The Denver Nuggets (27-24) are wrapped up in the three-way tie with the Utah Jazz and Houston Rockets for the final two spots in the NBA's Western Conference playoff bracket, and at the moment they are the team left on the outside, looking in. Denver is amid a season-long, seven-game road trip and they are a disappointing 1-3 so far, but on Friday the Nuggets get some relief. They take on the NBA's worst team, the 7-41 Charlotte Bobcats. How bad have things gotten for the Bobcats? Let SB Nation's Ben Swanson explain:
It'd be one thing if they were losing, and the young guys the team hopes to build on were consistently showing up opponents. But they're not. Kemba Walker's improving, but he's got a ways to go in becoming a more consistent scorer. I'm not sure I've seen this team clicking on all cylinders. The only thing that's consistent is sub-mediocrity for me. Maybe someone has a decent game -- say -- 50 percent shooting off the bench. Woo hoo. The Bobcats still lost by 20. And that guy still only scored 14 points and was really one-dimensional. Hurray.
A basketball team is nearly always greater than the sum of its parts. And in a sick way, the Bobcats hold true to that as well. Even with a decent performance, so many other players contribute to the league-worst 41.6 percent field-goal shooting.
In fact, I'd put it like this: the sadness of the Bobcats is greater than the sum of its parts.
Game date/time: 5:00 p.m. MT, March 30, 2012
Location: Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, NC
TV: No Local TV
For more on this matchup, check out the Bobcats blog Rufus On Fire and the Nuggets blog Denver Stiffs. Tune in to SB Nation's NBA news hub for more updates and commentary from around the league.