Dec 13, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; Charlotte Bobcats power forward Bismack Biyombo (0) defends Atlanta Hawks small forward Josh Smith (5) during the first quarter at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Liles-USA TODAY Sports

Gerald Henderson and Ramon Sessions combined for 35 points off the bench for the Bobcats, in a blowout loss to the Atlanta Hawks 113-90.

The Hawks shot over 50% from three, while making 48% of their threes. Devin Harris led the team in scoring with 20 off the bench while Josh Smith dropped 18. Atlanta moves to 14-6 on the season, while the Bobcats extended their losing streak to ten games. Atlanta’s defense was sharp as usual, containing the Bobcats to below 30% from three-point, and 43% from the field.

Almost a month ago the Bobcats were 7-5, and quietly gaining momentum as an early surprise in the NBA. Since their victory over the Wizards, the team has collapsed, particularly defensively, where the team is now 1-13 when giving up 100 points or more.

In this losing streak, the Bobcats have given up 100 points or more nine out of 10 times, while the offense has struggled to match bucket for bucket with the opposition. The Bobcats have given up 103.3 ppg so far this season, and again are one of the leagues worst defenses.

In a weird way it feels like this team is still in preseason. Early in the season, sure there was a lot of experimenting, but it felt like players were getting comfortable with their roles.

Brendan Haywood, who was playing well as a starter is coming off the bench now. Since the return of Gerald Henderson, Ben Gordon’s minutes and scoring have gone down. Hakim Warrick, who’s been a solid contributor on every NBA team he’s played on, is glued to the bench. There are just a lot of different things going on preventing the team from really developing some cohesion. Maybe this is what it feels like watching a team that needs to make some trades to free up the right guys to get playing time. It’s something I’m going to talk about this weekend in a more in-depth piece about this team’s personel and culture.

The Bobcats next game will be Saturday in Charlotte, where they’ll host the Orlando Magic.

Nov 28, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford (15) fights for a loose ball with Charlotte Bobcats center Byron Mullens (22) during the first half at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Paul Abell-USA TODAY Sports

It’s been a rough holiday month for the Charlotte Bobcats. The team has yet to put a win in Santa’s stocking, while teams line up to drop a big lump of coal of 100 points or more under the Christmas tree. Atlanta, who the Bobcats are winless against this season, is hoping to extend the Bobcats misery.

If you don’t know by now the Hawks are one of the most NBA improved teams. It’s a shocker considering they traded all-star guard Joe Johnson in the offseason to Brooklyn, where he’s having an underwhelming season. Lets take a quick look at the Hawks success this season before tonight’s game:

• Defense. Atlanta is 5th in opponents PPG at 93.3. The Hawks have always been a good defensive team, but it’s even more of a feat that they’re doing it this year with what many perceived to be a drop in talent. As we’ve seen in Charlotte’s two games against them, this team goes at you defensively and they’ve done a great job keeping Charlotte in check. They’re 9th in steals this season.
• Turnovers. The Hawks play much smarter this season. They’re 4th in the league in turnovers.
• Three pointers. This team has a gang of three-point shooters with Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, Anthony Morrow, Lou Williams and others. They’re  13th in threes made and tenth in three-point percentage.
• Al Horford and Josh Smith. Horford’s been a thorn in the Bobcats side this season, and he’s having a great year. Averaging just over 16ppg with 10reb and 3ast. Smith isn’t having the most efficient year, but is averaging 17ppg, 8reb, and three assists.

It’s going to be another tough road test for the Bobcats struggling defense tonight. The Bobcats are 1-12 this season when giving up 100 points or more, and that lone win is against the Washington Wizards. The Bobcats are struggling to find an identity right now on both sides of the ball, which isn’t a good formula when you’re facing a team like Atlanta in the Highlight Factory. Defense and rebounding are typically the two main things you’re going to need to grind out victories on the road, and the team isn’t particularly good at either.

We’ll see if there’s any change in that tonight, and hopefully we’ll be talking about the end of a nine-game skid, rather than the christening of a 10-game losing streak. The Bobcats and Hawks will tip off from Atlanta at 7:30 p.m.

Nov 24, 2012; Washington, DC, USA; Charlotte Bobcats point guard Ramon Sessions (7) dribbles past Washington Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal (3) during the second half at the Verizon Center. The Bobcats defeated the Wizards 108 – 106 in double overtime. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-US PRESSWIRE

Don’t look now…no really, don’t look.

