Today We're All Bobcats Fans (Unless We're Detroit Fans)

The Charlotte Bobcats have widely been considered a joke over the last five years for several reasons. Kind of a silly name. Already lost one franchise to New Orleans. Michael Jordan and a passion for North Carolina players.

Adam Morrison.

Sean May.

Etc.

Today they've got a huge opportunity to shake off that reputation versus a former Eastern Conference title contender, pull within 1.5 of that team, and further the notion that this franchise has turned a corner. Or they can lose their third straight to playoff teams and confirm their skeptics' worst criticism: They're just not that good.

Let's talk a little bit about Charlotte versus Detroit, tonight at 6PM EST.

Tonight the Bobcats travel to Detroit to take on the Pistons. The Pistons are 3-9 in their last twelve games. They've lost three straight. Allen Iverson is done for the season.

But they're still the Pistons.

The Pistons still feature a potent lineup full of veterans with playoff experience. Additionally, Rasheed Wallace returned from injury/suspension/Sheedness yesterday. And though he was rusty as all get out yesterday, it's likely he'll be ready to respond. This is a team searching for that toughness that's been missing since ... um ... a trade we won't mention. Today would be a great opportunity to turn away an up and coming squad and reassert themselves, perhaps start a run to become "that team you don't want to face in a 2-7 or 3-6 matchup. We're looking at you, Orlando.

For the Bobcats, this game means much more. They lead by double digits in the fourth quarter versus the Celtics before they got Ray Allen'd (or Raymond Felton'd, depending on your perception). They hung tough with the Heat before running out of steam. And so while they've played good teams really well, they failed to close in the standings on teams that are struggling. This has to be frustrating considering how well this team is playing right now. Gerald Wallace has broken out the last few games. They're playing with veteran savvy. Emeka Okafor is playing the best ball of his career. But this isn't a young team.

They're not particularly old, but they're not in a youth movement either. Making the playoffs would almost certainly lead to a first round exit, but it would still be a positive step for the franchise, something to build on. And maybe most importantly, help with attracting free agents. A lottery pick may not help them that much (they' haven't had great luck except for rookie D.J. Augustin). Making the playoffs would help heal some wounds in the community and get people behind this team. A win tonight against Detroit wouldn't seal the deal, but it gives them momentum with winnable games to finish.

For the casual NBA fan, the Bobcats present a much more interesting story. The Pistons have been there (six times). We know what they bring. And we know that this team isn't close to the one that won a championship five years ago. The Cats feature random novelty players (I don't have any other way to describe Boris Diaw and Vladimir Radmanovic), explosive young talents (Wallace and Okafor), and a coach trying to redeem his image after the New York debacle (which pretty evidently wasn't his fault), Larry Brown. But while most people may be rooting for the underdog tonight, in the NBA, it's rare that the unproven commodity is able to win the Very Important Game.