Rumble in the Canadian Jungle
-- By Nick Melon: Charlotte Observer
-- 58-24. That's what the record said at the end of the season as the players collected their thoughts sitting down in the locker room of the Air Canada Centre. Charlotte's best season ever and not a single word was spoken. David Wesley started dismantling his jersey while Rasheed Wallace just looked up at the tiles on the ceiling. Rasheed might have been counting the tiles individually but for all the good that had been done this year, you would have guessed that someone had committed an unspeakable act right in the center of the floor. All of them went about their business and stewed as they would return to the Air Canada Center, Monday night for another date with these very same Toronto Raptors for the start of the second season, post season play.
-- 4-0. That was the record that ended the Hornets season last year inside the Charlotte Coliseum to these very same Toronto Raptors. Ron Artest's rookie season with the Hornets ended at the hands of Chauncey Billips, Michael Finley, and fellow rookie, Elton Brand. Nobody knew what to expect from this Hornets squad at the beginning of the year with the uncertainty of David Wesley resigning and what kind of impact David Robinson would have coming in from Denver the previous season. The net results have proven to be mostly positive but for the relative moments that they all decompressed in the locker room, Monday would present an opportunity to act like this last contest didn't exist. That's at least the mindset of savvy veterans like David Robinson and acquired mid season from the Utah Jazz, Steve Smith. "You can look at all the angles and storylines you want to build hype for this series but at the end of the day, we will come together and take this series one game, one quarter, one possession at a time." David Robinson acting as the voice of reason. Not looking too far ahead, the competition the Hornets will play against boasts an impressive array of talent. Michael Finley leads the Raptors in points per game at 21.6, and Elton Brand almost registered a double-double in his sophomore season coming off last years Rookie of the Year award. "We'll be ready for these guys for sure" chirped Steve Smith. The Raptors are the hottest team in the league winning their last 13 games in a row and 18 of their last 19. But luckily for the Hornets, the records are reset to 0-0 come Monday for Game 1 of this series.
-- It almost seems unfair that two near 60 win teams would have to do battle in the first round of the playoffs but that is the nature of this beast. While the Raptors may be looking ahead of the Hornets where a possible second round matchup would link either team up with what many consider the best team of all time here in sim league history, the Atlanta Hawks (Who finished with the best regular season record ever in Sim League History at 71-11), the tape and footage that headcoach, Nick Malone will examine will be enough to formalize a game plan and strategy on how to stop a team that lost only 5 times at home all season. "This Raptors team is extremely talented but they aren't invincible. We beat them twice earlier in the year down in Charlotte and there are definite flaws we could exploit. It'll be a fun series for sure and I'm looking forward to it. One mistake by either team could really define how this series goes." 4 of the top 6 teams this year in the NBA came from the Central Division. Sean Elliot felt relieved when he got the news that he had been dealt to a team that was heading to the playoffs around the trade deadline. "Man, I can't tell you how depressing it was putting on that Knicks jersey almost ever night and knowing that they almost wanted you to fail so they could improve their draft status. Nobody ever told us not to try but it was almost unfair to a guy like Jason Terry, who's gonna have a great career to go through those struggles. It happens in the NBA and I wish him nothing but the best but when I got the news that I was returning to play for the Hornets, man, I was so happy to pack my bags and play on a team that was going for it. All these guys wanna win and know what it's like to push harder when the moments are more intense. I'm excited for sure to play the Raptors."
-- So that's what it's going to come down to. The eagerness of the Toronto Raptors and the eagerness of the Charlotte Hornets. Like two fighters preparing for battle, all the tapes and the training and the preparation all boils down to who wants it more. Charlotte definitely took notice of all the "pipe bombs" Toronto was blasting to inflate their own egos before the season started. The Lakers and Kings and other talented teams joined in on the fun while the Hornets sat back, looking to discover their voice. Figure out which identity they could mold and send a message to the entire team that if they were going to go down, they wouldn't go down without a fight. For all the bluster and ego-entitled Raptor fans that consider this a first round breeze, nobody is considering the Hornets to shock the world. Nobody is considering the Hornets to do much of anything against the younger, faster, more explosive Raptors. And that's where the Hornets want them. All it takes in a fight is that one punch that makes the opponent stager and take notice. At 58-24, the underdog Hornets are prepared to sting the Raptors and have the entire world buzzing to pardon the bee minded pun.