The Bobcats are 7-5.  They have a winning record.  They’ve just matched their win total from all of last season.  They have one of the top performing rookies from the 2012 Draft, and another rookie who is making his case for the unofficial “Steal of the Draft” Award.  Bobcats.com is deeming them the Cardiac Cats due to their ability to win close games, during most of which they’ve been led by Cardiac Kemba (a la the ankle-breaking stepback jumper from the Big East Tournament game winner against Pitt).  Oh, and they have a winning record.

Nobody’s paying them any attention, and that’s perfectly fine.  The Bobcats are playing great by flying under the radar.

At the beginning of the 2012-2013 NBA Season, many experts predicted the Bobcats to win more than seven games, an ongoing joke for most of the sporting world, and a sad reminder to Charlotte fans about how dismal last season actually was.

Nobody, however, could have predicted this much early season success.

At the beginning of the season, many experts predicted that the Bobcats would be fighting Orlando for the first overall pick in the 2013 Draft.  If they continue to play this well, they may not have a first-round pick at all.

Charlotte just matched their win total from all of last year in 12 games.  Looking at NBA.com, however, you would think that the team still hasn’t won a game.  No coverage; no big headline at the top of the page, or big picture leading to highlights and an article about the achievement.  Instead, just another article about how Andrew Bynum is out for another six months because he has bad knees.

And yet, that’s o.k.  No added pressure for the team or the owners?  No problem.  Charlotte will simply continue to surprise and impress.

The Cats are sure to hit a few road blocks throughout the season.  They have yet to play the defending champion Miami Heat, the Western Conference champion Oklahoma City Thunder, the reloaded Boston Celtics or Los Angeles Lakers, the newly refurbished Brooklyn Nets, or the Ageless Wonders, better known by their official name: the San Antonio Spurs.

This time last season, Cats fans were simply hoping that their team wouldn’t get slaughtered and be turned into highlight reel footage and be posterized by those teams.  This season, Charlotte fans can look forward to these games to see how well the team’s youth and new-found confidence will take them.

It won’t be easy, to say the least.  This week alone, the Bobcats have to travel to Oklahoma City and Atlanta, before returning home to take on the Philadelphia 76ers, a team that just a few years ago was playing hard and scrappy just as this Charlotte team is now.

It will be a difficult week, for sure, but if teams continue to underestimate Charlotte’s potential and never-say-die attitude, the Bobcats could be 10-5 going into the first week of December.

Some people still probably won’t notice what’s brewing down in Charlotte.  And that’s absolutely fine.  The Bobcats have excelled at playing under the radar, and if it ain’t broke, there’s no need to fix it.

November 23, 2012; Charlotte, NC, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Devin Harris (34) drives past Charlotte Bobcats forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (14) and guard Ramon Sessions (7)during the game at Time Warner Cable Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-US PRESSWIRE

The Atlanta Hawks aren’t getting much attention on TV or NBA circles, but might be content sneaking under the radar. The Charlotte Bobcats looked to continue their surge against a division rival, but were met by a stifling Hawks defense.

Atlanta defeated the Bobcats 101-91 behind Al Horford’s 26 points, 13 rebounds and 2 blocks. Horford shot 13-17 from the field. Coming into the game the Hawks ranked first in defensive rating and quickly showed why as they held the Bobcats to 37% shooting.

Earlier in the game preview, I gave a lot of stats to backup how terrific the Hawks have been defensively, and it’s another thing to actually see it unfold. Larry Drew has done a stellar job getting that team to continue committing defensively without their leader of several seasons in Joe Johnson.

The Bobcats at times played well against the Hawks and brought the game close, but the defense, which has looked good lately, was ineffective against Atlanta. The Hawks shot 54% from the field and 50% from deep, behind ten combined threes from Kyle Korver, Jeff Teague and DeShawn Stevenson.

There were a few bright spots about the defense, particularly Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Coach Dunlap gave MKG the opportunity to guard Josh Smith and he made the most of it. As I wrote in today’s preview, Smith is the type of power forward that MKG will be able to guard in the NBA because of his athleticism and quickness. MKG did a solid job on Smith tonight, and made the most of the opportunity. The Bobcats forced 21 turnovers and had 15 steals tonight against Atlanta.

