol 17 and Wallace scores 17. And yes, that does mean a win for us, 103-80.

Game 3:

We travel north of the border to face a frenzied crowd and a desperate team. Bargnani scores 25 and Oden scores 23. We lead by 2 after the first, by 2 at halftime, trail by 1 going into the fourth, and squeak by with a 95-92 win behind 22 from Gordon, 19 from Wallace and 17 from Miller.

Game 4:

The crowd is even more fired up and the Raptors see their season slipping through their fingers. Bosh regains his scoring form with 26 points and Oden puts up 17. We get 20 points from Gordon, Wallace scores 19 and 15 from Miller. It's not enough this time, and we see a sweep slip away with 85-82.

Game 5:

We return home to a crowd eager to watch a closeout game. Gordon leads us with 31 points, Wallace adds 17, Gasol puts up 16, but Toronto counters with 26 from Bosh and has 5 other players score in double digits. We lead by 7 after the first, and by 7 at halftime. The third quarter sees us build a 20 point lead and the partying begins before the 4th does. We go stone cold and only score 9 points in the fourth, but Toronto can't quite catch up and we advance to the Conference Finals with a 92-88 win.

In the East, Miami upsets Chicago in 7 to meet us. It would have been both nice and scary to meet Chicago again in the playoffs. In the West, #4 Seattle knocks off top seed Phoenix in 5, and #2 Houston takes care of Utah in 6.

Conference Finals

We're very familiar with Miami, and to be honest I'm very surprised they were able to handle Chicago. Outside of D-Wade and Shaq, they don't have much. Wade leads Miami with 28 points a game and Shaq is on the decline with an average of 19 a game. He's still solid, but nowhere near as dominating as a few years ago.

I'm really expecting us to roll them. We're too deep and talented for it to be much of a contest. I predict we'll win in 5.

Game 1:

Shaq finds the fountain of youth and breaks out for 27 points, Wade adds 25. We counter with 21 from Wallace, 24 from Gasol and 25 from Gordon. Miami has a 4 point lead after one, a six point lead at the break, but we take a 5 point lead into the fourth. We hold Miami to 16 points in the fourth, and take Game 1 with a 112-102 win.

Game 2:

Wade has a Herculean 43 points, but Shaq's game 1 efforts have sapped his energy, and he can only manage 8 points. We get 26 from Gordon, 23 from Gasol and 18 from Wallace. But we only have a 1 point lead after 1, a four point lead at halftime, a 2 point lead going into the fourth quarter before watching Miami force overtime. We're younger and deeper and it shows in the extra period, and we take a 2-0 lead with a 113-106 victory. After the game, we learn that Noah has gone with a rather serious groin injury and will be out the rest of the series. Now we really need a sweep and a prolonged Western Conference Finals.

Game 3:

Miami returns home to lick their wounds, and we sigh with relief that we were able to hold serve. Wade follows up his 43 with 41, but we hold the great Shaq to 0 points. Gasol goes for 28, Gordon for 24 and we get 10 points and 14 boards from Jianlian who fills in adequately for Noah. Miami leads by 8 after 1, and by 5 at halftime. We come out hot in the third and take a 7 point lead into the 4th quarter. We hold on for a 102-95 win and a 3-0 lead.

Game 4:

We want this game badly, we need as much rest as possible for Noah before the NBA Finals. We finally play defense on Wade and he can only score 23, Shaq bounces back with 17 points, and the Heat have three of their role players score at least 10 points. They're desperate and it shows. They lead by 6 after 1, by 9 at halftime, but we surge back to within 4 going into the fourth quarter. Our surge continues and we play great team defense to hold them to only 13 points in the fourth and we get our 2nd sweep of the playoffs with a 96-87 win behind 27 from Gordon, 19 from Wallace and another double double from Jianlian with 10 points and 13 boards.

Unfortunately for us, Houston takes care of business in 5 games, so we enter the Finals with Noah still severely limited.

NBA Finals

Houston had the 2nd best record in the league, behind only Phoenix. With Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, they are very tough. Rookie PF Al Horford has also been solid for them. If Noah was 100%, I'd give us a 40% chance to win, with him banged up, it could be over quickly.

Game 1:

Noah is a scratch for Game 1, and we're tied after the first quarter. We fall behind by 9 by halftime, but make a surge to within 4 going into the fourth. If we can keep our momentum, we could steal Game 1. But we can't pass them, and they pull away for a 102-90 win behind 29 from Yao and 17 from McGrady. We're paced by 31 from Gasol but Gordon can only manage 15.

