If the Charlotte Bobcats win tonight, they will equal their victory total from all of last season. That’s right; they would be 7-4 instead of 7-59, an improvement that is beyond belief. New coach Mike Dunlap deserves some credit for changing the culture, Kemba Walker is more consistent (18.8 PTS & 5.5 AST per game) and two rookies have earned starting jobs. SF Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has scored in double figures in six of his last seven games, and unheralded SG Jeffery Taylor, a second-rounder with four years of college experience, keeps earning more minutes with strong defensive work.
The Hawks are the more talented team, with Josh Smith and Al Horford capable of huge numbers tonight. Coach Larry Drew seems content with the small lineup — Kyle Korver at the 3 and Devin Harris at the 2 — leaving Zaza Pachulia to back up the big men and Louis Williams as the bench scorer. If they stick with a short rotation and Jeff Teague plays well, they should win, but a trip to Charlotte is no longer a night off.
Other November 23 Games
CLE @ ORL: In a completely unexpected and brilliant performance, Jeremy Pargo scored 28 points on Wednesday as the understudy to injured star Kyrie Irving. That may end up being the best line of Pargo’s career, but he’s the starting PG for the next few weeks and a great FA pickup in deep leagues, not to mention a FanDuel bargain tonight. Rookie Dion Waiters will also be needed to fill the scoring void while Irving is out, and Anderson Varejao is essential in the middle.
For a team still without its starting SF Hedo Turkoglu and Al Harrington, one of its key big men, the Magic have done much better than expected. Nikola Vucevic and Glen Davis seem to hold their own most nights against bigger, stronger opponents, and when healthy, Jameer Nelson gets the job done at PG. Arron Afflalo has played both wing spots, but is more effective at SG, so rookie Moe Harkless got the start at SF last game, with J.J. Redick now coming off the bench as the second-unit scorer.
TOR @ DET: The NBA admitted that a non-call on an obvious late foul cost the Raptors a chance to win their last game, but that’s no consolation. Kyle Lowry is the heart and soul of the team; he makes DeMar DeRozan better and just needs to keep Andrea Bargnani involved. Jose Calderon loses value coming off the bench, but still plays more than a typical backup PG. 20-year-old rookie Jonas Valanciunas is improving with every start, but Greg Monroe is a very tough opponent this evening.
The Pistons were terrible in a Wednesday road loss, and rookie Kyle Singler will need to be much better tonight to hold off Rodney Stuckey as the starting SG. I’m not sure Brandon Knight can stop Lowry, or score on him. Tayshaun Prince has a big edge over any of the Toronto SF and is a must-start.