Prediction: Bobcats are the next team that will make a major shakeup

Bobcats fall apart in 2nd half of rout

By Ron Green Jr.
rgreenjr@charlotteobserver.com

WASHINGTON -- It is one thing to lose badly.

It's something else to flirt with embarrassment.

The Bobcats walked somewhere between the two Monday night, getting blasted 108-75 by the Washington Wizards in the Verizon Center.

Remember the 33-point loss to Memphis five nights earlier? Or the 31-point homecourt loss to Boston nine days earlier?

Same game. Different opponent.

"We're just not a team," head coach Larry Brown said afterward. "We're not well coached. We don't play hard. That's my responsibility.

"I feel bad to put a team out there like that."

With Oklahoma City in town tonight and a gathering sense of desperation and frustration, the question is what's next for the Bobcats (9-18) who have lost five of their last six games.

It could hardly get worse than the second half against the Wizards.

The Bobcats scored just 30 second-half points, one fewer than Washington scored in one of the truly forgettable third quarters the Bobcats have played.

It was like a greatest hits collection of things gone bad for the Bobcats.

Then again, when you score just one field goal in a quarter (setting a dubious team record), it doesn't generally work out well. Diaw is the answer to the trivia question if anyone asks who scored the lone third-quarter bucket for the Bobcats, who did manage 11 points in the quarter.

Whatever chance they had of overcoming a five-point halftime hole evaporated almost instantly when Diaw was called for traveling near midcourt as he brought the ball upcourt on the first possession of the second half.

It set the tone and not in a good way.

"We came back in the second half without the right mindset," Diaw said. "They took the lead and then it was like a snowball effect."

It got so bad that center Nazr Mohammed was ejected midway through the third quarter when he was whistled for two quick technical fouls after arguing a pushing foul.

It could be explained away as a case of bad timing, given the fresh excitement surrounding the Wizards (71-19) after trading away Gilbert Arenas last weekend, lifting a cloud and an eight-figure contract off the franchise.

But that would ignore the fact Washington had lost six in a row and 11 of 12 before the Bobcats arriving bearing their gifts. While Brown blamed himself, Diaw didn't.

"Definitely it happens a lot lately but it's not his responsibility," Diaw said. "It is everybody. He's not on the court. He's not playing. He's trying to do his best.

"There have been some rough times."

The trouble started early when the Bobcats' defense disappeared. Washington scored on 12 of 13 possessions early in the first quarter, quickly building a double-digit lead. It dipped to 50-45 at halftime thanks to strong play from the Bobcats' bench including Shaun Livingston and Kwame Brown but it didn't last.

"I feel bad for our young kids," Brown said. "They looked totally disorganized. It's totally on me.

"It looked like the first day of practice, maybe a pick-up team playing an NBA team."

Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/12/20/1924430/wizards-rout-bobcats.html#ixzz18ioCBguw

 

Last Five Games:

Sat, Dec 11 vs Boston L93-62

Tue, Dec 14 vs Toronto W97-91

Wed, Dec 15 @Memphis L113-80

Fri, Dec 17 @Atlanta L90-85 9-17

Dec 20 @Washington L108-75

Lost three of their last games by thirty