Game 2:

Noah is still out, and we get 30 from Gasol, Deng scores 18 from the bench, but once again Gordon is held in check. Jianlian follows up a disappointing Game 1 performance with another disappointing one. This game is ugly to watch, Houston leads by 21 at halftime. We make our 3rd quarter surge to close it to 9 going into the fourth quarter. But Houston holds on and gets a 109-98 win behind 34 from McGrady and 19 from Yao.

Game 3:

Noah returns to the lineup, and we're hoping it's the lift we need. Wallace scores 24, and we get 18 from Gordon, but Gasol can't match his production, scoring 13. Houston jumps out early again with a 14 point lead at halftime. We chip it down to 11 going into the 3rd, but can't get it closer than 6 as Houston takes a commanding 3-0 lead behind 37 from Yao and 31 from McGrady.

Game 4:

It's our turn to play desperate. We play incredibly balanced and have 6 players in double digits. Houston counters with 5 players in double digits. We only trail by 1 after the first quarter and actually have a 6 point lead at halftime. Houston trims our lead to 2 as we enter the fourth quarter. We pull away to take a 99-88 win and keep our championship dream alive.

Game 5:

Our last game at home, and it's another one with back against the wall. Unfortunately, nobody on our team realizes the situation we're in. Miller leads us with 18 points and Wallace adds 14. Houston leads by 17 after the first quarter and they cruise to a 106-80 victory to claim their 1st NBA title.

A very disappointing end to the season.

[Cap Ologist]

Our only consolation are our two lottery picks. As much as I hope we keep the top 2 slots, I have this feeling that we'll bust and get the worst two picks possible. The lottery starts, and it goes just the way it should. The commissioner opens the envelope at the podium, and we're hoping that we hear the words New Orleans.

"The third pick in the 2009 draft goes to ..... the New Orleans Hornets."

Back home in Charlotte, we opened our arena for fans to come watch the lottery, and the excitement explodes in the arena. After finishing as the NBA runner-up, we'll have our pick of the top 2 players in the draft.

I return home the next day for my end of year meeting with Mr. Jackson. It's short and sweet. We set an appointment to talk again in a few days to begin plans for our third season in Charlotte.

A few days later, I tell him I still think we're championship material, but that it might cost us to go above the cap by $10-15 million. He thinks, looks at the spreadsheet before him and says, "Alright, don't spend it unless you have to."

With two top draft picks and the possibility of Miller returning for another shot at a ring, we'll need every penny he'll spare.

Our first decision is the coaching staff. They're entering the final years of their contracts. I'm still puzzled by some of the moves Vincent made last year, so I'm going to wait and see with him. I might look to improve our assistants depending on who is available.

[Izulde]

Tough Finals loss to the Rockets, but with the top 2 picks in the draft, you can set yourself up for a dynasty.

Edit: Unless you get stuck with a god-awful draft class.

[Cap Ologist]

It's time to invite potential draft picks in for workouts. I'm really looking at C/PF and PG. It's a reasonably deep draft, but we only care about the top. We don't have a 2nd rounder, so we won't waste any invites on a potential sleeper.

We invite:
C Eric Stojanov
PG Kevin Campbell
PG Jared Holman
SF Renardo Brown
PF Johnny Hall
SG Tristan Callaghan
SF Brett Huss
PF Stephan Holt
SF Brad Floyd
SG Isaac Mason
SF Aquil Thomas
PG Kenny Berlin
PF Charlie Davis
SG Greg Lightfoot
C Andre Williams

We don't really have a need at SG/SF, and would probably only take one if we believed they were a Jordanesque type player. Gordon disappeared too often in the playoffs for my liking. If the right deal comes along, he could easily be on his way out of town.

After the workouts, we really like what we saw in Andre Williams, who was one of the lowest rated C/PF we worked out. A lot of guys have good ratings, but questionable personalities.