The Hawks ranked 13th in threes made coming into tonight, and gave the Bobcats trouble with the spacing provided by the shooters in the open floor and half court. The Hawks haven’t been a good offensive team so far this season, but showed the type of gameplan Larry Drew wants from them. They moved the ball, kept a balanced pace and spread the floor with all of their shooters. The Hawks were +10 in fastbreak points and +12 in assists tonight.

Charlotte was led by 22 points from Ramon Sessions off the bench, who continued his stellar play so far this season. Sessions had 11 free throw attempts, 4 rebounds and 4 assists in 29 minutes. Atlanta’s defense has done a great job so far this season not allowing their opponents to get to the line, but Sessions led a Bobcats attack that was +15 in free throws made. Kemba Walker and Jeffery Taylor both had 16 points. Byron Mullens and Ben Gordon both struggled offensively, combining for 5-22.

The Hawks move to 7-4 on the season while the Bobcats fall to 6-5. While we’re all excited about the Bobcats start, games like tonight still show that there’s a lot for the team to pick up. The Bobcats didn’t manage to be consistent on both sides of the ball tonight and paid for it. They won’t have long though to think about the loss, as they head to the nation’s capital to face the winless Washington Wizards tomorrow.

November 9, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; Charlotte Bobcats point guard Ramon Sessions (7) drives between New Orleans Hornets shooting guard Austin Rivers (25) and point guard Greivis Vasquez (21) during the second half of a game at the New Orleans Arena. The Hornets defeated the Bobcats 107-99. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

The Bobcats will face the Atlanta Hawks in the last of a four-game homestand tonight. The Bobcats have won five of their past six games, and are just won away from matching last season’s win total. It won’t be an easy task, as Atlanta finding their rhythm as well. Atlanta has won four out of their last five, most recently holding off the winless Washington Wizards.

It will be the first chance for Bobcats fans to see a different Atlanta team, after dealing leading scorer Joe Johnson to Brooklyn. It’s been hard for Atlanta to find consistent scoring to replace Johnson’s presence, and it’s contributed to Atlanta’s offensive woes. Currently they’re 23rd in PPG and 24th in offensive rating.

They’ve also been a poor rebounding team, currently ranked last in total rebounds and 29th in offensive boards. Josh Smith is their top scorer at 15.6 ppg, but is shooting just 42.7% from the field. He’s backed by Al Horford’s 15.4 ppg, and 52.1% from the field.

Atlanta is winning games through their defense. Atlanta is first in the league in defensive rating. Larry Drew has done a great job getting new personnel to play on that side of the ball. In turn the Hawks rank in multiple elite categories defensively.

opponents PPG – 5th

opponents FTA – 1st

opponents FG% – 7th

opponents three point % – 2nd

turnovers – 5th

On the road so far the Hawks are scoring more than they do at home, while giving up less points. Atlanta’s play right now isn’t discussed much, but they are playing some good basketball and could be tough for a middle-of-the-pack Bobcats offense.

The guard rotation for the Bobcats will again need to come up big for this team to win. Kemba Walker, Ramon Sessions and Ben Gordon have all been good this season. Kemba leads the team with just under 19ppg, while Sessions is averaging over 16ppg and getting to the free throw line at a rapid rate. It will definitely be interesting to see how much Sessions gets to the line against this Hawks defense, considering they aren’t sending their opponents to the line. The Hawks aren’t big in the backcourt, with Jeff Teague, Devin Harris, Lou Williams and Anthony Morrow, so it wouldn’t be shocking to see some smallball from both teams.

As far as individual matchups go, the most interesting could come in the frontcourt. While Smith has been struggling, he and Horford are capable of going on hot streaks offensively. The Bobcats can guard both a bunch of different ways, and one way could be throwing Michael Kidd-Gilchrist at Smith. MKG’s defense has been as good as advertised, and Smith is the type of PF he can crossmatch against. Bismack Biyombo will probably get some tries as well. I’m not so sure about the success Mullens will have about Smith. Haywood might be a better bet to start off on him to get more physical.

This will definitely be one of the more interesting games going on Friday. Both teams have quietly had success to start this young season, and are young and athletic. The Bobcats match up a lot better with the Hawks sans-Joe Johnson, but they shouldn’t take them lightly because of it. We’ll see how things turn out tonight, and in the game recap.