Nov 28, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; Charlotte Bobcats shooting guard Ben Gordon (8) is fouled by Atlanta Hawks shooting guard Louis Williams (3) as he drives the ball during the first half at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Paul Abell-US PRESSWIRE

After dropping two games on a three-game road trip, the Bobcats return home to host the Philadelphia Sixers tomorrow night. The Bobcats will enter the game at 7-7, while the Sixers come in at 9-6. A win would put the Bobcats back over .500. It’s the first meeting between the two teams this season. Lets get into the keys to the game for the Bobcats:

Offense:

• Bench scoring. The Bobcats bench has been strong all season, currently ranking 5th in bench scoring. Ben Gordon is coming off a 26 point night in a loss to Atlanta and has been having a good season so far. Ramon Sessions continues to be a plus as well. The Sixers bench doesn’t do a good job offensively, shooting just 37% from the field and ranking 22nd in bench scoring.
• Kemba Walker. Walker has been struggling the past four games, shooting 13-53 from the field. Walker will have a tough test in Jrue Holiday, who’s been playing fantastic this year for the Sixers. It’s an understatement to say how badly the Bobcats are going to need Walker to show up tomorrow night to hang with Holiday’s play on both ends.
• Be smart. The Sixers have been a very good defensive team under Doug Collins. They rank top 10 in opponents turnovers and opp. PPG. They have good athletes at every position and are. Last week, the Bobcats played a really good Atlanta Hawks defense, and didn’t play a smart game offensively or defensively. With good defensive teams, the margin for error is thin. Take care of the ball, keep moving the ball, and get to the line.

Defense

• Defend the three. The Sixers seventh in the league in three-point percentage. Jrue Holiday, Jason Richardson, Nick Young and Dorrell Wright are all proven three-point threats and won’t hesistate to shoot. To bring the Hawks game up again, the Bobcats gave shooters too much room to operate, and always lost track of the hot hand. The Sixers aren’t great offensively, but they can get hot from deep in a hurry.
• Size matters. This isn’t a very big team on either end. The Bobcats aren’t towers either, but with guys like Haywood, Mullens and Biyombo, the Bobcats should use the length and big bodies they have to their advantage on both sides of the ball. So lets see if the Bobcats frontcourt can have a good overall game tomorrow night.
• Get back on track. This defense has been nothing short of disappointing as of late. The Bobcats have fallen to 24th in opponents PPG, after showing some promising signs on defense. Coach Dunlap is trying to develop a defensive identity and things just haven’t been consistent. Let’s see some of that promising defensive potential again.

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.