We finalize a trade a few minutes before the draft starts. We are really impressed with C Eric Stojanov and SG Tristan Callaghan. However, we don't have a strong enough need for another SG, while we have a great need for a PG. The rookie PG class has talent and baggage. So, we fax the paperwork to the league office and:

Charlotte receives:
PG T.J. Ford
Toronto 2010 1st round pick

Toronto receives:
SG Ben Gordon
SG Sammy Mejias
PG Ricardo Robinson

We'd had high hopes for the development of Mejias and Robinson as they both received extensive playing time in the Dev. League last season. Gordon was our leading scorer, but our SG/SF rotation was limited because he can't play the 3. At 6'5", Tristan can play both positions, giving us more flexibility, plus he has great scoring instincts, averaging over 30 points a game in college. After Gordon's uneven performance in the playoffs, he became expendable in my eyes. It's hard to give up on a 20 ppg veteran, but Callaghan's has a better chance of being an elite player. Obtaining T.J. Ford also gives us insurance if we can't resign Miller.

So, on to the draft.

1. Charlotte - C Eric Stojanov
2. Charlotte - SG Tristan Callaghan
3. New Orleans - PG Jared Holman
4. New York - PG Kevin Campbell
5. Dallas - PF Johnny Hall
6. Los Angelos Clippers - SF Brett Huss
7. Minnesota - C Andre Williams
8. New Jersey - SF Renardo Brown
9. Golden State - PG Steve Cornette
10. Washington - SG Isaac Mason
11. Atlanta - C Jody Whitworth
12. Sacramento - SG Greg Lightfoot
13. Orlando - SF Brad Floyd
14. Indiana - PF Charlie Davis
15. Denver - PG Kenny Berlin
16. Boston - C Derick Postell
17. Portland - PG Jm Cornell
18. Miami - SG Hassan Young
19. Golden State - SF Rob Bachmann
20. Milwaukee - SF Aquil Thomas
21. Toronto - C Roland Sawyer (7'4", that is gonna be one helluva front line if he develops)
22. Utah - PF Stephan Holt
23. Detroit - PF Phillip Karcher
24. Los Angelos Lakers - PF Brian Wilson
25. Seattle - PF John Gallagher
26. Golden State - SG Kenton Ross
27. San Antonio - SF Harvey Orvis
28. Chicago - SF Derrick McDuffie
29. Houston - PF Justin Mann
30. Phoenix - Derrick Risinger

We're out of picks, so our draft day is over.

Summer League




Free Agency

We resign Andre Miller to a 2 year, 13 million deal. He'll back up T.J. Ford. We also sign PF Chris Wilcox to a 2 year min sal deal to have another big body to bring off the bench. Then, we trade SF Eric Hicks to Memphis for their 2010 and 2011 2nd round picks.

[Cap Ologist]

We picked up the option on Noah and Jianlian. We don't have anybody that we're sending to the Dev. League this season. Our opening day roster is:

PG T.J. Ford
SG Tristan Callaghan
SF Gerald Wallace
PF Pau Gasol
C Eric Stojanov

6th SG/SF/PF Luol Deng
7th PG/SG/SF Andre Miller
8th PF/C Joakim Noah
9th PF/C Yi Jianlina
10th PG/SG Sebastian Telfair
11th PF/C Chris Wilcox
12 PG/SG/SF/PF Grant Hill

Inactive:
PF/C Peter John Ramos
PG/SG Gerry McNamara

Game 1: Washington

We start off at home against the Wizards. Gasol starts off ready to take over Gordon's role as our main guy with 26 points. Miller comes off the bench to score 19 points. Our two rookies, Stojanov and Callaghan score 6 and 13 in their first professional game. We trail by one after the first quarter, but lock down defensively in the 2nd quarter only allowing 11 points. We extend our lead to 15 by the end of the third quarter, and we coast to a 102-85 victory.

Game 2: Orlando

Callaghan bounces back from his disappointing debut, scoring 33 points on 15 of 20 shooting. Gasol scores a respectable 18, and Miller adds another 18 from the bench. We build a four point lead in the first quarter, and once again play excellent defense in the 2nd quarter and Orlando can only score 12 points. We have a 21 point lead at halftime, and we coast home for another big win, 103-79.

Game 3: @ Milwaukee

Our first road game of the season sees Gasol, Callaghan and Wallace each score 16 points. Noah and Miler add 12 and 10 points from the bench. The game starts out as a defensive struggle and we're happy with our 19-16 lead after the first quarter. We increase our lead to five points at halftime, 37-32. The third quarter sees an offensive explosion for both teams as we score 28 to their 27. We pick up our defensive intensity in the fourth and hold Milwaukee to 14 points and pull away for a 96-73 win.

