Hornets-Bobcats Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO
Posted Apr 16 2012 12:15AM

The Charlotte Bobcats own the worst record in the NBA, and they're on the verge of breaking a dubious franchise record they just set earlier this season.

The Bobcats will try to avoid a 17th consecutive defeat when they host the surging New Orleans Hornets on Monday night in a matchup pitting the owner of the worst record in each conference.

Charlotte (7-52) is already assured of finishing with the worst record in the league. If the Bobcats lose all of their remaining seven games, they'll finish with the worst single-season winning percentage in NBA history.

They matched the longest losing streak in club history - set earlier this season from Jan. 16-Feb. 15 - on Sunday, falling for the 16th time in a row with a 94-82 defeat to Boston.

The current skid also includes a franchise-record nine-game home losing streak.

A defeat to the Hornets (18-42), would also give Charlotte the league's longest overall skid since Cleveland dropped 26 straight Dec. 20, 2010-Feb. 9, 2011.

"One of the problems we have is we don't have post-up people," coach Paul Silas said. "Gerald Henderson is our only guy and he really shoots a jumper over people and he makes it, but that's about all we have. So you have to play on the outside, run pick and roll a lot. That's the kind of thing we play for."

Henderson, who leads the team with a career-high 14.3 points per game, finishing with 22 on Sunday. He had a team-high 15 points with six rebounds in a 73-71 victory at New Orleans on March 12.

The Bobcats are looking to sweep the season series for the first time, but they've dropped the last two home matchups with the Hornets including an 88-81 defeat Jan. 15, 2011.

While the Bobcats have shown few, if any, signs of improvement throughout the season, the Hornets are seeking their first four-game winning streak since a 10-game run Jan. 9-26, 2011.

They Hornets posted their third straight win and fifth in seven games Sunday, beating Memphis 88-75 at home. Their future also appears brighter after Tom Benson, the owner of the NFL's New Orleans Saints, purchased the team from the league Friday.

"He's looking forward to good things to come," forward Jason Smith said. "It feels great to have an actual owner."

It may also feel great to have guard Eric Gordon on the court. Gordon, who has played just seven games this season due to various injuries, had 18 points against the Grizzlies after scoring 25 to spark a 96-85 win over Utah two days prior.

"I'm trying to help this team and I'm looking forward to what comes in the future," said Gordon, who will be a restricted free agent after the season. "The future's bright here."

Gordon hasn't faced the Bobcats since scoring 11 points in a win with the Los Angeles Clippers on Feb. 22, 2010.

Hornets hand Bobcats 17th straight defeat 75-67

By STEVE REED
Posted Apr 16 2012 10:49PM

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) The Charlotte Bobcats appear to be a collision course with NBA futility.

The Bobcats lost a franchise-record 17th straight game 75-67 to New Orleans Monday night and took a step closer to finishing the season with the worst winning percentage in league history.

If the Bobcats fail to win any of their remaining games they'll finish with a .106 winning percentage, which would be worse than the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers, who finished 9-73 for a winning percentage of .110.

It would seem Charlotte's best shot at a win is next Monday at Washington, the second-worst team in the league. However, that same Wizards team just throttled the Bobcats by 28 points in Charlotte last week, so the reality is Monday night might have been their best chance to win a game.

"The whole year has been frustrating but this game was more frustrating because we really got ourselves up for this one," said Gerald Henderson, who finished with a game-high 27 points. "It was a close game the whole game but we couldn't score. It was a struggle to score."

Henderson seemed to be the only one who could score for the Bobcats, who shot 30 percent from the field.

Stephen Silas, who stepped in again to coach the Bobcats for his father Paul, said he went through the entire playbook looking for something that would work.

"The only thing that seemed to work was handing the ball to Gerald Henderson to try to get in the paint," Stephen Silas said.

The loss assured the Bobcats (7-53) of the worst record in the league, giving them a 25 percent chance of landing the No. 1 pick in the NBA lottery on May 30. The Bobcats and the rest of the NBA will learn Tuesday if potential top pick Anthony Davis will enter the draft as a press conference in scheduled in Lexington, Ky.

If the Bobcats can land him it would be an immediate help to a team that has struggled both offensively and defensively this season.

The Hornets won despite playing without leading scorers Eric Gordon and Chris Kaman and shooting just 34 percent from the floor. Gordon was given the night off to rest, but no reason was given as to why Kaman was held out of action.

Greivis Vasquez picked up the slack scoring 20 points, while Carl Landry added 14 points and 12 rebounds off the bench for New Orleans.

It was the second-lowest scoring NBA game this season.

"It wasn't pretty," Hornets coach Monty Williams said.

For a while, the teams flirted with a different kind of NBA futility.

The league record for fewest points scored in a game was set on Feb. 27, 1955 when the Milwaukee Hawks and Boston Celtics combined for 119.

This game was tied at 47 after three quarters.

The Bobcats trailed by as many as eight in the second quarter but closed the half on an 18-6 run to take a 39-35 lead at the break as Kemba Walker provided a spark with seven points during the stretch. The teams combined to shoot 37 percent in the first half.

