Charlotte
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
The first-ever game in Bobcats franchise history will be a home game but will also be the homecoming of their opponent's star player. Southeast division rivals Washington Wizards pay the world's first visit to the Bobcats on November 4, giving the fans split emotions over who to cheer for: their newfound expansion team or Providence High alum Antawn Jamison.
It will be the second game for the Wizards, who will have come off their series opener against Memphis the night before, so hopefully they will be tired, and the Bobcats can start the season with a bang.
The Bobcats' second game is another home game against another divisional foe, the revamped Orlando Magic on Saturday, November 6.
Currently, only three Bobcats games are slated to be broadcast on national TV. Two of them -- home games on December 14 against the Hornets and March 1 against the Kings -- will be broadcast on NBA TV while the third, a road game against the Hornets on March 2, will be broadcast on ESPN. The storyline with the Hornets obviously is that it is the battle of a current and a former Charlotte franchise.
I don't really understand the appeal of that storyline personally. When the Lakers play the Wolves, does anyone care that the Lakers used to be in Minneapolis?
TEAM NOTES
The Bobcats have released their 2004-2005 season schedule.
Richard Walker ofFreedom News Serviceswrites: The Charlotte Bobcats will begin their official expansion franchise history November 4th against the Washington Wizards, the NBA announced Monday.The Bobcats’ first regular-season schedule will feature 41 home games and 41 road games and conclude with a April 20 home game against the defending NBA champion Detroit Pistons. Many around the league had speculated the Bobcats would open their first season against the city’s previous team, the New Orleans Hornets. Instead, the Bobcats will open with a homestand of five games out of the first seven. The first two games are against members of the NBA’s new Southeast Division.
David Scott ofThe Charlotte Observerwrites: The Charlotte Bobcats will get a quick, early look at their competition in the NBA's new Southeast Division.The Bobcats, whose schedule for their first season was released Monday, open with two Charlotte Coliseum games against division rivals: Nov. 4 against the Washington Wizards and Nov. 6 against the Orlando Magic. "We'll get a chance to start our rivalries fast," said Bobcats coach/general manager Bernie Bickerstaff. "But I'm not looking forward to the holidays." The Bobcats play at Indiana on Nov. 26 (the day after Thanksgiving), at New York on Dec. 26 and at Miami on Jan. 1.
John Reid ofThe New Orleans Times-Picayunewrites: In another change, the NBA is back in business in Charlotte, N.C., with the expansion Bobcats.The Hornets played 14 seasons in Charlotte before they relocated to New Orleans after the 2001-02 season. The Hornets make their first return to Charlotte Coliseum on Dec. 14. The Bobcats play in New Orleans on March 25, and the game will be televised on ESPN.