Bobcats 98, Warriors 90

It wasn’t exactly I Spit On Your Grave, but it was still pretty satisfying revenge: on Saturday the Bobcats reciprocated last week’s abomination to the Golden State Warriors with a 98-90 win. Both teams had played the night before—sort of; the Cats’ had their 20-point debacle in Cleveland, and the Warriors lost to Philly (only by 1, but the key words are “lost,” “to,” and “Philly,”)—so fatigue bogged things down at times.

Oh yeah, one other word about that Cleveland game (before I flush it out of my mind’s toilet): according to keen observer Ran (whose comments can be read here), the proper name for Drew Gooden’s hair-, um, “style” is a “duck tail.” According to Ran, Drew Gooden refers to himself as a “child of the 80s” whenever explaining his controversial hirsute philosophy. A-ha! Hmmm. I was a child of the 80s too, and yet I have no memory of that hairstyle whatsoever (although I do remember the weekday afternoon Disney cartoon by the same name), unless I missed an episode of Diff'rent Strokes in which Dudley rocked it or something. Oh wait, now that I think about it, someone in the band "A-HA" quite possibly could have sported a duck tail.

But the more pressing question is, even if it was popular, is that really Drew's only actual justification for the haircut--that he's a "child of the 80s"? Since when is living in a particular decade a reason for getting a certain haircut? I mean, like I said, I lived during that time too, but I have absolutely ZERO urge to suddenly part my hair down the middle and feather it, let alone get a rat-tail or a flock-of-seagulls 'do.

All I can say is hopefully this “what would the 80s do?” line of thinking doesn't end up influencing his other behavioral choices, such as whether or not to become a coke addict, whether or not to support Central American dictatorships, whether or not to invest in Savings & Loan institutions, etc...

Anyway, back to the game! The Warriors were in their road blues, and unlike Gooden, I WILL credit them for sticking to their 80s roots, as I’ve always enjoyed GS’s color scheme (although I don’t quite understand why their insignias are on the backs of their left legs—it makes it look like the entire team mistakenly put their shorts on backwards), which I feel is appropriately flashy and futuristic-looking but without overdoing it a la the Barkley-era Rockets. And in light of News14 once again not showing the game (nor are they showing "news" for their matter, just a bunch of infomercials, although they are at least on on channel "14"), I should also point out that I’ve always enjoyed the Warriors’ announcers as well. Bob Fitzgerald and Jim Barnett are even-keeled, rational, and very gracious guests. They complimented the Cats for "doing it the right way” by building through the draft and not owing anyone a huge salary (well, except Melvin Ely, the one guy we’re NOT playing) and were also optimistic in their forecast for Charlotte now that Michael Jordan’s an owner (holy crap he is, I’d practically forgotten about that). I’d like to return the compliments to the Bay Area, as I think they’ve finally got a bunch of young guys who can go on to be great Warriors.

But wars not make one great, and neither does 12/44 shooting in the second half. Golden State had pushed the lead to 10 late in the first half but crumbled down the stretch and ruined a superb effort by Andres Biedrins (15 points, 18 boards—10 on offense—2 blocks, 2 steals), who could pass for Primoz Brezec’s long-lost (and more talented) brother. Whether it was shooting field goals, shooting 3-pointers, shooting free throws, or shootin’ at the walls of heartache (bang-bang), Al Harrington IS the Warrior, but his 7/20 performance (and 1/5 from downtown) cost the team in the end.

No Harrington miss was more painful than the one that was blocked spectacularly by Gerald Wallace with just under ten to play and the Cats clinging to a 4-point lead. Harrington went driving for a sure slam, but Wallace crushed it away as if it were shot out of a cannon. I haven’t heard a crowd gasp in sudden disbelief like that since Antonio Tarver knocked out Roy Jones in their rematch. G-Dub (21 points, 16 rebounds, 6 steals, 3 blocks, 2 steals) is the glue holding this team together right now, the gum under the shoe, the snot in the nose—he’s the man. Raymond Felton also had 22 (and came back bravely from a bizarre, inadvertent elbow from Harrington that knocked him on his face—man, I only just now realized that Harrington was the “Forrest Gump" of this game, randomly figuring in all the key moments), and Emeka Okafor put up 16 and 11. As a team we kept the turnovers low and allowed the Warriors to shoot themselves in the foot via the 3-pointer. Great win.

I see the Warriors are playing the Pacers next—how confusing is THAT one going to be? I wonder if any gambling sites are creating an over/under for a “Mistaken Passes to Former Teammates” category.