Things got progressively worst in the third quarter as they combined to score just 20 points - the lowest in the league in a quarter this season and the fewest since 2004- on 15 percent (6 for 40) shooting.

The Hornets put a run together to start the fourth quarter and built their lead to seven after Marco Belinelli knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key. The Bobcats would claw back to close the gap to two after Henderson got hot, but Vazquez hit a runner in the lane to make it a two-possession game.

The Bobcats couldn't get any closer after that.

Williams was not thrilled with his team's shot selection after the game.

"(We) missed some shots early but they have to keep taking them," Williams said. "Guys have to play with confidence. We don't want guys thinking about missing shots, especially when you don't have to look over your shoulder. It's not like I'm going to put somebody else in the game to take your spot."

The Hornets only played nine guys.

Henderson said the goal from here on out for the Bobcats is to get a win and avoid setting the dubious NBA record.

"Absolutely," Henderson said. "The Hornets are a good team, but we look at them as similar to us. This is a game we wanted to win. You look on the schedule and we felt like this was one we could really get. That's why it's even more frustrating."

NOTES: NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin took in the game from courtside. ... The Bobcats' 23 field goals and .303 shooting percentage was their worst this season. ...Belinelli scored in double figures for the 41st time this season.

Notebook: Hornets 75, Bobcats 67

Posted Monday April 16, 2012 10:36PM

By Derek S. Smith, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: The Charlotte Bobcats set a franchise record with its 17th-straight loss Monday night at Time Warner Cable Arena while the visiting New Orleans Hornets picked up their fourth consecutive win. The Bobcats lost 75-67 to the New Orleans Hornets. Greivis Vasquez led New Orleans with 20 points while Gerald Henderson netted a game-high 27 for Charlotte.

QUOTABLE: "It was tough at time to watch, especially seeing the ball go in and out and turning the ball over. Those kinds of things happen. They competed out there, even though it didn't look pretty. We still held an NBA team to 67 points. That is something you can hang your hat on."
-- New Orleans coach Monty Williams

THE STAT: Clang. The two teams showed why they are at the bottom of their respective conferences with tonight's offensive performance. The teams combined to shoot 32 percent (49-of-153) from the floor and 7.4 percent (2-of-27) from behind the arc. The Bobcats, which shot a season low 30.3 percent, came into the game at the bottom of the league in scoring (87.9 ppg), scoring differential (13.3 ppg) and field goal percentage (41.8 percent)

TURNING POINT: Missed free throw. Henderson missed the backend of a two-shot opportunity at the free throw line with 28 seconds left to play. The Bobcats were down just four points at the time and the make would have allowed Charlotte the opportunity to play defense rather than foul. The Hornets went 7-of-9 in the final minute of the game.

HOT: Vasquez scored 14 of the Hornets 40 second half points on 5-of-10 shooting. Vasquez scored a career-high tying 20 points to lead all New Orleans players. Vasquez has scored in double figures in five of the last six games and added six assists in the win over Charlotte.

NOT: The Third Quarter. The Bobcats and Hornets shot a combined 6-of-40 in the third quarter. The two teams combined to score 20 points in the quarter. That's the fewest combined points in a quarter since 2004 when the New Jersey Nets and Portland Trail Blazers combined for 19.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Henderson scored 27 points Monday night and has tallied 20-plus points in three of the last five games. He's averaging 18.4 points and shooting 52.1 percent (38-of-73) in that span and has led the team in scoring on three of those occasions.

ROOKIE WATCH: Kemba Walker started at point guard for Charlotte and tallied 14 points and had five rebounds and three assists. Fellow rookie Bismack Biyombo had five points and nine rebounds. New Orleans rookie Jerome Dyson had nine points off the bench and added three rebounds, one steal and one block to his stat line.

NOTABLE: The Bobcats have lost 17 straight, 19 of their last 20, 22 of their last 24, 27 of their last 30 and 43 of their last 47. ... New Orleans is 15-10 when holding an opponent to 90 points or less and 5-1 when holding them under 80 points. ... The Hornets held the Bobcats to 30.3% shooting which was an opponent season-worst. ... Carl Landry had his fifth double-double of the season with his 14-point, 12-rebound night. ... Walker has scored in double figures in eight of the last 10 games ... Marco Belinelli scored in double figures for the 41st time this season..

UP NEXT: For the Hornets, Wednesday at Memphis, Thursday vs. Houston, Sunday at Clippers. For the Bobcats, Wednesday vs. Chicago, Friday vs. Memphis, Sunday vs. Sacramento.

• Hornets: Johnson, Okafor
• Bobcats: Maggette, Najera

• Hornets: --
• Bobcats: --

• Lead Changes: 10
• Times Tied: 8

• Arena: Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, NC
• Officials: #9 Derrick Stafford, #26 Pat Fraher, #79 Kevin Scott
• Attendance: 10876
• Duration: 2:18