Game 4: @ Boston

Last season, they were one of the most potent offenses we played. But this game starts out as another defensive struggle which favors us. We're up 15-13 after the first quarter, and hold Boston to 18 points in the 2nd quarter. Unfortunately, we could only manage to score 9 points. Boston extends their 7 point halftime lead to 15 going into the fourth. But Boston is to potent down the stretch and they ultimately pull away for a 87-66 win. Gasol is our lone bright spot with 18 points. More importantly, I realize that Vincent tinkered with the lineup, the lineup that had propelled us to a 3-0 start. I don't know what the hell he is thinking.

Game 5: Golden State

I'm hoping that after that disastrous loss, Vincent will revert to our original lineup. He doesn't. Gasol scores 20 points, and Miller (who replaced Callaghan in the starting lineup) and Ford each score 13 points. Mysteriously, Stojanov who has been disappointing at best remains in the lineup. Golden State jumps out to a 23-16 lead after the first quarter, and extend to a 51-38 halftime lead. They pull away even further in the third, outscoring us by 7 as they coast to a 105-86 win.

Game 6: Utah

Surely after 2 losses, Vincent will change back. He almost does, reverting back to our original lineup with the swapping of Wallace and Deng in the starting five. Callaghan scores 19 in his return as a starter, Gasol scores 18, and Noah adds 13 off the bench. Utah jumps out to a 36-26 lead, and we can only narrow the lead to 9 by halftime, 71-62. Giving up 71 points in a half is shocking. The third quarter sees the scoring slow down as Utah scores 16 to our 10. We can only watch as Utah holds on for a 106-97 win.

Game 7: Cleveland

Another game, another lineup change. Gasol scores 21 and Wallace scores 21 in his return to the starting five. Stojanov finally breaks double digits with 15 points. Miller and Ford both come off the bench to score 12 each. Noah adds another 13 from the bench. So, at least this lineup gave us decent production, but does it give us the W? We find ourselves down by 3 after 1, and tied at halftime. We open up an 8 point lead in the third quarter, and manage to hold on for a 115-102 win.

Game 8: @ Cleveland

Vincent keeps the same lineup for this weird back to back against the same team. Gasol scores 18, Callaghan scores 14. Noah adds 22 from the bench, Miller and Ford add 12 and 11 from the bench. This time we have an 8 point after the first, and extend it to 12 by halftime. We continue to pull away in the 2nd half and leave with a 100-83 win.

Game 9: @ Detroit

We get 23 from Callaghan, 19 from Gasol, 18 from Wallace and 16 from Deng. Stojanov turns in another disappointing game, managing only 3 points and 4 rebounds. Jialian is our lone bright spot from the bench though with 12 points. We jump out to a 36-26 lead, and watch it shrink to a 51-50 lead at halftime. Detroit continues to surge forward in the 3rd quarter, and they take an 84-72 lead into the final period. We can't make a dent in their lead and can only watch them take a 120-103 win.

Game 10: Detroit

Another weird scheduling quirk. Callaghan scores 25, and we get double digits from all of our other starters. This time we only have a 33-30 lead after the first, but we are able to extend it to 65-53 at halftime. Detroit manages to chip away a little bit, but we are able to hold on for a 105-98 win.

Game 11: @ Indiana

Callaghan scores 22 and Deng adds 21. Wallace adds 15, and we get 10 each from Miller and Ford off the bench. We play one of our best defensive games ever, and we hold the Pacers to less than 20 points in each quarter. This one is over early, and we coast to a 104-62 win.

Game 12: Atlanta

Callaghan has another good game with 29 points, Wallace adds 12 and Deng scores 11, and Jianlian makes another appearance with 12 points from the bench. We trail 21-18 after the first, 48-44 at halftime. Atlanta has more offense than we do today and they continue to pull away as they roll with a 105-88 win.

Game 13: New Jersey

We have 7 players score at least 10 points, led by Deng with 18 and Noah with 16. We also play good defense, holding the Nets to 20 points or less in 3 of the 4 quarters. We hold off their late mini-surge to end our first month with a 98-82 win.

Monthly Summary:

Pretty frustrating one for me. After watching our 3-0 start evaporate due to Vincent's tinkering, he at least finally found one that works somewhat. Callaghan has been everything that we've wanted so far, giving us more size than Gordon while still being a consistent scorer. I think our team is too talented and too deep to only be 8-5, and now.