Saturday, Dec. 8: San Antonio Spurs 132, Charlotte Bobcats 102
One night after a blowout loss in Milwaukee, Mike Dunlap shifted the lineup, starting Bismack Biyombo and Desagana Diop. It didn’t help. The Spurs opened up a 32-23 lead in the first quarter, and never looked back. San Antonio hit a team-record 19 three-pointers in the win.
Bright-side Happy Time Highlight: MKG’s had a sweet reverse layup in the second quarter.
Monday, Dec. 10: Golden State Warriors 104, Charlotte Bobcats 96
Stephen Curry’s return visits to Carolina are always an event, and he broke a few ankles on Monday. The Spurs Warriors opened up a 32-23 38-23 lead in the first quarter, and never looked back.
Bright-side Happy Time Highlight: This and-one from MKG.
Wednesday, Dec. 12: Los Angeles Clippers 100, Bobcats 94
Easily the most competitive game of the week, Charlotte never let this one get away from them. It was a balanced team effort, with six Bobcats scoring in double figures. Unfortunately, it still wasn’t enough, as timely three-pointers from Matt Barnes eventually broke the team’s back.
Bright-side Happy Time Highlight: Biyombo had a nice dunk while cleaning up a missed layup from Kemba.
Thursday, Dec. 13: Charlotte Bobcats 90, Atlanta Hawks 113
Surprise! Early-game struggles and three-point shooting downed the Bobcats in this one. The Spurs Warriors Hawks opened up a 32-23 38-23 30-19 lead in the first quarter, and never looked back. Jeff Adrien made his debut for Charlotte, grabbing three rebounds and turning the ball over twice in five minutes.
Bright-side Happy Time Highlight: A guy in a Batman costume showed up to the game. It’s the only positive Bobcats clip I could find.
Links of note:
–New Queen City Hoops contributor Jeff Hess had a piece on how the Hornets brand can rejuvenate the team.
–Zach Lowe at Grantland lists Ramon Sessions as a potential trade chip, suggesting the Bobcats deal him for a draft pick.
–Derek James at Rufus On Fire broke down how the team is using the motion offense to get Kidd-Gilchrist looks at the basket.
–It isn’t Bobcats-related, but Tom Ziller’s piece on Sacramento’s disintegrating relationship with the Maloof family was some of the week’s best NBA writing.
the week biyombo took over the starting 5 spot permanently for the next 10 years.