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really tough game for the cats on saturday. grizzlies are playing as well as anyone in the league and have to be considered a top 5 team at this point. They have won 6 games in a row and are 6-1 for the season. their core is completely healthy so we don't have the benefit of catching them missing a star or two.

conley and/or allen will go after kemba hard on the defensive end. this will probably be his toughest challenge so far this season. i predict a rought shooting night for kemba. he is probably due for a 3-for-15 clunker.

MKG will have his hands full with gay. that should be a fun matchup and one that i think MKG can hold his own.

down low is where this game will be won or lost. gasol and randolph are as tough a cover as there is in the league. mully better be ready for "gritty" fight down low.

hopefully gordon is back and mentally ready to go for this game. we might need a big game from him off the bench.

any news on the randolph vs perkins battle? could we be lucky enough to see randolph serve a one game suspension on saturday?

BTW, slam is going to be MIA for the next month or so. if anyone would like to make game threads, please be my guest. knock yourselves out.

we also should get our first look at warrick on saturday.

Like you said fat, this is a huge game for us. This is easily the toughest game so far in this young season, but I think it can serve as a proving grounds game. Are the cats close to turning the corner on the aberration of last season or are we just winning on an easy schedule?

This game is going to come down to Randolph and Gasol. Randolph has owned the boards in Memphis' 7 games this season, while posting a double-double in all of them. We have no true answer for this guy except for to put Tyrus on him and pray that Dunlap gets him to play great defense.

Gasol isn't a premier big guy but he certainly isn't a slouch. I could see Diop getting significant minutes just to be a body that blocks the lane up. Gasol would eat Biz and his family if we tried that matchup so that option is almost completely out. Haywood is slower than Gasol, but would pose a threat on the boards. I think it will take a combination of Haywood/Diop to get it done in the frontcourt.

MKG has his hands full in this one. This will be his hardest challenge of his NBA career so far, guarding Rudy Gay isn't a simple task. Gay has torn up the competition but this is an intriguing matchup. MKG is an athletic defender who can do it all, and I could see him giving Gay some fits. This is the "Ohio of elections" matchup, aka our swing matchup. If MKG gets dominated, we're as good as done, but if he can keep Gay relatively quiet, we can give ourselves a chance.

Kemba is likely to struggle in this game as Conley is a great defender. Don't expect a lot from him as I could see him getting 12 points and struggle from the field. Sessions is our best bench scorer outside of BG and I could see him having some troubles as well with Conley/Allen.

If we want to bring this one home with a W, we're going to make almost no mistakes whatsoever. We have to shoot well from the field, minimize fouls, and control the boards. No simple task. That said, if we win this one, we have a great season to look forwards to. GO CATS!

RIP Byron Mullens

zach randolph will destroy him.

NBA.com showing us some love as one of the most improved offenses in their Hang Time Blogs today

The Bobcats had nowhere to go but up, but it’s doubtful that anyone thought they’d be an above-average offensive team.
Like the Knicks, the Cats are doing a better job of taking care of the ball. But with new additions Brendan Haywood and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist leading the way, they’re also working the offensive glass for extra points. In fact, they rank second in the league (behind Denver) with 16.9 second chance points per game.
Shot selection has also been key. We noted last month how the Bobcats had the worst selection in the league last season, taking 39.6 percent of their shots from mid-range (between the paint and the 3-point line). This year, only 28.5 percent of their made shots have come from mid-range, below the league average. They’re also taking a greater percentage of their 3-pointers from the corners.
Kemba Walker‘s game-winner came from mid-range on Wednesday, but he’s been part of the solution, taking the ball to the basket and getting to the line more than he did as a rookie

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link: http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2012/11/1 ... -offenses/

It is back-to-back for Memphis (hosting Knicks tonight) so the suspension on Randolph would have to be two games (unless he gets mad against Knicks too).

The Grizz are on fire right now. If we can beat them when they have this kind of momentum, we'd be better served just heading straight for the playoffs.

MKG vs. Gay is going to be soooooo much fun to watch if MKG's back is alright. Any word on that?

I have to hope that Randolph actually landed a punch in Perk's face and gets a multiple game suspension. Randolph and Gasol together is too much for our terrible front court defense. Haywood should be able to help slow one of them a little bit here but I won't expect too much.

I'm afraid of Gasol and Z-Bo destroying us down low in the post. Anyway, at least this will be an entertaining game to watch - Grizzlies probably have taken Denver's spot as my favorite team that I don't root for. I think their game tonight against the Knicks is a must-watch. Some good basketball should be played.

Our only hope is if they expend all their energy and momentum tonight vs. the Knicks and come tired tomorrow, because we'll be rested and could run circles around them. Realistically we have no way of stopping Randolph or Gasol, so its probably a repeat of the 1st Mavs game.

my gut is telling me the cats will get slaughtered down low. z-bo is exactly the type of player that will give biyombo fits, and mullens, despite his impressive improvement in defense this season, just isn't the type of player to slow down somebody like that. i think the bobcats will look to run run run, and try to shape the game that way.

I'm convinced we can win.

Could you imagine Tyrus trying to containg Z-Bo and acting tough? I guess he will rather go for a flop instead.

I think our fan base may have gotten a little too excited by this nice start. I think this game will be a double digit loss. Zbo and Gasol are just going to be too much.

I'm expecting a double digit loss as well.

Hope we keep playing competitively and keep it enjoyable.
Mullens has been in a couple of scraps this year himself, I wonder if he will mix it up with ZBo.

doc.end wrote:Could you imagine Tyrus trying to containg Z-Bo and acting tough? I guess he will rather go for a flop instead.

Am I wrong for hoping TT tries it?

after watching memphis tonight, i'm a little worried about this one...could get ugly

Sachmo wrote:

doc.end wrote:Could you imagine Tyrus trying to containg Z-Bo and acting tough? I guess he will rather go for a flop instead.

Am I wrong for hoping TT tries it?

Are you wrong? Quite the opposite. I want to watch Z-Bo punch him right in the face hard enough so I don't have to watch either one play for a while.

We win by 5

With the way Memphis is playing...if we won this game we'd shock the world. MKG will have to have a LeBronesque game