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The Bobcats winning streak continued today as NBA Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations Stu Jackson drew Charlotte's ping-pong ball out of a half-basketball on NBA TV, giving the Bobcats the tiebreaking win over the Hawks for the third-most chances in the 2006 NBA Draft Lottery on May 23. Charlotte and Atlanta finished with identical 26-56 records this season to force the tiebreaker. The Portland Trail Blazers (21-61) finished with the worst record in the NBA and will have the best chance to win the 2006 NBA Draft Lottery, while the New York Knicks (23-59) finished with the second-worst record, giving them the second-most chances to get the No. 1 pick in the 2006 NBA Draft on June 26. Having the third-most chances has been significant in NBA Draft Lottery History, and the Bobcats are hoping things follow suit. Since the NBA began using a weighted system in 1990, the team with the worst record at season's end has been drawn for the No. 1 pick only three times. The team with the third-most chances has also won the top pick three times, while the team with the fourth-most chances has only come away with the No. 1 pick once in 16 years. NBA DRAFT LOTTERY HISTORY
WALLACE GOING, KNIGHT MIGHT “Yeah, they both want to go tonight,” Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff said after shootaround. “I know they’ve been bothering (Head Athletic Trainer) Joe (Sharpe), and they both disrupted practice all day today, so we’ll see what happens.” Knight is listed as questionable and a decision won’t be made until he gets to the arena tonight. “We’ll have to wait and see,” he said. “I’m going to go downstairs and talk to Joe and we’ll see tonight once I get here. It’s still up in the air.” Meanwhile, Wallace said there is no uncertainty as to whether or not he’s going to play. “I’m definitely going to go out and play,” he said. “I want to try to finish out the season strong. I feel great about the way the team is playing at the end of the season. We’re finishing out these last couple games strong, competing and winning. I just feel good about the way we’re playing right now and want to be a part of closing it out.” One Bobcats player who won’t be a part of the action tonight is Alan Anderson. The 6-6 guard/forward is out with a hyperextended left shoulder he suffered in Monday’s win at New York.
Just because the Bobcats second NBA season ends on Wednesday night after they host the 76ers, it doesn’t mean veteran point guard Brevin Knight will be done working, or even stepping away from the court for that matter. Knight will be joining Chris Bosh and Mike James of the Toronto Raptors and Josh Smith of the Atlanta Hawks as NBA players who will be wearing different uniforms for the upcoming NBA playoffs. "It’s another interest of mine, and I’m going to have a lot of fun with it," Knight said. "I did analysis work for NBA TV a couple years ago, and this year when we went to New Jersey I went into the studio. They called and asked me if I would like to do it, and I told them I would love to. It’s a way for me to stay involved once the postseason begins, and I just love being around the game." The four NBA stars will suit up as special guest reporters for NBA TV, beginning with the tip-off of the postseason next week. Knight, Bosh, James and Smith will be assigned to four different playoff cities during the first round providing analysis of the teams and one-on-one interviews with the players and coaches. The players’ reports will air during NBA TV Insiders, the network’s basketball news and information show, which airs daily beginning at 7:00 p.m. The players also will be featured during NBA TV Live, the network’s daily NBA wrap-up show, which includes a complete breakdown of the day’s action, highlights from each game and interviews with key players and coaches, as well as a look-ahead to the next day’s games. Knight will provide analysis from Memphis, Bosh will report from Dallas, James will be in Miami and Smith will be behind-the-scenes in East Rutherford, N.J., home of the New Jersey Nets.
WALLACE OUT, MAKES HISTORY Wallace is out with bruised ribs, while Knight will miss his third-straight game with a right groin strain. The two join Emeka Okafor (ankle), Sean May (knee) and Bernard Robinson (finger) on the sidelines, leaving Charlotte with only nine healthy players against Indiana. Bobcats Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff is uncertain about the availability of either of his captains in the last two regular season games after tonight. “They took (Wallace’s) stuff out of the locker room so he couldn’t get to it today (to get ready for the game) when he came in,” Bickerstaff joked. “It’s hard to say with Gerald. We have two more (games) after this -- it’s hard to tell. He wants to play, but especially with the ribs, we have to back off of him. “It’s the groin (with Knight), so it’s hard to tell with the groin. He can kind of wind it down though. Brevin has done his thing this year. There is nothing to prove. It’s not going to do anything statistically for either one of them -- they are who they are at this point.” By not playing in tonight’s contest, Wallace becomes just the third person in the NBA to ever average over two steals and two blocks in the same season since the league started recording blocked shots officially in 1973. G-Force entered tonight’s game with 135 steals and 113 blocks in 54 games for averages of 2.50 steals and 2.09 blocks. Even if he were to play in the Bobcats final two games and not record a steal or a block, he would finish with averages of 2.41 steals and 2.02 blocks in 56 games. Wallace joins future Hall of Fame members Hakeem Olajuwon (three times) and David Robinson as the other two players to accomplish the feat. Olajuwon did so in the 1987-88, 1998-99 and 1999-2000 season, while Robinson pulled it off in the 1991-92 season.
“G-Force” Gerald Wallace has made a name for himself in the NBA this season, and as of late, has been earning national recognition for what he’s accomplished. The 6-7, 220-pound, fifth-year forward is posting career-best averages of 15.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.50 steals and 2.08 blocks while shooting a career-best 53.6 percent from the field, making a serious case for himself as the NBA’s Most Improved Player in 2005-06. Not only that, but he is the only player in the NBA to average more than two steals and two blocks this season, ranking first in the league in steals and 11th in blocks. Stats like that warrant consideration on the NBA All-Defensive First Team, as well. Here’s a look at a few articles that have been written on Wallace’s performance this year in the past week: This past weekend Associated Press writer Jenna Fryer’s article about Wallace’s run for Most Improved Player ran on national websites Sports Illustrated.com and USAToday.com and ran in print in the New York Times, as well as in other publications. In Tuesday’s USA Today, NBA writer David DuPree named Wallace to his All-Statistical Team along with Elton Brand (Clippers), Kobe Bryant (Lakers), Kevin Garnett (Minnesota), LeBron James (Cavaliers), Andrei Kirilenko (Jazz), Shawn Marion (Suns), Steve Nash (Suns), Dirk Nowitzki (Mavericks) and Dwyane Wade (Heat). Today in Marc Stein’s Daily Dime on ESPN.com, he picks out his Packing 10 All-Stars – players that will be missed the most once the playoffs start. Wallace, whom he calls "one of the league’s most exciting players" joins Garnett, Dwight Howard (Magic), Mike James (Raptors), Kirilenko, Tracy McGrady (Rockets), Chris Paul (Hornets), Jason Richardson (Warriors), Josh Smith (Atlanta) and Amare Stoudemire (Suns) on that list.
ROBINSON BREAKS FINGER
WALLACE PROTECTING RIBS “I’ve got a rib protector on now,” Wallace said after today’s shootaround. “I took a pretty good shot to the ribs against Cleveland, so it’s just a little precaution. It’s bruised, but it’s not a real bad bruise. It’s just some extra protection.”
FELTON KNOWS FLORIDA'S FEELING “Florida by far was the best team,” Felton said today. “They had the inside-outside game working. UCLA didn’t look like they had a good gameplan for them.” While watching the game, Felton couldn't help thinking back to last year and the run he and his North Carolina teammates made on their way to the National Championship. "I know the feeling that they have right now," he said. "It’s a wonderful feeling -- a feeling no one can every take from you and something that’s going to be with you the rest of your life.”
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